"Release me."

Elise shifted her body again, attempting to push William away, only to hear him emit a low, sensual groan.

She immediately froze in place. Even with her limited experience, she was an educated adult who understood the implications.

"Just get off," she stated, forcing her voice to sound as icy as possible.

William swallowed hard.

A flicker of intense emotion crossed his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. He moved off her and immediately retreated to the bathroom.

Elise took a moment to collect herself. William soon returned.

As she turned towards him, her gaze inadvertently drifted downward. A fierce blush instantly heated her cheeks.

She hadn't meant to look.

But her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own!

She quickly averted her eyes to the floor. It was already taking immense effort to calm her racing heart, and now even her ears were burning bright red!

William, however, wore a faint, knowing smile. "I assure you, that was not my intention. Sometimes, the body reacts... independently. I hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable, Ms. Scott."

Elise was rendered speechless.

Uncomfortable?

She hadn't been uncomfortable!

Yet, his deliberately ambiguous phrasing was clearly designed to lead her thoughts down a very specific, very distracting path.

She understood, of course, that William was offering an explanation.

There had been occasions where she found herself in close proximity to other men, but any hint of intimacy made her physically ill. In fact, she suspected William's hasty retreat to the bathroom was precisely to avoid triggering another bout of her nausea.

William smoothly changed the subject. "So? What exactly happened just now?"

He seemed genuinely perplexed as to how he'd woken up with her pinned beneath him.

"You were asleep. I was trying to drape a blanket over you, concerned you might get cold. Then, I believe you began sleepwalking. You pulled me down and trapped me," Elise summarized, carefully avoiding any language that could be misconstrued.

"My apologies." William's tone was contrite, but Elise didn't detect a shred of genuine remorse in his expression.

Who in the world smiled so smugly while offering an apology?!

It was as if he'd accomplished something praiseworthy in his sleep!

"Must have been the dream," he clarified, his gaze turning momentarily distant.

Searching his memory, he recalled fragmented pieces of a dream.

Piecing it together, it was the night of the incident, the night he was violated.

That explained his body's involuntary reaction.

He let out a quiet, weary sigh.

Elise frowned, sensing a shift in his demeanor that felt anything but innocent.

"Does that happen often?" she inquired.

"What?" William blinked, pulled from his thoughts.

Realizing her meaning, he replied, "No. Not often."

Elise was skeptical.

His movements had been so fluid, so practiced. She wondered how many women had been on the receiving end of such nocturnal maneuvers.

"Only with you, Ms. Scott," William stated plainly.

Elise remained doubtful. In her eyes, he was a seasoned charmer, capable of moves she could never hope to counter.

"I've only ever been... physically involved with you, Ms. Scott," William added quietly.

Elise's eyebrow arched. Her heart gave an unexpected, traitorous flutter.

She quickly suppressed it.

Had he forgotten he had a son?

Though, he did have a knack for saying the right thing at times, even if his sweet talk was occasionally clumsy...

A knock on the door interrupted them. Samuel Wilson entered, looking slightly reluctant as he delivered their dinner.