Chapter 54

Leander meant to say something else, anything else, but before he could, his eyes drifted shut and sleep overtook him.

* * * *

Julien awoke at an ungodly hour feeling better than he had in months. He was briefly confused to find another body in his bed—it had been nearly two years since he’d shared it with anyone—but then he realized who it was and smiled.

Leander was slumbering peacefully and at some point had shifted closer. That he was able to sleep so deeply his first night in a strange bed implied a level of trust that Julien wouldn’t normally have believed. So many times during the previous evening, Leander had been uncertain, even frightened, but had always been willing to follow Julien’s lead

There was a part of Julien that was suspicious of his good fortune, that wondered if Leander had other motives, but for the life of him Julien couldn’t imagine what they could possibly be. As the Earl of Dearborne, Leander lacked for neither wealth nor importance.