As always, he was instantly alert, and turned his head to find Erin curled up next to him, her glorious hair spread like a fiery halo about her head.Last night when he had joined her in bed, long after she had fallen asleep, he had been struck by how young she looked—and how innocent. Her pillow had been drenched, and the streaks of tears on her cheeks had tugged hard on his conscience. Usually he had no patience with women’s tears, but Erin had cried alone and silently—he had been standing just outside the tent and hadn’t heard her—and the idea that she had sobbed herself to sleep had forced him to evaluate his treatment of her.It was nothing to be proud of, he’d acknowledged as he had stretched out beneath the sheets and tried to ignore the fact that she was lying inches from him, her delectable body barely concealed beneath the sheer grey silk chemise she must have donned after he had stormed out of the tent. Now, in the light of a new day, he was besieged by a nagging sense of shame.She was no longer innocent.
