The solid impact of Camilla’s shoulder slamming into Damon’s chest sent them both tumbling across the floorboards.

THUD!

Damon hit the hard floor back-first. The sudden, violent collision knocked the breath completely out of his lungs.

Damon let out a loud, harsh grunt of pain.

He immediately pushed himself up onto his elbows. His eyes flared with sudden, intense anger.

"Camilla!!!" Damon shouted loudly, his deep voice rumbling with fury. He was fully prepared to yell at her for attacking him like a wild animal.

But the angry words died completely on his lips.

He stopped speaking instantly. His mouth hung slightly open.

Camilla, who had fallen directly on top of him during the tackle, slowly raised her head to look at him. She was breathing heavily from the sudden rush of adrenaline.

As she lifted her upper body away from his chest, Damon noticed something incredibly shocking.

During the violent, chaotic struggle on the floor, the knot holding the large bath towel together had completely come undone. The damp fabric had slipped entirely off her body, falling into a messy pile on the floorboards beside them.

She was completely naked.

Damon froze completely. His eyes widened to their absolute maximum limit. He stared at her bare skin glowing in the dim, warm light of the oil lamp. He saw the soft curve of her shoulders, the delicate line of her collarbone, and the smooth, flawless skin of her perky breasts.

Damon gulped very loudly. The sound echoed clearly in the sudden, dead silence of the bedroom.

His face turned a bright, burning, deep shade of red in a matter of a single second. The heat rushed straight from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.

His body reacted instantly and powerfully to the intimate, highly unexpected sight of his wife pressed against him. Despite his strict discipline, he could not control the natural, physical response. His erection was immediately visible beneath the fabric of his dark blue trousers.

Camilla felt the sudden, firm pressure against her stomach. She looked down at him, noticing his red face and his wide, shocked eyes.

Then, Camilla quickly looked down at her own body. She saw the white towel resting uselessly on the floor. She realized her nakedness completely.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips.

She did not wait for him to speak. She quickly scrambled backward, pushing herself entirely off his body. She practically leaped to her feet.

She quickly reached down, grabbed the towel from the floor, and rapidly wrapped it tightly around her chest, securing the knot firmly. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the sudden embarrassment, but her mind was still focused on protecting the secrets hidden under the bed.

Damon remained on the floor for a few seconds. He closed his eyes very tightly.

He violently shook his head from side to side, desperately trying to erase the incredible, highly distracting image of her beautiful, bare body burned clearly into his brain. He forced his mind to focus on military trainings to calm his racing blood.

He cleared his throat loudly.

Ahem.

Damon slowly pushed himself up from the floorboards. He stood up tall. He immediately turned his broad back completely away from her, staring rigidly at the wall. He wanted to give her absolute space to dress properly and preserve her dignity.

Camilla watched his broad, muscular back. She let out a very small, very quiet breath of relief. She had successfully distracted him from looking under the bed.

She quickly walked over to the chair. She snatched her clean silk nightwear from the back of the chair and quickly pulled it over her head, letting the soft fabric fall smoothly to her ankles. She tossed the wet towel aside.

She was decent again.

Camilla took a deep breath. She needed to smooth over her sudden, violent tackle with a highly believable excuse.

She turned back to him.

She let out a very soft, forced, nervous chuckle.

Hahaha.

"I thought you wanted to sleep on the floor," Camilla lied smoothly, trying to make her voice sound light and slightly embarrassed. "That was why I pushed you. You looked like you were going to lay down right there near the bed skirt."

Damon stood facing the stone wall. He heard her obvious, terrible lie.

Damon slowly turned around to face her. His face had returned to its normal, cold,unreadable mask, though a very faint trace of pink still lingered on the very tips of his ears.

He crossed his strong arms tightly over his broad chest. He raised one eyebrow. He looked at her with skepticism.

"You tackled me to the ground because you thought I wanted to sleep?" Damon asked dryly, his deep voice full of disbelief.

Camilla completely ignored his obvious doubt. She needed to push forward with her fake, caring wife act.

"Yes," Camilla continued, nodding her head rapidly. She walked closer to him, putting a look of deep, profound concern onto her beautiful face.

"You have been sleeping there on the hard wood for a very long time," Camilla said softly, her voice full of sweet pity. She gestured her hand toward the empty space near the wardrobe. "The ground must have been so incredibly hard and terribly uncomfortable for your back."

She stepped right up to him. Before Damon could pull away, she reached out and grabbed his large, rough hand with both of her small hands.

She gently pulled him toward the edge of the bed.

Damon was so entirely confused by her sudden change in behavior that he allowed her to lead him. She guided him until he sat down heavily onto the mattress.

As soon as he was seated, Camilla immediately dropped to her knees on the wooden floor right in front of him.

She reached her hands out. She grabbed the heel and the toe of his dark leather military boot. She began gently, carefully pulling the tight leather boot off his right foot.

"Sleeping on the bed is much more comfortable, My Lord," Camilla said softly, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes as she pulled the boot completely off and set it neatly on the floor.

Damon completely flinched. His entire body went stiff.

He stared down at her kneeling on the floor, holding his foot. He had never, ever received this kind of intimate act of service from her or anyone before. Usually, she just glared at him or demanded things. Now, she was acting devoted.

His mind instantly became highly suspicious.

"What is she up to this time?" Damon thought to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly. "She tackles me, flashes me, and now she is taking off my boots. This is entirely too strange. She is definitely plotting something dangerous."

Camilla reached out her hands to grab his left boot.

Damon reacted quickly. He firmly stopped her from removing the other boot. He placed his large hand gently over her small hands, halting her movement completely.

"Don’t worry," Damon said, his voice quiet but incredibly firm. He did not want her acting like his servant. "I am already used to it." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He pulled his foot away from her grasp. He reached down and efficiently took off the other leather boot himself, dropping it next to the first one with a soft thud.

Damon placed his hands on his knees, intending to stand up from the soft mattress. He wanted to get away from her confusing behavior and go sleep on his cold, hard floor.

But as he tried to stand, Camilla moved quickly.

She stood up from the floor. She placed her small, warm hands firmly onto his broad shoulders. She gently but solidly held his shoulders down, preventing him from standing up.

"My Lord," Camilla whined softly, pushing her bottom lip out in a massive, quivering pout. Her voice was incredibly sweet and pleading.

She leaned slightly forward, keeping her hands resting heavily on his shoulders.

"It will completely break my heart if you sleep on the floor tonight," Camilla complained sadly, looking deeply into his eyes.

She began to use the information she had gathered from Uncle Murry yesterday evening to build her emotional trap.

"You haven’t slept well at all," Camilla said, her voice full of genuine-sounding empathy. "I know you have been so stressed because of that beautiful valley you lost to General Howe."

Damon stared at her.

"And now that you have finally reclaimed it today," Camilla continued softly, smiling a very proud, supportive smile. "You must be completely exhausted. Your body needs proper rest to heal."

To seal the deal, Camilla took a very bold intimate step.

She leaned completely forward. She wrapped both of her soft arms securely around his neck. She hugged him tightly, resting her cheek gently against his dark hair.

Damon flinched violently again.