Page 51 of His Runaway Duchess

Edward clenched his jaw tight, his own words coming back to haunt him.

“You’re lovely. You have no idea how much.”

What had possessed him to say such a thing?

We had a bargain.A cool, distant marriage. That’s the best thing to keep her safe and keep me out of harm’s way. And yet here I am, ruining it all.

Why couldn’t I resist her?

He cleared his throat, not wanting to look down at her awestruck, luminous face. If he did, he might well do something even more foolish, like kissing her again or begging her to touch him too.

Fortunately, the water was cold enough to suppress the worst of his desire. Just as well, really.

“That was unexpected,” she said.

At some point, the stars above them had begun to pop out, one by one, glittering down.

“I’m sorry,” Edward muttered. “I should never have?—”

“No, I’m not upset,” she said instantly. Below the surface of the water, she took one of his hands in her own. “That was… well, it was excellent. Full marks. And anyway, I’m already ruined. I don’t think that swimming with my betrothed after sundown, alone, could do much to make things worse.”

He had to smile at that, shaking his head. “It’s true, neither of us could be any more disgraced. Even so, best to keep this to ourselves, don’t you think?”

She winced. “What, do you think I’m going to run home and tell my parents all about what happened?”

“With you, Daphne Belmont, I never knowwhatyou’re going to say or do next,” he retorted.

She laughed aloud at that, throwing back her head, and warmth spread out across his chest.

“Still, we’d better get out of the water before we turn into icicles,” she said, turning away from him and wading towards the shore.

Edward followed, feeling as if he were drawn on a string, tied to her and obliged to follow close behind.

She climbed out of the pond first, water streaming off her in rivulets. Moonlight cast a blue-and-silver sheen over her, her long dark hair hanging around her shoulders like a mermaid’s.

No, not a mermaid. Mermaids were fairly innocuous creatures and generally preferred to be left alone. Or so Edward’s classics studies had informed him.

Sirens, however, were different creatures entirely. One could not describeDaphneas malevolent in any way, of course, butthere was no denying that if he pursued her now, disaster would follow.

Plug your ears and stay on the boat, man,he warned himself grimly.

Daphne shivered. She pulled her wet hair over her shoulder and picked up her discarded coat. Her thin white gown stuck to her like a second skin, tinged pink. Edward could see her nipples straining against the flimsy fabric and forced himself to look away.

“We should hurry back,” he said. “It’s getting dangerously cold. You’ll need a hot bath to warm up. I’ll order one as soon as we get home. By the way, I don’t know if anyone told you, but we’re getting married tomorrow.”

Daphne stilled. “Tomorrow?”

He sighed. “You didn’t know, then.”

She blinked, water glistening on her eyelashes. “Well, I know now, don’t I?”

Daphne woke up on the morning of her wedding feeling refreshed and wakeful. The evening swim had done her a world of good, as had the deliciously warm bath afterward.

And then there’d been Edward.

Goosebumps crawled over her skin as she remembered the searing kiss, the way his hands had drifted over her body. Even the memory of the rush of pleasure when he touched her made her shiver, curl up under the blankets, and hide a secret smile in her pillow.

They hadn’t talked much on the way back, as the cold had settled on them in earnest and their teeth were chattering too hard for conversation. Once they entered the house—through the back door, very furtively—they had parted ways. Edward hadn’t forgotten about the hot bath, though, and the maids were filling up the tub in her washroom almost as soon as she reached the room. If they noticed that she was soaked to the skin and blue with cold, they did not mention it. Probably for the best.

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