Page 19 of Love Beyond Wanting
“Ah.”
There was a brief moment of awkward silence and my mind starting screaming at me to just do something.I reacted by thrusting out my left hand so he could shake it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Maddock.”
He turned his head as he looked down at my hand and chuckled softly.“Ye too, Kate.”Taking my hand, he raised it to his lips and gently brushed them against my knuckles.My stomach clenched and I grew hot all over.
“Um…how about I get this shower started for you?”
“Please, lass.I canna wait to see how it works.”
He stepped aside so I could enter the bathroom, and my shoulder brushed against his chest as I passed him.
“Did Sydney not offer to help you?I’m surprised.”
I could feel the heat of him as he turned and took a step toward me.
“Ach, she did, but the lass was verra tired from waiting up for us, and Paton needed her help as well, so I told her I could manage on my own.I never dreamed ’twould be so difficult to manage.”
I turned and looked around the bathroom to see if he’d laid any clothes out.I imagined he hadn’t.“Do you have anything else to wear after you get out of the shower?”
He scrunched up his nose.“I dinna think of it.No, lass, I doona have a thing.”
I gently touched the side of his arm to scoot him over so I could get to the cabinet behind him.“Well, those are too dirty to put back on.I think I saw a robe in here that should fit you.There are towels, too.”
He didn’t say anything, and I could see by his expression that he was just watching to see what I meant by all of that.
I grabbed the towel and twisted my arm behind me to hand it to him.
“To dry off with.You can hang it on the hook beside the shower.”
When he took it from my hand, I reached for the robe and shook it out before me.It was plenty big for him.
“And you can put this on afterwards if you want something to sleep in.”
He laughed as he took the robe from my hand.“I doona sleep in anything, lass.Not unless I’m outdoors.Even then, I prefer to do so only if ’tis so cold I canna stand it.”
Images of what he might look like naked flashed through my mind, and I quickly stepped around him again to reach into the bathtub-shower combo.
“You were probably closer to getting this to work than you think.You have to turn on both knobs and adjust them until it gets to the temperature you want.”
“The hot water comes right away?”His voice sounded astounded.
I turned on the water and let it warm.“Pretty quickly, yes.How hot would you like it?”
“Hot, lass.I doona know if I’ve ever been so excited before.”
I smiled as the water began to run hot and I turned around and slammed my face right into his chest.I’d not realized that he’d leaned in so close to watch what I was doing.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
He reached up to grip both my arms as he steadied me.“No need to apologize, lass.I should’ve said I was behind ye.I wanted to see how ye worked the water.”
“Why don’t you feel that and see if it’s warm enough for you?If it’s too hot, let me know, and I’ll cool it down a bit.”
He didn’t give me time to move out of the way before he leaned in and reached around me.
Our faces were inches from each other, and I smiled as his eyes widened as he placed his hand beneath the faucet.
