Page 39 of Suddenly a Bride
A slow smile spread across her face, and he couldn’t stop himself from watching it happen.
“You remembered,” she said softly.
Something in her expression wouldn’t let him look away, a combination of curiosity and tenderness and longing. Such sentiments called to him in a dangerous way.
Gruffly, he said, “There was nothing to remember. ’Tis on the way home.”
All right, so that wasn’t quite true, but he watched some of the happiness fade from her eyes and was relieved.
He guided the horse off the path and into the trees until the woodland became too thick. He let Gwyneth down first, a quick movement they’d become good at, then dismounted.
“You can leave the basket here,” he said.
She shook her head. “We can have something to eat before we leave.”
Now she’d maneuvered him into a romantic outing in the woods. But looking into her expressive face, he saw a spirit of adventure as she learned to live in a new place so far from her home and family. He thought that she would approach lovemaking with the same abandon and eagerness.
He stopped that thought before it could work its way in a hot flash to his groin.
Edmund led her through the woods, holding branches for her until she could grab them herself. The ground sloped downward, and as it leveled off and the trees thinned, the River Swale appeared before them. This far up the dale it was shallow and wide and tumbled over rock formations as far upriver as they could see. Mist rose from small waterfalls cascading everywhere.
Gwyneth came up to his side, and her smile lit her face like a sunrise. “Edmund, it is so beautiful.”
She dropped the basket on the dry bank, kicked off her shoes, and reached beneath her skirts to her knees. He stared at the glimpse of her bare lower legs, so delicate and feminine. He could imagine tracing the gentle slope of her calf up behind her knee, then sliding his fingers up the soft insides of her thighs.
He suddenly realized she was watching him looking at her legs, and she wore a half smile that made her look like a woman who wanted to be seduced. Folding his arms across his chest, he frowned at her. He was doing so much frowning lately that it was giving him an aching head.
She only laughed as she pulled off her stockings.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Walking in the water. I am quite overheated.” She gave a saucy little lift to her shoulders as she turned and stepped into the river.
He watched her shudder, then she spread her arms wide and looked up at the sky.
“I never knew such places existed!” she cried, spinning about to smile at him. Suddenly off balance, she whirled her arms to right herself.
Edmund hurried to the water’s edge, reaching for her. “Gwyneth, get back here before you fall. Moss grows on all these rocks.”
She shook her head even as she stepped up onto a rock ledge where a tiny waterfall spilled. She dipped her toes in the spray and looked up at him.
“Gwyneth.” He said her name with a growl.
She had the nerve to laugh. “If you’re worried, then come with me.”
Lifting up her skirts to her knees, she waded in even farther. He knew he couldn’t go barefoot. He didn’t have the balance he used to have. So, cursing under his breath, he trudged right in, feeling the cold water seep into his leather boots.
“Gwyneth!”
When she looked over her shoulder and saw him, she laughed and jumped to the next rock with the grace of a fairy sprite. He felt like an ox lumbering up the river after her.
When he was finally close enough, he ordered, “Take my hand.”
She splashed between two rocks to reach him, then leaned against his side and slid her hand so naturally into his. He spread his legs wide to balance himself amidst the slippery rocks.
“What a successful day,” she said, glancing up at him with a smile.
Distracted by the touch of her along the length of his body, he managed to remember what she’d just said. “What constitutes a success?”
