Page 98 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
When he let her go, she felt a moment’s panic at the feeling of the water pulling on her. Next to them, the boat disappeared silently. But she kicked her legs and started to swim. It wasn’t long before her legs and arms felt heavy, but she continued to swim alone to conserve Simon’s strength in case she needed him at the end.
“Veer to the right!” she called out, then coughed as she swallowed water. She couldn’t seem to get enough air.
“Louisa!”
“I’m all right!”
He suddenly cursed.
“What is it?” she demanded.
“I hit my shin on something,” he called over his shoulder. “We must be almost there, aren’t we?”
As she grew more tired, the shore seemed just as far away, but she couldn’t say that. “Almost!”
And then she couldn’t talk anymore because it required too much effort. She hadn’t realized how much her corset would restrict her breathing. She was beginning to feel light-headed.
“Louisa, I hit bottom!”
Thank God.She saw Simon’s head bobbing in the water, saw his hand reached back for her, and with a last flail, she grabbed it. He pulled her against him, and she clung to him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her head pressed to the side of his, her legs bumping into his. She was breathing in gasps.
“You’re a strong, stubborn woman, Louisa Shelby,” he murmured against her hair.
“Simon, I can’t…get enough air.”
His head lifted. “It’s that damned corset. Hold on.” He took several long strides until his shoulders were out of the water. “Can you stand?”
She nodded, her lungs straining, aching as she held her chin above the water. He spun her around and went to work on the buttons of her dress.
“Damned wet material,” he mumbled.
She swayed, heaving, telling herself that panicking only made her breathe quicker. If she just calmed down, she’d be all right.
“I can feel the corset,” he said. “The strings are so tight, Louisa. Why does a small woman like you torture herself like this?”
“To fit in…the dress.”
He tugged and tugged, and then she felt his fingers moving up her back, loosening the laces, spreading the garment, and at last she was able to take a deep, satisfying breath. The shoulders of her gown drooped forward, and she held them up.
“Did I hear grateful breathing?” he asked.
She smiled at him over her shoulder. “You did.”
“I’ll help you walk.”
“I don’t need—” But she broke off as she stumbled. “Maybe we can help each other.”
He laughed. Arm in arm they pushed through the water, stumbling over rocks. In waist-deep water, they both fell over a submerged log and came up sputtering and laughing. When she tried to reach Simon to guide him to the shore again, she tripped over her skirts and sprawled on top of him. He went under beneath her, and as his face broke the water, he coughed. Slapping him on the back only submerged him again. They were crawling and laughing and less than ten yards from shore when suddenly the bed of the lake was gone again, and she went under. Her feet hit the bottom rather quickly and she bounced back to the surface.
Simon caught her and pulled her against him, treading water. “I should have warned you. You mentioned overhanging trees. This was where we used to swim. This hole was formed by uprooted trees long ago. It was deep enough for a boy to dive into and still be near shore.”
Louisa couldn’t answer. As they bobbed in the water, chest to chest, she was suddenly very aware of the fact that her corset had slid down around her waist. One shoulder was bare but for her chemise strap because the bodice of her gown had fallen forward. But the most startling sensation of all was how few clothes there were separating them, and how pleasant the ache was where her nipples were abraded.
Simon had finally stopped talking. He was breathing quickly, his mouth inches from hers. She stared at his lips, and hers felt parched for the taste of him. The movement of his legs keeping them afloat was distracting somehow, and it dawned on her that it was because there wasn’t much left to separate her from him. Their legs entwined with each movement, and when his thigh bumped high between hers, the shock of pleasure made her gasp.
They were breathing harder and harder, the air mingling between them.
“Where’s the shore?” he asked with a hoarse voice.
