Page 81 of The Moonstone Marquess
Had he forgiven her for doubting him?
No.
She saw the shadow creep across his eyes as he glanced at her.
Since there was nothing she could do about it now, she pretended not to notice and simply concentrated on helping Cormac’s nieces learn to swim. The water was warm, and so was the light sea breeze, which made for an idyllic outing.
It also did not hurt to have Cormac beside her. Neptune could not have looked more magnificent. There was nothing soft about his body—it was all hard, wet muscle.
But his touch, the few times he stood close enough to touch her, was achingly tender. His arm grazed her chest as he took Imogen from her arms to carry the little one out of the water. Phoebe dared not follow them, ashamed of the tingles coursing through her body.
She needed to splash water on her face to cool herself down from his touch.
Thank goodness she had an entire sea at her disposal.
She took a deep breath and swam underwater until she could no longer hold her breath. When she came up for air, she began to swim hard along the length of the cove. By the time she returned to her starting spot, everyone else was out of the water and watching her.
Yes, they were all watching her, but it was Cormac’s gaze she felt boring into her soul.
He came toward her with a towel as she waded out of the water breathless from her exertion. “Bloody hell, Phoebe,” he said in a ragged whisper. “Wrap this towel around you before I rupture an organ. I cannot afford to lose any more parts of my body.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your bathing costume hides nothing of your body.”
She glanced down at herself. “I don’t see—”
“It clings to your every curve, and I am going to burst into flames if you do not cover yourself up right now.”
Her eyes rounded in surprise. “Oh, you weren’t looking at my sister, were—”
“Lord, no! I averted my gaze as any gentleman would.” He glanced back at the three girls standing by their belongings, towels wrapped around all of them. “But I cannot seem to take my eyes off you. My brain simply doesn’t function when I am near you. Nor can I keep my hands off you… Well, the one hand. Do you have any idea how tempting you are? Or how naughty my thoughts are right now?”
His voice was low and raspy, his desire barely leashed—and this excited her. “Oh,” she said with a groan, “I need to splash more water on my face.”
He laughed and helped her wrap the towel around her body. “It will not help, Phoebe. We are lost to each other. Even you, Miss Temple of Virtue, feel it. We are meant for each other.”
The bell sounded just then to alert them their lunch was ready.
Chloe herded the little ones up the stairs and called out to Phoebe, “I’ll leave our supplies for you and Lord Burness to carry up. Don’t tarry. Girls, wasn’t that fun?”
Cormac’s two nieces nodded as they waddled like little ducklings after Chloe.
After a moment, Cormac turned back to Phoebe. “I’ll help you carry your things back to the house, but I dare not join you as I am.”
She shook her head. “The Hawkes will not say a word about it. They know we’ve all been swimming. Just toss on your shirt and we’ll dine outdoors. You won’t ruin those wrought-iron chairs. Unless you will be too uncomfortable with your trousers wet. I can give you some of Captain Arundel’s clothes to wear. We have a trunk full of them, and I think he must have been about the same size as you.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I cannot.”
“Why? I don’t mind if you return the clothes to us later. We are in no rush to have them back. And the girls will be so disappointed if you miss another meal with us.”
He emitted a ragged sigh. “Do you not understand?”
“Apparently, I do not. What is wrong with my suggestion?”
He sighed again, or perhaps it was more of a groan. “It will take me forever to dress myself. What takes you a minute with two hands takes me ten with only the one…and I cannot manage anything that requires lacing. I could not even wrap you in your towel by myself. All these little things require two hands. You don’t even notice, but I can assure you, I feel the lack acutely.”
She stared at him.
