Page 83 of The Moonstone Governess
He began to sweat.
Had he thought this was a good idea when she suggested it?
Well, he wasn’t complaining. He just did not think he could control his body’s response to her. It might prove a little embarrassing, but she was going to be safe with him.
“Come into my arms, love.”
Her hair was piled atop her head in a mass of dark curls. Her body was beautiful.
She put a toe in the water. “It’s cold.”
“A little cool, but you’ll quickly get used to it.”
She hiked her shift above her knees and carefully stepped in.
Gorgeous legs.
“That’s it. Take another step toward me.” His arms were still held out to her.
The stream rushed by behind him, its water clear as crystal. But this pool, also a crystal blue, had a gentle flow that should not have frightened Brenna. It was quiet and lapped gently within the secluded glade. He said not another word, merely waited patiently for her to take another step deeper.
“Daire,” she said in a shaky whisper.
“You can do it, love.”
The wind rustled through the leaves, although he could hardly hear them for the stream’s current rushing past them in a steadywhoosh. Brenna was now almost within reach of him. He leaned forward and took her hand, then wrapped an arm around her waist as he slowly drew her up against his chest. “There, love. You did it.”
She was shaking and clinging tightly to him. “Daire, please don’t let me go.”
Their bodies were pressed together, her soft breasts against his chest. Her legs tangled with his because she seemed afraid to set them down, as though the sand beneath their feet was unsteady.
It wasn’t. She simply did not trust that her feet would find firm ground. She thought they would slip out from under her, so she held on to him for dear life. She was a little thing, and so scared.
He wrapped both arms around her, holding her close and inhaling the warm scent of her skin. “You’re doing great, Brenna.”
She laughed. “You are too kind, Your Grace.”
“No one has ever described me as kind,” he said with a wry smile. “But youaredoing great. Perhaps not quite the fearsome pirate yet, but it is your first time, love.”
“Why do you call me that?” Her eyes were closed and her lips brushed his neck as she spoke.
“Love?”
She nodded.
He sighed deeply. “Because this is what you are to me. It’s true, Brenna. I am in love with you. I’ve loved you from the moment I set eyes on you. I have also realized something very important while holding you.”
She opened her eyes to look at him. “What have you realized?”
“That I don’t need another week or month or year to be certain of my feelings for you. Nor do I need more time to know I will never hurt you. I love you now and will love you forever, little dove. I want to marry you.”
She gasped. “You do? What changed your mind?”
“It wasn’t a change of mind so much as gaining confidence in my decision. I always knew you were someone permanent. What I did not know was myself. Would I turn into my brutish forebears? I know the answer now. I could never lose control and beat you like my dog of a father did to me. I would sooner die than ever lift a hand to you.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I never doubted it, not for a moment.”
“Then you had more faith in me than I had in myself. I’m beginning to understand how love works. It is just as you said, not about control but about making the other person happy. I think you could ask anything of me, ask me to catch the stars in the celestial sky for you, and I would do all in my power to accomplish it.”
