Page 41 of Irresistible
Jess went to the table and looked at the guns before raising her gaze to Dougal, who moved to her side. “Which one?” she asked.
He picked up the simplest. “This, I think.” Like the others, it had been loaded already. “I shall have to teach you to load another time. Or after this first round.” He placed his hand against the small of her back and guided her to the shooting area.
“The most important thing is to aim with your eye and not your hand. Move your hand to match your line of sight so you’re pointing the pistol where you want to shoot.” Dougal put the pistol into her hand and moved behind her, fitting his body to hers. Her floral scent filled his senses, and he had to keep himself from closing his eyes in sensual appreciation. He clasped the outside of her hand and raised her arm. “Lift it like this and point it at the target.”
“Which one?” she asked, keeping her face directed toward the targets. “Please say that large one to the left of the post.”
He smiled next to her ear. “Yes, that one. And don’t be disappointed if you don’t hit it.”
She took a deep breath. “All right. I just pull the trigger with my finger?”
“When you’re ready, yes. Do you have your eye on the target?”
“Yes.” She adjusted the gun a bit to the right and raised it slightly. “I’m ready.”
“Fire at your leisure, my hummingbird.” He wished he hadn’t said it. A slight tremor passed across her shoulders as she pulled the trigger. The ball didn’t come close to her target.
Jess pressed her lips together and lowered her arm. “That was terrible.”
“Might I offer some advice?” Gil stepped forward.
Jess turned toward him and handed him the fired weapon. “Yes, please.”
Gil took the gun with a nod and returned it to the table. A footman immediately picked it up and began to reload it. Selecting another pistol, Gil came back, hesitating as he looked to Dougal. “Do you mind stepping aside?”
“Not at all.” Dougal moved back toward the table.
Gil took up the same position as Dougal behind Jess. She was actually slightly taller than him, but he fit himself against her just the same. Indeed, he looked as if he were pressing more firmly than Dougal had done. He spoke softly into her ear, so that Dougal couldn’t make out what he was saying.
Irritated, Dougal stalked to the blanket to refill his tankard. As he picked up the ale and cup, he watched Jess laugh at something Gil said. They looked annoyingly intimate, and jealousy spiked through Dougal, making him slosh ale over his hand as he poured.
He was being ridiculous. Gil was devoted to his wife. He was simply trying to help Jess.
Gil held her hand, his arm extended alongside hers. Then everything happened in a blur. She moved suddenly. The pistol fired. Dougal felt the ball whiz past his head.
What the absolute hell?
Dropping both the tankard and bottle without a care, Dougal strode toward Jess, who was staring at him, her eyes wide and her chest heaving. The pistol dangled from her fingertips.
“Are you all right?” She looked pale and terrified.
“I’m fine.” Dougal took the gun and handed it to a footman. As Jess began to shake, Dougal gathered her in his arms and held her close, stroking her spine from the nape to the midpoint and back again. She looked more troubled than the night they’d arrived. “I’m fine. You’ll be fine.”
She trembled against him, her hands clutching his lapel. “I don’t know what happened. Gil said something, and I startled. Why did the ball fire that way?” She looked up at him, stricken.
“Because you moved—your arm had to have moved,” he said calmly, though he wasn’t as completely fine as he let on. He’d faced danger before and accepted it as part of this job. However, things were different now. He was his father’s sole heir, and he couldn’t allow him to outlive another son, let alone his last remaining one. “It was an accident, and there was no harm done.”
“But there could have been,” she whispered, blinking back the tears that had gathered in her brilliant blue eyes.
“Shhh,” he soothed her, despite the chill permeating his spine. “All is well.” He kissed her temple and cupped the back of her neck, cradling her while he kept his other arm anchored around her waist.
She closed her eyes, and he felt a bit of the tension seep from her frame.
Dougal looked over her shoulder toward the table where the Chesmores stood together—she clung to his arm, and one of his hands covered one of hers. Gil appeared nearly as upset as Jess. Only nearly, because Dougal was certain no one could be as distraught as she was currently.
Jess slid her hands up to his neck, then cupped his jaw. “You’re sure you’re fine?” She searched his face, her features a mask of concern.
He stared into her eyes, and for that moment, the world fell away. It was just him and her, and the emotion churning between them.
