Page 45 of The Beast of Ashwood Manor

Unable to keep myself up, I grabbed him, and we both fell into the water, my bum hitting the sand and the water splashing into my eyes and mouth.

Frantic, I looked over at him as I got to my knees, only to laugh as I saw how drenched he’d become.

“Shit,” he huffed, brows low. He scrambled to his feet. “That’s freezing.”

I tried to stifle my laugh with my hand, but to no avail. The water was icy indeed, but it had been a humorous fall.

“What’s so funny?”

“Your face when you got wet.” I laughed as I tried to get up.

He relaxed. “Well, I didn’t plan on a swim today.”

Before I could say anything else, another wave pounded into us, knocking us both back down. This time, Gil rose up from the water with a crooked smile on his face.

He wiped the water from his face and held a hand out for me. “Come on, before it rips us out to sea.”

I grabbed his hand and let him pull me up. We both ran out of the water before another wave could come for us, and as my body hit the cold breeze, I shivered violently.

“Here.” Gil picked up his cloak from a rock and brought it around my shoulders, wrapping me in it.

I felt warmer, but now all I was doing was soaking his cloak. I looked up at him, teeth chattering, and smiled. “That was f-fun.”

He looked around before coming close to me. “Perhaps on another day, we can walk a bit along the beach. You know, when there haven’t been any other attacks.”

“I-I’d like that,” I said, nodding.

Brushing my wet hair away from my face, Gil asked, “How do you spellswim?”

“S-W-I-M,” I said, breathless as I looked up at his eyes.

“Andsand?”

“S-A-N-D.”

“Andkiss?”

I didn’t answer, and instead watched him as he leaned in close. When his warm lips grazed mine, I closed my eyes. Then his mouth pressed against my lips, and I parted my own, inviting him inside.

His tongue was warm as it dove in and out, and I forgot about the cold that gripped me. His hands found my face, cupping my cheeks gently, and I placed my palm against his chest, my fingers grasping at his soaked shirt.

The sensation of being wanted fell over me. I had kissed before, but never like this, where it felt as though I couldn’t get enough of him, of the feel of his scratchy beard or the taste of salt and something else on him that reminded me of cherries. And then I recalled him eating the fruit earlier, and I sucked on his bottom lip, eager to taste more.

He pulled away, breathless, and looked down at me, holding me slightly apart from him.

Taking a heavy breath, I said, “K-I-S-S.”

His grin melted me, sinking me into a wonderful place I’d never been to before. My heart skipped a beat, and I knew, by the way he looked at me, that he also felt the same.

On our way back up to the manor, I braced myself for the others’ reactions as Gil and I made our way through the courtyard. Edgar looked at us in stunned silence, but Eugenia ran up to us, her face concerned.

“Are you all right?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Was there another attack?”

“We’re fine,” Gil said, his voice low. “Cale wanted to see the sea, and we both fell in.”

Eugenia relaxed. “Oh. Is that so?” She smiled.

“Yes, that’s all,” he huffed.

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