Chapter Fourteen
Alex watched as Lina half ran, half skipped down the hill. She was almost at the edge of the lake before he moved. Everything about this was a bad idea, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.
‘It’s a hot day,’ he murmured to himself. ‘There’s nothing wrong with wanting to cool off with a swim. It’s perfectly innocent.’
There was nothing innocent about the thoughts running through his head. He was already picturing how Lina would slip out of her clothes and wade into the water, her skin puckering and tightening in the cool, refreshing water.
Behave, he told himself. Despite the mounting attraction he’d felt for Lina over the past few weeks his sister’s words were still ringing in his mind. She’d warned him again to be careful—dallying with Lina would just end in heartbreak and animosity.
Trying to keep his movements slow and measured, Alex reached the lake just as Lina began unlacing her dress.
‘Help me?’ she asked, turning her back to him and indicating the ties that held the high waist of her skirt in place.
Alex had undressed many young women in his youth, although not in the past three years, but he felt a light tremble to his fingers as he pulled at the ends of the ties and loosened the fastenings of Lina’s skirt. Despite the warm day Lina had several layers on, as young women were expected to wear, whatever the weather, but still he could feel the heat of her skin as his fingers trailed across her lower back.
‘Thank you,’ Lina said, turning around. They were standing close, too close for propriety, but Alex knew their proximity would be the least scandalous thing that happened this afternoon. It was unheard of, stripping down with a young woman to go swimming, but Alex knew good manners and society’s expectations for his behaviour would not be enough to stop him from diving into the lake after Lina.
‘Turn around,’ Lina instructed him.
Alex didn’t move, instead tugging at his own shirt, pulling it over his head. He saw Lina’s eyes flit to his chest, saw her lose the battle with her self-control as her eyes roamed over his body.
‘Are you sure you don’t need any more help?’ he asked. ‘I wouldn’t want you getting tangled in all those underclothes.’
The idea of slowly stripping every layer from Lina’s body created a surge of desire, and although he knew she’d say no, he desperately wanted her to say yes.
‘Turn around,’ Lina instructed again.
This time he complied, turning slowly so his back was towards the lake. The rustling of material fuelled his imagination as he waited for Lina to undress behind him, all the time fighting the ungentlemanly urge to turn and peek.
After what felt like an eternity of anticipation he heard a quiet splashing sound and a soft yelp. It was excuse enough to turn and seek out Lina with his eyes, just to make sure she wasn’t hurt, of course.
She was clad in a thin chemise that ended just below the knee. With the sunlight shining down, the outline of Lina’s body was just about visible through the fabric. Alex felt his body tightening in response and had to fight the urge to sweep her from the water, pull the chemise over her head and lay her down on the grass with his body covering hers.
‘You looked,’ Lina said, accusingly. ‘Turn around.’
‘You screamed.’
‘I exclaimed quietly. The water is rather cold. Turn around.’
She took a few more steps into the lake before looking to see if he had complied with her order.
‘You’re still looking.’
‘It seems I have lost the ability to turn away,’ Alex murmured quietly.
With a huff Lina waded farther into the lake, the water now up to mid-thigh level and dragging on the hem of her chemise.
Quickly Alex stripped off his breeches, took a few steps to his left where he knew the lake was deeper and dived straight in. The coldness almost took his breath away and as he opened his eyes under the water everything was brown and murky. He allowed himself a leisurely glide through the water, feeling his body adjust to the cold and his muscles flex as he began to swim. He surfaced near the middle of the lake, enjoying the burn in his lungs as he sucked in a deep breath to replenish what he had used.
‘I thought you wanted a swim?’ he called over to Lina, who was still slowly wading towards him.
‘It’s a little colder than I imagined.’
‘Nonsense, it’s refreshing.’
Swimming closer, he debated whether she would forgive him if he pulled her down. The idea of their bodies entwining under the water was too enticing as Alex paused beside her.
‘Don’t do it,’ she warned.
‘What?’
‘Whatever it is you’re thinking about.’
Alex grinned, gripped her firmly around the waist and pulled her down, making sure at no point her head went under the water. Lina screamed as the cold hit the upper part of her body and wriggled free from his embrace.
‘That was cruel.’
‘You were taking too long getting in. I used to do the same to Georgina when we were children.’
‘I might not have wanted to be dunked under.’
‘I kept your head dry.’
Lina muttered something under her breath, flipped over on to her back and began kicking her legs, propelling herself through the cool water. From his position, bobbing on the surface, Alex had a wonderful view of the swell of her breasts through the wet cotton of her chemise. Willing himself to be a gentleman and look away, he found his eyes would not obey the command.
‘You swim well,’ Alex commented as he pulled himself through the water beside her.
‘Raul taught me. Neither of my parents could swim, but Raul and I, and a few of our friends, will often cool down in a lake or a pond on a hot day.’
Alex felt an unexpected stab of jealousy at the thought of these friends swimming with Lina, seeing her with her chemise plastered to her body. Although he knew the presence of her brother would mean nothing untoward had ever happened, he still didn’t want anyone else enjoying this experience with Lina.
‘I learnt to swim here,’ Alex said, realising he hadn’t told Lina much about himself or his past. She knew a lot about him, from gossiping with his sister and the servants, but he didn’t often share much about his life. ‘My father used to bring me and Georgina on hot days. Sometimes our mother would join us, too.’
‘Your mother would come in for a swim?’ Lina asked, her eyes wide.
Alex nodded. ‘My mother wasn’t a conventional marchioness. She and my father were very much in love, they used to spend much of their time together and Father could persuade her to do almost anything.’
‘Including swimming in a lake.’
‘Exactly. We used to return home dripping wet and Mother would hurry us all upstairs before too many of the servants saw us.’
‘It sounds like you loved your mother very much.’
‘She was kind and very much involved in our upbringing. We had a nursemaid, of course, and later I went off to school, but our parents were of the opinion that we were their children, so it was their responsibility, and their pleasure, to bring us up.’
‘You must miss them.’
Alex lay back in the water and allowed his feet to float to the surface. ‘I do miss them. I miss my father’s sage advice and my mother’s warm affection.’
As they bobbed side by side, Alex wondered what his parents would make of his arrangement with Lina. His father would often make small wagers, challenge his wife or children to a race or a game of croquet, with the loser having to shoulder some small household task. His mother, however, would caution him just as Georgina had. She would worry about Lina getting hurt and about her son forming an attachment to someone that could not last.
Glancing over at Lina, he felt a swell of affection. She was argumentative and sometimes irritating, but over the past few weeks he had enjoyed the vitality and energy she’d brought to Whitemore House. If he wasn’t so damned attracted to her, he would class her as a good friend, but Alex knew a friendship could not work when one party imagined the other naked and in his arms multiple times a day.
Perhaps he had dismissed the idea of making Lina his mistress too quickly. Although it would complicate their arrangement regarding the wager, especially since his widowed aunt was arriving to chaperone them this evening, a few weeks with Lina in his bed might just satisfy the physical craving he had for her. His mind started to run away from him as he imagined sharing breakfast with Lina every morning, spending long afternoons out riding, talking and laughing as they did so easily together, and falling into bed and satisfying their desires every night. With a jolt, he realised that sounded more like marriage than a relationship with a mistress and quickly tried to get his fantasies under control.
‘You look rather serious,’ Lina said. ‘A penny for your thoughts?’
‘I was thinking how beautiful you look wet.’
Lina jerked with surprise, the movement causing her head to dip under the water, and she came up spluttering. Alex was immediately by her side, one arm looped around her waist. The fabric of her chemise clung tight to her body as Alex resisted the temptation to let his fingers roam over the curve of her waist.
‘You must know you’re beautiful,’ he said, looking down into her eyes.
She gave a miniscule shake of her head, but Alex could tell it was just a reflex, she was too affected by his proximity to answer properly.
‘I’m sure many men have told you how beautiful you are,’ he murmured. ‘How could they not?’
With his free hand, he smoothed back the wet strands of hair from around her face, letting his fingers dance across the skin of her cheek and down to the line of her jaw. Perhaps just one kiss would slake his desire, perhaps then he would be able to think clearly and rationally.
‘How could they not be enchanted by your smile? Bewitched by that sparkle in your eyes?’
Still Lina did not say anything, but Alex could feel her chest heaving against his body and knew more than anything she wanted to be kissed. Surely if he wanted it and she wanted it, there could be nothing wrong with one quick kiss?
Before his conscience could rear its head, Alex lowered his lips on to hers, kissing her gently at first until he felt her rise to meet him. As her body pressed against his, he could no longer hold back and kissed her as he’d wanted to for so long. Unable to stop himself, he laced his hands around her back, pulling her even closer, until he wasn’t sure where his body ended and hers began.
‘Alex,’ she moaned as he pulled away slightly so he could kiss the angle of her jaw and her thrown-back neck. The sound of his name from her lips stoked the fire that was burning inside him and it took all of Alex’s self-control to stop the encounter going any further. He would not seduce her, not here, not now. He respected her too much for that. But maybe just one more kiss...
As her lips met his, Alex felt a jolt all through his body. It was as though he’d been asleep these last few years and kissing Lina, touching Lina, was finally waking him up.
Her lips were velvety, soft and warm despite the coolness of her skin and Alex knew he could lose himself in her kiss if he wasn’t careful. Reluctantly he pulled away, loving the desire he could see burning in Lina’s eyes and the way her body was still pressed against his.
They stood, still submerged up to their shoulders in the middle of the lake, and for a few seconds neither of them could string together a coherent sentence.
‘You’re shivering,’ Alex said, noticing the goosebumps on her skin for the first time. Quickly, before Lina could protest or before he could think his actions through, Alex scooped her into his arms and began to wade through the water. As their bodies rose out of the water, there was an initial chill, despite the high temperatures. Alex knew once they were dry they would be warm, but he increased his pace a little so Lina would not suffer. As they reached the water’s edge, he made the mistake of glancing down. Lina’s cotton chemise, normally white, was now almost entirely transparent, revealing the olive skin below. He could see every curve, every swell and undulation, and he felt his resolve not to seduce her falter.
The water had pushed her chemise up to the top of her thighs and with one finger Alex was able to trace the simple bird she had tattooed in blue ink on her perfect skin. He heard her gasp as his fingers lingered over the outline.
For a second their eyes met and Alex could see the battle between desire and sensibility in Lina’s mind. He knew one kiss, one stroke with a solitary finger, and she would be his, completely, entirely, just as he had imagined a thousand times these last few days.
Reluctantly Lina wriggled free from his arms and quickly gathered up her clothes, holding them in front of her as a shield.
‘We should dress,’ she said, valiantly trying to keep her eyes from wandering over his body.
‘We should.’
Neither moved.
‘We might catch a chill.’
‘We might.’
Still they both stood, a few paces apart, but unable to pull their eyes from one another.
‘You should turn around,’ Lina said eventually.
With great effort Alex managed to comply and turned to look out over the lake. After a few seconds, he heard Lina turn, too, and begin the process of shedding her soaked chemise and donning her dress and petticoats. Trying to distract himself from the knowledge Lina was standing completely naked just a few feet away, Alex shed his own soaked layer and pulled on his breeches.
Far from slaking his desire for Lina, their kiss had just heightened it. Now his mind was filled with images and memories and fantasies. He desperately wanted to kiss her again, to taste her sweet mouth, to run his lips over her jaw, her neck, down on to her breasts. He yearned to feel her body underneath him, writhing in pleasure as he entered her, see her face as she climaxed with him deep inside her.
Just these thoughts were enough to make Alex consider another cold swim.
He’d never set out to seduce Lina, never intended to make her his mistress when he’d accepted the wager Pentworthy had proposed, but now Alex knew it would be almost impossible to keep his hands off her for another four weeks. Perhaps the best thing for everyone involved would be to make her his mistress, just for a short time. That way he would be legitimising their intimacy, and hopefully by the time he won his wager he would be able to think a little more clearly when Lina was close. After all, none of his other mistresses had kept him interested for more than a few months. Then again, no one intrigued him quite like Lina.