Page 67 of An Unlikely Debutante

‘I don’t ever want to be out of control like that again. To give anyone that power over me.’

Lina was quiet for a few moments, her body still against his. ‘That, I can understand.’

As the silence stretched out, only broken by the pounding of the rain on the roof of the barn, Alex felt as though he needed to say something more, to explain his reasoning, but the truth was he didn’t know that he understood it himself.

‘If Victoria was free, not tied to your friend in marriage, would you want to be with her again?’ Lina asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

‘Definitely not. I could never trust her, never enjoy myself with her.’

Not like I do with you, a little voice in his head added. He did trust Lina and he certainly enjoyed spending time with her.

The blanket shifted as Lina rolled over, facing him in the darkness, her delicate hands resting on his chest. Alex had to stifle a groan as her breasts brushed against his arm, but did allow his hand to drape over her waist and rest in the small of her back.

‘I hope one day you are able to love again,’ Lina whispered softly, burying her head into the space between his shoulder and his jaw. ‘I just want you to be happy.’

* * *

The rain had stopped by the time Lina woke up and dawn was just breaking, sending the first rays of sunlight through the small window in the hayloft. For a few moments she felt peculiarly content and she wriggled and stretched with her eyes closed.

‘Good morning.’

Lina froze, noting the warm body next to hers, the soft skin and hard muscle underneath. As she remembered the events that had led to the night in the barn, her eyes shot open and she was on her feet in an instant, pulling the blanket to wrap around her as she rose. She was completely naked, and had spent the entire night with her body pressed against Alex’s for warmth. For a moment she remembered how good it had felt to have his arm draped across her waist, to have her body nestled against his, and she had to physically shake herself to stop from collapsing back on to the blanket and asking Alex to make her his.

Glancing down, her eyes widened. Of course he was completely naked, and she’d just whipped the blanket from him, exposing every inch of his body. She knew she should look away, but her eyes were transfixed, locked on his naked form, and nothing would entice them to move.

Alex grinned, winked at her and then rose slowly, taking his time to brush the stray bits of hay from his body before wrapping the second blanket around himself.

‘We should dress,’ Lina said quickly, picking some hay from her own hair.

‘Or we could just give in to our desires and fall back under the blankets...’

She studiously ignored his last remark, knowing it wouldn’t take much to persuade her to do exactly as he had suggested. Her body was taut with desire. Just one touch, one carefully placed finger, would have her begging and moaning for Alex to ruin her.

Their clothes were still a little damp, but no longer dripping with dirty water. Lina grimaced as she straightened out her chemise and petticoats before putting them on. They were a grimy grey colour with streaks of mud, an unpleasant reminder of the events on the road the night before.

‘We can bathe when we get home,’ Alex said, a half-smile on his face as he watched her expression.

He was clad in trousers now, just his top half-bare, and Lina risked a quick look. With his torso exposed, his body streaked with dirt and the makeshift bandage around his upper arm, he looked like some warrior of old, again reminding her of an illustration in her favourite book, Greek Gods, Heroes and Myths.

The idea of relaxing in one of the gigantic bathtubs at Whitemore House brought a smile to Lina’s face, too. Over the past few weeks she’d enjoyed lying back in the warm water, spending time lathering her hair with fragrant soaps and scrubbing her skin until it glowed. Of course she’d had baths before, but the tin tub filled with cold water her family owned didn’t quite make for the same experience.

‘Could you help me?’ Alex asked, indicating his ripped shirt and the bandage on his arm.

Lina pulled her own dress over her head before approaching Alex. The more layers of clothing between them the safer she felt. If too much of her skin touched his, she wasn’t sure she would be able to keep a clear head.

Carefully, she helped Alex manoeuvre his arm into his shirt, lifting it over his head and down over his chest, her fingers accidently grazing the solid muscles of his abdomen. Lina stepped away as if she’d been burnt, turning to fiddle with the ties on her dress to cover the deep blush she could feel was spreading across her cheeks.

‘McManus and Kitsworth should return for us soon,’ Alex said. ‘If you can make it, I think we should go back to the road, return to the carriage and wait for them there.’

Lina nodded. Despite the few hours of sleep they had managed to get she still felt exhausted, but she would be able to rest once they were safely home. Right now it was most important to get out into the open, where she was less likely to throw herself at the man she desired with every fibre of every muscle in her body.