He wasn’t sure he had ever been in a room with her without being a little bit aroused, so while he wasn’t completely hard, there was something for her to see. She gasped, her mouth rounding and her eyes widening, her cheeks turning not just pink but a brilliant red.
“Tommy!” she gasped, and he grinned at her before wrapping the towel around himself.
He shrugged. “We’re married and I’m fine with it,” he said, before beginning to dry himself, pleased when she didn’t turn around.
He normally slept naked, but he drew on some soft pants for her own modesty before he slid under the blanket on the ground.
“Goodnight, Minnie,” he said with a smile on his lips, before finally falling asleep, content in knowing that even if his wife didn’t love him, she was certainly attracted to him.
And that, he could work with.
Chapter Fifteen
Minnie loved walking along the Manchester docks. The salt in the air, the calls of the workers, the looming ships in the background — if she could describe it all in one word, it would be freedom.
Freedom to set sail to anywhere one might put their mind to, the first step to travel anywhere in the world that one might dream of.
She had always felt the need to escape the life that had been planned for her, chosen for her — until now.
As she approached the red brick building, with the familiar sign out front, all her emotions had shifted.
She wasn’t interested in running away from the life awaiting her, looking to find something new.
She wasn’t excited to visit her father, to discover more about his operations, as she had always been before.
She wasn't accompanied by her mother, who was eager to make plans for her to find another suitor, another potential to increase their social standing and their wealth.
No, today she was on the arm of her husband, a man she was enjoying spending time with.
A man she would like to know far better than she did, especially after the show she had received last night, one that she would greatly like to see again.
As for this conversation, it was one she was dreading, even though she knew it was necessary.
“Are we certain about this?” Minnie asked, looking at Tommy with some trepidation as they stood in front of the door, away from men hauling shipping containers back and forth.
“Not in the least,” he said, although there was much more confidence in his voice than Minnie felt. “But we talked about it this morning. We cannot continue to sit around, waiting for your father or Blackwood to make a move against us. From what Jonny told me, Blackwood is dangerous. If he isn’t happy with your father, we don’t know if he will take it out on you. We cannot spend our lives looking over our shoulders. Hell, I could barely play on Saturday, as I was worried about you alone in the stands.”
“I wasn’t alone,” she said, even though the fact that he was so worried about her warmed something within her. “I was with my friends.”
“Do you think you could all defend yourselves from someone out to cause you harm?”
“Actually, I do,” she said. “Did you not see what Emmaline did last year?”
“True,” he said, tilting his head in consideration. “Still. We’re both worried about consequences. I don’t like sitting around waiting for something to happen. Far better to take control of it.”
Minnie nodded, considering his words. It was how they had ended up in this marriage. Instead of waiting to see who her father would marry her off to, Tommy had decided to take action and marry her himself.
They were just about to step through the door whenTommy pulled on Minnie’s arm so hard that she would have fallen over had he not been there to catch her, holding her close to his chest.
“Over here,” he said in her ear, as he led her over to the shadows created between the building and crates stacked behind them.
“What in the world are we doing?” she asked, incredulously. He just shook his head, placing a finger over his lips as he nodded toward a pair of men standing behind him, lowering his head and bending over her, hiding her from the men as he made it appear they were a loving couple caught in an intimate moment.
For a brief time, Minnie forgot her surprise as she was suddenly overcome by just how much she enjoyed standing in front of Tommy like this. One hand was high over her head, the other on the wall beside her hip. This late in the day, he smelled like the blacksmith shop, a scent that she was beginning to enjoy more than she ever thought possible. The heady leather and soot smell filled her, and she closed her eyes for a moment, as her only other options were to stare into his chest or look up into his eyes.
If she did that, she might want to kiss him, and she had no intention of forcing anything, especially not here on the docks with her father’s warehouse behind them.
“That’s Blackwood,” he whispered, and Minnie’s eyes flew open again as she peered over his shoulder at the two men.
