Nigel’s chest tightened. The feeling of her hand on his shoulder. The nearness of her mouth when he turned his head to look at her. He stared down into her eyes, blood roaring louder than the waterfall in his ears. His lips moved, almost against his will, and his head inclined ever-so slightly.
But she turned away. Sat down at the top of that nearly-hidden slide. Before Nigel could react or utter any word of protest, she pushed herself off, flung her arms up into the air. With a great “Whoop!”and rush of water, she vanished over the edge.
Heart racing, Nigel hastened to look down. He watched her ride the slide from one waterfall tier to the next, splashing and laughing all the way. A sense of inevitability came over him—like a vision of some not-so-distant future, when the currents of life would surely carry her away from him, and this time they shared together became little more than a memory.
She spilled out into the final pool with a shriek that carried all the way to the top. Scattering bubbles and foam, she whirled around, looked up at him where he stood, and waved both arms over her head, smiling hugely and beckoning.
“All right, Miss Talbot,” Nigel muttered. “I’m coming.” Swallowing back a knot of dread, he took his place at the top ofthe slide. Fear gnawed his insides, more potent than he liked to admit.
Then he whispered: “It could be glorious.”
With a push of both hands, he cast himself out into that flow, felt the current take him and carry him into the wild exhilaration of swift descent.
Luna did not think she would ever fully accustom herself to the sight of Mr. Grimm’s face broken into an expression of pure laughter.
She’d seen him laugh before, of course. A low chuckle, a smile half-hidden behind his hand. Even the occasional outbreak of real, unexpected, and undisguised mirth. But never like this. Never with his mouth wide open and his eyes so bright, and a little dash of terror underscoring the hilarity of it all. It was so beautiful, so adorable, so unbearably . . .
“Sexy,” she whispered.
Then hastily ducked her face down into the water, letting the shocked gasp escape in a series of bubbles. Had she really just saidthat?Kind-of-sort-ofout loud?
Mr. Grimm reached the bottom of the waterslide and tumbled out into the water. It was not terribly deep here, despite her initial concerns. He soon found his footing and surged up out of the pool, choking, then laughing, his face brilliantly lit-up as though from the inside. It made her ache to see it. She felt as though she was catching a glimpse of the man heshould havebeen.The man hewould have been,had the circumstances of his life taken another shape. If it weren’t for the father who never loved him. The brother who despised him. The mother who perished when he was born. Not to mention Janet and the terrible hole left behind in his heart from her loss.
But here and now, all those hurts were momentarily swept away, and before her was the Nigel Grimm the gods themselves had created. Unmarred, unwarped by pain and sin. Perfect.
He spun in the water, churning foam with his arms, searching for her. She crouched, hiding both her exposed body and half her face in the water, but he spotted her and pointed an accusing finger. “You, Miss Talbot,” he cried, his voice loud enough to be heard over the waterfall’s roaring, “are a blithering lunatic!”
Luna popped out of the water and shot a fountain stream between her teeth. It hit him in the nose, and he jerked backwards and sank up to his chest once more. “I prefer feral chaos fairy, thank you very much, Mr. Grimm,” she said and moved into a float on her back. “Want to go again?”
“Not in a thousand lifetimes!”
She grinned. “But you will anyway, won’t you?”
He did. They both went down that waterslide three more times each. And Mr. Grimm laughed each time he emerged from the water, and Luna melted each time she saw it. It didn’t hurt that his clothing clung to his lithe body in a way that was almost more revealing than if he was truly undressed. Several times she had to bite back the suggestion that he remove his trousers, which did seem rather heavy as he waded to and from the pool’s edge. Somehow, she didn’t think there was a way to make that suggestion that wasn’t innately inappropriate.
So she bit her tongue and went to ride the slide one last time. She couldn’t help noticing during this climb to the top that the air wasn’t as sweltering as it had been. Perhaps Garden was beginning to level out. Her brow puckered at that thought, evenas she took her seat at the top of the waterfall. Once Garden regulated, and the door unlocked, there would be no excuse for the two of them to remain out here. Mr. Grimm would hasten back inside and up to his shower, where he would freshen up for his date tonight. With Bryony.
Setting her jaw, Luna pushed off and let the rush and roar of the water outrun the sick, twisting jealousy in her gut. It worked—for the entire length of the ride. But by the time she splashed into the pool, by the time she righted herself and turned to watch Mr. Grimm’s descent, it was back again. A tight, uncomfortable knot.
She shivered suddenly and rubbed her arms. Her skin was beginning to prickle, and the wind that blew down into the pool was nippy.
Mr. Grimm splashed down, pulled himself upright, his face once more unrecognizable with laughter. He turned her way, noticing how she stood with her arms wrapped around herself, and his expression immediately melted into one of concern. “Are you all right, Miss Talbot?”
“Oh, yes,” she answered at once. Then added, “Is it just me, or is it getting a bit chilly?”
As though her words brought his attention to the fact, Mr. Grimm shivered and looked up at the clear sky overhead. “The temperature does seem to be dropping.” He glanced her way again, then bounced his gaze quickly, seeking the shore where they’d left their clothing. “We’d best get out. And you should dress.”
Luna waded with him, avoiding the deepest part of the pool, and clambered up onto the stone ledge. Her teeth were chattering by then, and her limbs were beginning to shake.
“You’d better take off that wet slip,” Mr. Grimm said, even as he hauled himself out behind her. He did not meet her swiftly-cast glance. “It won’t do you any good, soaking through your blouse and skirt from underneath.”
Luna nodded. “What about you?” she asked. She’d not considered this eventuality when she pulled him into the pool fully clothed. His only dry articles were his jacket, his waistcoat, and his socks, which, no matter how you configured them, weren’t going to do him a whole lot of good on their own.
“Let’s just hurry back to the door, shall we?” he said, shaking out his sodden trousers. Turning his back to her, he slipped his suspenders off his shoulders, crossed his arms, and peeled his wet undershirt off, and Luna found herself unexpectedly staring at his bare back.
His very pleasing, very toned, bare back.
She swallowed hard.
