Chapter 14 #3
Alex cleared her throat, took a deep breath and blew it out like a kiss.
She unlatched her sword belt and placed it on the rocky ledge behind her.
She followed the same pattern he had shown her, taking a moment to undo her boots and remove her stockings.
She did it all while watching him. Those big, innocent eyes were wide and filled with moonlight.
His breath caught as he suddenly realized he was standing in only an undergarment with nothing to hide him if he couldn’t control his body’s reaction to her form.
He reminded himself that he wasn’t thirteen and the mere sight of a woman wasn’t enough to make him crumble.
But then she unlaced the corset that held her shirt close to her body, and the fabric billowed around her in waves.
He felt the urge to reach under it and discover the feel of her against his hands.
Before he could linger on the thought, she pulled the shirt over her head, leaving only the thin, clinging chemise to cover her, and then there wasn’t a single, rational thought in his head.
His control, where had it gone? He felt his whole body change.
A throbbing beat out of his chest and radiated through his limbs.
His own breath quickened. His muscles tensed and the smile he’d worn a second ago dropped from his face.
His arms fell to his sides, and his hands pulsed open and closed with each breath, searching in vain for a phantom connection to her.
He was no longer a lord. He was nothing more than a dumb beast.
She seemed to sense this change in him, and now it seemed to be her turn to tease him.
She bit her lip through a smile and drew a finger down between her breasts, letting her head fall back and mouth fall open as she did.
She undid the tie of her pants as she looked at him with those dark eyes, now not so innocent.
She knew what she was doing. She had known all along, he thought, feeling foolish but absolutely aroused at the same time.
Her hands slipped over her hips, past undergarments similar to his but far more revealing, exposing her bare legs to him inch by devilish inch.
Her smile was sweet—no, he thought, inviting—and in that instant, he knew that she had won.
She had won the game and he couldn’t even remember how it began.
Standing there, in the last shred of fabric that kept him from knowing her fully, she was a melody that made him ache.
Her body was strong but also remarkably delicate as the stars shimmered above her.
He would have done anything to explore her soft skin with his fingertips, his lips, his tongue.
He stood rooted to the ground, unable to look away, unable to speak. The truth was, she had wrecked him. He had no power, he had no control, only a deep well of desire. Alex held her posture, more coquettish and playful than he had ever seen her before. Then she turned and glided over to the water.
She slid into the pool, and he watched her curves disappear into the water. Then she turned back, looking at him from over her shoulder, her hair just touching the lip of water, her form outlined blue in the starlight. “What are you waiting for, camarade?” she teased.
He tried to speak but couldn’t. No words came to his lips and even if he had a thought, he didn’t think his tongue could get it out.
So instead, he took a few steps towards her in a daze.
His feet were heavy and his balance was off.
When he stepped into the water he misjudged the depth, tripped, and with a great splash, he tumbled into the pool.
When he came back up, he shook the hair and water out of his face and heard something that shot a spark of happiness through him.
Alex was laughing.
The music of her laugh brought him back to his body, and he smiled at her.
He flushed in the hot water, unsure if it was his want causing it to bubble with heat.
But perhaps the warmth came from her voice or the flood of relief that broke inside him once he realized he’d given her a reason to smile.
He looked down at the water, momentarily overwhelmed by the wish that he hadn’t behaved so badly in the past. His eyes couldn’t stay idle for long, though.
The trails of her hair reached out into the water, and he found himself following them back to her body.
The chemise did little in the way of modesty, and he saw the swell of her breast just hidden by her long hair.
She dipped herself deeper into the pool and then rose again, the water slick and glistening against her skin.
Despite his best intentions, he was enthralled and couldn’t help moving towards her.
“I should have liked to have this pool to myself,” she said with a purr, a smile still on her lips. “It seems too small for two.”
Her teasing allowed him to find his words again.
“When in truth it is far too big,” he drawled, his voice deep in his throat.
He pursued her, moving closer as she inched back around the edge of the spring.
He had tried so hard to manage his desire for her.
He had promised to keep things professional during this trip; God knew how many times his attraction for this woman had turned so terribly wrong, but it was so deep-seated in him by now that he could no longer fight it.
Alex stretched her arms out in front of her. “You stay back,” she said, that smile still in her eyes.
“I shall try,” he said. “But you have left your sword on the bank, so you have no means by which to protect yourself.”
“Well, Monsieur,” she purred again, “I am much better at grappling than I used to be.”
He groaned and fell back into the water, the words having knocked him clean over. “Now you are just teasing me,” he said when he emerged.
“I am sorry,” she said coyly, “but I don’t know what you mean.”
“You are not so na?ve that you don’t know what you are saying.” She smiled at that and continued slipping through the warm water. He was helpless to resist the pull and he continued his slow pursuit of her. “In fact,” he continued. “You are far too alluring to be so innocent.”
Her eyes opened wide as his comment put a blush in her cheeks. She looked down and drew a circle in the water. “You still don’t believe my innocence?” She asked, looking back at him, her eyes glimmering with playfulness once more.
“I do. But I don’t understand it.” He paused. “May I ask you a question?” he said.
“Aye,” she replied.
“There is something I wonder about you.”
“Aye,” she repeated.
“You shun the traditions of womanhood, but why have you not shunned…” he hesitated. “All of them?”
She looked at him quietly. “You mean to ask why I have not taken a lover?”
“Well, you have taken on the life of a man. But none of the fun.”
“Ah,” she said, tucking her chin down to her chest and looking up at him blithely. “It is very fun to take a man down with my sword.”
He moved around her, still searching for a way to get closer. “Answer my question,” he pressed.
“I will,” she said, his boldness seeming to shake her. “But then you will answer one for me?”
“I agree,” he said and took the liberty to run his eyes over her body once more.