Chapter 12 #2
Reassured, she made a quiet attempt to shift her weight and step toward the next stair, but the movement forced a sharp, sudden limp. Her breath hitched as her balance faltered once more, her body instinctively leaning back into his frame.
Nathaniel’s hand tightened firmly around her waist, anchoring her to his side. He looked down at her foot, his brows drawing together. “Does it hurt so much?”
“Not exactly,” she managed to say, trying to sound brave despite the throbbing in her ankle. “I am certain it will be perfectly fine in a few days. I don’t think it is broken. It is just... a little bit of a twist. It is fine.”
Nathaniel paused for a small second, his gaze dropping to her buckled ankle before rising back to her face. Euphemia opened her mouth, her lips parting to reassure him once again that she was fine, but the words never left her throat.
In one swift, seamless motion, he leaned down and swept her completely off her feet.
A sharp gasp escaped her again as the world tilted.
One of his arms came behind her back, one beneath her knees, and then the ground was gone and she was against his chest. She went rigid in his embrace, her hands hovering awkwardly in the air, as shock paralyzing her.
The overwhelming reality of his strength hit her all at once as he carried her effortlessly.
Every point of contact burned through the layers of her gown.
“I —” She pushed at his shoulder. “Put me down, Your Grace. I can walk.”
“Put your arms around my neck,” Nathaniel said softly, his voice vibrating right against her ribs.
Euphemia didn’t move. She remained completely frozen, her heart hammering so wildly against her corset that she was certain he could feel it. The proximity was too intense, his scent enveloping her senses so thoroughly that she could barely think.
“Euphemia,” he murmured, pausing at the base of the stairs as his eyes locked onto hers in the dim light.
“Yes?” she breathed.
“Put your arms around me. You are unsteady and I cannot take the stairs safely if you are pushing against me.”
Her fingers trembled, but she managed a small, hesitant nod. “All right.”
Slowly, she reached up and looped her arms around the broad, warm column of his neck. The moment her palms settled against his skin, a shivering heat raced down her spine. Nathaniel turned and began to ascend the grand stone staircase.
She could feel the servants peering at them, but she was too consumed by her own thoughts to care about it.
As they moved through the corridors, her mind began to drift.
She looked at the sharp line of his jaw, so close to her own face, and a sudden, overwhelming emotion swelled in her chest. Without even realizing what she was doing, she instinctively tightened her arms around his neck, pulling herself just a fraction closer to his warmth.
The moment she did, she felt his own grip tighten in response. His large hands shifted, lifting her slightly higher against his chest with a protective, possessive squeeze that made her breath catch.
The intensity of it all became too much to bear.
Temples throbbing with a dizzying sweetness, she felt a powerful temptation to simply shut her eyes and escape the overwhelming reality of his gaze.
Yielding to the urge, she closed them tightly and leaned her head forward, resting her brow gently against the firm crook of his shoulder.
It felt like the most natural, inevitable thing in the world to do.
Feeling safe in his arms, the rhythmic, rocking motion of his stride combined with the exhausting emotional toll of the night began to take over.
A deep, heavy sleepiness settled over her.
She clung to him in the darkness of her closed eyelids, secretly wishing with a desperate, aching fondness that this moment would never have to end.
They reached the door to her bedchamber, the click of the latch signaling their arrival. Nathaniel stepped inside the darkened room, stepping toward the soft expanse of her bed, and prepared to finally set her down.
As he laid her down, his upper body hovered just inches above hers, his hands lingering under her shoulders and knees for a fraction of a second too long.
He cleared his throat softly. “I reckon your maid will be in shortly to prepare you for the night, Euphemia.”
Instead of answering him, Euphemia stared up into his sharp eyes, completely intoxicated by his proximity, and blurted out the first thing roaming through her dazed mind.
“You smell incredibly nice.”
The words hung in the quiet space between them. Euphemia’s heart nearly stopped.
Why on earth did you say that aloud, you absolute simpleton?