Page 39 of Saved By the Highland Beast
“Dean!” she scolded him.
“I’m just havin’ a bit of fun, lass.” He laughed as he pulled his damp shirt over his head and kicked his clothes to the side before stepping into the tub of steaming water. His skin instantly felt warmer as he lowered his body into the tub. “I’m in,” he said with his eyes shut tightly.
He listened as she let out a deep breath and stepped into the water. He could feel the water sloshing around him as she sank into the tub.
“You can open your eyes now,” she eventually said.
Dean opened his eyes and looked at her as she blushed. He could see her bare skin up to her shoulders as she sank even lower. “Ye dinnae have to be so shy, lass. Like I said, it’s naethin’ that I haven’t seen ‘afore,” he said more seriously this time.
“Well, I haven’t,” she said hotly as her cheeks caught fire.
“Oh…” He raised his eyebrows. “I didnae take into account that ye had never—”
“I’m a lady!” she hissed. “I would never!”
“Dinnae bite me head off, lass,” he said. “I didnae mean to imply anythin’. Ye came here for a safe place to stay for a few months. At least that’s what the letter yer maither wrote to me said. Now ye’ve been here for a few months. I can see that ye are nae with child, but that doesnae mean that naethin’ else happened.”
“Have you been thinking that I was a lady that had fallen from grace this entire time that I’ve been here at the castle?” she asked in disbelief, her mouth hanging slightly open.
“I didnae mean to imply anythin’ of the sort,” he said with his hands raised in surrender. “I just meant that I dinnae ken why ye needed a safe place to stay for a few months.”
“Well, it had nothing to do with any of that.” She tilted her head to the side.
He examined the angry way she wrinkled her nose before saying, “Sorry, lass, I didnae mean to insult ye. Anyone that spends any time with ye at all will see that ye are a fine and virtuous lady.”
Sophia pouted slightly as she moved as far away from him in the tub as she possibly could.
“I mean, ye nae havin’ seen anythin’ ‘afore would explain why ye thought that Nessie was a boy.” He bit his lower lip as he waited for her response.
Her mouth curled into the faintest of smiles despite her best efforts. Slowly bringing her hand up, she splashed him with water.
“Ye will make an even bigger mess, lass.” He laughed and wiped the soapy water from his face.
“Thank you for giving me a place to stay for a few months. I really needed to leave London, but I can assure you that my virtue is very much intact,” she said honestly.
Dean searched her face as she averted her eyes and looked to the side, debating in his mind if he should ask her why she had to leave London. Deciding that he shouldn’t pry and that she would probably tell him of her own accord when the time was right, he reached for the bar of soap and began to wash himself. They bathed in silence for a few minutes as he tried his best to avert his gaze. Sophia’s naked form was making him feel dangerous things.
“What’s that?” she suddenly asked in a panic as she stared at a spot in the water.
“What is what?” He followed the direction of her gaze. There was nothing visible in the water that he could see.
“There it is again!” she suddenly screamed and flew toward him, making the water splash over the sides of the tub.
Dean caught her in his arms and moved her defensively to the side as he strained to see what it was.
“Oh my God, it is moving!” she squealed and hid her face in his neck.
Dean suddenly caught sight of something swimming and thrust his hand into the water, holding her body close to his with his other arm as she clung to him for dear life. He brought his hand up when he clutched the object in his fingers. Throwing his head back, he let out a laugh and shook his head.
“What are you laughing at?” Sophia asked as she lifted her head but quickly covered her face with her fingers again.
“Ye can look, lass. It’s just a clump of matted hair from the dog. It must have come loose an’ landed in the tub when ye were fightin’ with her.” He continued to laugh.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she peered through her fingers at his hand. “That is disgusting,” she said, wrinkling her nose and lowering her hands.
“It came from yer dog,” he pointed out as he brought the clump of hair a little closer to her face.
“No, no, you can throw that out of the tub,” she said and pushed his hand away from her.
