Page 28 of Waiting for a Scot Like You
“Holy God!” she yelped, sinking lower into the water.
A second later, he spun around, presenting her with his back. “Didn’t see anything,” he rasped.
It was a lie, and they both knew it. “Towel. At the foot of the bed.”
With his back still angled to her, he edged nearer and reached toward where the towel was draped. Unfortunately, because he wasn’t looking where he was going, his hand first touched her shoulder. Her naked, wet shoulder.
Beatrice yelped again, and he made a strangled sound.
“Apologies,” he muttered. “Trying to get the—”
“Two feet in the other direction,” she said through clenched teeth. It was one thing to deliberately attend an orgy. She wouldn’t mind people seeing her naked inthatcontext. But having the major interrupt hernow, without her intending it to happen, that was damned different.
Major McCameron shuffled closer to the bed and mercifully was able to grab the towel, which he thrust toward her.
“I’m getting out,” she warned grimly. “Don’t look.”
“Not looking.” His gaze was fixed on the door.
Shaking with lingering arousal, she stood and wrapped the towel around herself. She’d been moments away from a climax when he’d appeared—and her body wanted that release.
“What are you doing up so soon? You said you’d be down in the taproom with your friends.” She rubbed the towel over her body as quickly as possible, trying to dry herself so that when she put on her nightgown and rail, they didn’t stick to her damp skin. Unfortunately, her nipples were still firm, and the towel’s abrasion sent little sparks of sensation through her.
Mentally, she willed her body tocalm down.
“They went to bed early to catch the morning’s first mail coach,” he growled over his shoulder. “Andyousaid you were weary, so I thought you’d gone to sleep already. There was no light under the door, so, no, I didn’t expect to find you in the bath and... in the bath.”
Shuddering with persistent desire, she might have to dunk herself in the tub again.
“There’s plenty of moonlight,” she fired back before tearing open her traveling case. Too intent on seizing her nightclothes, she barely noticed as books went tumbling across the floor. As she threw the garments on, she added, “I didn’t need a candle.”
“Of course,” he said, his tone patently disbelieving.
She cinched the belt on her robe. “You can turn around now.”
He did so, but his gaze touched on her for a moment before fluttering away like a moth. “I’ll just... I’ll light a candle.”
“Unnecessary at this point,” she said with a shaky laugh. “You’ve seen all there is to see.”
Still, the candle blazed to life, and after the more subtle illumination of the moonlight, the room felt overbright now. Everything stood out in stark relief—including the fact that his erection hadn’t fully subsided. Or the fact that her nipples were still hard as gemstones.
The lingering sensation of his hand against her bare skin made her shiver. She’d learned already that he had a rather rough hand, slightly calloused, but now she knew that it easily covered her shoulder.
He had large hands. She now had visual proof that other aspects of his body were proportionate.
He looked at her, then looked away. “Were you—”
“I’m not responding to that.”
“Aye,” he said again. A long, awkward pause followed. “Got an early start tomorrow.” His voice dipped a full octave. “I’ll have the bath removed, and then we should go to bed.”
Her heart pitched. “Oh, damn. I’d been so eager to have a bath, I hadn’t considered the repercussions. Mrs. Banerjee said that it can’t be retrieved until the morning.”
“But...” He cleared his throat. “It’s covering the part of the floor where I intend to sleep.”
She inhaled, resigning herself to one irrefutable fact. “We’re going to have to... share the bed.” He was silent for a long time, and she said, “I promise I won’t overpower and ravish you.”
“You can’t overpower me.” He lifted a brow.
