Page 63 of Magic Touch
Those bright blue eyes of his are full of worry.
I should be comforting him, but the residual terror clings to me.
He pries my hand free of the towel I'm clutching. "I have strict orders to remain in this healing water for thirty minutes. Take off your clothes and join me?"
"You need rest." My argument is very weak.
"What I need is you in my arms. More importantly, you need to know that I am here and unharmed."
There is no denying it. To touch him, all of him, is exactly what I need. After returning the towel and robe to the chair, I strip out of my clothes. The letter from Minerva falls to the floor. I place it on top of my skirt before bolting the door.
Unashamedly naked, I slink back to the tub and climb in so that my back presses against his chest and my legs slide between his bent knees. Water sloshes to the floor. Closing my eyes, I relax into him, and his arms wrap around me. My voice is more sigh than speech. "Goddess, I needed this."
He presses a kiss where my neck meets my shoulder. "Forgive me for scaring you."
"Never." Then softer. "I don't understand how you could drown, or how you were held. The magic I sensed was dark, and I've never felt anything like it before. It hardly felt like magic."
"What besides magic could do it?" He traces paths up and down my arms before one hand curls around my abdomen and the other under my breast. He holds me as if I might disappear.
"A demon would use magic that would feel so different to me that I might mistake it for something else." Even as the words form in my head, I know there is some truth to them.
"What would anyone, even a demon, gain from my death or Trina's?"
The scents of milk thistle and chamomile fill my senses, and I lean my head back against his shoulder. "I don't know, but we don't know what purpose brought you to me and sparked your magic back to life, or even what you are capable of."
His voice is mixed with a yawn. "I wish I had the energy to make love to you, but I fear if I don't get out of this tub soon, you will have to save me from a second drowning in the same day."
Reluctantly, I get out of the magically warmed water. I use magic to dry myself before handing him the towel. Once he's in his robe, I tuck him into bed and press my lips to his. "I'll come back and check on you."
He pats the mattress beside him. "Why don't you stay?"
"I want to check on Trina. Besides, it's the middle of the day. Don't you think the house will notice if I lay in bed with you all day and night."
Closing his eyes, he smiles. "I have nothing to hide."
"Nor I, William. I will be back." It's harder than it should be to leave him sleeping. Whatever held him to the muddy bottom of the pool might return for him. Perhaps Trina got a sense of the thing.
At the door to the room she shares with Anne, I knock. A chair scrapes the wood floor, and Anne opens the door.
"How is she?"
Anne smiles gently and pulls the door farther open to let me in. "She's fine. Tired and frightened, but unharmed."
The room has two beds, each with a nightstand, a dresser, and a wardrobe. The walls are white, and the floors are dark brown from age. No rug or desk adorn the simple room. In the bed near the wall, Trina is propped up with pillows. Dark rings show under her bloodshot eyes.
"Is Sir William alright?" she asks.
"He is sleeping." I sit on the edge of her bed.
Anne clears her throat. "I'll just get you some hot tea and be right back."
It’s the first time since I met Trina that she's seemed unsure of herself. At only eighteen, she's more girl than woman. Staring down at her fingers clasped in her lap, she says, "He would have died to save me."
"Of course."
Snapping her head up, her gaze meets mine. "Why? He doesn't even like me."
"I think he likes you fine, Trina. But the answer to your question is because it is his nature." My heart swells with love for him. I'm overflowing with it, as well as shame for pushing him away.
