Page 110 of Sands of Sirocco
A shadow blocked the light and she jolted.A set of firm hands clasped her elbows and pulled her up.As she broke through the surface amid the slosh and drips, Noah knelt beside her, his face a mask of concern.
Oh, thank God.He’s here.
She choked back a cry, the emotions she’d been trying to restrain threatening to spew out in a flood of tears.
He released a quick breath.“I thought for a moment you’d drowned.”
Her heart pounded.“You scared me.”Her skin vibrated against the hammering of her heart, her exposed scar quivering.
“I’m sorry.”Noah searched her gaze, then, still fully dressed, he leaned forward and slipped his arm under her legs.She sank into his arms, relieved to be held by him.He lifted her from the tub and set her down gently, then wrapped a towel around her.“Have you given yourself hypothermia?”
Her body quivered, goosebumps breaking across her skin.What had she been doing?She still gripped the soap.
Noah peeled it away, then used a washcloth to remove the residue on her hand.Her fingers had pruned in the water.
Lifting her once again, he carried her back into the bedroom.
The night was chilly, and servants had lit a fire in the fireplace.Ginger blinked at him as he set her down on the bed.Tears filled her eyes.“I was so afraid you might be dead.”
“I managed to escape, but they’re chasing me.We can’t stay here long.They don’t know I’m here, but you were likely seen coming here.”Stepping back, he removed his soaked shirt and jacket, then hung it off the back of a chair by the fireplace.“Are you all right?”
“I told my family the truth about our marriage and Henry’s death.”She tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear, then covered her face with one hand.Ever since she’d arrived here, Stephen’s image had floated in her mind like a demon come to haunt her.“And my mother ordered me to leave.”
Noah sank onto the bed beside her.He seemed on the verge of saying something, then thought better of it.
She raked her fingers through her hair, bringing her knees up to her chest.Her throat was so tight she could barely get the words out.“Mama hates me.If I were her, I would hate me too.”
When had she become so callous?On the train, when she’d had to choose between the Australian and the deserter, the decision had been so cold, so effortless.Allowing a man to die shouldn’t be so easy, should it?But she’d let the war numb her to death.
Numb her to the fact that she’d killed her own brother.
Noah gathered her in his arms, the warmth of his body radiating onto her cold skin.In his strong arms, the pain that stabbed her heart felt contained.She didn’t care that they needed to flee.She needed him and his strength for a few minutes, even if it was selfish.She was thoroughly spent.
“Don’t let me go,” she murmured, setting her cheek against his chest.The ache inside her threatened to spill forward, into the churn of her gut and the depths of her blackened soul.Noah’s arms tightened reflexively.
His voice was a low rumble.“The first time I killed a man, I told myself I felt nothing.That it could be as simple as stepping on an insect on the ground—a chore that had to be done without a backward glance.But I’ve never forgotten the face of the first man I killed.The instinct to kill or be killed isn’t enough to make it easier.You know what I think of now?”
A strange pressure gripped her.“No.”She couldn’t possibly think of anything that would make her feel better.Less guilty.
“I think of the people who would die if I don’t take that life.”Noah’s fingers intertwined with hers, and he lifted her hand, brushing a soft kiss to her fingertips.“I know who you saved when you killed Henry.And I will always work to be a better man for it and worthy of the choice you made.”He kissed her open palm.
His words did help, more than she’d expected them to.She wiped away a few stray tears, then slid her hands around his neck.“How many times am I going to find you like I did tonight?Running for your life, bloodied?You can’t keep insisting that I stay to the side.I’d rather we face these dangers together.”
“There’s been a marked improvement in my ability to survive accordingly.”He grimaced, feeling a cut on his temple.
Ginger was increasingly more aware of how incongruous her state of dress was to the conversation.Her wet towel hung limply around her waist, but, other than that, she wore nothing.And while she should have felt self-conscious, she was strangely comfortable even like this.
Comfortable and now very aware of how much she wanted him.
She moistened her lips, not wanting to end their conversation just yet.She pulled up the towel, covering her breasts.
A warm smile hinted in Noah’s gaze.“It’s good you did that.I was finding myself increasingly more distracted.”He lowered his lips to the soft spot of her neck, just below her earlobe and jaw.
She murmured a lusty response, tilting her cheek away to surrender to the feeling of his lips.“You’re already worthy of the choice I made, Noah.”Her lips curved upward, her body tingling at his touch.“I never should have let you doubt it.I wanted to return to you immediately and apologize.But the same pride you accused me of stopped me.I kept imagining Victoria in your arms and tormenting myself.”
“What must I do to convince you that Victoria means nothing to me?”Drawing his legs onto the bed, Noah tilted her back onto the mattress, sliding one hand over her naked hip.
Something about the movement was unbelievably alluring, revealing the powerful muscles of his torso and arms.His eyes were dark and passionate as he lowered his mouth to hers, catching her mouth in an open kiss.Their tongues collided, and she closed her eyes.She loved his taste, the fullness of his mouth against hers.She melted back against the pillow, the kiss growing in fervor as he cupped her breasts.One of his hands glided to her flat belly, then lower still.His fingertips grazed her hips.
