Page 33 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
Kate’s heart sank like zinc oxide pigment in water.“You haven’t?”
He shook his head.“I could check for next week, but I know we’re full at least through Tuesday.”
She stepped back as the four sailors exited the room, having finished their delivery.“Not even a garret in the attic, or?—”
Mr.MacRitchie clapped her on the arm.“I’m afraid not.But I’m sure yer friend will manage to make do.”He stepped back.“Now, if ye’ll excuse me, I need to have that warm water sent up.”
He disappeared down the corridor, leaving Kate alone with her panic.
Tentatively, she stepped inside the door.What she saw made her want to rush back out again.
Nathaniel had kicked off his boots.His jacket, waistcoat, and cravat were hanging from a hat-stand next to the wash basin.He lay sprawled on the bed in his trousers and a loose shirt that hung open to his sternum.
She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from the exposed vee of brown skin.She would have thought that he would be… hairier.Not that she was a great expert on the subject, but she had grown up in the country, and on a hot day, the laborers might remove their shirts, and she had also on occasion seen men bathing in the river, and most of them were quite?—
“Are you going to shut the door?”Nathaniel asked, interrupting her train of thought.
“Yes!Of course!”She wheeled around and almost collided with a maid bearing a large ewer of steaming water.She also had a couple of white linen towels draped over her arm.
“Ah!”Nathaniel said brightly.Kate heard the bed creak, and then he was standing beside her, taking the ewer from the maid.“Thank you very much.”
“Ye’re welcome.”Her gaze dropped to Nathaniel’s chest for a beat, and she added in a rich voice, “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for ye.”
Kate drew herself up, outraged, but Nathaniel did not seem to have noticed her suggestive tone.He was busy filling the washstand’s basin with warm water.Setting the ewer down, he pulled the hem of his shirt free from his trousers.
The maid was still standing there, looking a little too interested.“Thank you!”Kate said in a clipped voice, seizing the maid by the shoulder and propelling her toward the door.“We’ll send word if we need anything else.”
The maid leaned around Kate, trying to see.“Hold a moment.I?—”
Kate shut the door in her face.Bracing herself, she turned to face the room.
Nathaniel stood in profile to her, shirtless, at the washbasin.As he twisted to reach for the soap, she was confronted with the sight of his bare back.She was struck by the broadness of his shoulders, contrasted with the narrowness of his waist.She squinted at his upper back.What was that muscle?The one that formed a triangular dimple just over his scapula?She had studied human anatomy, mostly from books, as it was not considered appropriate for young ladies to participate in figure drawing.But Nathaniel’s muscles were better defined than any artist’s model she’d ever seen depicted on the page.
Soap in hand, he turned back toward the mirror and began lathering a washcloth.The artist within her appreciated the contours of his arms, which were sculpted without being bulky.Or… maybe that was the woman within her.Perhaps a bit of both?The fact remained that his arms were very nice and made her want to reach for… her drawing pencil.Yes!Of course,it washer pencilthat her hand was itching to reach out and clasp!
Washcloth ready, he began soaping the broad planes of his chest.He closed his eyes and stretched his neck as he lathered himself, a sound of pleasure rising from his throat.Kate’s heart was racing.Pounding.Throbbing, even!But the strange thing was, the place she could feel it throbbing was between her legs, and surely that wasn’t normal!
He raised an arm overhead, revealing a small tuft of dark hair on his otherwise smooth torso.His arm muscles bunched and flexed in ways that did nothing to restore Kate’s sense of equilibrium.He scrubbed himself there, then washed the other side before starting on his back.Oh, but this was somehow even worse.He had difficulty reaching certain spots, which necessitated a great deal ofreachingandstretchingandtwisting, and Kate suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
Nathaniel was apparently satisfied that he had scrubbed as much as he could, because he set the washcloth down and leaned over the basin, rinsing his face.Straightening, he began splashing himself with cupped handfuls of warm water.Time seemed to slow down.He brought to mind a Renaissance painting, naked to the waist, bathed in soft, golden light from the window, with drops glistening like diamonds upon his beautiful mahogany skin.Who would be the subject?Nathaniel could never serve as the model for someone as shallow as Adonis or Narcissus.Perhaps a young King David, as wise as he was handsome…
He reached for the soap again, but it squirted out of his palm.Chuckling, he turned away before bending at the waist to retrieve it.He had not shucked his trousers, but they fit snugly enough that the view of his backside was literally stunning.Kate did not realize that her knees had given out until her back collided with the door behind her.She was just able to grab the knob, preventing herself from sliding in a heap to the floor.
Thethumpof her body hitting the door drew Nathaniel’s attention.He straightened, rounding on her.“Kit!My apologies—have I been monopolizing the washstand?”He stepped to the side and gestured for her to join him.“Please, I know you must be as eager to get cleaned up as I am.Come, there’s plenty of room.”
Kate clutched a fistful of shirt directly over her heart.Had she thought the view from the side was impressive?It didn’t hold a candle to the sight of Nathaniel facing her straight on, his stomach carved with fascinating ridges of muscle.
He stared at her expectantly, and she recalled that he had asked her a question.“Oh, no!I couldn’t possibly.You go ahead, I’ll have a wash… later.”
“I insist,” he said, turning back toward the washstand.
Kate watched with a combination of fascination and horror as he began flipping open the buttons on the placket of his trousers.Oh God, oh God, oh God!It was one thing to stand there ogling his chest, but, although she could not deny that she was extremely curious, Kate found that she was not quite prepared to see Nathaniel displayed in the altogether.She wracked her brain, searching for a plausible excuse.
“Is that my trunk?”she screeched, striding across the room.“It is!What a welcome sight!”Well done, Kate.Very natural, and not at all asinine.
“Good idea,” Nathaniel called from behind her.“I fancy a fresh shirt, too.”
“Not me!”Kate yanked at the latches.“What I want are my watercolors!”
