“It is magnificent!” Gemma said.
The direction and distance of her voice told him that she had walked forward a ways, possibly to the end of the drawbridge. He guessed that she was looking back, craning her neck to take in the gothic majesty of Hutton Castle.
“This way. There is much more to see,” Nathan said, turning smartly on his heel and striding away. His cane, striking the ground by his side, told him the consistency of the ground underfoot. He knew he walked a gravel path and that it would lead them around the castle to the south. Then, would diverge. One way would lead to the Water Gardens, the other to the woodland. He decided to restrict his tour to the formal grounds for this day, not wanting to risk the cousins lurking in the cover provided by the woods.
He heard Gemma run to catch up and then felt her hand beneath his arm and he smiled. His chin lifted and he closed his eyes to savor the feel of the morning sun upon his face.
How long has it been since I felt this…content. I must be careful. This is a woman I have known for a matter of hours and yet have effectively shared a bed with her. And she has not made it her intention to stay. What is happening to my good sense?
The sun rose and warmed the mist that cling to the ground in the lower parts of the garden. Nathan felt the cold wetness on his hands and face gradually fading as the sun burned through it. A compartment of his mind tracked the hours by the birdsong and the warmth of the sun. When a familiar scent reached him and a cool shade fell across his face, he stopped.
“There is a bench just beside us?” he asked.
“There is. I won’t ask how you know,” Gemma replied.
“Spoilsport,” Nathan replied with chagrin.
Gemma let out a peal of laughter that brought a broad grin to Nathan’s face and a chuckle.
“Very well. Amaze me,” Gemma said.
“The Gunnera casts a large amount of shade. It is particularly soothing in the summer. The Water Mint growing in the pond over there gives a particularly strong aroma that becomes more evident at this spot. But both shade and scent cover a relatively broad area. I cannot be as precise as I am indoors. Hence, I asked you if the bench was nearby.”
“Astounding,” Gemma enthused.
Without being asked or directed, she took his hand and placed it on her shoulder. Holding it there with her own hand she began to walk, presumably towards the bench. Nathan was stunned into silence until they reached the bench, which he knew to be carved from a single piece of oak.
“How did you know to do that?” he asked softly as he sat. “I mean, taking my hand and placing it on your shoulder. Most people would put their own hands on my shoulder, as though to push me in the right direction.”
“It just seemed the right thing to do. For dignity and because you have told me that you do not like to be helped. Did I do the wrong thing?”
Impulsively, Nathan took her hand and softly kissed it. The urge to keep her soft, perfect skin pressed to his lips was almost overwhelming. Then he felt her gently pressing the back of her hand to his mouth, as though the same thought had come to her. He breathed deeply and with the feel of her skin and the scent of her body, an image of her arose in his mind.
Her body was feminine and flowing. Her skin, soft as milk. Bosoms pert and firm, and her hips, rounded and exuding a feminine sway as she walked. It was an intoxicating image but incomplete. He could not visualize her face or the color of her hair.
“May I see what you look like?” he asked in a whisper.
“How?” Gemma replied.
In answer, Nathan touched a finger to her cheek and gently traced its line down to her jaw, then to her chin. Gemma nodded while he was touching her, so that he could feel the gesture. Nathan put both hands to her head, beginning at her forehead. He widened his touch, stroking her temples, gently dancing over her eyelids to her nose. Then out again over her cheeks before coming back together to touch the corners of her mouth.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Gemma’s breath caught in her throat as Nathan’s gentle fingers touched her lips. She realized that she was holding her breath, letting it out in a long sigh. She felt the urge to purse her lips against his touch, to kiss his fingertips, but refrained. Holding herself perfectly still, she studied Nathan. He was quite the most handsome and exotic man she had ever seen.
His proximity to her made her heart race and her skin tingle. The process he went through ofseeingher face was intensely exciting and arousing. She had closed her eyes, wanting to focus on that stroking touch. But then opened them to see him. She wanted both at the same time. Nathan’s seeing touch crossed her lips, pressing gently and coming together in the middle.
Now, the urge to kiss was overwhelming. Slowly, she pouted, pushing her lips outward against the pressure of his fingers. Boldly, she took his hands in hers, bestowing small, soft kisses from his fingertips to the palm. Her reward was to see the shudder that ran through him. He closed his eyes and let out a gasp. Finally, he found her face once more, placing his hands upon her cheeks and leaning his head to kiss her lips.
Gemma was swept away on a tide of pleasure. She lifted her head to him and her body went limp. She wanted to touch him, to put her hands on his tall, strong body. But she wanted to surrender to him utterly at the same time. Tensions rose within her, a screaming conflict of desire that she could not resolve. Nathan’s hands went about her waist, pulling her against him. The feel of his body pressed against hers ended the conflict.
She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close while she spread her fingers against his back. The clothes he wore were a hindrance – she wanted, more than anything, to feel his bare skin. The thought shocked her. It was so lustful and wanton, she had not thought such wild desires resided within her. Driven by that insane passion, she grabbed at the lapels of his coat, pushing it back and running her fingers down his shirt front, inside the waistcoat.
The muscle she felt there was like stone. A delirious thrill ran through her as she dug her fingertips against that steely chest. All the while, she tasted him on her lips and felt his teeth bite at her lip, making her squirm and moan against those ardent kisses. Nathan sat back against the bench, his arms still about her and pulled her over onto his lap. Gemma actually squealed, partly in surprise and partly in sheer delight.
One of his hands now rested on her rump, making her wiggle her hips to move it against his touch. His other hand cupped one of her breasts through her dress. The neckline of that dress was just an inch above that questing hand. If he so chose, he could pull it down and expose her. The thought of him breaking away from her lips to encircle her nipple with those warm lips and probing tongue was enough to make her knees go weak.
Nathan’s lips found hers once again, pressing with passion and ferocity against her own. Gemma seized his hand and pressed it hard against her bosom, pressing inwards with her fingers to make him pinch her breasts. She gasped at the sensation, somewhere deliciously hovering between pleasure and pain.
