“I beg your pardon. Do not speak to me that way, you little baggage, and get out here now!”
“I’ve thanked you for this morning and have no wish to continue insulting you, considering how you behaved in my defense, but if you continue speaking like that, I will do so.”
Before he could reach her, she’d lifted her skirts and waded deeper into the water. Michael arrived, still laughing.
“Shut up.” He glared at his brother, who simply bent at the waist and laughed harder. “Get out of there at once.”
“Go away, Lord Raine. Walter is my concern, not yours.”
“I will tell the duchess all is well,” Michael said, still snorting with laughter. “And ensure her little beast has not fled in pursuit of her love.”
“All is not bloody well though, is it,” Gabe snapped after his brother had left.
Sitting, he began to tug off his own boots.
“What are you doing? Don’t you dare join us,” Dimity said, walking to where Walter still swam around as if he had all the time in the world. “Besides, those boots are forced on by your valet; I doubt you even know how to remove them.”
“Insulting is like speaking to you, isn’t it,” Gabe grunted, tugging.
“The truth is rarely an insult,” she said, tiptoeing her way closer to her dog.
“I take off my own boots,” Gabe lied.
She laughed, making his teeth snap together. The woman could annoy him like no other.
“Stop, Dimity. You have no idea how deep that gets.”
“It’s a pond,” she said. Then she took a step and disappeared.
With one boot on and the other off, Gabe ran into the water.
“Stop,” she spluttered. “I am all right; I simply tripped.” Water dripped off her body, and her bonnet had lost its shape and sagged, now framing her face.
“I am going to kill you… both of you,” Gabe said. “Walter, come here at once!”
The dog gave him the side eye but swam to where he stood. Dimity was now up to her waist, and her dress clung to her body. He’d have had to be a eunuch not to notice how lovely her breasts were. The curve of her hip or waist. All of her had his body hard, even standing in the cold water with one boot off.
He grabbed her hand as she drew closer and tugged. The force had her crashing into his body.
“You continually cause me trouble,” he said, looking at her lovely face. “What were you thinking?”
“I-I was trying to get my dog.”
“He needs training.” Gabe couldn’t seem to make himself release her.
“I know. I will see to it. Now let me go.”
His eyes ran over her face, taking in her spiky lashes and lovely lips. “You’re a beautiful woman, Dimity Brown, and extremely disturbing.”
“Don’t—”
He kissed whatever else she was going to say from her lips. The feel of that wet body pressed to him was beyond anything he’d ever felt before. Tightening his grip, he pulled her closer, angling her head so he could deepen the kiss. She responded, pressing into him, raising her face for more. Gabe devoured her mouth. He wanted more, so much more. Lust rampaged through him as he trailed a hand down her back, caressing the curves her dress clung to.
“I want you.” He whispered the words against her lips, no longer able to deny his need for this woman.
“No.” She eased back. “That can never be.”
“It could be,” he rasped, aroused and desperate to have her.
