To hell with propriety.
Ever so slightly, she tilted her head to the side until he came into sight. Her breath caught. He stood with his back to her, his coat and shirt lying in a wet heap at his feet. Lantern light shimmered off drops of water running down the smooth valley between his shoulders, and honed muscles wrapped around his sides, disappearing into his breeches.
He lifted his arms, rubbing a towel through his hair and her ability to breathe ceased to exist. Oh, glorious biceps. She stared as they bunched and corded with each movement he made and her mouth went dry. He twisted his head her way and she jerked her gaze back to the wall. A soft chuckle reached her and heat shot up her cheeks. She’d been discovered.
The rustle of cloth over skin came and a moment later, he spoke, amusement lacing his words. “You can look now.”
She turned, grateful for the shadows hiding her face. He had not put his coat on and stood with a plain white shirt untucked. Damp curls framed his face, still mussed from the towel.
“Alright, Miss Montclair. How can I ease your fears?”
Slowly, she stretched her cramped legs out, wincing as blood began to rush back through them. “I’m not sure you can.”
“Nonsense. Fear is like a shadow; it nips your heels when you try to run from it. You must face it before it will shrink away.”
“Easy for you to say. I can’t even stand up.”
“Well then, maybe that’s the first step. It takes a while to get true sea legs, but come, let me show you.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “This is going to end up just as embarrassing as my mishap in Christian and Samantha’s fountain.”
He grinned. “I promise, it won’t.”
She waited for a slight break in the near constant up and down movement before swinging her feet to the floor. Standing, she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders while keeping one hand on the bed.
“No cheating.” The lieutenant motioned her forward. “See how I’m standing? Right now, your feet are too close together, which makes it easier for you to lose your balance. Try moving them apart.”
The ship pitched to the side and Josephine’s hands curled into fists. “I’m not… I’ve never…” She took a steadying breath and widened her stance to match his. “It doesn’t feel like the ship can withstand such wild movements.”
He nodded. “I know it feels that way, but you must think of the waves as if they were a solid landscape. Picture a road traveling over rolling hills. A carriage will go up and down with every little change along the route.”
The ship shuddered and she pressed her eyes shut. “But the sea is not solid.”
“To theTempest, it is. Her shape allows her to cut through some of the smaller swells. But in a storm, if she passed through towering waves, she would be overcome. Just as the carriage would crash into pieces if it tried to go through the hill instead of over it.”
Visions of splintered wood brought her heart racing again. She took a deep breath. “You must think I’m a coward.”
A warm weight settled on her shoulder and she startled. Her eyes snapped open as his thumb rubbed a comforting circle. “You’re not.”
She searched his gaze, but it hid no mirth or condemnation. Tension slowly began to drain from her as he took a step back.
“You look much better already, almost like you’re starting to get used to it.”
A shaky laugh escaped her. “I wish. I think it’s only because you’re distracting me.”
As soon as she spoke, the ship rolled on a swell and she gasped, her stomach lurching. Her feet lifted slightly, slipping on the wet floor. The sudden movement threw her off balance, and she staggered forward, tripping on the blanket. It tangled around her ankles as Lieutenant Caldwell jumped to meet her, strong hands closing around her waist. She grabbed at his arms, trying to slow her momentum, but it didn’t help.
“Oof!” Her face slammed into his chest.
One of his arms slid behind her back and the other lifted to brace against the ceiling. He held her tight against him as the ship finished its descent and began the next rise. “I forgot to tell you to bend your knees when that happens.”
Sandalwood filled her nose as she breathed in, her cheek resting on the soft linen of his shirt. Beneath it, his heart beat in her ear, the strong thrum reverberating against her. In slow succession, the rest of her body began to react to being plastered against him. Every inch of him was hard muscle, from the planes of his stomach all the way down to where one of her legs twined with his.
With awareness humming through her, she lifted her face. “I told you this wouldn’t end well.”
His eyes burned into hers, like they had in the garden earlier. A rush of warmth spread through her and her breath caught as his lips parted. The lieutenant didn’t move, his arm still holding her tight. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and his gaze dropped to her mouth.
“I rather like how this ended.” His voice came out hoarse, each puff of his breath brushing across her forehead.
