To make their situation even worse, she had changed out of her wet clothes. However, he had been with enough women to know she wore no chemise or corset under her thin gown, and there were no stockings on her legs. When she moved closer to the hearth, the flames from the fire silhouetted her legs perfectly through the garment. His mouth watered, and all he wanted to do was hold her. He especially liked that her damp hair was straight, and hung provocatively around her shoulders. She was certainly a country girl, but he didn’t mind that one bit.
If his father ever knew Collin was spending time with girl from a penniless family, the old man would have heart palpitations. That wasn’t the reason Collin wanted to be with Cassandra, but it was humorous to think that his father wouldn’t approve. But Collin didn’t need the old man’s endorsement anyway.
“Collin, you must say something.” Cassandra glanced at him over her shoulder. “The silence is unsettling.”
“Forgive me.” He stood from the kitchen chair, keeping the quilt around him as he moved next to her. “I suppose you can show me how to make my own eggs.”
She gasped and swung toward him with wide eyes. “Absolutely not. Men like yourself should never learn to make their own food.”
“Then we shall make this our little secret.” He winked. “Besides, it will give us something to talk about, correct?”
She laughed. “You are incorrigible.”
“I would hope so.” He bumped his arm against hers. “But I really do enjoy having a secret just between us.”
She turned back toward the skillet and stirred the cooking eggs. “Are you aware this isn’t our only secret?”
“It’s not?” he asked jokingly.
“Please, tell me you haven’t forgotten about…the kiss.”
Her voice softened, which made his heart beat faster. He ran his gaze over her long hair, loving how enticing it looked. Of course, she was more alluring due to the intense moment between them.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about our kiss,” he whispered huskily, taking a lock of her almost-dry blonde hair and rubbing it between his finger and thumb. “And I haven’t stopped wanting it to happen again.”
Her throat jumped in what must have been a hard swallow. She had been doing that often, he noticed. Another thing heobserved was that whenever he was this close to her, she breathed deeper than normal. Then again, if she felt as he did, it was no wonder she was like this. Every time he thought of her, his pulse rate increased.
Her gaze dropped to where his hand held the quilt together, and then hopped back to his eyes. He wanted to chuckle, knowing she had gotten a glimpse of his bare chest.
“Collin…” Her voice cracked, so she cleared her throat. “You are distracting me. Tell me something about your life so that I don’t burn your eggs.”
He grinned and released her hair. “I think you know more about my life than Kentwood.”
She glanced at him before giving the eggs her attention. “How much time do you and Lord Kentwood spend together?”
“Actually, not as much time as you probably think.”
“But he is your cousin.”
“My dear, I have many cousins. Kentwood invites me to go places when his other friends cannot accompany him. The reason I agreed to come to Bath with him was because he complained about having nobody to go with.”
She stopped stirring and looked at him again. This time, it was longer than before. “Why did you part ways with him after you left the ball?”
He cupped the side of her face with his free hand. “Because my cousin isn’t entertaining when he is inebriated. He consumed too many spirits tonight, and he wasn’t thinking straight. Besides that, you are easier to stare at than he is.”
She chuckled. “Can I give you some suggestions?” She turned back to stirring the eggs.
“I’ll hear anything you want to tell me.”
“Now, mind you, I know from experience, since I have a father and a brother whose elbows tend to bend one too many times while holding a drink.”
He smiled, loving her humor. “Go on.”
“The way to entertain yourself with someone who drinks too much is by having the hackney driver stop at every street and telling your foxed friend that he hasn’t paid for use of the vehicle.” When she looked at him again, her eyes sparkled. “Lord Kentwood would be so drunk that he won’t remember giving the driver so much money.”
Tilting back his head, Collin whooped with laughter. He absolutely loved her way of thinking. “And you have done this with your father and brother?”
She shrugged. “I tried it once, and it was when my father had money to give me. I pretended to pay the driver, but our servant wouldn’t take the money, so I kept it. Of course, once we became destitute, I couldn’t play that game any longer. But I assure you, there are other ways to entertain yourself on their account.”
