“No!” It was the panic in her voice which made him turn back to her. “No, do not leave me, Phineas.Please!” She was reachingblindly for him, and the frantic fear in her expression made his heart clench.
“Shh, lass. Dinnae fash.” He stepped closer until her hands could reach him. “I’m here. I’ll no’ leave ye.”
With a grateful whimper, Olive stepped closer, her hands questing, touching, feeling. “Phineas,” she whispered.
“Aye.” He wasn’t sure if he were asking or agreeing, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Phineas,” she breathed again, as her fingertips brushed against his cheek, then his lips, before fluttering up to caress his brow. Her other hand had dropped to his stomach, and he felt his muscles clench under her touch.
That wasn’t the only thing clenching though. In the space of a half-dozen heartbeats, most of his blood had pooled below his stomach, and he felt his cock hardening, even as her palm brushed against the wool of his waistcoat.
“Phineas,” she whispered a third time, and he wondered if she could sense his arousal.
“Aye, love,” he croaked out, his palms already itching as he reached for her; theneedto claim her overriding all common sense.
“Thereyou two are!”
Phin jerked away from Olive, but surged back when he remembered her panic, and turned them both to face Lady Dumpkins, who clutched Da’s arm in one hand and her muddy skirts in the other. “We’ve been wondering where you two had gone off to.” She eyed Phin’s hand on Olive’s arm. “Not being naughty, I hope?”
“Countess?” Olive’s face swung back and forth, as if trying to find the source of the voice. “Is that you?”
The countess clucked as they came closer. “Yes, dear, here I am. And I have Ewan’s escort, lucky me.” The way she beamed up at the older man made Phin’s father beam.
But she turned to study Olive, and Phin pulled her a bit nearer, as if protecting her. Olive clutched at him gratefully.
“I have lost my spectacles, Lady Dumpkins.”
“Oh, dear!” The older woman began to peer at the ground, obviously thinking they’d been dropped.
Before Phineas could speak up—not that he was certain he wanted to blame wee Callan in front of their host and hostess—Olive did. “I have a second pair in my room. If Mr. Oliphant would be so kind as to escort me back there, I will be fine.” Her grip on his arm tightened. “I do not think I can make it back alone.”
The countess peered at them, then turned to exchange a knowing look with Phin’s father. “Oh, very well, but be discreet please. I know house parties have a reputation for naughtiness, but we cannot bandy it about!”
“Discreet is my middle name,” Phin intoned drily. “And I’ve never bandied a thing. Come along, Miss L’arbre. I shall return ye—discreetly—to the house where ye might retrieve yer second set of spectacles.” As she clutched at his arm, and he moved her away from their host and hostess and avoided the group strolling up the river path, he murmured to Olive, “And I’ll do my best to fetch yer original pair from that scamp, Callan.”
She patted his arm distractedly, and he could tell from how tense she was that she was concerned about the path ahead. So he did his best to keep his voice calm and his steps slow as he described the route they were taking. As the minutes passed with them strolling carefully back toward the manor house, he felt her slowly relax.
As they passed the hedge maze, she finally spoke. “You must think me foolish.”
Her voice was little more than a whisper, but it surprised him. “Why would ye say something like that?”
“I dream of adventures—of seeing the world the way you have—and I cannot even walk back to the manor without my spectacles.”
Hating her tone of derision, Phin tightened his hold on her arm. “There’s a right turn coming up, then the steps. Having to wear spectacles is nae reason no’ to see the world, Olive.”
“It is if I cannotseethe world.” She responded to his nudge, and they turned toward the steps of the side door he’d been leading her toward. “What if I was in the depths of some temple somewhere and I triggered a booby trap, but my spectacles fell off and I froze?”
As they entered the house, Phin shivered at the thought of being helpless in some of the situations he’d been in. Still, he didn’t want to frighten her, so he tucked his hat under his arm and assured her, “Most archaeology doesnae involve quite so many dangers, love. It can be hot and dry and boring work, with the only risk being sunstroke or yer fingers cramping around yer shovel. Mind the stairs here.”
“But still,” she insisted, as they climbed toward her room, “if I were to lose my spectacles in such a situation…”
This time, he chuckled under his breath. “Then I’ll lead ye back to yer rooms to find yer spare pair.”
It wasn’t until she pulled him to a stop that he realized what his promise had meant. Standing there in the hallway, she lifted her hands to his face, her fingertips brushing across his cheeks.
And there goes my cock again.
He should have a headache with his blood jumping up and down through his body as much as it did, but somehow, he just didn’t mind a bit.
