“Yes. I think the cold water will do wonders for me.”
Her throaty chuckle told him she understood. “I think, perhaps, it might be safer if we swam in the deeper waters, so the water will cover us from prying eyes.”
Since she’d slipped her hand into his and was leading him toward the river, he wasn’t going to object.
“And are you a strong enough swimmer for such an endeavor?”
“Nay.” She winked at him over her shoulder. “I will have to hold on to ye.”
Cold water cold water cold water.
Fortunately, there was something about an enthusiastic almost-five-year-old which could douse a man’s arousal when necessary. Callan insisted on climbing up on Cash’s shoulders, while Athena taught Matthew how to squirt water from between his clasped hands.
Every once in a while, she’d look up and send Cash a secret smile, but the moment was sweet rather than sensual. He was struck by how easily she spoke to Matthew and how simple her respect was. She didn’t treat the lad like a duke’s heir—because she doesn’t know he is, you idiot—but rather, as a boy who needed guidance.
And once or twice, when she reached over to move Matthew’s hand into a better position or brush the wethair off his forehead, Cash saw the lad close his eyes almost wistfully.
Was this what his son had been missing? A woman’s touch, quite literally?
Cash frowned as he tossed a shrieking Callan into deeper water and helped the boy bob to the surface again. He’d promised Matthew he’d take the task of finding another wife seriously, for just this reason. And Cashhadbeen attending the evening entertainments the Dumpkinses hosted, hadn’t he? Was it his fault none of the Society misses presented to him held his interest?
None of them were beautiful enough, interesting enough, exhilarating enough, to convince him he could spend the rest of his life with them.
None of them were red-headed doxies, with a naughty streak a mile wide, who challenged him and made him feel like a good man.
None of them were Athena.
So yes, now that he thought of it, itmightbe his fault he was too infatuated with the woman currently coaching his son to look twice at another woman.
He needed to get her out of his system, get this fire out of his blood. He needed her, and not just a quick tumble, but a thorough lovemaking.Then, he was certain, he could get back to the business of finding a wife.
To that end, he needed to put his plans in motion. “Lads, come here. Have I showed you how Matthew can toss you, Callan?” They gathered in water below Matthew’s waist. “Place your knee like this, and Callan, lad, you climb atop it. Hold his shoulders—Steady!”
Callan squealed as Matthew was able to use that position to launch the younger boy into the air. Grinning, Cash made the mistake of glancing at Athena to gauge her reaction, and realized she was standing upright in water that barely reached her thighs.
The wet chemise was everything he could’ve hoped for.
The dark circles of her nipples—so they weren’t pale pink?—shone through the linen, which clung to the curves of her breasts as if it were a second skin. As she clapped for the boys, Cash’s gaze followed the wet, clinging material down her soft stomach to the shadows between her thighs, and suddenly, the temperature of the water mattered not a whit, because he had a cockstand which could’ve been used to shoe a horse, were an anvil not otherwise available.
Without stopping to breathe, he splashed through the water toward her and snagged her hand in his. They both half-walked, half-swam, to deeper water, before he turned her in his arms and settled his hands on her hips. The water reached below his shoulders, which meant she struggled to stand, but that was the point.
He dug his bare feet into the rocky bottom, braced his back against the gentle current, then lifted her so she could wrap her arms around his neck.
“There,” he said with a satisfied nod.
“Why, Cash!” She pretended to be surprised. “Is it possible ye taught our sons a new skill in order to distract them so the two of us could cavort in deeper water in peace?”
They both turned to look at the boys happily practicing said new skill. “Cavorting?” Cash murmured. “Is that what we’re doing?”
She pressed herself against him so his cock nestled against the junction of her thighs. “If ye want.”
With a groan, he lifted her in his arms, her lips already straining for his. This kiss was just as magnificent as all the others they’d shared, but this time, Athena was plastered against him, her chemise hiding nothing from his bare skin.
One hand held her in place, while the other—completely unconsciously—cupped her breast through the linen, the water tugging at them both in the most erotic way. She made another one of those sensual sounds in the back of her throat and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Dear Lord in Heaven.
His cock was nestled right where he needed it to be, and thanks to this delicious folly, it felt as if nothing stood between them. He reached his hand down between their bodies and ran his fingers along her folds. She tightened her hold on his neck and deepened the kiss.
