Hart's Desire (Pirates & Petticoats Book 1) (15 page)

The balmy breeze rustled through tall pines near the water’s edge, making the wispy boughs sway lazily. A purple-tinged haze meandered between the rippling surface of the lake and the solemn sky. Cypress trees stretched gnarled roots toward the water and hunched close to the bank like a cluster of hags sharing a secret. Spanish moss hung from the branches in long, graceful ringlets.
 

Sham plunged forward into the lake. When he reached knee-depth, he paused and lowered his head to drink.

“You were thirsty, too.” Keelan stroked his neck. They were standing at the point of a small narrow inlet. Without traveling the entire shoreline, it was impossible to determine how many other thin fingers of land extended into the waters.
 

A splash interrupted her reverie. Water doused her ankles and thighs. She barely had time to catch her breath before another splash caught her full on the chest.
 

Keelan blinked through the rivulets of water streaming down her face as Sham lifted his front hoof above the water, and brought it down with determined force.
 

“You brute!” she railed, hauling back on the reins and forcing Sham into a quick retreat. “If you want your belly cooled down, you need only to take two steps forward!” Her riding habit was splattered with water. “You have soaked me to the skin!”

The horse did not act the least bit chagrinned and stepped forward to take another long drink.

How was she going to explain a wet riding habit? Her aunt and uncle would know how far from the main house she’d wandered. There would be no avoiding her uncle’s ire now. Unless she could manage to get dry before she returned. Keelan licked her lips and gazed at the cool fresh water of the lake as it rippled and twinkled. She plucked at her dampened linen blouse. It had been well soaked with perspiration before Sham had doused it. The cooler lake water had felt quite refreshing. It would be lovely to… Keelan glanced around. She was very much alone…

She made up her mind in a blink. She’d never bathed in a lake, and the anticipation of cool water against her overheated skin made her almost laugh aloud. She hopped down, loosened the girth a little, hobbled Sham, and prepared to pamper herself a bit. First, she should take her new bonnet and jacket from the saddle straps.

She reached for the items.
 

They were both gone!
 

She stared for a moment at the empty straps and shook her head, perplexed. She would have to keep a keen watch while retracing her ride from the lake. Hopefully, she would find the wayward garments along the route, no worse for wear.
 

Keelan hobbled Sham and secured the reins where he wouldn’t step on them. With a quick pat on the rump, she sent the horse sauntering toward a tuft of sweet grass a short distance from the shore.

A moment later, she’d wriggled out of her riding skirt and draped it over a large boulder near the water’s edge. Her blouse soon followed. She froze. Would she be able to re-tie the stays by herself? Why hadn’t that question entered her mind before she disrobed?

She huffed in resignation. It was too late to undo her latest rather impulsive decision, so she decided to enjoy herself for a short time and deal with the clothing problem later.

She removed her shift and placed it near the other articles. The warmth of the rock would dry her clothes before she needed them again. Her boots followed and soon Keelan stood in her chemise. She could barely contain her excitement as she approached the sandy bank.

Her first steps into the water brought a smile to her face. She wiggled her toes and waded further. Lovely. Moaning, she turned and sank to her neck then froze. Putting a riding habit over a sopping chemise might be more than a little uncomfortable.
 

However, no lady of the Low Country would dare bathe outside completely…naked.
 

It would be scandalous.
 

The corners of her mouth tipped up.
 

But then, she was not a “Lady of the Low Country," was she?

’
Tis more a matter of practicality than morality
.
 

Rising out of the water, she pulled the chemise over her head. At least half the pins Slaney carefully placed in her hair this morning had fallen out during the ride. The coiffure already ruined, she pulled the remaining pins free and placed them near the dripping chemise.

She sank back into the cool depths of the lake. She was free. The water moved over her naked limbs in soft, soothing strokes. Is this what an angel's caress felt like? If she weren’t in such an exuberant state of bliss, she would have felt absolutely wicked. Taking a deep breath, she dipped beneath, careful to remain at a depth where her feet still touched the lake bottom. She expelled a lungful of bubbles before she popped back up, breaking the sparkling shell on the lake’s surface.
 

A partially submerged rock a few feet away lured her a little deeper. The water was almost up to her neck. She reached out, grasped the boulder, and leaned on a narrow ledge chiseled into the side. It made a perfect hand rest. Lying back, Keelan gripped the rock and kicked her legs from the bottom to float. The sky was darker to the east, but large patches of blue still peeked through the silver clouds over the lake. She wanted to arrive home before her uncle
and
the rain, so she would not tarry overlong. Closing her eyes, Keelan inhaled and released a deep, relaxed breath. A bird warbled nearby and his mate soon answered. She could tell the sun had peeked out from its hiding place behind the low, gray clouds, because it warmed her cheeks and breasts. A light breeze fluttered over her body, and her nipples hardened with its caress. The faint, soft scent of jasmine danced on the wind and mingled with the sharp tang of pine and heady smell of earth and water.
 

 
Keelan’s thoughts drifted along also. She pictured a pair of twinkling, azure eyes followed by an amused grin. Her brow wrinkled as her mother’s warning echoed in her head.
 

“There’s no settling down for a man of the water. He’ll pledge his troth to you to be sure, but his lady is the sea and she ever beckons him home. In time, he’ll leave you for her charms. They always do, just like your father.”
 

Even Slaney said as much earlier today.
 

Certain that many women had been lured to Hart’s bed by his rakish good looks and wit, it would be best to forget about the touch of his hand on her wrist and his thigh against her own. Forget about the enticing caress of his lips against hers. Forget about the sound of his voice.

 
Even now, her own flesh burned with the memory of his touch. Why did that man torment her mind so? How could she divert her attention to a safer place?

A loud snort, followed by the heavy stomp of a horse’s hoof, interrupted her meandering daydreams. Sham had apparently returned for another drink, which was convenient. It meant she would not have to go far to find him when she was ready to head back home.

Lazily opening her eyelids, she turned her head toward the bank. There, near the water’s edge, stood a huge black horse. The beast stomped again and pawed the ground with an impatient foreleg. Orion.

 
On the animal’s back, leg casually thrown over the saddle horn, was the very person she had been in the process of banishing from her thoughts.

Landon Hart’s gaze caught her own, a slow, lazy grin spreading across his tanned face. Her bonnet sat at a cocky angle on his head, and he touched the cap in a spry salute.

With a startled shriek, Keelan let go of her hold on the boulder and flung her arms across her chest.
 

And sank.

She could no longer touch the lake bottom. Thrashing wildly, terror gripped her body in a deadly crush as her mouth and nose filled with water.

The sky urged him to seek out Keelan. A wall of dark purple-gray clouds was indeed moving westward. A storm was not only probable, it was certain. Still, she shouldn’t be out alone, storm or no storm. Containing her ride to the plantation land did not mean she was safe. People traversed across Twin Pines when the situation warranted. He was vaguely familiar with the layout of Twin Pines thanks to the owners of a local tavern, The Whistling Pig. They had described it and the occasional use of the abandoned cabins near the lake. The valet, Daniel Hunter, had confirmed the information, when they’d conversed the other day.

He’d come across the bonnet first and, realizing he’d found her trail, urged his mount to increase the pace. Following Sham’s hoof prints, it wasn’t long before he found Keelan’s jacket snagged on a bramble bush at the side of the trail.
 

He shook his head in wonder as he recalled the prim and proper-looking young lady he rode with this morning. Who was the real Keelan Grey? The composed young lady with a quick mind and tongue to match, or the boy-waif who enjoyed sparring in the early morning?

Perhaps she was neither.
 

Perhaps she was both.
 

A vision tiptoed into his mind… The set of her jaw and stark focus in the meadow as she blocked Daniel’s attack, and glee when she scored first… The corners of her mouth twitching upward then challenging him to a race… Her face flushed and eyes bright with excitement and victory.
 

There. That was the real Keelan. Did she truly like excitement and adventure, or did she only like it when she was in a safe environment? That stallion was not safe for her. What would she be like on the open ocean with its unpredictable moods and ruthless privateers?

Orion lifted his head and perked his ears as they neared the lake. Pausing at the edge of the trees, he studied the area. It was tranquil and secluded, but there were many places where a person might hide and not be seen.

Sham grazed in a small grassy area near the shore, but there was no sign of the impetuous young woman who’d challenged him to a gallop earlier. A slight ripple on the water attracted his attention and when he scanned the lake, he almost fell off his horse.

Floating offshore near a large boulder was the willowy form of Keelan Grey.
 

And she was completely
naked
.
 

Now, here was a sight to behold. So he did.

One hand casually held onto the boulder, the other fanned the water at her side. Her hair floated around her like a liquid flame. A sight like this certainly warranted a more leisurely perusal. Her face, pert nose, and kissable lips and the smooth creamy skin of her neck made his mouth go dry. Pink nipples peaked the swell of her breasts like rosebuds.
 

She kicked her legs to the surface, treating him to a pair of thighs and the triangle of auburn curls where they joined. He shook his head in both disbelief and admiration. Keelan Grey certainly was a woman who seemed as if she didn’t care if she conformed to polite society or not. He liked that about her.

He now faced a dilemma, however. How should he alert her of his presence without causing her acute embarrassment? Perhaps he could simply wait until she was finished with her dip in the lake. He glanced up at the sky. That was probably not a good idea. If she dallied much longer, they’d be pressed to beat the storm to Twin Pines.

Perhaps a little motivation would help. Reaching behind his saddle, he retrieved her bonnet and plopped it on his head. Throwing his leg over his saddle horn, he relaxed and decided to enjoy the view for a short while longer.
 

Apparently, Orion wasn’t as easily entertained, and after a moment or two, he stomped his foot in boredom. The noise startled Keelan, and she opened her eyes and turned her head toward him.
 

And shrieked.

Then sank.

It took him a second to realize…
The chit can’t swim!
 

He jumped down and started to run, then paused to yank off a boot. He glanced up at the lake. Keelan’s head popped above the surface. He relaxed slightly; perhaps she could swim after all. Then she sucked in a breath and sank again.
 

Dammit.

Hopping on one foot, he managed to pull the other boot off. He would have liked to remove his shirt also, but didn’t dare take any more time. Plunging into the water, he reached for Keelan’s arm as she sank below the surface.

She was going to die.

She tried to resist the instinct to inhale while the lake water surrounded her and the last of the air in her lungs bubbled to the surface, but she could not. As the water entered her throat, a strong hand grasped her wrist and tugged her up. In near panic, she grabbed it and held on tightly. The water moved around her as she was pulled back to the shallower depths. Another warm arm clamped around the back of her waist, and she was hauled coughing and sputtering against a warmer, hard chest.

It took several moments before she could draw a complete breath of precious air without breaking into another fit of hacking and snorting. When she managed to open her eyes, she found a pair of concerned sapphire ones locked with her own. Droplets of water still streamed down his face, his dark hair glistening with an almost blue light. An amused smile gleamed brightly at her next.

Aghast, she tried to bring her arms up to cover her breasts, but Landon had her pressed firmly against his chest. She became painfully aware of her legs pressed against his muscular thighs. A familiar heat moved up her neck and over her cheeks. She was blushing.
 

Landon gently swept her wet ringlets aside. “Are you all right?”
 

“Y-yes…I…th…th…think so,” she stuttered. Her tongue seemed partly paralyzed. “C-Captain.”
 

“Please, now that our relationship has become more intimate, call me Landon.”
 

Her discomfiture deepened when she realized they now stood thigh-deep in the water and there was no way to tactfully extract herself from his embrace without causing further humiliation. In fact, the only way to keep him from leering at her naked body was to stay exactly where she stood. How long had he been there leering at her?