Heart's Demand (16 page)

Was it too late to atone?

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“Will we ever go home?”

“You shouldn’t count on it.”

Kat flashed a tremulous smile at Isabelle. She was only ten, and she’d been such a good sport about sneaking away with Kat. She never complained, never cried, never begged to turn around. Even at such a young age, she was a wonderful princess, and it broke Kat’s heart that her little sister would never marry according to her station.

She’d have been a marvelous wife for an aristocrat. No king was likely, but certainly a duke or prince. Kat had had her hopes that high. It would never occur now, and all because of Kristof. How could one cousin be so cruel to another?

Kat’s father had been kind to Kristof, but they’d all been repaid with perfidy. If Kat had been a rugged, burly male, she’d have gladly murdered him for the insults leveled on her family.

“Will we stay in Cairo?” Isabelle asked. “Nicholas said you might rent a house.”

“Would you like that?”

“I’d rather live somewhere that isn’t so…different from what we’re used to.”

“Cairo is definitely different.”

Kat sighed, yearning to be brilliantly wise and have all the answers. She’d left Parthenia, desperate for advice from her uncle, but he wasn’t inclined to give any, and she wasn’t having any luck picking a path on her own. She was too beaten down, too worried that any choice would be wrong.

The sun had set, the temperature dropping. They were in the children’s tent, and Kat had just tucked Isabelle into her cot. Nicholas had been at the bathing pools to wash off the sweat and dirt. He was having the time of his life, tagging after Cedric, peppering him with questions and learning the ropes of archeology.

Cedric was actually being civil to Nicholas, and Kat was relieved by that small gesture. He seemed charmed by his nephew, but then Nicholas was a very charming boy. It was difficult not to like him. She’d never met anyone who didn’t.

“Would you be disappointed if we remained in Cairo?” she asked her sister.

“I will carry out any task required of me.” Isabelle’s pretty green eyes were serious and concerned.

“I know you will. You’ve been so supportive throughout our ordeal.”

“I wish all the bad things hadn’t happened.”

“So do I, Isabelle. So do I.”

Nicholas bustled in. He was dressed in his drawers, his hair wet and curling over his shoulders.

“Are you cooled down?” she asked.

“Yes.”

He came over to his cot, riffled in his traveling trunk and pulled out his comb. He was growing up, becoming so independent. He’d gone to the pools without protest, had agreed to bathe without a quarrel. Everything was changing.

“Isabelle and I were talking about Cairo,” she told him.

“Have you decided to rent a house?”

“Probably.”

“Could I stay with Uncle Cedric? He thinks I’d be a grand archeologist. I really have a knack for it.”

“We’ll discuss it after it’s an issue. I’m not sure we’ll tarry in Egypt for long.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” he said, “but whatever you choose, Kat, I’m happy.”

“You’re a wonderful boy, Nicholas. You’re such an enormous help to me.”

He grinned as Isabelle said, “What about me, Kat? Am I a wonderful girl?”

“Yes, you’re a very wonderful girl.”

They both giggled, although Nicholas didn’t sound much like a child anymore. Soon she’d have to buy him a razor and have someone teach him to shave.

Her spirits flagged.

Was this all she could offer her brother? A camp in the desert? Would he live out his life digging in the dirt like a common laborer? He should have been a king, should have been sitting on the throne in Parthenia.

Oh, she should have fought for what was rightfully his! Why hadn’t she?

With what army, Kat?

“You two get to sleep,” she said. “No laughing or talking.”

“I worked hard today.” Nicholas looked very proud. “I’m too tired to laugh or talk.”

“There are guards outside. I believe it’s Mr. Hubbard’s turn at the door. I’ll bathe, then I’ll be in my tent.”

“Yes,
Mother,”
they replied in unison, and they giggled again.

“I’m serious.” Her tone was scolding. “If you have any trouble—even if you hear a noise you don’t like—call for Mr. Hubbard.”

“Stop worrying, Katarina,” Nicholas said. “We’re safe here. You found a good place for us.”

Dear Lord, have it always be true…

She hesitated, and Isabelle said, “Take your bath, Kat. Nicholas is correct. We’re fine.”

Kat smiled and departed. She was being a ninny to continually fret, but she simply couldn’t help it. They were her world, and she’d let them down so dreadfully.

She went to her tent to fetch a towel, robe, soap, and other items. Bryce was there, waiting to escort her. As she moved by him to slip under the tent flap, he winked and squeezed her hand.

She wagged a finger, warning him to be careful. She couldn’t have gossip spreading. He grinned and shrugged, apparently not able to resist, which was exhilarating and terrifying. She had no business encouraging him, but more and more, she couldn’t ignore her reckless impulses.

Over the years, she’d known women who ruined themselves for passion, and she’d never understood that sort of temptation. She’d certainly never experienced it. She’d told herself she was more sensible than other females, that she’d never be so foolish or irresponsible.

But when he gazed at her, all her good intentions flew out the window.

Was she smitten? She appeared to be, and she couldn’t figure out how to handle her burgeoning affection.

She was on her own, with no one to advise her on her conduct, no one to counsel caution. She could do as she liked, with the danger being that she thought she might
like
to do quite a bit with him. So far they’d kissed and touched and caressed, but hadn’t accomplished much more than that. Yet those simple pleasures had left her restless and raw.

She noticed her body all the time now, pondered him all the time now. She wanted things she couldn’t describe or explain, and the very fact she was considering scandalous behavior was shocking. It underscored how she liked him much more than was wise, but she couldn’t persuade herself to desist.

She emerged from the tent, carrying a basket filled with her toiletries. He took it from her, and they walked down the path, her arm and leg constantly brushing his. The slight contact had her pulse racing.

She chuckled and shook her head.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked.

“You make me feel like an adolescent girl with her first crush.”

“You have a crush on me?”

“Well, something more than a crush actually.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’d hate to think I was naught more than a passing fancy.”

“You’re more than that.”

“How much more?”

She scoffed with disgust, at herself and at him. “Never mind, you bounder. A woman has to have a few secrets.”

“Why? What fun is that?”

They arrived at the pool she’d chosen, and he set down her basket.

“This is lovely, isn’t it?” she murmured.

“Yes. The minute I learned of them, I jumped in and rinsed off. I come over twice a day.”

“Why didn’t you tell me they were here?”

“I didn’t suppose I should discuss your bathing habits with you. It’s a tad too familiar.”

She snorted at that. There was a bubbling sound at the other end, and she pointed to it. “Is that a waterfall?”

“A small one. The pools are linked so fresh water flows through them.”

“That’s clever.”

“Yes, very clever.”

She beamed with delight. “It’s magical, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem real.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’m definitely a long way from London.”

There was a hesitation where he expected her to agree that she was a long way from somewhere too. It would have been easy to mention Parthenia, to apprise him of her identity, but if she did she’d wreck their connection.

She didn’t know who he assumed she was, probably the wealthy heiress they’d joked about her being. He was happy to fraternize with an heiress, but would he feel the same about a royal princess? She didn’t imagine so. She suspected it would drive a wedge between them that would force him to keep his distance.

They were friends, and she couldn’t push him away. He treated her like a normal person, and she’d never previously enjoyed the anonymity of being a commoner.

Every relationship in her life had been colored by the knowledge that she was a princess. It set automatic barriers, and she didn’t want any of those barriers to arise with him.

“Will you wait for me?”

“Of course.” He grinned his wickedest grin. “Unless you’d like me to join you.”

She was stunned by the suggestion. “In the pool?”

“Yes. We could swim and try a few other…things.”

“Adults behave so outrageously?”

“Yes, and with their clothes off too.”

Her jaw dropped. “Their clothes off?”

“Don’t look so shocked.”

“I can’t help it. I’m astonished.”

But she glanced out at the pond, and she could practically see the two of them in it together. They’d be wet and slippery, and he was so dashing without a shirt. She’d be able to run her hands all over his sculpted chest, would be able to press her nude flesh to his own, and just from thinking about it, she grew so excited she felt dizzy.

“You know so little about real life,” he said. “Were you raised in a convent?”

“Something very close to that.”

“If you won’t let me swim with you, will you let me act as your lady’s maid?”

“To perform what task?”

“To undress you, what would you suppose?”

“Undress me! You actually ponder such indecent conduct?”

“Yes—all the time. Don’t you? Wouldn’t you like to strip naked and have your wicked way with me?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t admit it.”

“I’m a male so fantasizing is allowed. You females pretend to be chaste and innocent, as if you never have an impure thought.”

“I never do,” she claimed which was a bald-faced lie. Since she’d met him, she’d suffered nothing
but
impure thoughts.

As if he could read her mind, he said, “I’m certain—until you met me—you tamped down your worst urges. I’m guessing these days you’re rippling with pent-up lust.”

She laughed. “Why would you guess that?”

“I told you women love me. They always have. I’m too charming.”

“I’m sure it’s a gift. Was it inherited from your father?”

“Probably, but I have much of my mother’s charisma too. She was extremely dynamic, and I possess all her best traits. I employ them in my amorous pursuits. I’d hate to waste them.”

“You’re not humble. I’ll say that for you.”

“Who wants to be humble? Besides, no matter how hard I work at it, I can never rein in all my splendidness. It’s simply impossible.” He cocked a naughty brow. “Now then, will you let me play lady’s maid or not?”

“Not,” she firmly replied before her treacherous anatomy could force out a different answer. She shoved him toward the main path. “Wait out there. And
no
peeking.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

“Oh, you’re horrid,” she scolded. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“You can’t resist, remember? Women never can. You might as well stop trying.” He pointed to her clothes. “Can you manage to disrobe without my assistance?”

“Yes.” She’d removed her corset in the tent, and it was the most difficult piece to discard on her own. Without it, she was scandalously unclad, but she’d left it behind anyway. “Go, would you? If you keep pestering me, I’ll never finish.”

“I’m in no hurry.”

“Go!”

She smiled up at him, and he smiled back, and a wonderful intimacy flared. She didn’t understand how it happened, but he made her so happy. Just by his being near, she felt better and less afraid, and she had no idea why she’d permitted him to escort her to the bathing pool.

She should have brought Pippa or one of the slaves, but she hadn’t. She was desperate to spend time with him, so she was growing loose and free in her habits. The simple fact was that she’d wanted to be alone with him in the moonlight, and she’d gotten her wish. But there were limits to what she’d allow, to what she’d attempt.

He bent down and stole a quick kiss. “Call if you need me. I’ll come running.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Or call if you decide you’d like me to join you after all.”

“I won’t call you.”

He took another quick kiss. “Think about it, would you? I’m right here.”

He marched off, and she almost told him to stay, but she didn’t. Instead she suffered a depraved thrill, picturing him close by and spying on her through the palm fronds.

She dawdled until he disappeared, then she started in on her buttons, gradually stripping to chemise and drawers. She tugged at the combs in her hair, and it swung down her back.

For a wild, reckless instant, she considered shedding her undergarments too so she’d be naked, but there were some boundaries she wouldn’t cross. She dipped in her toe, finding the water pleasantly warm, and she waded out to the middle and dropped to her knees. The moon was up, the air balmy, and Bryce Blair was keeping watch on the other side of the foliage.

It was the most exotic, perfect moment of her life.

CHAPTER NINE

Bryce stood on the dark path, struggling to behave himself.

It was very quiet, the camp settling down for the night, and he could hear Kat undressing, could hear her wade in, could hear a splash as she immersed herself in the pool. He’d always had a vivid imagination, and it was working at a frantic speed. He pictured her naked, the water sluicing over her smooth skin, her pretty hair flowing out behind.

He groaned and rubbed a palm on his cock. The unruly rod had grown so hard that it nearly doubled him over.

He shouldn’t have accompanied her. Not on his own anyway. He should have forced Miss Clementi to come, although she’d been conspicuously absent when he’d tried to locate her. So he should have had a slave woman attend Kat, but he hadn’t. He’d wanted to sneak off with her.