Graeme frowned and looked in the direction of Bowen’s gaze only to nearly swallow his tongue. His mouth flopped open and he shook his head, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Across the river, on the side of the keep, Eveline stood waist deep in the water, and she was putting soap to her hair.
“She looks completely normal to me, brother. And very appealing as well. She has the look of a woman grown, and God’s teeth, I’ve not seen such a finely formed woman in many a year. I think your guilt is misplaced and that you weigh heavy over something you should not.”
The amusement in Bowen’s voice yanked Graeme from his reverie.
“Be gone!” Graeme demanded. “Look not upon her again.”
Bowen laughed, but turned his horse and began to ride in the opposite direction. “Think on what I said, Graeme. The lass is certainly not a child, nor even a girl too young. She’s a woman full grown and the proof’s right in front of you.”
His chuckles carried back to Graeme as he rode farther away. Graeme’s attention snapped back to Eveline just in time to see her rinse her hands in the water. He sat forward on his saddle and bellowed her name across the river, full intending to tell her to leave the water and put her damn clothes on. Whatever was she thinking to take a bath in the middle of the day where anyone could happen upon her?
But she either didn’t hear him or she ignored him. She never even looked up but continued to wade into the water.
Unease gripped Graeme. The river was deep here and the current moved swiftly. Just downstream the water shallowed, but was still deep enough to carry a body swiftly and rocks jutted upward from the bed creating a harder rapid. If she lost her footing or went too deep, she could easily be carried away and dashed upon the rocks.
For a moment she closed her eyes and cocked her head back as if seeking the warmth of the sun. The movement jutted her br**sts forward and Graeme groaned. She was, indeed, very beautiful. And perhaps her unawareness or lack of pretension over her looks added to her beauty. He wasn’t sure what made her so appealing to him. Which was why he felt so damn guilty over lusting over her. He knew without a doubt that if she were any other woman who’d suffered what she’d suffered and her mental capacity was in question, he’d only feel pity for her. He certainly wouldn’t be thinking about bedding her.
Compassion was what she deserved. It was what she needed, but she found it in neither the members of his clan nor him.
Just as suddenly as she tilted her head back, she suddenly leaned forward and dove beneath the surface of the water. He urged his horse forward, his gaze rapidly scanning the surface as he waited for her to come back up.
He was at full gallop, his heart thumping when she remained under. He slid from his saddle while the horse was still moving and stumbled forward as he hurried toward the bank.
She still hadn’t surfaced.
He didn’t even try to remove his boots or any part of his clothing. He slid down the bank and dove headlong into the water.
The cold nearly made him gasp, but he managed to prevent himself from inhaling a mouthful of water as he powered downward, his arms flailing outward in an effort to feel her. But if she’d been caught in the current, she could already be well downstream by now.
He was about to come up for air and call for help, when he felt a hand in his hair pulling upward. When his head popped above the surface, he found himself face-to-face with Eveline, who looked concerned. For him.
She cocked her head, put her palm to his cheek, and frowned, her eyes clearly questioning his well-being. He had the sudden urge to strangle her.
“What in the world are you doing, woman?” he bellowed. “Have you any idea what I thought? I thought you were drowning, or that you didn’t know how to swim, or that you’d been swept downstream and would be killed on the rocks.”
She blinked as if none of those thoughts had ever occurred to her. He swore and frowned all the more fiercely at her. He was freezing his arse off and she was treading water next to him, staring at him as if he’d lost his mind.
She raised one arm, wiped her fingers along it, then wrinkled her nose in distaste. Then she put her fingers to her nose and pinched her nostrils.
“A bath,” he grumbled. “You wanted a bath. God’s teeth, and you think you stink?”
She nodded solemnly. Then she held up the wet ends of her hair as if to tell him she’d merely been rinsing it. He shook his head.
But he went completely still when she touched his chin. It was just a simple touch, but it was if he’d been pressed by a hot brand. Warmth traveled down his body, alleviating the cold numb that had begun to set in.
Her lips worked up and down almost as if she were trying to say something, but then she clamped them shut and instead gave him a sad look that could only be interpreted as an apology.
Then to his utter shock, she wrapped her arms around his neck to give herself leverage, and she lifted herself out of the water just enough that she could press her lips to his.
Several things happened at once.
Her full br**sts pressed against his chest. Her ni**les were hard and puckered from the cold, and he could feel the imprint on his skin. Her lips melted over his, warm and soft, and he was suddenly as heated as a man who’d been baked in the sun on the hottest summer day.
Ah but the lass was sweet. The sweetest mouth he’d ever tasted.
He gave in to the sinful urge to possess that delectable mouth and he returned her kiss in full measure. His tongue stroked over her lips, coaxing and enticing her to let him in.
She gave a breathy sigh and parted her mouth, allowing his tongue to push inside.