Rendezvous With Yesterday (The Gifted Ones #2)(25)
Another of those strange pauses followed her words.
Robert nodded to Adam. “Return to camp. We shall join you shortly.”
“Aye, my lord.”
Adam passed them and disappeared into the foliage.
Robert settled a hand on Beth’s lower back and guided her in the opposite direction.
“You don’t expect me to address you that way, do you?” she asked, thinking of the way his men frequently addressed him.
Robert tilted his head to one side. “Others will think it odd if you do not.” A slow smile stole across his face. “However, I find that I enjoy the sound of my name upon your lips.”
Butterflies flitted about in Beth’s stomach. Struggling to appear unaffected, she mustered a smile and nudged him with her shoulder. “Flirt.”
“I am not familiar with that word.”
“Yes, but you can probably guess its meaning, right?”
He laughed. “Aye.”
As they walked, he solicitously held branch after branch out of the way so she could pass unscathed. Were she a gambling woman, Beth would bet he was also the kind of man who stood whenever a woman entered the room.
Not too many of those existed anymore.
The trees and undergrowth parted in front of them, revealing a lovely river that sparkled like diamonds in the moonlight. It looked fairly deep at its center, the current swift and strong, but shallow and fairly calm along its banks.
So they had been near a waterway.
“Yes!” Racing forward, Beth dropped to her knees and plunged her hands into the water. She was already in the process of splashing it up onto her face when she became aware of its frigid temperature. “It’s freezing!” she gasped.
Behind her Robert chuckled. “I suspected you would think so.”
Beth stared down at the water in dismay. She would really love to wash off the itchy, grisly remainders of her violent confrontation with Kingsley and Vergoma. But if she bathed in that, she would be blue from the cold by the time she finished. “I don’t care. I’m going to wash this crap off of me anyway.”
Robert lowered her backpack to the ground, along with another pouch she had not noticed. “You will be chilled afterward. Have you fresh clothing to don?”
“Yes.” Marc had recommended that she add a change of clothes while he had loaded it up for her.
As Robert knelt beside her, Beth dug through the backpack and removed the flashlight. “Here. Would you hold this for me so I can see what I’m doing?” Flicking the ON switch, she handed the light to Robert.
Gasping, he turned it toward himself.
Beth held up a hand. “Don’t—”
Too late. Blinking quickly, he rubbed his eyes with his free hand.
She sent him a wry smile. “Never mind. Just hold it like this.” Clasping his wrist, she adjusted the flashlight’s angle until the bright beam fell onto her backpack, then released him.
While Robert blinked to clear his vision, Beth rummaged through the pack, looking for all of the items she would need to get clean: a pair of rolled-up blue jeans, a black tank top, black bikini panties, white ankle socks, a bar of soap and a tiny bottle of shampoo. Unfortunately she had neither a towel to dry off with nor a clean bra to don underneath the tank top.
The latter bothered her more than the first. She didn’t relish the idea of sitting before a campfire with Robert and three men she still considered virtual strangers all staring at her nipples, which the cold breeze would no doubt make prominent.
“Is aught amiss?” Robert asked, noting her frown.
“Nay. Well, aye. I don’t have another bra, and the one I’m wearing is filthy.” Though Beth wasn’t as fanatical about cleanliness as the fictional character Adrian Monk, she disliked grime enough that her current state really nettled her.
She watched his face, clearly visible now thanks to the flashlight.
He had that cute, slightly befuddled expression again. And she wondered if he was going to pretend he didn’t know what a bra was.
“’Tis necessary, this bra?” he asked cautiously.
“Nay.” Irritated by the blush she could feel climbing her cheeks, she spoke more sharply than she intended. “Look, while I’m technically not shy, I’m not an exhibitionist either. My tank top isn’t that thick and I don’t want your men to spend the rest of the night staring at my breasts.”
His blue-eyed gaze dropped to her chest, then swiftly returned to meet hers. A teasing grin stretched his lips. “I trust, however, you would not be averse to my staring at them.”
A burst of laughter escaped her, catching her by surprise. She wouldn’t have thought anything could amuse her under the circumstances. “Oh, shut up,” she said, giving him a shove that landed him on his backside.
Deep masculine laughter washed over her, warming her and easing some of her tension.
“Forgive me, Beth. I did but jest. My men are all honorable and will not behave disrespectfully toward you. If you lack sufficient clothing to make you comfortable, however, you are more than welcome to don my spare tunic. Or you may wrap yourself in any of our cloaks and blankets. They are all at your disposal.”
“Thank you, Robert.”
A smile lingering on his handsome face, he shone the light down on her pile of belongings. “Have you any soap in there? Or do you wish to use mine?” His pack lay untouched where he had dropped it a couple of feet away.