Lord Sebastian's Secret (The Duke's Sons #3)(32)

Looking apprehensively down at her scuffed boot, Georgina nodded.

Self-consciousness descended as Sebastian pushed back the folds of her skirt and began to ease the boot off. “Sorry,” he said when a groan escaped her.

“It’s all right.”

He had to tug, and he hated to hurt her. But if her foot and leg were swelling, it would only be worse later on. He took the last bit swiftly, to get it over, and there was her lovely leg revealed. Sebastian controlled his reactions. She was hurt. He was here to take care of her, to help her.

He didn’t try to remove her silk stocking. To do that, he would have to venture into dangerous areas, and he could only stand so much. He took hold of her foot and gently probed the delicate bones. There was no break that he could discern. Same with her ankle. He let his hands move up the swell of her calf, his fingers careful and sure.

“Ow,” said Georgina when he was midway to her knee.

He found swelling all around her leg there, but no break in the bones. Probably bad bruising and twisted muscles. “Just a strain, I think. Where those branches caught you. Hurts like the dev—a great deal, I imagine.”

She nodded. “It feels better without the boot, though.”

Sebastian continued his examination as far as her knee and found no more damage. His hands wanted to continue; he sternly forbade them.

Georgina nearly forgot the pain as she was flooded with memories of the way his fingers had gone further on a previous occasion. She was sorry when he let go.

Sebastian sat back. “Rest is the best thing for it. Anything else?”

There was a bump on her head, but it only hurt when she pressed it. “Just scratches.” She held out her hand, exhibiting the deepest. Three lines of angry red ran from her wrist to her knuckles, ornamented by blotches of green from the vegetation. “It was the brambles, I think.” It was nothing, really. But she couldn’t resist being taken care of a bit more, since he took the task so seriously.

Sebastian took her hand and examined it. “Not deep. That’s good.” He pulled out his handkerchief and went over to kneel by the pool in the middle of the space.

When he didn’t move for some moments, Georgina said, “What’s wrong?”

“I want to see if there’s a spring.” After another interval, he nodded. “Yes, a tiny one.” He wet the handkerchief. “That means the water runs through the rock. Which is good news as we’ll have to drink it. At another season, it would be full of God knows what from upstream.”

Returning to her side, he began to bathe the scratches with the wet cloth. The cool water was wonderfully soothing. Georgina watched his face—intent, assured, so handsome. It was clear he had no idea how incredible he was.

“There’s a scratch on your forehead, too.” He wiped the handkerchief gently across her face.

Alarmed, Georgina lifted her other hand to check.

“It’s nothing,” Sebastian assured her. “It’ll heal up in a day or two.”

Their eyes met from a distance of inches. Even in the dim light, his were so intensely blue. Firelight flickered orange on his skin. She would only have to lean a little forward, Georgina thought, and their lips would meet.

Tearing his gaze away, he drew back. He looked around as if seeking a change of subject. “There’s some bracken,” he said. “It makes a tolerable bed.”

The last word seemed to hang in the air between them, like a signpost to uncharted realms. Georgina became acutely aware of her position, lying before him with her skirts hiked up, her leg bared, as if she was offering herself to him. Once in her head, the idea was riveting. They would certainly be here through the night.

Sebastian swallowed. “I’ll fetch some,” he added. Standing quickly, he shoved his wet handkerchief back in his pocket and moved away from her.

Georgina sat up. She ought to push her skirt down, she thought. Every tenet of her upbringing said so. Wasn’t it interesting how all that training could go flying away in the presence of one certain man? She’d never felt such an urge around any other. But with Sebastian… She watched him bending, slicing through stems with his pocketknife, and straightening with an armload of bracken. Every movement of his tall figure was strong and sure. She wanted those exceedingly competent hands on her again. She wanted his kisses. She wanted what came after.

What would he think if she hiked her skirts a little higher, unfastened a button or two of the bodice that suddenly felt madly constricting? He turned toward her. Georgina caught her breath. Almost as much as she wanted those other things, she wanted him to think well of her. She pushed her skirts down.

Sebastian moved back and forth with piles of fronds, forming them into a pallet beside Georgina. He built up the fire and fetched more dry wood from the deadfall. They ate some bread and cheese. As darkness deepened, the circular space began to feel like a little room, illuminated by the flames reflecting off the stone walls.

Chores finished, Sebastian sat down on the other side of the fire. A fraught silence fell over them. Georgina was searching for something to say when she was distracted by rustling from the dark depths of the gully. It was pitch-black in that narrow crevice. Anything could creep up on them. “I don’t suppose we need worry about bears or wolves,” she said. “No, of course not. There aren’t any large animals around here.”

“And it would take an exceptional wolf to climb down those walls,” replied Sebastian with a laugh.