Flirting with His Forbidden Lady--A Regency Family is Reunited by Laura Martin (good novels to read txt) 📕

Beth bit her lip. ‘Mother will be pleased.’ She sounded totally and utterly miserable. ‘So if I told him tomorrow I was sure I wanted to marry him...’

‘He would announce your engagement.’

Beth nodded.

‘Will you?’

Slowly she shook her head. ‘Perhaps another week, just to be completely sure, isn’t such a bad idea.’

‘Come. Show me where we’re going to cross the river.’

Beth led the way to the bank close to the beach. Josh could see she’d been right even before his horse stepped into the water. It was shallow, so shallow he could make out the bottom. Aside from a few splashes from the horses’ hooves it was a dry crossing and they were on the opposite bank in no time at all.

‘Race you to the top of the cliff,’ Beth said, the frown from minutes earlier replaced by an impish grin. She’d already set off before she’d finished issuing the challenge and Josh had to urge his horse on in an attempt to catch up.

As they rode Beth’s hair began to stream out behind her, whipped by the wind from the pins that held it up.

She won, only by a second, but it was a victory all the same and Josh quickly dismounted to pick her a solitary purple flower as her prize. As he passed it up to her their fingers brushed and Josh’s eyes flicked up to meet Beth’s. He saw the desire flare, saw the minuscule movement of her leg so it pressed against his hand. Without thinking of the consequences he placed his hand just above her knee, feeling the firm muscle underneath her riding habit. From there it would be so easy to walk his fingers up her thigh and... Quickly he dismissed the thought. They were out in public, out in the open, and the rest of the party could be along at any moment. Even so it was too difficult to pull his hand away. He lingered, fighting the image in his mind of him lifting Beth from the saddle and tumbling her into the long grass. With great effort he pulled away and watched as she wove the flower into her hair, the purple contrasting beautifully with the honey blonde. All the time her eyes were locked on his and he felt as though he’d been mesmerised by a nymph or a goddess from the ancient Greek myths he’d loved when he was a boy.

‘It is only ten minutes to Seaford from here,’ she said, pointing across the cliff to where the terrain rolled slowly down to the little seaside town. Her voice contained a slight quiver, just enough to tell him she was as on edge as he was, wanting everything they couldn’t have.

Chapter Fourteen

Beth lay back on the sand and closed her eyes. Her mother would be horrified if she could see her with her face turned up to the sun and no bonnet or parasol in sight, but for once Beth did not care. She felt happy here with the sound of the waves lapping at the beach, interspersed with the swish and plop of the stones Josh was skimming across the water.

‘Six,’ he murmured before bending next to her and picking up another stone.

‘I’ve never been able to skim stones,’ Beth said sleepily. She felt contented, as if she could lie here for days, not having to think about the real world. ‘My father could, and I can remember him trying to teach Mother and Annabelle and me, but I just couldn’t ever seem to make them skip across the water.’

‘Come here,’ Josh said, offering her his hand and pulling her to her feet. ‘It’s all in the wrist action.’

He demonstrated, choosing a flat pebble and showing her how to hold it in her hand and position her feet.

‘You have to do a sharp flick of the wrist and end up with your hand pointing in the direction you want your stone to go.’

Beth picked up a pebble of her own and weighed it in her hand. She positioned herself as he’d instructed and tried a few practice flicks before releasing the stone. It sank with a loud plop under the gentle waves without skipping even once across the water.

‘Try again,’ Josh prompted, watching critically as Beth flicked the pebble from her wrist.

Again it hit the water heavily and sank immediately.

‘I told you. I practised and practised when I was a child and I just could never get it.’

Josh stepped in closer and suddenly Beth was acutely aware of the fact they were all alone on the beach. A few couples strolled arm in arm along the promenade a hundred feet away, but there was no one actually on the beach with them.

‘Here. Position yourself a little more to the side.’ He looped an arm around her waist and shifted her stance by a few inches. ‘Then sway your hips just a fraction, twist and then flick your wrist.’ He picked up a stone and placed it in her hand and then held her waist. Every conscious thought left Beth’s mind and all she could think about was Josh’s body close to her, his touch, his heartbeat in time with hers.

Gently he guided her through the movements and Beth released the pebble, gasping with delight as it skipped three times over the water.

‘I did it.’

‘You did it. Let’s go again.’

Again he guided her body, his hand resting on the back of hers and applying just the lightest of pressure to show her when to flick and when to release.

‘Four,’ she counted, amazed at how much pleasure this simple game was giving her.

‘Do you want to try by yourself?’

It would mean Josh stepping away; it would mean the end to the wonderful closeness of his body. Quickly she shook her head, even though she knew their proximity was foolish.

‘One more,’ she said, feeling him move an inch closer. For a moment she closed her eyes and allowed herself the pleasure of standing on the beach with this man whose