Playing the Rake's Game by Bronwyn Scott

Author:Bronwyn Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Emerging into the sunlight and heat was akin to being born into another world and almost as difficult. Ren would like to have remained by the waterfall, savouring the magic of their cavern glade, but the horse would be getting restless and reality called. They kept silent as they climbed back into the gig and resumed their drive towards the beach.

Ren was reluctant to the break the spell, perhaps Emma was too. He cast a sideways glance at her profile beneath her straw hat, the slim nose, the sweep of her jaw, all conspiring to create the sharp beauty of her face. But there was tenseness, too. Whatever the reason for her silence, she was absorbed in her thoughts, breaking her contemplations only to gesture toward the cut-offs leading down to the water. He wondered if her thoughts followed the same pattern as his. Was she thinking about them, too? What did the events of the last two days mean to her? Or was she thinking of something else? She’d been frightened last night with Gridley and she’d been frightened again this morning, although a less perceptive man would not have noticed. Emma was a master at using boldness, her bravado, as her shield against that fear.

They rounded a final curve and the ocean opened up before them, sparkling in deep blues and greens beneath the sun, the sand nearly white.

Ren couldn’t help but smile at the incredible view. ‘I thought the cave was breathtaking, but this easily rivals it. The average person in England can’t begin to imagine the beauty here, it’s so vibrant. Even the colours are different. Our ocean is dark and cold, hardly inviting.’

He jumped down and unharnessed the horse. In this secluded cove, the horse couldn’t go far. He went around to Emma’s side and helped her down, his hands lingering at her waist, looking for some sign of what was going on behind her dark eyes. She was by far the loveliest, most mysterious woman he’d yet to meet, but that also made her the most complicated and the most intriguing. ‘Will you walk with me, Emma?’ Ren asked quietly.

They made short work of their shoes. Ren rolled up his trousers and Emma tied her skirt in a knot to keep it out of the waves. Everything was different, not just the colours of the ocean, Ren reflected as they made their way to the water, the sand warm between his toes. Emma was different, too. She’d not hesitated to take off her shoes, to knot up her skirt. No English girl would have dared such immodesty, certainly not the heiress in York. But modesty was often impractical here. He couldn’t picture Emma not enjoying the beauty of the ocean for the sake of keeping her toes covered. Propriety was not worth the sacrifice.

‘A penny for your thoughts...’ Ren began as the waves gently lapped at their feet. The warmth of the water was a marvel to him. His brother Teddy would be in awe.

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