Page 61 of An Unexpected Earl

“Well, yes. You’re an army officer. Or used to be. For a very long time. I wouldn’t think that you’d be conditioned to think of small luxuries like hot water when you’re fleeing attack.” She bent down to dip her fingers into the bucket to test the temperature. Thank God she didn’t see the ruefulness on his face for assuming that she thought the worst of him. “Especially for a woman.”

“You’d be surprised what I think about when I’m under attack,” he mumbled beneath his breath, turning away from the fire. “And you’re not an average woman.”

Her fingers froze in midsplash. Ignoring that compliment, she gestured toward the plate on the desk. “And the food?”

Breaking the tension between them, he popped one of the grapes into his mouth. “For me.”

“Of course.” Her lips twisted knowingly.

He nodded toward the washstand. “Go ahead. Wash up before the water grows cold.”

“So you can just stand there and eat all the food?”

He shot her a flirtatious grin. “And watch you.”

“Of course,” she repeated dryly.

He picked up a piece of cheese and gestured at the bucket with it. “Don’t let me stop you from taking off your shift and stockings, from rubbing soapy, warm water all over your bare flesh in the firelight.” He was teasing her to lighten the tension between them, but damnation, if his words didn’t make his cock ache for exactly that. “And by all means, take your time.”

“How very thoughtful of you.”

He trailed a lascivious gaze over her, his disappointment real that she was covered almost completely by that tent of a blanket. “I have only your best interests at heart.”

“I don’t think it’s in your heart where your interests currently lie,” she muttered, reaching down to lift the bucket and pour the steaming water into the basin.

He grinned and popped the cheese into his mouth.

She set down the bucket and circled a finger in the air. “Turn around.”

He feigned wounding. “And take all the fun out of bathing?”

“Turn around, Brigadier,” she ordered.

“I knew this was only a matter of time.” Doing as she asked, he turned his back to her and grumbled, “In the end, all women pull rank.”

A wet sponge smacked him in the middle of the back.

“That’s a violation of the rules of warfare, I’ll have you know.” With a grin, he snatched up the sponge and threw it back at her over his head without turning around. “It’s ungentlemanly to attack the enemy when he isn’t looking.”

She laughed. The sound came as soft and warm as the firelight, filling him with a melancholy longing to have back what her father stole from him.

But then, why shouldn’t he have it? Gordon Howard was dead. The old bastard couldn’t come between them any longer. More—all the man’s insults that Pearce wasn’t good enough for her were no longer true. He was an earl now, for God’s sake. That title could at last be good for something. Like turning back time.

If given the chance, though, would she take it?

“You said before that we aren’t enemies,” she reminded him, just as softly as her laugh. “I’m hoping that’s true.”

“It is,” he said quietly, distracted by the thoughts spinning through his mind, the old memories and wounds. So much had happened… How could they ever find their way back?

“Freddie has done some awful things,” she began tentatively, testing the newfound trust between them. “Illegal things. And apparently not just selling his influence in Parliament.”

Realization of what she meant tingled through him.

“I don’t know how it was discovered or who passed along the information, but he’s being blackmailed over it.”

The soft rustle of fabric accompanied her quiet explanation as she dropped the blanket to the floor and removed her shift and stockings. His pulse spiked at the thought that she was standing completely naked only a few feet away.

“The blackmailer threatened to go to Sir Charles with evidence of what Freddie’s done if he didn’t place the men into government positions as ordered.”