skin of the residue of their passion with seductive strokes that
made her shiver with something other than cold. Alex grinned wickedly, turning
her round to run his fingers in an i n tim ate knowing caress down the cleft of her buttocks.
"Off you go, now. I'm going to swim. This water ' s too co l d for standing still." A playful smack accompanied the
instruc ti on, and Ginny leaped through the
water, holding her hair high until she reached the shallows. She
turned to watch him i s he cleaved the water with a
powerful overarm, the auburn h e ad a dark
splodge against the gray-green sea. Ginny co nt emplated
taking her revenge by drying herself on his s hi rt and then decided that he had not deserved such tr e at m ent. Instead,
she rubbed herself dry vigorously with her
chemise —the one garment she could do without on
the way home. Her habit was wet from the mad ride, though , and sandy from her fall, and without a comb and the
wooden pins that Alex had removed, there was little she could do about her hair.
Ginny slipped into her drawers and surprised herself by an
involuntary giggle, something she hadn't done in years, but the thought of
riding through the camp in her disheveled condition was somehow deliciously
funny. And then the laughter died abruptly. It mattered not a whit if the whole
world knew of her shocking conduct. She had nothing to lose except a reputation
that now seemed quite irrelevant. Suddenly she wrapped her arms across her
breasts in an unconsciously protective movement. She did have something else to
lose— the man, Alex Marshall, and all that
went with the love and passion of man for woman and woman for man. But how
could she not lose it? There was no place in wartime for the consummated desire
between a colonel in Cromwell's New Model Army and the daughter of a Malignant.
No place for more than the ephemeral joy between two people opposed in every
way but that of bodily fit and contour.
" Ow!"
Deep in her reverie, she hadn't heard Alex creep up the sand behind her. He
caught her around the waist and lifted her off her feet, her bare back pressed
against his cold wet c hest. "Put me down!" Her
legs flailed indignantly. "You've made me all wet again."
"It was quite irresistible." He laughed, setting
her on her fre t "Th e sight of you in nothing but your drawers, withyour
hair hanging down your back, staring into space on a deserted beach. What were
you thinking?"
"Nothing at all," she declared, "except how
wonderful I feel."
"I'm not sure I believe you," Alex said quietly,
"but I will do so for the moment because I must."
"The colonel must return to his troops," Ginny
said, accepting his statement thankfully, handing him her chemise. "Use
this to dry yourself."
Alex frowned but said nothing as he dried himself roughly and
dressed.
Ginny shook the sand from her cloak before throwing the
garment around her shoulders and tucking her hair beneath the hood. " How
much of a wanton do I look?" she asked with a tiny smile that did little to
dispel the strain that, while it took nothing away from the glory they had
shared, cast a shadow over the present and the nebulous future.
" If
you remain swathed, you will pass muster," Alex said, tipping her chin to
drop a kiss on her nose. If she would play the game, then would he also.
"The only difficulty I see is how to hide one soaked undergarment from
sharp eyes " He wrung out the sodden shift with a
frown of mock puzzlement.
" I
will conceal it beneath my cloak, together with the rest of the evidence of my
abandonment." She laughed lightly. "Let us put gloom behind us for
the moment, and I will guarantee to race you back with cunning rather than
speed."
She caught Jen's reins, hitched her skirts over one arm, and
put a foot in the stirrup. "Help me up, Colonel."
Alex boosted her into the saddle with one hand under her
bottom. "You were quite capable of remounting unaided," he told her
when she made laughing protestation at this undignified helping
made her shiver with something other than cold. Alex grinned wickedly, turning
her round to run his fingers in an i n tim ate knowing caress down the cleft of her buttocks.
"Off you go, now. I'm going to swim. This water ' s too co l d for standing still." A playful smack accompanied the
instruc ti on, and Ginny leaped through the
water, holding her hair high until she reached the shallows. She
turned to watch him i s he cleaved the water with a
powerful overarm, the auburn h e ad a dark
splodge against the gray-green sea. Ginny co nt emplated
taking her revenge by drying herself on his s hi rt and then decided that he had not deserved such tr e at m ent. Instead,
she rubbed herself dry vigorously with her
chemise —the one garment she could do without on
the way home. Her habit was wet from the mad ride, though , and sandy from her fall, and without a comb and the
wooden pins that Alex had removed, there was little she could do about her hair.
Ginny slipped into her drawers and surprised herself by an
involuntary giggle, something she hadn't done in years, but the thought of
riding through the camp in her disheveled condition was somehow deliciously
funny. And then the laughter died abruptly. It mattered not a whit if the whole
world knew of her shocking conduct. She had nothing to lose except a reputation
that now seemed quite irrelevant. Suddenly she wrapped her arms across her
breasts in an unconsciously protective movement. She did have something else to
lose— the man, Alex Marshall, and all that
went with the love and passion of man for woman and woman for man. But how
could she not lose it? There was no place in wartime for the consummated desire
between a colonel in Cromwell's New Model Army and the daughter of a Malignant.
No place for more than the ephemeral joy between two people opposed in every
way but that of bodily fit and contour.
" Ow!"
Deep in her reverie, she hadn't heard Alex creep up the sand behind her. He
caught her around the waist and lifted her off her feet, her bare back pressed
against his cold wet c hest. "Put me down!" Her
legs flailed indignantly. "You've made me all wet again."
"It was quite irresistible." He laughed, setting
her on her fre t "Th e sight of you in nothing but your drawers, withyour
hair hanging down your back, staring into space on a deserted beach. What were
you thinking?"
"Nothing at all," she declared, "except how
wonderful I feel."
"I'm not sure I believe you," Alex said quietly,
"but I will do so for the moment because I must."
"The colonel must return to his troops," Ginny
said, accepting his statement thankfully, handing him her chemise. "Use
this to dry yourself."
Alex frowned but said nothing as he dried himself roughly and
dressed.
Ginny shook the sand from her cloak before throwing the
garment around her shoulders and tucking her hair beneath the hood. " How
much of a wanton do I look?" she asked with a tiny smile that did little to
dispel the strain that, while it took nothing away from the glory they had
shared, cast a shadow over the present and the nebulous future.
" If
you remain swathed, you will pass muster," Alex said, tipping her chin to
drop a kiss on her nose. If she would play the game, then would he also.
"The only difficulty I see is how to hide one soaked undergarment from
sharp eyes " He wrung out the sodden shift with a
frown of mock puzzlement.
" I
will conceal it beneath my cloak, together with the rest of the evidence of my
abandonment." She laughed lightly. "Let us put gloom behind us for
the moment, and I will guarantee to race you back with cunning rather than
speed."
She caught Jen's reins, hitched her skirts over one arm, and
put a foot in the stirrup. "Help me up, Colonel."
Alex boosted her into the saddle with one hand under her
bottom. "You were quite capable of remounting unaided," he told her
when she made laughing protestation at this undignified helping
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