He glanced at her, then continued to undress her. “Have you ever swum naked in a pond?” he asked.
Maddie swallowed and shook her head. She could feel the cool breeze on her calves and then on her knees as her chemise rode higher and higher.
“You’ll love it,” he whispered, and she knew he was right.
He tugged her farther into the water, pulling her chemise over her head and tossing it onto the bank behind them. And then, just as the cold water started to make her shiver, he closed his warm, naked body around her.
Chapter Fourteen
Maddie shivered from the contrast between the heat of Jack’s body and the cool water of the pond.
She was naked.
She was naked and pressed against her equally naked husband.
In full daylight, no less! She couldn’t even blow out a candle and seek privacy in darkness. No, he could see every inch of her. And he would, as soon as he released her.
Unless he didn’t release her . . .
Maddie wrapped her arms around Jack and buried her neck in his chest. He smelled like sunshine and blue skies and shaving lotion. She noted once again that his face was clean and smooth. He must have borrowed a razor from the farmer. She’d almost grown used to seeing him with that black beard, and he looked younger without it.
Jack began to pull away, but Maddie wouldn’t allow it. She stayed pressed against him, hiding her too-ample breasts and hips from his eyes.
When he tried to step back again, she went with him, and he almost lost his balance. “I had no idea you liked me this much,” he drawled when she still wouldn’t release him.
“I don’t like you this much,” she retorted, and kept her arms firmly clenched around him.
“Then let go,” he said.
“What? And parade myself in front of everyone? I don’t think so.”
His laughter rumbled through her. “Parade yourself? And who’s everyone? It’s only you and me.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Fine.” Jack grasped her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. “We’ll walk into deeper water.”
Staring into his eyes made her think of kissing him again, and that made her shiver again, but she managed to nod and follow him farther out. Her body was becoming accustomed to the water temperature, and when she finally released him and ducked under, the water felt perfect.
She dipped her head back, wetting her hair and face, then came up smiling at Jack, who was standing in water to his neck. She could barely touch the pond’s floor on tiptoes.
“Better?” Jack asked.
Maddie smiled and nodded.
“And what do you think of swimming without clothes?”
“It’s deliciously wicked,” she answered. “I feel like the most sinful libertine.”
Maddie felt her face heat, and she ducked under again. When she came up, he was still looking at her, his swept-back hair making the hard planes of his jaw and cheekbones stand out. His black lashes were wet and spiky, and his dark eyes were filled with mischief and something that looked very much like desire.
“So I’ve married a wanton libertine. My luck improves day by day.”
Maddie, treading water now, shook her head. “But that’s the problem, Jack. I’m not a libertine. I’m Lady Madeleine. I shouldn’t be doing this.” She gestured to the pond and her lonely clothes, balled up on the shore.
“Who says?” He moved closer to her, and Maddie treaded water faster.
“I—I imagine everyone would say so. This isn’t proper.”
