“You really swim naked?”
He gave a firm nod. “Have since I was a boy.”
“But it’s so cold and…wet.”
He stood, brushing the sand from his trousers.
“You’ll get used to the cold, and there isn’t a better day than this to give it your first try.” He shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up. “The sun will dry you once we’re finished.”
Without another word, he tugged his shirt over his head. Her lips parted, and she drank in the sight of him shirtless, the sun gleaming off his taut muscles.
For a bewildering moment, she couldn’t for the life of her think how she’d gotten here. A confirmed wallflower of the most superb quality, she was now sitting on a beach in Sussex staring at her ducal husband’s bare chest. What a magnificent chest it was if she were honest. And yet, she was still sore from their lovemaking the previous night. This was not at all how she’d envisioned her summer unfolding, but she was not disappointed.
Until she peered at the water again.
“You really go in unclothed?” She scanned the cove around them. “And you’re not concerned someone might see you?”
He peered at the top of the cliffs that cocooned them.
“There isn’t another house for several kilometers on either side of us.” His fingers went to the buttons of his trousers. “We are in greater danger of having our toes nibbled by those sea monsters of yours than we are of being seen by another human.”
She envied how carefree he was with his body, his fingers undoing the buttons with careless precision. He stopped before he shucked them and motioned her to stand.
“Let me help you with your dress.”
He pulled her to her feet and undid the buttons along her back with much the same carelessness with which he’d done his own. He gave her his arm to step free of the dress, corset, and petticoats, but he took pity on her and allowed her to keep her chemise and drawers. The wind was startlingly warm against her calves and her arms, and she shivered.
“Cold already?” His voice held a note of concern.
She shook her head. “No, it isn’t that.” She studied her bare arms, the way the flesh prickled at the sensation of the wind. “I’ve never felt the wind like this. On quite so much of me, I mean.”
He touched her cheek, and she started, still not used to him touching her so unexpectedly.
“Can you see without your spectacles? I should hate to see them lost in the ocean if a wave catches you unawares.”
She took them off and handed them with her bonnet to him. He studied her head strangely for a moment. He seemed to realize he’d been caught and looked away with a satisfied smile as he bent to place her things next to their pile of shed clothes. She patted her head lightly to see if something were amiss.
When he straightened, he shed his trousers, and she forgot entirely about how he’d stared at her head.
He caught her hand and pulled her to the water before she had adjusted to his nakedness. Even though she had already seen him undressed, it was a shock to see him in the clarity of daylight.
They reached the water, and the cold distracted her. When she thought they would stop, he pulled her farther, her feet digging into the sandy bottom to push against the oncoming waves. Finally, when he was about waist deep in the water, he stopped, pulling her in front of him.
The water had soaked her drawers, and she knew they would do her little good when she emerged as they were surely transparent. She pressed her hand to her bosom, but it would do no good. The water lapped at her frame, and soon she knew her small breasts would be visible as well.
“The first thing you must learn is how to let the water carry you.”
“Carry me?” She looked up sharply. “Wouldn’t I sink?”
“You can but not if you learn how to float.” He skimmed his hand along the surface of the water. “Just as a ship will float along the surface of the ocean, so too can your body. You only need to learn how to displace the water to give you buoyancy.”
He sank into the water until he had both of his arms locked around her torso, and they were nearly face to face.
She frowned. “I hardly think this is necessary.”
He stole a quick kiss before tipping her backwards. “I assure you I am being the most proper tutor.”
She doubted that very much, but as she pitched backward, her feet slipped from the sandy bottom, and she caught his shoulders to keep from falling.
“Are you certain I shan’t sink?”
“I promise I’ve got you.”
Her stomach clenched at his words, and she forced herself to focus. That wasn’t what he’d meant. He was simply addressing the physics of their current situation. Still, her heart beat a little faster knowing he wouldn’t let her sink.
When she was fully on her back, she kicked to keep her feet under her, but he stilled her with a hand to her abdomen.
“Let your feet float up so you’re lying on the water.”
“Are you mad? I certainly will sink then.”
His smile wobbled with laughter.
“You will not sink. I told you I will not allow it. Just let your feet float up.”
She did as he bid, which was a great deal easier than fighting the natural instinct to keep her feet down, and soon she was lying completely still on the surface of the water, her husband’s arms securely around her torso, holding her up. She feared she may be too heavy for him, a burden to hold so exquisitely, but he didn’t seem to mind. And furthermore, she couldn’t help but sense the lightness that surrounded her.
He shifted, slipping one hand from underneath her. She panicked, her hands flapping against him to gain a hold. He laughed softly and calmed her fluttering with his free hand.
“Let the water take you.”
The words didn’t make sense to her, but he spoke them earnestly. She found she rather liked the way his voice calmed her, and she focused on his face, the sun flaring out around him as if he were an angelic creature.
He shifted, sinking into the water beside her almost as if he intended to float beside her. His one hand still pressed firmly to her back, and the panic did not return. Now, however, she found herself focusing on his words.
“Why should I let the water take me?”
It seemed like an unwise notion. Wouldn’t she drown?
“The thing about swimming is to learn how to move with the water and not fight it.” He turned and indeed, he did float up beside her.
She turned her head to keep him in focus, but the move only served to bring saltwater into her mouth and nose. She coughed and righted herself with a gentle pressure to her back from his hand.
“Move with the water?”
“Those sea monsters you’ve conjured? Have you ever wondered how they may make their way through the ocean? It’s rather beautiful actually. The way they part the water to allow themselves to become a part of it.”
“Become a part of the water?”
“Precisely.”
She’d been so focused on his words she didn’t realize he’d removed his other hand until it was far too late. But when she did realize his hand no longer held her up, she panicked, fluttering in the water, and just as she anticipated, she sank like a stone.
Water rushed into her nose and mouth, and on instinct, she swallowed and gagged. The entire ordeal lasted less than five seconds, but it might as well have been a lifetime. Dax plucked her from the water as if it were nothing at all and vaguely she understood his murmured words, and she obeyed, putting her feet down to find the bottom and stand surely on her feet.