Authors: Nichole Matthews
“
I am pleased to hear that
.”
His
tone
soothed as a warm s
mile transformed his features.
S
he stared at him in fascination.
She had missed his smile.
He lowered his voice for her ears only and she realized she had spoken aloud
and heat inflamed her already smoldering cheeks
. “I missed your smile today,
as well,
Persephone.” She smiled, feeling the wonder of his words clear to her soul.
Persephone jumped as a chuckle came from besides her knocking her out of her daze. She heard Rockwell mention washing off his dust before dinner.
“I believ
e I will accompany you upstairs,
”
Parker added as he rose to his feet and headed out the door without a backwards glance. Persephone on the other hand couldn’t remove her gaze from him.
***
Rockwell leaned back in his chair. “Please send my regards to Mrs. Harris, she has outdone herself tonight.”
“I’m sure she will be pleased to have gained your approval once again Rock, and that you enjoyed the meal she prepared.” Parker stood. “I thought we could forgo brandy, and play some cards.” Parker’s brows rose over his blue eyes. “Will you join us, Aunt?”
“I will be but a fifth wheel, Parker.” She smiled. “I believe I will retire and allow you young people to enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“If
you would prefer to play, Adele
,” Persephone jumped in. “Please do. I can find something else to occupy my time.”
Adele shook her head. “Thank you, but no, my dear.” They all stood and Parker walked from the end of the table to kiss his aunt on the cheek.
“Sleep well, Aunt.”
“I will say the same to you, Nephew.”
Parker’s eyes narrowed,
disturbed by the twinkle that flickered in his aunt’s eyes.
“Should we retire to the parlor?” Piper asked, placing her hand in the crook of Rockwell’s arm.
Once in the parlor, the men arranged the table and chairs and retrieved the cards. Piper and Persephone stood to one side watching
and chatting of things of no consequence
.
Persephone had enjoyed their easy friendship, not
pretentious
, pompous aristocrats who suffered each other’s company for appearance sake
. They truly enjoyed being
with
one another and Parker truly loved his sisters. A sense of peace chipped away at the wall she had built around her heart
opening her up to the possibility that goodness still existed
.
That it hadn’t been stripped away while she had been caged.
Parker asked Rockwell, “What do you suppose they are whispering about?”
Rockwell studied his wife before answering, “Ribbons.”
Parker rammed his elbow into Rockwell’s ribs and he let out a loud
oomph
.
He clutched at his side and tried not to laugh. It hurt too much.
“Ladies.”
Persephone looked up
as their easy silence was finally broken
, her gaze clashing with Parker
’
s.
Rockwell just smiled and one eyebrow cocked up.
***
Parker lounged back in his chair and stared at Perse
phone as she scooped up
yet
another winning trick.
Rockwell snorted. “I believe we’ve been duped.”
He shook his head, smiled slightly, his eyes crinkling attractively at the corners.
Parker’s eyes narrowed as he looked from Piper to Persephone.
Persephone raised her brow. “I do not recall you gentlemen asking how well I played before we began this game.”
Parker’s eyebrows went up at her retort. “Captain Sharp.” He
threw his head back and laughed.
Rockwell followed suit. “I keep saying that I will stop underestimating the women in our lives, Ash.”
He rubbed his hand across his strong jaw.
Persephone couldn’t prevent the trill of amused laughter from escaping her lips at their exasperation.
Parker
’s lips quirked at her laughter as he
retrieved the cards, organized them, and began shuffling. “Another rubber, my ladies?”
Persephone and Piper looked across the card table at one another
and giggled
.
Parker sat the cards back on the table. “I don’t like that smile one
bit.” He grinned at Persephone his dimple a deep groove in his cheek that made her quiver inside.
Rockwell added, “Perhaps we
should
quit while we are ahead?”
Parker’s eyes never left Persephone
’s
sparkling eyes as he answered, “Perhaps you are right.”
The north wind doth blow
and we shall have snow,
and what will poor robin do then,
poor thing?
He’ll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
And hide is head under his wing,
Poor thing.
P
ersephone stood with her cheeks on fire
, up on
her tiptoes hidden in the trees. T
he warm woolen pelisse
she wore
pulled tightly around her body
to ward off the cold air whistling through the
branches
.
She was going to hell for sure.
She craned
her neck to peer through the
winterized
branches
, sparse with leaves
. She hadn’t known he would be out here when she decided to go for an early morning walk to clear her head.
She hadn’t known anyone would be foolish enough to take an early morning dip in a cold lake during the winter
. G
ranted this winter seemed milder than usual
, but she could still see her breath
crystalize
on the air
.
There was so much activity in the house now that his sister and her husband had arrived
that she had required a moment of quiet before the hectic day began
.
She desperately needed
a moment to think. Confusion and desire battled within her. After
being held on Parker’s lap two day prior,
she could think of nothing else.
It was as if her brain was in a fog since that moment. The feel of his hard body beneath hers
made her face flame and even deeper
shade of red.
She bit her lip to keep the mischievous
laughter at bay when he gasped as
he
quickly
rose from diving
under the cold water.
What was he d
oing out here anyway? It was much
too cold to be swimming.
She couldn’t take her eyes off his biceps and wide, muscular chest that tapered into powerful hips and thighs outlined plainly by the wet linen shirt clinging to his body
. The sight of his masculine body sent
shiver
s
snaking along her spine. She could see
through the wet material that his skin was
still showing brown from the sun
, not just his face and neck like a lot of gentlemen she had seen
over the past couple of years
.
Everywhere. Which intrigued her further.
Her mouth watered
as she
continued with her observation. She leaned in against the tree trunk in rapt attention when he
lift
ed
his arms to scrape the water back from his face and hair.
All the breath left her as she
could do nothing more than
simply stare.
His chest muscles bulged, his nipples hard, protruding from dark brown areolas visible through the wet linen.
He was in a word, magnificent.
She drew in a shaky breath, rubbing hard at her hot cheeks
when he stripped off his shirt
leaving his hair sticking out in unruly spikes from his head. S
he caught a glimpse of his chest
beaded with water
.
She watched as he
t
wisted the shirt in his hands
,
ringing
out
the excess water before gingerly sliding the cold material
back over his still damp flesh
.
She found his grimace humorous as the shirt c
lung once again to his wet body
.
Persephone stared.
She itched to reach out and touch him
,
to feel his hardness beneath her hands
and
her t
hroat closed. She felt hot,
tingly
,
confused and most assuredly to make a fool of herself.
Parker bit the inside of his cheek to stifle his smile.
He felt her as soon as she stepped to the edge of the woods
peeking through the trees
, the unexpected invasion into his life. She was maddeningly intriguing. His spontaneous plunge in the lake was to cool his over-heated ardor because certain parts of his anatomy obviously didn’t know how to behave in polite society and especially when
she
was in the vicinity. Even now, just knowing that she was hiding in the cover of the trees watching, his sex hardened. He took a long, bracing gulp and stayed in the freezing water with hopes that it would ease his desire, but no such luck.
“Persephone,” he called, his voice quivered on the edge
of laughter, assuming
a careless pose.
And she watched as h
is white teeth flashed in a broad grin
and his puff of breath floated in a rising cloud
in front of his face
as he chuckled
.
Blast!
Her pulse skipped as she sucked in a shallow breath
of surprise. Her heart fluttered as
his voice
full of amusement
carried through the trees
.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” his voice trailed off.
She screwed her eyes closed tight.
“Pe
rsephone,
”
he sang.
Her eyes flew open.
W
ith sheer fortitude, she stiffened her shoulders and with graceful movements stepped out from the tree she was hiding and gave him a tentative smile.
Her steps falter
ed
.
“I-I-I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to intrude, P-
P-P
arker,” she exclaimed, stammering, imploring
as
her cheeks flushed delightfully with embarrassment.
A smile wavered on her lips.
“You haven’t intruded.” His blue eyes danced, his eyes roaming over her alabaster skin flushed a vibrant red.
He
lifted his arms and ran his fingers through his hair
slick
ing
it
back, making his cheekbones all the more prominent.
“I daresay you never imagined finding anyone, let alone I
,
taking a plunge in this frigid water in the middle of winter.”
“You will catch your death,” she pointed out; genuine amusement sparkling in her eyes.
She tried to concentrate on her breath
ing, but her heart continued its
race and her body felt restless
with each step he took in her direction.
Parker chuckled
, swiping at the droplets of water that still clung to his face and neck
.
“If Au
nt Adele should find out, I would indeed
be subjected to a dreadful scold.” He walked
the remaining few steps
out of the water and picked up his coat, holding it in front of his body as a shield. He didn’t want her running and screaming from him
, which he had a feeling she would do if she saw how
affected
he was by her
very
presence.
To distract himself, he leaned over and shook his head like a wet dog sprinkling her face and front with cold drops of water.
“Parker,” Persephone sputtered, stepping back. She couldn’t control herself any longer. Laughter bubbled up and spilled over.
Here happiness didn’t seem so far away and the past seemed a distant memory that she was slowly beginning to bury in the back of her mind.