Read Online Romancing Lady Stone (A School of Gallantry Novella) by Delilah Marvelle - Free Book Online

and held out a hand. “Allow me to assist you out.”
    She pressed her hands against her eyes. “Are you dressed?” she primly asked.
    “Does it matter?” he chided. “You have already seen everything.”
    She winced. “Forgive me for that.” She opened her eyes somewhat sheepishly and seeing that he was, in fact, dressed, quickly reached up and grabbed his hand.
    He grabbed her other hand and yanked her up in one swoop, his muscles straining against the weight of her wet gown which was dragging her in the opposite direction. “It would be much easier if you removed your gown.”
    “There is no need. I will manage.”
    “But the weight of the water is going to—”
    “I will manage, Mr. Levin.” Holding his hand, she stumbled out of the tub and onto the floorboards, spraying water everywhere.
    He scrambled back, realizing sections of his clothes were now drenched and sticking to his skin. He huffed out a breath in exasperation and released her hand. “I will wait outside whilst you… manage .” Shoving open the door of the bathhouse, he stepped out into the pale light of the moon. Shaking his head, he lifted his linen shirt from against his skin and wrung out whatever he could.
    She staggered out after him, dripping wet. She groaned, clutching at her clinging skirts and then smacked her sides, the sound as wet as she looked. “My only gown is soaked. Soaked .”
    “It will be fine.”
    “So says a man with a sack full of dry clothing. I have no other clothes!”
    “We will set your gown before the hearth and let it dry.”
    “It will take a whole day to dry a gown like this,” she muttered.
    “Fortunately for you, we do not travel for another two.” Konstantin turned toward her, still wringing out his own linen shirt and paused, skimming her from shoulder to feet. Her wet, velvet dress clung seductively to every luscious curve of that body. Glorious, full breasts beckoned as they pressed against the wet fabric of her bodice.
    She looked half-naked.
    Damn. He rolled his tongue against the inside of his cheek before blurting, “Might I ask why you followed me? Knowing I was bathing?” He had to know the answer to this one.
    “I didn’t know you were bathing,” she argued. “For heaven’s sake, it’s three o’clock in the morning! Who bathes at such an ungodly hour?”
    “I do.” He shrugged. “I could not sleep.” Not with her in the room. Sadly, masturbation was a very necessary evil. It was how he survived without a woman for as long as he had. He had never been one for prostitutes and the women he was interested in either snubbed him or never gave him more than a night due to their fear of their family finding out they were involved with a ‘criminal’. When it came to women, it was obvious he was going to need that one hundred thousand to lure in what he wanted.
    “You didn’t even lock the door when you left,” she grouched as she wrung out section after section of her skirt in between uneven steps. “Fortunately, we seem to be surrounded by decent people. I met a man next door to ours. He was incredibly pleasant.”
    “I am certain he was.”
    “What is that supposed to mean?” She kept walking unevenly against the weight of her gown, the fabric dragging and dragging against the stone path.
    Following the glistening stream of water she’d trailed, Konstantin smirked and fell into stride beside her knowing she clearly needed help. “Turn toward me.”
    She jerked to a halt. “Why?”
    “You are barely walking.” He knelt before her, grabbed up heavy sections of her wet gown and started twisting water out of the velvet. He focused only on the task. And not that he was back to looking at her legs. He twisted and twisted and wrung the material around her gown harder until eventually half its weight was diminished.
    She watched him from above and eventually said, “I find it difficult to place the sort of man you are.”
    He glanced up, releasing her gown. “Hm? What do you