The Surgeon and the Princess Karin Baine (websites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

tried to get herself upright, forgetting she no longer had two feet to steady herself on the bottom of the pool. Now she was gulping the water, splashing desperately in an attempt to keep herself afloat.

Arms caught around her waist, pulling her from the depths, hands holding her fast until she broke the surface and could breathe again.

‘I’ve got you. Just anchor yourself to my waist and take slow, deep breaths.’ Ed’s face was so close to hers she had nowhere to look but into his eyes, his mouth issuing instructions she was compelled to follow.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her leg around his middle, which she wouldn’t have done in any other circumstances save for the immediate threat of drowning.

She was relying on him saving her, letting him feel her disability for himself. Yet he was calming her, taking her mind off everything that frightened her by maintaining eye contact and syncing her breathing to his. Deep breaths in and out. Until the panic subsided and they were left entwined, her chest heaving against his, their breath mingling, eyes locked. They’d moved on from potential drowning incident to...well, she didn’t know what.

Eventually Ed spoke. His voice hoarse as though he were the one who’d inhaled half of the pool. ‘Are you okay?’

She wanted to say no, she wasn’t okay with any of this. Either proving him right that she couldn’t be left alone in here or about this overwhelming urge to kiss him. She didn’t know where that thought had sprung from other than their sudden physical proximity. Yes, he was single as far as she knew. Why wouldn’t a woman want to snog the face off him? It was the knowledge that she wasn’t necessarily someone he’d want to kiss back that stopped her. At least, not any more.

‘Yes. Thanks. I lost track for a moment and panicked. Sorry. I’m all right now.’ She attempted to extricate herself from him but he held her fast.

‘You’ve had a fright. Let me—’ He started to tread water with her still attached.

‘No. I said I’m fine. I’m not an invalid.’ With that she shoved hard against his chest so he let go, then swam away. This time she was very well aware of her inadequacies. She’d had them wrapped around Ed’s waist.

CHAPTER FIVE

ED TOOK HIS time showering and changing, trying to get his head around what had nearly happened. When Georgiana had begun play-fighting, showing him a fun side he hadn’t seen before, all he’d wanted to do was encourage it and indulge his own. It seemed a lifetime since he’d really cut loose from work and his home life and let himself be free.

That burst of spontaneity hadn’t come without cost. Both he and Georgiana had put her in danger with their game of one-upmanship. Their lack of judgement nearly causing a catastrophe.

When she’d started floundering he’d cursed himself for putting her in that position. It had left her vulnerable and made him think of the time when she’d been hurt. Her pain, her strength, her courage and subsequent fight to live.

Ed grabbed a towel and dropped it over his head, shutting out the world and leaving him in the dark with his jumbled emotions. What bothered him most about the incident in the pool was the aftermath. When the danger had passed and he and Georgiana were left entwined in the water. He hadn’t wanted to let her go. For a brief second he’d thought he’d seen the same hesitation in her eyes.

Something had flared to life between them and he knew it was more than a primitive reaction to holding a beautiful woman so close. He’d wanted to kiss her, and not just some patronising peck on the lips to assure her she was still alive and breathing. Ed had wanted to taste the sweetness and passion of the woman who’d been constantly on his mind since they’d met and drink her in. Until he was the one drowning.

A sharp rap on the changing room door dragged him out of his thoughts.

‘Are you still alive in there?’ It was Georgiana checking on him, letting him know he’d been lost in his reverie for too long.

‘Give me a minute.’ He dressed in double-quick time, his hair and skin still damp.

She was leaning against the wall outside when he finally managed to gather his things. He felt guilty about keeping her waiting but at least she’d hung around. Given her reaction to him in the pool, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d made her own way back home. Perhaps she had no one to call for a lift or no money for a taxi.

He hoped she’d forgiven him for the predatory way he’d surely been looking at her so they could put it behind them. After all, it hadn’t meant anything. It couldn’t.

‘You took your time. I thought you were suffering from delayed shock in there.’

He had in a way.

‘No. Just shaving my legs,’ he deadpanned and shut the conversation down.

As they stepped out into the autumnal air, Ed was dreading the thought of taking Georgiana home and then going on to his parents’ house. Despite the complications, their time in the pool had given him a sense of release. A freedom he wasn’t yet ready to surrender.

‘Would you like to go for a coffee? There’s a place down the road that should still be open.’ What was more normal than having a chat over a cuppa? Making small talk in a public area should help erase whatever had almost happened between them.

‘Er...’ Her eyes darted everywhere but at him. She gave the impression she was uncomfortable at the thought but didn’t know how to break it to him.

Ed wasn’t the sort of man who refused to take no for an answer. He’d bow out gracefully with what was left of his pride.

‘It’s not a problem. You want to get home. I understand.’ He pulled down the shutter on the door and locked it tight,