Finally they got up, trudging back up the hill. Except for her. Dane carried her the entire way. She tried to protest. “Charlie needs you.”
“Chase will care for Charlie,” he replied. “It’s time for me to care for you.” He stopped for a moment and several members of her family stopped too. He lowered his head and captured her lips with his own.
She heard a gasp, though she had no idea who made it. Her eyes had fluttered closed at the feel of his mouth pressed to hers.
He lifted his head and started moving again.
When they made it into the house, he didn’t stop but carried her straight to her room. As they started up the stairs, he called down to her sisters, “Notify the staff. She’ll need help changing from these wet clothes.”
Juliet’s mouth tipped up at the corners. “I’m not the only one making plans and issuing orders.”
He stopped in the middle of a quiet hall. “If it hadn’t been for your level head, I don’t know if I would have ever found Charlie and I doubt, even if I had, that I would have been in time.”
“You don’t know the caves like I do.” She touched his cheek.
“Still.” He looked down at her. “You saved my sister’s life. And if I am honest, I think you’re saving mine too.”
She pressed her palm tighter to his cheek. What did that mean?
But he started walking again. “I’m going to leave you for now. But once the servants have finished changing you, tell them that you’re famished and have them bring you a large spread of food. I’ll be back in your room in an hour.”
“In my room?” she asked, nibbling her lip.
He stopped and kissed her again. “That’s right,” he answered. “I need to keep my eye on you.”
A warm flush was moving down her body despite the chill of her clothing. “I can’t, Dane.”
They’d reached her room and he flicked open the door, stepping inside. “What?”
“I promised you and myself that I’d not be alone with you again. Time, remember?”
He grumbled, deep in his throat. “I don’t need time. I need you.” Then he set her down and kissed her one last time. “One hour.”
Then he turned and was gone.
* * *
Dane spent the next hour making certain his sister was cared for. Once she was tucked in bed, a large tray of food at her side, he set about getting himself dry.
Fortunately, all his pacing kept him warm. How could he have gotten things so completely wrong the last few days?
There was Juliet, literally risking her life to save his sister. Was that a woman who didn’t care for him? Who only wanted a title? The very idea was ridiculous. And the fact that she’d had to jump into freezing cold water and be pounded by waves to prove to him how pure her intentions were set his teeth on edge. He should have seen it all along. When he thought back, Dane saw every interaction in a new light.
There was her physical response to him, first and foremost. That did not speak of a woman who was acting.
Then there were her words. She’d promised him time, asked for romance not marriage. How could he have been so stupid?
He closed his eyes. Because he’d been burned before and because he’d been raised to believe that marriage was a cold contract of mutual benefit and nothing more. But he didn’t want that. He wished for warmth, kindness, caring. Hell and damnation, he wished for love. Him. The man always lecturing about weighing actions and making rash decisions had gone and fallen in love.
The weight of it settled over his chest like a warm blanket. Funny. Love didn’t feel like a risk any longer. Not with Juliet. It felt so right…like she was always meant to be his.
The very idea stole the air from his lungs.
But how was he going to make up for the fact that he’d doubted her? A smile touched his lips. She wanted romance. To be valued and cherished. That, he could do. Both privately and publicly.
Having washed all the salt from his skin, he dressed and left his room. Once he got close to hers, he hid behind a large potted plant, making sure no one was nearby. Then, he snuck down the hall, opening her door a crack and listened for voices.
“Dane?” she whispered. “Is that you?”