“Why are you smiling? I’m being serious. He’s…” she tried again.
“Do you know why I was angry the other night?” he interrupted.
Her head spun at the sudden turn in topic. “No.”
“I was worried your actions would cause harm to my family. That you had no regard for their safety and were simply using them to obtain your goal. That you were using me as well.”
“I told you…” she started to say, but his finger against her lips stopped her cold. Or, red-hot, judging by the heat coming from where he touched her.
“I believe you now. You came here despite every hateful thing I said to you, in order to protect my sister. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had never wanted to speak to me again, given my behavior. I will look into this Louis person, and thank you, for looking after Sophia.”
Her eyes darted away from his, landing on the ship behind him. “I wanted…” She sighed, finally pulling her eyes from his ship. “She’s my friend. I care about what happens to her.”
She looked everywhere but at Grae. Things between them had shifted again and she wasn’t sure what to say. Maybe she should find Tomas and go home?
“Arista?”
Warmth flooded her entire body when she heard her name from his lips. It had been so long since she’d heard it spoken and the fact that it came from Grae only made it that much more special. She sought out his gaze and found him staring at her, but she couldn’t say anything. Not when so many unfamiliar feelings were making themselves known at once.
It was as if all sounds on the wharf had fallen silent and it was only the two of them.
He leaned closer and took her hand, pulling it to rest on his chest. “Knowing what you’re doing only makes it worse. People don’t hide their distaste for your Lady A persona. Every time you go out, you put yourself in danger, and it makes me sort of crazy to think about it now. I’m sorry I overreacted last night. I just want to be there at your side to keep you safe, even if it puts me in danger as well.”
“That’s the problem,” she said. “I would never do that to you. This is my life, and I have to deal with the consequences of it. You don’t. I can’t drag you into it.”
Grae lifted her hand to his lips, and heat bloomed under her skin. “What you don’t understand is that I’m already one hundred percent in it. There’s something about you I can’t stop thinking about. You have an air of mystery that is intriguing.” He grinned at her, and she knew his anger from the previous evening had evaporated. “But there is more. There’s a look you get in your eyes—as if you’re on a great journey, but have gotten lost along the way. All I want is for you to let me guide you back.”
She choked on her own breath. He’d seen that? She tried so hard to hide any emotion. Bones loved to find any weakness and exploit it. Arista had learned to become numb very early on. Yet Grae had managed to find her beneath the shell she’d erected.
The fact that he saw her, really saw her and not someone Arista had created for protection, meant more than she could ever say. Around Grae, she didn’t even want to hide. The thought was terrifying and exhilarating.
“Would you like a tour?” he asked. “You said you’ve never been on a ship before. I’d love to show you.”
A small gasp escaped from her lips, and she smiled. “Very much.”
He reached for her hand and helped her out of the carriage. Excitement bubbled in her veins. Grae steered her toward the gangplank, keeping his body between her and the men moving about on the deck. His hands settled on her waist to steady her as she started across the wooden bridge between the dock and ship, which was much narrower than it looked. The water lapped at the wharf as they climbed, and she tried not to look down. Tried not to think that if she fell, she would drown.
The ship dipped suddenly, and the wood beneath her feet shifted. She scrambled to hold on to something, but there was nothing except for a rope strung as a makeshift rail. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” Grae’s soothing voice in her ear stopped the frantic movements of her arms. His arms tightened around her waist and he drew her back against his front. “Relax. The more you move, the more the bridge moves. One step. Now another. That’s it.” Grae guided her and she clung to his voice, careful not to look down. When she finally set foot on the solid wood of the deck, her legs were almost too wobbly to stand.
All thoughts of Louis and Sophia were gone, replaced with the awareness that she could have fallen into the Thames.
“Are you afraid of the water?” Grae asked softly.
“I can’t swim,” she whispered. “Someone tried to teach me once, but I could just never learn.”
“Well, if you fall in, I promise I’ll jump in after you.”