Page 14 of Once Tempted

“From the claws.”

His eyes widened. “Claws?”

“I discovered a stray kitten in the woodpile, and we were getting along just fine until you arrived,” she complained. “It darted under my gown when it saw you and is currently trying to climb my stockings.”

He burst to his feet again, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the rough wooden beams above them. “Well, get it out of there!”

“I could if you weren’t here and watching,” she said through gritted teeth.

He turned around immediately and scanned their surroundings. “No one seems to be about.”

“Except for you,” she muttered. “Go away.”

“But I still have more to say,” he protested. “If I am the cause of your discomfort, I must stay until things are made right again.”

“We can talk later,” she said, sounding distracted.

“At dinner or after?”

There was a long pause. “Yes.”

“Dinner is too far away. I prefer to explain now. Out here, where it’s properly private and you can tell me if it is a mad idea or not.” He turned his head slightly. “Have you captured that kitten yet?”

“No.”

“What seems to be the problem?”

“It’s fighting me,” she said. “Ow! Now, that wasn’t nice.”

He turned around immediately to render assistance, caught a glimpse of garments lifted above Minnie’s knees, and of her shapely legs spread slightly apart, encased in thick woolen stockings tied with red silk ribbons. A kitten hung from one stocking, twisting about, caught by its claws.

Frederick couldn’t look away from Minnie’s legs. Imagination was all well and good, but dear God…the reality was far better than any dream.

“My God,” he said out loud, suddenly overcome by lust for his friend’s sister.

Minnie flung her gown over her legs, and the struggling kitten was hidden from view again. “Oh, just go away!”

Although he was playing with fire, Frederick shook his head stubbornly. Minnie needed him to be more a friend than a potential seducer right now. “I cannot leave a lady in distress. It will take the two of us, I think, to free you from the wily beast’s clutches.”

Before she could say no, he moved to kneel before her, caught the hem of her gown and lifted it only high enough to feel around for the animal. His hands brushed along her calves several times as he blindly groped for a hold on the wriggling little beast.

“I have it,” he said finally, and closed his eyes firmly. “Now you can lift your skirts up, I promise not to peek, and you can remove its claws from your garments.”

After a moment of hesitation, he felt her doing something around his fingers. He shivered, wishing his hands were bare to feel the touch of hers.

“Pull the cat toward you,” she whispered.

He did, holding the wriggling beast firmly against his chest until she wrenched it away again. “Done.”

He opened his eyes and looked straight into Minerva’s blushing face. Her eyes were huge upon his. Wary and yet so enticing. His hand dropped, landing on her knee, and unthinkingly, he stroked along her outer thigh. Her breath caught, and so did his, and he withdrew his touch reluctantly from her body.

He was rather flustered by Minnie, and he forced himself to glance down at the white kitten in her lap. “Ah, the source of all our problems today.”

“If only.”

He looked into her eyes again and saw her wariness increase. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Never mind. You wanted to say something else to me.”