Gently, he withdrew his hand. His lips pressed against her hair. “All right?”
“Wonderful.” Absolutely perfect.
She knew it wouldn’t have hurt if he’d entered her himself, instead of using his fingers. But this had been better than she’d ever imagined. She would eventually convince him, but for now, she could not remember ever being so satisfied, and drained, and energized all at once.
But Thom had not been satisfied, she realized.
Georgiana lifted her head. He lay on his side next to her. With a push against his shoulder, she urged him onto his back. He went, the moonlight washing over him again—all hard muscle and steel and his bold, incredible face.
“I haven’t touched you yet,” she told him. She hadn’t done more than kissing.
His fingers stroked down her hair. “You can touch me all you like. But let me clean up first.”
“Clean up?” Her gaze swept over him. His heavy erection still bulged behind his linen drawers, though not as fiercely as it had earlier. But there was no wetness. Just on his stomach, and that was . . . not all hers.
“I have two hands, Georgie. They were both busy.”
Though her face blazed, she met his eyes again. “I imagine your arms are worth a fortune for that improvement alone.”
His deep laugh rang through the cabin. “They are.”
Grinning, she leaned over him. Her lips pressed to his. Thom caught her before she could pull away, lingering over her mouth with a sweet kiss.
He drew back, his eyes burning. “I’m going to clean up. Then I’m going to hold you all night.”
Her heart filled. “I’ll be waiting for you right here.”
SIX
Thom woke before dawn with Georgie burrowed in against him, her dark hair spread across her pillow and her leg cocked over his stomach. For the longest time, he didn’t move. Just held her, breathing in that flowery scent.
The dive today stood a good chance of killing him. But that deep water didn’t scare him near as much as knowing what would happen to her if he didn’t come up.
So he would. There just wasn’t any other option. If Thom could have, he’d have torn through the airship now, killing everyone on it who presented a threat. But Southampton wasn’t a fool. He’d be expecting that. Especially in the hours before the dive, when desperation might drive any man to attempt his escape. Thom would probably be shot the second he opened the cabin door. In the time he’d been lying awake, he’d heard the muffled voices of four mercenaries in the passageway, but no footsteps leading them away. Not a moment had passed without someone standing guard outside the stateroom, but Southampton had recently quadrupled the watch.
At his side, Georgiana stirred. Her lashes fluttered across his skin.
For the first time, his wife was waking up in his arms. Her hand slid across his chest, her fingers curving around his ribs. But though there were tasks to be done, she didn’t immediately lift her head, or make any move that would take her closer to getting out of bed. She just held on to him, as if there was nothing in the world more important to do.
And if he’d known how it would feel to have her there, his heart bursting out of his chest and his throat so full and tight that he couldn’t have spoken a word if he’d wanted to, Thom would never have been able to pass a single night away from her.
He didn’t know how he ever would again.
* * *
Though he’d gotten into a canvas diving suit by himself a hundred times, Thom didn’t protest when Georgiana insisted on helping him, checking every seam and seal in the inner and outer layers. He liked having her close. And since he’d be going up on deck in a few minutes, this would be the last time they’d speak without having Southampton or any of the mercenaries listening in.
There were a thousand things he wanted to say. But her life mattered more than all of them. “Georgie.”
She glanced up from his waist, where she’d been tugging on the belt that would anchor him to the airship’s tether cable. After Thom found Oriana, he’d hook the tether to the submersible and use the cable as a guide back to the surface—or tonight, as a guide through the dark waters. And if Thom got into trouble before he reached the bottom, they could haul him back up with it.
But not this time. “If something goes wrong—”
“It won’t.” She tried to stop him, shaking her head. “Don’t even say it.”
This had to be said. “If something goes wrong, I’ll unhook the tether and my hose. They won’t have a body to pull up. And after I put the brass on, between that and my arms I’m heavy enough that I won’t start floating. Then you’ve got to stay alive. You don’t cry. You don’t do anything to make them think we didn’t plan it. You tell them that I got into the submersible and I’m heading to Skagen for help. And that if you aren’t brought to town alive by sunset, I’m going to find Mad Machen and Lady Corsair, and we won’t stop until we hunt every single person on this airship down.”
Georgiana bent her head, hiding her face. Her breath shuddered. Finally she looked up, her eyes glistening. “And I’ll tell them you took the gold with you, and you’ll use it as a reward for any man who brings you Southampton’s head.”