Page 29 of The Formation of Us

She capped the jar and set it on a nearby stand. “While I’m brewing your tea, you can remove your clothes and settle yourself in the bath.”

She couldn’t have surprised him more if she’d kissed him.

“Tie one of the linens around your hips before you get in, so I can bring in your tea.”

Maybe Covey’s hard elbow to the temple had jarred his brain.

“A warm soak in an herbal bath will soothe your muscles, Sheriff,” she continued. “The tea will relax you and help reduce inflammation. If you’d rather just have a massage, I’m happy to accommodate you, although it won’t be as effective without the herbal bath.”

“You want me to get into that tub of perfume water?”

“And submerge yourself to your chin for fifteen minutes. I’ll be back in a little while with your tea.” She left the room and pulled the door closed behind her.

The thought of dousing himself with lavender appalled him, but the muscle spasm wrenching his back made the decision for him. He struggled out of his soiled suit, scuffed shoes, and sweaty undergarments, then tied a long strip of linen around his hips.

An overturned crate and an old wooden trunk sat on the floor, forming steps beside the tub. Duke climbed them gingerly, testing his weight on them, then stepped into the water— and realized too late it was deeper than it looked. And hot. He went under face first and came up like a roaring geyser.

“Geeawwwd!”

He stood on his toes on some sort of metal grate, trying to keep his already toasted privates from burning to cinders.

“Are you in the bath?” Faith called from the other side of the door.

“Bath? Ha! It’s a damned soup pot.”

She opened the door, but her beautiful smile froze when she saw him standing in the middle of the tub. “Is it that hot?” she asked, rushing forward to dip her hand in the water. She swished her fingers through the scented liquid and sighed. “Why, it can’t be much warmer than you are.”

“Believe me, it’s a lot hotter than the boys appreciate.”

Her face flushed and she turned away. “I’ll cool it some.” She set his tea on the table, then lifted the long iron pump handle. She pumped it twice and cold water gushed from a fat spigot into the tub.

“You’ll need to sit to benefit from the bath.”

“And blister my behind? No thank you.” Despite the metal grate that kept his feet several inches above the bottom of the tub, the water was much warmer near the burner.

“For someone who can pull a man off his horse and wrestle him into submission one-handed, you’re ridiculously sensitive to a little warm water.”

“Why don’t you step in here and see how it feels?”

Her lips parted, and he thought he heard her gasp. She was flustered. Did his bold talk offend her? Was it his bare chest that had her acting so shaky? Or did she feel his attraction to her? Heat flushed through him. He’d come here out of desperation, so he could relieve his shoulder pain and get his mind back on his job, but his head filled with thoughts of Faith.

“I spent twenty minutes in the bath before church,” she said, her bodice straining to contain her breasts as she worked the pump handle. “It felt perfectly lovely to me.”

A vivid image of her glistening wet body caused his own to react. Sergeant and the boys might be poached, but they were wide awake and ready for action. The linen toweling did a poor job of concealing his lust, so he clasped his hands in front of his hips while she worked the pump handle and drove him crazy.

She stopped pumping and unbuttoned her cuffs. “Will you treat Covey like you did Adam, and have him work for the horse owner to right his wrong?”

“No. This is his third offense.”

She pushed her sleeves to her elbows and submerged her hands in the bath water, moving slowly around the tub, swishing her hands around. “This ought to make the temperature more comfortable.”

The temperature of the water, maybe, but her swirling hands and jiggling breasts were bringing his desire to a slow simmer. Duke tried to distract her by pointing to a linen bag floating near the spigot. “What’s in that sack?” he asked.

“Chamomile, lavender, agrimony and mugwort, with a liberal dose of almond oil. The herbs relieve stiff muscles and aching joints. The oil softens and soothes the skin. The warm water relaxes you. The oils also help keep the tub from rusting.” She lifted her hands out of the water. “That should be more than comfortable, Sheriff. Please sit down.”

Good idea. His aroused body was too exposed in the clinging wet linen. He lowered himself cautiously until he was submerged to his neck.

“Are you sitting or floating?” she asked.