“Move your arms, like the paws of a dog. You’ve seen a dog swimming, haven’t you?”
Christine did so, and to her amazement, she stayed afloat. Water splashed her face, went up her nose, and into her mouth. Hernightdress clung to her and inhibited her movements. But she did not sink. In fact, she moved through the water towards him.
“That was a rotten trick!” she spluttered.
“You’re swimming, aren’t you?” Tristan laughed.
“Wait until I catch you!” Christine exclaimed.
Tristan laughed aloud and dove beneath the surface. She looked around for him, waiting for him to surface. The water calmed as though it had never been disturbed. The ripples of his dive faded away.
When he emerged, it was behind her, a hand tickling her stomach, an arm slipping around her waist. His embrace tightened, and as she spun to face him, he held her aloft, her stomach pressed against his.
Christine found herself looking down at him. His face seemed boyish with mischief. He truly was different in this, his domain, than he had been beyond Duskwood. She slapped his chest.
“Do not frighten me like that?” she said.
“Do not make it so easy,” Tristan retorted.
They bobbed in the water. Christine’s hands came to rest on his shoulders, fingers stroking the slick, wet skin. She touched hisneck, then his chest. Her legs came to rest against his, and she realized that she could not feel the fabric of the breeches.
“You are wearing nothing at all!” she gasped.
“You found me out,” Tristan grinned, “but unless you put your head under the water, you will never know. So what harm is done,”
She gasped in outrage. “It is positively indecent.”
“Not for a married couple.”
“You get ahead of yourself. We are not married yet.”
“Almost.”
“And when we are, it will not be…in the fullest sense,” Christine reminded him.
A shadow fell across his face. She found herself caressing the frown from his features, wanting to see that mischievous smile again.
“Let us not speak of that,” Tristan said.
“We must. It is our reality.”
“Not here. In here, there is only us and the water. Everything else stops outside,” Tristan said, “that is my rule.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Christine said softly. “Are there any other rules I should be aware of?”
“Only one. And only for you.”
They came together mutually to kiss. Tristan supported her in the water, his body holding her up, pressed against her, strength and hardness against her soft vulnerability. He tipped her chin up and kissed her.
For Christine, it felt as though it were the fulfilment of a prophecy. A moment she had awaited. A tension that had been building ever since she had learned, from him, how much pleasure could be born out of their bodies. The kiss sparked a fire within her. They spun lazily in the water, Tristan keeping them both afloat.
Christine’s legs raised, and Tristan found the hem of her nightdress, lifting it up her pale legs as they entwined themselves about his hips. Then Christine felt the urgent pressure of his manhood against her loins. The evidence of his desire. She gasped as it was pressed between them, saw Tristan’s eyes widen, his lips part.
Christine tightened her grip on him and earned a gasp that could have been her name. He sank into the water before recovering, rising up again. His hands found her buttocks, explored her hips and her back, caressed her breasts. They kissed feverishly.Christine felt Tristan’s hand grip the neck of her nightdress. One hand only held the fabric taut and then ripped it as though it were a cobweb.
It split wetly, tearing down the middle. He kissed her breasts, taking each nipple between his teeth, one at a time, and sparking such feelings in Christine that she had never felt before. She felt like her blood had become fire. Her nerves alight with energy, spreading heat throughout her body.
The desire he ignited within her made her want to claim him, to pull him into her, to be one with him. As her desire came alive, it was mirrored in his body. She writhed, and he clutched. Feeling possessed by him awakened her even more, grasping at his shoulders, wanting more. He found space between them and spread his hand over the flat of her stomach. Then lower.
