“Nay,” Theo said softly, his voice trembling with desire. “I do want ye.”
“I want ye, too.”
His breath caught. Her words were simple, but the truth in them struck deeper than any sword ever had.
He searched her face as uncertainty swirled within him. Could he trust her? She’d tried to run from him the first night they were together. She had turned a cold shoulder to him and swore there could never be anything between them.
So why, then, couldn’t he ignore the lust in her gaze as well? It matched the intensity of his own.
Years of rejection had brought him to this point, where he could stare into his wife’s face and question her desire for him.
“I dinnae want ye to do this if ye think ye owe me. That’s nae how I want our marriage to be. I willnae have ye thinkin’ ye have to reward me.”
“That’s nae why… I dinnae ken why I’m here. I just ken that I owe ye far more than I can give. All I can offer ye is meself.”
“And what if that’s enough?” Theo asked, arching an eyebrow. “What if I dinnae want anything but ye?”
Lavina smiled and rose on the tips of her toes. His hand curled around her head, cradling it tenderly as he pulled her to his lips.
Suddenly, she recoiled, her nose twitching.
“Perhaps after ye bathe…” she teased, a spark of mischief in her eyes.
Her hands moved to his chest once again, slowly undoing the ties of his shirt.
Theo didn’t stop her. He didn’t care that he smelled of horse and mire. All he could focus on was her fingers grazing his bare chest.
“I’m nae a gentle man, Lavina,” he warned, his voice husky.
She lifted her face to his, her lips a hairsbreadth from his own. “Then be rough if ye must, but let me be yers.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Theo caught sight of his reflection in the window. His jagged scars were a stark reminder of the monster she saw.
Instantly, his body stiffened, and his jaw locked tight. Shame surged hot beneath his skin. He looked away as if the very sight had burned him.
“Come, the bath is still warm,” she said as she moved to the tub.
Theo watched her dip a hand into the water and pull it out steaming. Her gaze fell on him, full of lust and yearning.
Moving to the tub, Theo stood as still as a statue as her hands slipped under his shirt. Her touch left a hot trail as she pulled the fabric over his head and tossed it aside.
Standing half-naked before her, he studied her. He adored the way she bit her lip as she ran her eyes over his body and peeled each layer off him.
“Oh, my.” The words lingered in the air between them, rattling his nerves. His body tensed. “There are just so many…”
“Ye can go. I’ve bathed meself a thousand times, and I’ll do it a thousand more. Ye dinnae have to pretend that I’m a handsome man. I’m nae.”
“I meant nay offense.”
“Pity, then? Ye think I’d be comfortable receivin’ that from ye? Nay, I dinnae want it.”
She looked down, hurt evident on her face.
Theo’s heart stuttered. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t stand the way she was looking at him.
“I was merely wonderin’ how ye got them,” she mumbled. “I cannae wrap me head around the cruelty of mankind. Ye were just a child.”
“It was a long time ago,” Theo said. He hooked his hand under her chin and drew her gaze to his. “And we dinnae need to speak of such things. I just dinnae want ye to do anything ye dinnae want to.”
