She closed her eyes again and tipped her head back against the rim of the tub.
He turned, pulling a washcloth from a stack by the tub and reaching for a bottle of liquid soap.
He uncapped the liquid soap and squirted some onto the cloth. The smell that came up off it was faintly herbal, and as Ruvon held the cloth in his hand, he considered the geography of theexquisite female body in the tub in front of him and chose, after a long moment of consideration, to start with her foot.
It was the safest spot.
Sitting on the edge of the tub, he lifted her right foot out of the water.
It looked so small in his hand, her tiny toes were tipped with nails that were painted with pale pink polish. The dainty foot reminded him that his bride was very small compared to him, and that he needed to handle her with extreme care.
As he passed the cloth gently over the arch of her foot, she made a small, contented sound and didn't open her eyes.
He worked the cloth between her toes, one at a time, and cleaned the small space under her ankle. Turning her foot over to wash the heel, he noticed a small blister that had formed where the strap of her wedding shoe had cut into the side of her foot. If everything went well, the blister would be gone by tomorrow morning.
His venom had healing properties.
The mere thought of that had his fangs elongate and punch out over his lower lip in under a second. Thankfully, Arezoo's eyes were still closed. He forced his fangs to retreat.
Ruvon moved to the other foot, taking longer with it than with the first.
Arezoo's smile got wider.
"Are you enjoying this?" he said, just to check that he could still form words.
"It feels wonderful."
"I'm glad."
"But at the rate you're going, the water is going to get cold before you are done."
He froze with the washcloth draped over her left heel.
She opened her eyes, looking at him from under lowered lashes with that smile still curving her lips.
She was teasing him.
His shy virgin bride was teasing him while lying naked in their bathtub on their wedding night.
It was ridiculous.
He was a one-hundred-and-thirty-seven-year-old immortal, had been a soldier in the Brotherhood army, which was probably the most savage army in the world, had been a fugitive on two different continents, and now he served as head of security for one of the most brilliant and dangerous males in the world.
And yet here he was, more nervous on his wedding night than his nineteen-year-old, virgin, human bride.
He set her left foot gently back into the water, soaped the cloth again, and moved on to her left calf. Arezoo sighed as he began to draw the cloth up the curve of it and settled deeper against the rim of the tub with a small, contented smile on her face.
16
AREZOO
Arezoo had been afraid of this night, but now the fear was gone.
It had disappeared the moment Ruvon dashed into the bathroom as if he were the anxious virgin.
Well, maybe not at that exact moment.
At first, she'd been bewildered, but then when understanding dawned, it had brought with it an unexpected loosening because she'd realized that she needed to be brave for him.
