Grateful.He had never expected her to be grateful to him for stripping her naked or that he would be disappointed when he did. He pushed the annoying thought from his head. He needed to seethis done and as fast as possible. He worked on the ties at the back of her dress, loosening them and hoped that she wore other garments beneath like some women did. Then he could leave them on her to save his sanity while he got her nightdress.
As soon as he freed the ties all the way, he could see she wore no top undercover. He had to be done with this and see his wife clothed shortly after stripping her or he might not be able to keep his hands off her once he got in bed with her.
He worked the dress down over her shoulders and then her breasts. It was impossible not to let his eyes feast on what his mouth could not. He shut his eyes for a moment, but the images of her lovely breasts followed behind his closed lids and, of course, he grew aroused. How could he not when looking on such enticing breasts.
Her soft moan had his eyes springing open.
“Bed,” she whispered, “I need to get in bed.”
He admonished himself for thinking of his own need when she was suffering. Keeping his thoughts focused on seeing her comfortably settled for the night, he hurried to rid her completely of the dress. And when he pushed the dress down over her curvy hips and it fell the rest of the way down to her feet, his eyes could not help but admire the thatch of blond hair at the apex of her legs. How he ached to touch her, explore her, and bring her pleasure.
He shook his head.
“My body does not please you?”
“It pleases me too much. You are more beautiful than any woman I have ever known.”
She moaned again. “My head...hurts.”
Rhys eased her up into his arms, and then laid her down gently on the bed. He slipped off her shoes and pulled the blanket over her, though he would have loved to continue to feast his eyes on her enticing body. She was curved perfectly in all the right places and her skin was soft with not a single blemish on it. And she must have done much physical work for while her skin was soft to the touch there was tightness to her body that he rarely saw in a woman.
He was growing far too aroused and turned to walk away and not only fetch her nightdress but to take a moment to collect himself and calm his growing arousal.
She reached out, grabbing his hand. “Do not leave me.”
“You need your nightdress,” he said, knowing it was a necessity for his own sanity.
“I need you more.”
Her desperate plea grabbed at his gut and turned his ache for her unbearable. But he would not deny her when the incident had left her frightened. He would, however, leave his garments on.
He went to climb in bed with her, but her words stopped him.
“Your garments...take them off or you will not sleep comfortably.”
He never expected to hear his new wife tell him to take his garments off and at any other time he would be only too pleased to oblige her. But this night had been difficult enough without having to crawl into bed with her naked. Another thought he never believed he would ever have.
“Please hurry,” she begged.
He did as she asked and got in bed carefully so as not to jostle her and cause her more pain. As soon as he stretched out beside her, she turned, pressed herself tight against him, placed her leg over his, her arm across his waist and rested her head on his chest, and sighed contentedly.
This was going to be an unbearable night and yet he cherished having her in his arms. He rested his arm around her shoulders and slipped his other hand in hers, locking her safely in his embrace.
“How many women?” she whispered.
He narrowed his brow, not understanding. “What is that you ask?”
“You said I was more beautiful than any woman you have ever known. How many women have you known?”
“More than I needed to.”
“That is an odd answer.”
“It is a complex matter.”
“How so?” she asked.
“You need your rest.”
