"My pleasure, m'laird." Grinning, the cook bowed. "I'm most gladdened the castle has a new lady, and the curse is destroyed."
"Pray 'tis so." Gavin picked up the tray and headed up the steps. He did not yet know when the spell would perish. Or if it would.
∞∞∞
A sound woke Dani—the slamming of a door. Her eyes popped open. Gavin stood, watching her and holding a wooden tray loaded with food.
Startled, she sat up, water sloshing onto the floor.
His gaze dipping to her bare breasts, he almost dropped the tray, righted it, and set it on the table. She searched beside the tub for a bath towel but remembered they only had the small linen towels.
"I fell asleep," she mumbled.
The blue flame of his gaze returned to her breasts as he came toward her. Feeling exposed, she crossed her arms over her chest.
He knelt by the tub, his darkened gaze searching hers. "You are lovely beyond measure." He cupped her cheek and chin, moved closer, and kissed her. His sweet words, enticing lips, and male flavor captured her, and she fell under his spell. She slid her hand around his neck and into his thick hair to hold him closer and consume all the kisses he would give her. She would never get enough, and each one made her hungry for more.
He moaned and pulled back, lifting his lids enough to gaze at her with dark arousal. "Move over, lass. I'm coming in."
"Seriously?" Well, the tub was huge, sure enough.
She drew her knees up and scooted against one end. He unfastened his belt, dropped his plaid, and yanked the shirt over his head, revealing bulging muscles everywhere. He removed his boots, and when she glimpsed his erection, already standing at attention, she snapped her eyes closed and covered them.
"Oh my gosh!" Why did gazing at her new husband's sexy body embarrass her? Because she had never seen such a stunning physique, impressive in every way. Maybe he spent all day, every day working out. The water splashed as he sank into the water at the other end of the tub.
"What?" he asked.
Removing her hands, she drank in the sight of him reclining in the water opposite her. She couldn't believe the profound muscle definition in his chest, arms, and shoulders. Furthermore, she couldn't grasp that he was her actual husband, and she would get to explore every inch of him.
"Nothing." She refused to tell him how scorching-hot she found him. Perhaps later.
"I would like for you to bathe me." A smile of pure wickedness crossed his gorgeous but imperfect face.
Need simmered inside her. "Is that so?"
"Aye. I'm wanting to feel your hands all over me."
"Hmm." She lifted a brow and watched him watching her. Waiting. Yes, she wanted her hands all over him. His delicious muscles lured her to pet and stroke him.
His thick, dark lashes drifted low, and his sensual lips quirked. She yearned to kiss him again and sink down into his dreamy seduction.
Wanting to keep her wits about her, she took her time in lathering the cloth while she made him wait. He lay in a vulnerable position, with her sitting between his legs, his enticing male parts hidden beneath the sudsy water.
Loving that he trusted her so much, she rose to her knees, then dragged the cloth over the rugged muscles in his chest. Two white scars marred the right side over his ribs.
"How did you get these?"
"Battle. A long time ago."
It couldn't have been that long ago. "How old are you?" How strange to not even know her husband's age.
"A score and eight."
"Twenty-eight?"
"Aye." He studied her, his eyes dark with seduction.
Leaning farther over him, she slid the cloth along his neck, then his broad shoulders, underarms, and biceps. She noticed more small scars here and there. She glanced up at the scar on his face, the most prominent on him, but she loved it. That scar had been one of the first features she had seen in her steamy dreams, and it underscored his personality. Realization struck that if she counted the dreams, she had known him for months.
