Page 103 of A Rogues & Gentlemen Christmas

He watched her face, gazing down at her, alert for the slightest sign of distress or discomfort, but her lips parted on a sigh, her lovely skin flushing a deep pink as she eased her legs farther apart and lifted her hips, pressing herself against his hand.

Ned buried his face in her hair, clinging to the fragile threads of his control as his fingers slid through her curls and inside the tight heat of her body.

“Oh God,” he said, ragged now as he lifted his head and watched her as he touched her so intimately.

His free hand toyed with her breast as she sighed with approval, the whispered sound leaving him dazed with desire. The water undulated back and forth as she moved against his hand, unabashed as she took her pleasure and drove him wild with desire.

Her lips curved into a smile and she gasped, her body growing taut as tension simmered through her. She grasped at his arms and flung her head back as she came with a breathless cry that was almost enough to undo him completely. Ned leant down and captured her mouth, kissing her hard and deep, whilst he fought the urge to lift her from the tub and take her on the carpet like a madman. He felt mad, mad with lust and joy, out of control with the barrage of emotions he’d not felt in more than a decade, if he’d ever known them at all. He certainly could not remember a moment which more exquisitely combined the tormenting combination of love and desire and the need to possess, with the need to take care of and treat the woman before him with the utmost tenderness.

He held her, pressing kisses to her lips, her cheek, and the beautiful line of her neck as she came back to herself.

“How lovely,” she murmured, gazing up at him through the haze of pleasure that still filled her eyes. “Thank you.”

He laughed at that, helpless to do otherwise. “It was my pleasure,” he said gravely.

She sighed and smiled at him. “I’d best get out, so you might wash before the water gets cold.”

Ned almost opened his mouth to protest that he didn’t want a bloody wash, but thought better of it. He’d not want her thinking he’d not take the trouble for her, so he’d wash, even if the time it took to do so killed him. Was it possible to die from desire? It felt as if it might well be, as his arousal tented his trousers and fought to get free, to get to her.

It was the most delightful form of torture to dry her while his body ached and protested. It continued as he undressed before her, her hot gaze drifting over him as he stripped off first his shirt, and then his trousers and drawers.

Her eyes grew wide and dark, her lips parting a little as he stood before her.

“Oh, Ned,” she said, the words spoken with a breathless quality that made his cock leap with pride and desire.

He’d had offers enough from women, even after he’d been married. Offers he’d been too wary of accepting, his confidence too dented by Sarah to try again despite his loneliness, but enough to know that he was well made and handsome enough to turn a woman’s head in his direction. It was nothing, though, nothing like having his wife’s gaze turn hot and sultry as she looked him over with obvious approval.

“You are very fine,” she said, her lovely mouth curving into a smile. “Indeed, I think I must do my wifely duty and help you with your bath.”

Ned’s mouth grew dry, and he found he couldn’t answer, though he wasn’t about to deny her if she wanted to wash him.

He stepped into the bath and sat down, though there was barely enough room for him to do so without hanging his legs over the outside of the tub. This he did, watching with a mixture of longing and trepidation as Grace knelt beside the bath. She took a moment to take the pins from her hair and he watched, entranced as the golden tresses fell to her shoulders before she moved towards him and lathered the soap between her hands.

Ned took a deep breath, very afraid he’d climax the moment she touched him.

He swallowed as she reached for him, lathering first the hair on his chest and working outwards over his arms. He squirmed and laughed as her delicate hands soaped beneath his armpits and she gave a whoop of delighted laughter to discover he was ticklish.

“Oh, that’s good to know,” she teased. “I shall take full advantage of that in the future.”

That mischievous glint lit her eyes again, making his heart squeeze in his chest at how easy this was with her. He’d never imagined he might find such a wife, a woman with a tender heart and a sweet nature, who would not only welcome him into her bed but make him laugh, and laugh with him.

“Gracie,” he murmured and reached for her, pulling her to him for a kiss.