AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His mental faculties had abandoned him. “Er, that is…”
“My lord, whatever have you been thinking about mermaids?”
“Something like this,” he answered, pushing her knees to either side of his hips. He slid his hands up her inner thighs and used all he’d learned about her body in their time together to tantalize and please her. When she cried out in release, he entered her at last, leaning back against the end of the tub to keep them from going under.
The water surged and sloshed as if a storm had hit. Some went onto the floor. Daniel didn’t care. He took Penelope’s lips again as ecstasy overcame him and all thought burned away.
The water in the tub calmed. Penelope rested atop him, her head on his damp shoulder. Their pulses beat, heart to heart. Their breathing gradually eased. Slowly, the world returned.
“Will I ever be able to simply wash in this bath?” she said after a while. “I’ll always be thinking of…this.”
Daniel laughed. It felt like the most joyous laugh that had ever come from his throat. For a timeless interval, they reclined together, nearly floating.
“The water’s growing cooler,” said Penelope at last. “I suppose we should get out.”
“For now.”
She met his eyes, promises sparkling in her gaze. And then she rose, just as he’d imagined, with water sluicing down her lovely curves amid wreaths of steam.
He followed her out, and she offered him a towel. Taking it, he applied it to her back rather than his own. She gave him a startled glance and then followed his lead. Gently, ceremoniously, they dried each other. Her hair had fallen out of its pins, and he rubbed the dripping tresses. “We should have brought a comb.”
Penelope reached up and produced one from the wardrobe shelf.
“You think of everything.”
“Not quite everything. I did not know a bath could be so stimulating.”
“Indeed.” She was delectable, adorable.
“We were so right to put it in.”
“You were.”
“You had the plans.”
“And you had the determination. It would never have been done without you, and now you see what a boon it is.”
“Boon?”
“Yes, my lady. A boon. Only think how much enjoyment we’ll get out of this small chamber.”
“The servants will talk.”
“Let them. I believe I am allowed to sport with my wife.”
Penelope laughed. “Sport?”
“Frolic, cavort, gambol, lark about, carouse.”
“Carouse, my lord? Is that really proper for a respectable married couple?”
“Perfectly. At every opportunity.” He ran the comb through her hair. The movement drew his eye to the small mirror on the inside of wardrobe door. There they were, half obscured by mist from the heat, naked side by side. She was all a man could want. He had to make her happy, and be sure he never lost her.
* * *
Their glorious bath was still on her mind the next day as Penelope strolled in the garden, which was at the height of its summer glory. A symphony of color and scent surrounded her as she walked. The foliage rang with birdsong. There wasn’t one thing she would change about this beautiful landscape, she thought. It provided an ideal setting to enjoy the gifts of nature as well as the happiness that sang through her veins.
She noticed two men approaching from the back of the property. They wore long-tailed coats and top boots and were clearly not gardeners, which was strange. When they came closer, she recognized the blond man with the side-whiskers who had questioned her in Manchester.
