The battle lost, Laoghaire glanced at the bar of soap. “Should I lather a cloth?”
“That won’t be necessary,” he informed her, while he shoved the right sleeve of her kirtle to her elbow.
Her tongue felt thick in her mouth. “Why will it not—”
“Shh,” Galen interjected with a slight shake of the head. Taking hold of her hand, he plunged it beneath the water. “You will see.”
Laoghaire made a tiny muffled sound as the warm water lapped about her bare forearm. Filled with trepidation, she peered downward, but her vision was blocked by the cluster of green lime leaves that swirled on the surface of the water. “But I can’t see anything with all of the lime leaves floating about.”
“I meant to say that you will feel. Now, take hold of it.”
In doubt as to what precisely he expected her to do, she was too timid to voice the question. All she could manage was a slight shrug.
Her dilemma was soon resolved when Galen said, “Wrap your fingers around my shaft.”
The instant she touched him, Laoghaire swallowed an astonished exclamation. His manroot was thick and long and so engorged with blood that she wondered how he could bear having it attached to his body. For some mistaken reason, she had thought the warm water would have the opposite effect on his organ.
Unsure what to do next, she gripped him like she would a sword hilt.
“Slide your hand up and down the length of it,” Galen instructed, as he leaned against the thick folds of cloth that padded the back of the tub.
No sooner did she comply than she saw a change come over Galen—his breath noticeably harsh, his eyes glazed—as though he were captive to a powerful emotion over which he had no control. While she continued to stroke him, she found it profoundly exciting to watch him in the throes of passion.
If he inserted his fingers into my woman’s place, like he did on our wedding night, would I enjoy it this time?she wondered, somehow thinking that she would.
But if he did so,she thought in the next instant,he might want to rut on me, and all would be lost.
Gripping the sides of the tub, Galen groaned, the sound rumbling deep within his chest. “Faster,” he said in a guttural voice.
She quickened her motions, causing bathwater to slosh all around her forearm, as lime leaves rapidly scudded on the watery surface.
Now,she suddenly realized.Now is the time to ask him for an annulment.
Although inexperienced with the more intimate details of a marriage, she instinctively knew that she had Galen, quite literally, in the palm of her hand. Lust-crazed, at that moment he wanted something from her. And perhaps he wanted it desperately enough that he would finally agree to an annulment.
I’ve been given an opportunity, one which I do not intend to squander.
As she quickly formulated a plan, the steam from the water caused a bead of perspiration to trickle between her breasts.
Knowing there wasn’t a second to waste, Laoghaire affixed a smile onto her lips. Then, in what she hoped was an enticing tone of voice, she said, “Galen, will ye not consent to an annulment?”
Galen jerked abruptly, causing water to splash against the sides of the tub. “Will you not consent to kiss me?” he responded, his chest heaving.
“If I do, will ye—”
“Grant me but one kiss,” he said over the top of her voice, his gaze now fastened on her lips. “That is all I ask.”
One kiss in exchange for an annulment? ’Tis more than a fair bargain.
As Laoghaire wordlessly nodded her consent, a small shiver of excitement coursed through her. She recalled how, earlier in the day, he gently kissed her hand. It had been a rare moment, one laden with gallantry and affection. Moreover, it had not been lust she experienced then, but something softer, more poignant. And exquisitely tender.
Unable to tear her eyes from Galen’s mouth, she watched as he leaned forward. Her lips having gone dry, she wet them with her tongue. Galen smiled slightly and inched closer. Laoghaire felt the animal heat of his body, and it incited a radiant surge that was strangely pleasurable. Nervous, she gulped in a shaky breath.
“Keep moving your hand,” Galen said, as he angled his head to one side.
She nodded while she waited . . .anxious. . .expectant. . . uncertain what would transpire. In the next instant, her breath mingled with his . . . just before their lips touched. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes as Galen’s mouth moved across hers with a barely repressed hunger.
Acting purely on instinct, Laoghaire clutched the top of Galen’s shoulder with her free hand and pulled him closer to her. And even though Galen kissed her with a passionate intensity, to her delight there was also a discernible sweetness to his kiss, his lips momentarily gentling as he suckled her lower lip.
