Nathaniel set her down gently on the rug, his warm hands lingering on her waist a moment longer than necessary. She stood barefoot, looking around in awe at this decadent retreat. And yet with all the magnificence surrounding her, the view that entranced her the most was that of her naked husband as he strode across the room, his skin gleaming golden in thelamplight, the muscles of his back, legs, and backside rippling as he moved. He turned the polished brass taps, and the sound of rushing water filled the space. Steam began to curl lazily toward the ceiling as the bath filled with inviting warmth. Next, he unstoppered a bottle in the cabinet and waved it in front of her face for her to smell.
The scent of sandalwood mixed with some fresh herb and a hint of lemon wafted to her nose. It smelled exactly like him.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“I love it,” she replied honestly.
He poured a bit into the bath, the scent rising with the steam and spreading in the air like a spell of seduction.
Turning back to her, he extended a hand, his mouth curving into the faintest, wickedest smile. “After you, wife.”
There was a gleam in his eyes that made her knees feel perilously weak.
She took his hand and padded toward the inviting bath, but when she was about to step into it, he stopped her.
“Wait. We need to fix something.” His hands moved to her sides, grabbing fistfuls of her chemise and dragging it up and off her, leaving her completely naked for his admiring perusal. Her skin heated under his gaze, and her nipples tightened. A faint smile curved one side of his mouth, but he wasn’t unaffected either. The evidence of his desire was quite prominently displayed.
“Go on then. Now you are ready for your bath.” His voice was a velvety rasp curling around her insides, weakening her knees. She stepped into the bath and lowered herself into the heavenly warm, perfumed water.
“Aren’t you going to join me?”
“Oh, you can count on it.”
Aliceawokethenextday to the faint clink of china coming from far away. She opened her eyes and gazed around her to find the room still swathed in the dim light of early morning. Her husband still slept peacefully next to her.
She took a few seconds to admire the image. To enjoy the absolute perfection of this moment. He had done as he’d promised. Making love to her over and over until they were both too tired to move. Too sated to care. And had ended up falling asleep in a tangle of legs and arms.
Once, she had taken mornings such as this for granted. They had enjoyed them often, their specialness not diminished by their frequency. Now, moments such as these of absolute peace and togetherness had their days numbered.
How long would the divorce process take? Did he still want to proceed with it? He was acting erratic, giving her all kinds of mixed signals. Accusing her of adultery and then making love to her as if he never wanted to let her go. He had continued to release his seed inside her. Was he purposely trying to get her with child? And what did she want anyway? Had she considered her own feelings in this matter? Yes. She had not objected, because in truth, something inside her rejoiced at it. At the possibility. No matter what, she would love to have Nathaniel’s child. It soothed a restlessness she had been feeling of late. For a family, for somewhere to belong. For someone to love who would love her in return. There was a time when Nathaniel had been all of those things for her. But not anymore.
He stirred, turned sideways, and slung his arm casually over her, as if even in sleep he sought her out.
Another clink of china could be heard coming from downstairs. Must be the servants preparing breakfast.
Her breath caught, and her eyes opened wide as the implications of that sank it.
Good God, the servants had returned. Of course they had. She thought with shame how her discarded clothing was left strewn all over the library. Not very subtle. Everyone must know what they had been doing. And they were bound to find her here. She buried her face in the pillow, dying of mortification.
“Nathaniel, wake up. The servants are here and up and about.”
“Uh?” Nathaniel opened one eye, smiled contentedly when he saw her and dragged her into his arms, settling back into a comfortable position to presumably continue sleeping. It was tempting, but they needed to get up, retrieve her clothing, and find a way to get her out of the house without being seen.
“Nathaniel, we need to get up. The servants are making breakfast.”
He actually smelled the air, as if he were a bloodhound after a scent. “Oh, yes. Breakfast. Smells good. We’ll go down in a minute. First, I want to have another sort of breakfast.”
He slid down on the bed, his head was now at the level of her breasts, and he took one in his mouth, pulling deeply, swirling his tongue around the turgid peak until she was squirming and half forgot her purpose.
She pushed at his shoulders. “Nathaniel, wait. No, don’t do that.” Her protest dissolved into a moan as he licked and sucked at her breast.
He looked up with eyes heavy lidded after sleep. “Why not? Don’t you enjoy it?”
“Too much. But we don’t have time for that. We need to get going.”
He frowned. His confused expression would be comical if she weren’t in such a predicament.
“Why? Do we have any early appointments with Dalton? Has he summoned us?”
