I picked up a rose petal, twisting it between my fingers. “Well, you know how I feel about my bath time being interrupted. If theydomanage to manifest in here and ruin it, then the gods themselves won’t be able to save them from the wrath that I will rain down upon them.”
This coaxed a small smile onto his troubled face.
“I’m serious.”
“Serious,” he repeated, chuckling, “about your naked, bubbly, wrath?”
“Can you think of anything more terrifying?”
He hesitated, but then sauntered closer, sitting down on the stool beside the tub. “Nothing comes to mind.”
“Exactly. Now, get in here or you’ll be subject to that naked wrath yourself.”
He considered me for a long moment, rolling up his sleeves and trailing his fingers through the water, grazing them along my hip and thigh. Then he braced a hand on either side of thetub and leaned in close, his lips brushing against mine as he said, “I could think of worse ways to go.”
I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him into a proper kiss. It took an enormous amount of willpower to stop myself from pulling the rest of him into the tub, clothes and all.
“Relentless,” he said under his breath, his eyes shining with a combination of lust and amusement as he drew back and started to unbutton his shirt.
“A queen must be tireless in her duties,” I countered.
“You’ve got that part of the job down, no doubt.” He shrugged out of the shirt, and the rest of his clothing swiftly followed, ending up in a neat pile on the floor. “Your enemies will never out-stubborn you,” he said, slipping into the water so we were facing one another.
I slid toward him, pressing myself between his legs, the tingling effects of the champagne making me bolder. “I’m glad you’ve finally learned when to admit defeat.”
He kept one arm on the rim of the tub and wrapped the other around my waist, dragging me flush against his hard body. “This doesn’t really feel likedefeat.” His lips found mine again, his soft kisses soon giving way to deeper, hungrier ones. “Feels more like I’ve won you.”
“Really?” I rolled my hips against him, a teasing motion that made his fingers dig more possessively into my side. “You have me right where you want me, do you?”
“Not exactly.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he flipped me around, cupping a hand between my legs and pulling my back against his chest. His other hand reached around to grab one of my breasts, his arm pressing in and pinning me to him as he pinched and tugged at its satiny tip.
“That’s better,” he mumbled, the words falling hot against my ear. “Now: Relax.”
My pulse was far fromrelaxed,but I closed my eyes and sank completely against him, surrendering as his hands worked their magic, the one between my legs massaging in gentle circles while the other continued to play with my breasts.
I moaned softly, and his touch grew quicker. Rougher. He kissed a slow, seductive trail along the curve of my shoulder, up along my neck. As his teeth found my earlobe and nipped, his name escaped me in a gasp. He responded by slipping one finger inside me, then another.
It was pure bliss—the combination of his sure hands and the warm water lapping against my body. Of my heart pounding in time with his. Of his firm muscles against my skin that had been made softer and silkier by the oils in the water.
And when that water began to grow cold, he moved smoothly from the tub, helping me out alongside him, his hands never straying far from my body. He dried every inch of my damp skin with slow, attentive strokes, following the soft brush of the towel with tantalizing touches that made me forget about any chill my nakedness might have brought on.
I watched us in the mirror above the sink, just as I’d watched him when he was helping me into my coronation dress; the confident way he kissed and caressed every inch of my body was mesmerizing.
He caught me staring, and his mouth pulled into a smirk. “You like watching what I’m doing to you, don’t you?”
Instead of answering with words, I leaned back against him just as I’d done before, eager for his lips to keep staking their claim on me. He watched me for a moment, smiling at the impatient way I rubbed myself against him, then he took my hand and led me to that mirror we’d used earlier.
It was taller, reaching all the way to the floor, fully exposing every act we committed before it. We resumed our session from the bathroom—him behind me, my body curving againsthim, desperately trying to eliminate any space between us. He smoothed a hand over my stomach and then went lower, plunging two fingers inside of me once more. As he slid them in and out, I felt my orgasm building, my body losing control and starting to contort wildly, trying to chase the shivers of pleasure winding through it.
But he withdrew his fingers before I could catch any sort of release, his breathing coming in ragged gasps as he kissed the nape of my neck. “Not yet.”
He grabbed a blanket, spreading it on the floor in front of the mirror. Pulling me down and into his lap, he arranged us into a position similar to the one we’d had in the tub.
“Spread your legs,” he ordered, his hand tapping encouragingly along my inner thigh.
I started to, only to have him grab them and push them wider himself, his grip digging into the flesh of my thighs as his cock throbbed against my back.
