As if to illustrate her point, someone scratched at the door of his bedchamber. He strode over and turned the key in the lock, loudly and deliberately, then went to the door of Elizabeth’s bedchamber and locked it as well.
“Heavens, Darcy. Did you just lock all the doors? It must be a terrifying ordeal if you are so worried I might want to escape.”
“I am not locking you in—” he began indignantly, but then as he stepped into the dressing room, he was met with the image of her in the porcelain tub, her wet hair cascading over the side, dripping into pools of water on the floor.
“I dismissed the maids,” she said, “but now the towel is out of reach. Could you hand it to me?”
What on earth had given him the idea he would be dealing with a shy young maiden when nothing about Elizabeth had ever indicated that this is what she was?
She rose out of the bathtub, like a nymph out of the Greek myths rising from the water, completely in her element, her dark locks like glistening seaweed flowing behind her.
He was frozen, unable to breathe, unable to do anything but gaze and wonder as she held him in her thrall. She was the most beautiful being he had ever seen. None of the alabaster statues that adorned the fountains or the museums could match her.
She was Elizabeth.
The steam floated up, swirling around her in lazy curling tendrils. He could feel the magic surrounding her, the magic in the water, the magic in the air.
“Are you going to give me the towel?” she said mischievously.
Speechless, completely awestruck, he handed her the towel, and she wrapped it tightly around herself and stepped out.
A nymph she might be, but when she entered the bedchamber, wrapped in a towel, the cracks in her armor became apparent. She was casting tentative looks at the large bed, hanging back awkwardly.
With a sudden insight, he realized she was stalling for time. He emerged from the daze that had befuddled him as he realized he was not the only one who was overwhelmed. She was unsure of herself. He needed to put her at ease.
“You will have to show me what to do,” she said, “I only have a vague idea of what happens next.” She looked chagrined and very pink, but he could not tell if it was a belated sense of embarrassment, or if it was the effect of the hot bath. He did not remember the last time he had seen her so flustered.
He chuckled. Now that the shoe was on the other foot, he could not resist the temptation to tease her.
“Well, there is not much to know, really. This when you submit to your conjugal duties,” he said, smothering a smile. “We will blow out the candles, and you can close your eyes. I will do my best to get it over as quickly as possible.”
She examined him apprehensively. “Really?”
He could not help it. He tried to keep a straight face. Instead, he dissolved into laughter.
“Of course not, Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, soon to be Lady Elizabeth. I mean, you might wish to close your eyes, if you prefer.Icertainly will, at some point. But I very much hope you are going to enjoy what happens next.”
He sat on the bed, keeping his banyan on for now, and invited her to join him by patting the bed beside him. She kept the towelwrapped around her, and slid under the sheets, her wet hair unfurling onto the pillow.
Leaning over, he lowered his lips onto hers, touching, teasing, watching her eyes darken with passion.Thiswas what he had been waiting for. He deepened the kiss, love turning into burning need. He spread his kisses beyond the corner of her mouth, past the curve of her jaw, down to the hollow at the bottom of her throat. His breath grew ragged as his lips moved across skin like velvet, sensations rippling through him like fire.
With my body, I thee worship.
He no longer had to hold back. He threw off his dressing gown and sank down, spreading himself against her.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel her fingers trailing down his back, stoking his hunger, driving him beyond himself.
Warm threads of her magic reached out to him, enveloping them, Bonding them together. He began to lose himself as silken threads spun around them, fine filaments sweeping across his skin. In response, some hidden magic surged inside him, reaching out through their Bond and flooding them both in a golden light that filled the room. He no longer knew where the boundary between them lay. Their bodies were entwined, tangled in threads of magic, melting into one, glowing with love.
When the magic receded, he lay back, breathing heavily, trying to understand what had just happened. Nothing had prepared him for this. No one had told him that Janus Twins could connect so deeply and completely. Still, a part of him, somewhere deep inside, had known that being with Elizabeth would take him beyond his control.
Beside him, Elizabeth was trying to catch her breath. She was smiling, her face bright and tender. He turned to gaze at her, marveling at this woman who had now become his wife.
“I love you,” he said, his voice deep with all the feelings coursing through him.
“I love you, too,” she said.
He moved one finger across her face, learning her features, the dips and contours that made her who she was.
