She’d have to be brief, of course.Despite her threats, it would be unfair to leave Adam with a chilled bath.
But for the moment, she rested her head against the padded wooden edge of the tub and closed her eyes, relishing the warm waves that eased her body and calmed her thoughts.
Feigning sleep was nothing new for Adam.He’d done it all the time as a lad when he’d returned late to Rivenloch after a midnight excursion.Later he’d learned it was a good way to either avoid difficult conversations or to listen in on secret conversations.
Now, however, he was having a hard time keeping his breathing slow and steady.
Though it would be easy enough to spy on her from the shadows of the bed, he’d vowed he would not.And he was a man of honor.
But bloody hell.Just the sweet smell of the bath oil, knowing it would cling to her skin and scent her all evening, made his nostrils flare.The sound of her entering the bath—her soft sigh, the light plash of the water as she moved the wet linen over her body…
His mind created a vision so intoxicating it made his breath quicken.His heart pounded.His blood surged.He didn’t even want to think about what was happening between his thighs.
Eventually he heard her rise out of the tub.Heard the sluice of the water over her glistening body.He envisioned drops rolling down her smooth shoulders and over her creamy breasts.Trickling toward the rosy tips of her chilled nipples.
His eyes sprung open, staring unseeing at the bed’s canopy.
Lord, his loins ached.
And he wondered how he was ever going to cool his blood enough to emerge safely from this velvet refuge.
He didn’t have long to wonder.
In spite of her promises, she’d taken a notably brief bath, briefer even than his sister Feiyan, who hated wasting time she could be sparring by soaking in a tub.
That meant he had to stop imagining Aillenn naked.Soon.
The feat was nigh impossible when she neared the bed and he could smell the sweet spice of her damp body.
“Adam,” she called softly.
He froze, feigning sleep.
“Adam,” she repeated.
He remained still.
Finally she grasped his shoulder in her bath-warmed hand and gave it a shake.“Adam.”
He pretended to rouse, looking at her through the narrow slits of his eyes, and murmured, “Is it my turn?”
“Aye.”
She was draped in a dark cloak.But underneath she wore only her leine.A few damp tendrils of her hair clung to her neck, and a stray droplet of water trickled across her collar bone to disappear between her breasts.
He gulped.
It was a shame the water hadn’t grown cold after all.Perhaps then it would cool his hot blood.
He sat up, raking his hands back through his hair.
“How is the bed?”she asked.“Soft?”
“Aye,” he said, pulling the curtain back.
She sat down beside him, looking fresh.Smelling divine.And wreaking havoc.
He fought the overpowering desire to tip her back onto the pallet and bury his face in her fragrant neck.
