Finally, he sighed. “It’s true, though.” He tilted his head to the side, looking pensive. “I cannae even remember why I objected so much to touching ye.”
She huffed wryly. “You didn’t so muchobjectas avoid me at all costs.”
“I wasnae avoidi?—”
“You were,” she interrupted, reaching up to wrap a wet hand around his neck and tilting her head back to look at him. “The door between our chambers was like a border I could not cross.Heavilyguarded and impenetrable.”
He threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Is that how ye felt? I didnae ken. It wasnae deliberate.” He shook his head, still smiling as she settled back against him.
They were quiet for a while.
“And then at the end, you just…” She waved her hand in an extravagant gesture. “… let me in. And now we are cuddled up in the bath.”
He smiled, running his finger up and down her spine. “It wasnae that simple,” he said, which was the nearest he’d come to talking about what happened in the clearing. “But aye, we are. Ye feel good in me arms, do ye ken?”
She wiggled her backside, noting his sharp intake of breath with a smile. “I do. You’ve told me often enough this week.” She pursed her lips, thinking about it. “Or rather, I do, but it’s still a wonder to me what spectacular things our bodies can do to each other.”
He huffed in amusement.
“Do you know what I feared the most?” she asked.
He shook his head. “What did ye fear?”
“The bleeding.” She craned her neck to look up at him again. “Betsy told me there was bleeding involved, and I just…” She shrugged.
He barked a laugh. “Did ye think ye were going to be led like a lamb to the slaughter?”
She shrugged self-deprecatingly. “I didn’t know, did I?”
He cocked his head so he could meet hereyes. “And now that ye do?”
“Well…” She bit her lip in thought, and he wrapped his arms around her belly, pulling her tighter against him as the water splashed against the side of the tub. “I think that I have hardly breached the surface of what… could happen.”
She blushed fiercely from head to toe, dipping her head shyly to avoid looking at him.
He pressed a kiss to her hair before squeezing her against him. “I suspect we havenae explored the depths of what our love could be either,” he whispered, hot breath fanning the shell of her ear and making her shiver.
She giggled, kicking her feet gently. “I’m suddenly not tired anymore.”
“Ah…” He stared down at her, a glint in his eyes. “Are ye trying to tell me something,mo shùilean donn?” he asked softly.
She looked at him from beneath her lashes. “What doyouthink?”
“I think that the water is cooling and the bed is very comfortable.” He grinned as he tightened his hold on her and pulled them both to their feet.
27
“Perhaps we can explore those depths a bit more,” he said softly as he carried her to his bedchamber.
He laid her down, his hands running down her sides in unconscious possession.
“Ye’re such a bonnie lassie,” he whispered as he dried her off.
She smiled shyly, her cheeks on fire. “Why, thank you, kind sir. You’re quite a handsome gentleman yourself.”
He chuckled softly. “And here I thought I was a mere barbarian.”
She grinned. “Indeed, you are. But who said barbarians cannot be handsome too?”
