“You want the gory details, or will a few words do?” she snapped at him.
“So ’twas rough and quick again?”
“Not so rough,” she allowed grudgingly. “But over before I barely knew ’twas begun.”
Theo sat down hard on a stool, his young face a study in disappointment. “So he has not pleasured you yet?”
“Pleasure?” she snorted, heading toward the coffer at the end of the bed. “Tell me something, Theo. Is a woman actually supposed to feel something special when coupling, or is it only a desire to give the man she favors what he wants?”
“You are asking the wrong person, Reina.Icertainly enjoy it.”
“Well,Icertainly do not.”
“But you know something is missing, or you would not be this annoyed about it.” He grinned at her. “Ask Wenda. Mayhap she can describe to you what ’tis like for a woman.”
“I do not want to ask Wenda,” she said with a pouting turn to her lips. “Just tell me this. Is it normal for it to be done so quickly?”
“Not normal, nay. But look at it this way, Reina. That lovely man either pays you the supreme compliment that you so arouse his lust he simply cannot hold off, or—”
“Lackwit, be serious!”
He dodged the shift she threw at him, protesting, “I am. Or, as I was saying, ’tis just his way and he does not care whether you find any pleasure in it or not. Some men are like that, unfortunately.”
“And I am married to one.” She sighed, sitting down on the bed with a bliaut in one hand and a chemise in the other. “What can I do?”
“You can tell him you are not satisfied with his—”
“Are you mad?” she shrieked. “I could not do that!”
Theo shrugged. “Then arouse him again when he is finished. A man is usually always slower the second time.”
That caught her full interest. “You mean—right after?”
“Aye.”
“But he goes to sleep.”
“So you wake him.”
She frowned. “He is not like to appreciate that.”
“He will not mind if you do it right.”
“How? And how do I arouse him?”
“Reina!” He rolled his eyes. “Did your mother tell you naught about pleasuring a husband? You touch him, caress him all over…oh, would that I—” He blushed, but quickly continued. “You caress him—especially where it counts.”
Her eyes widened. “You meanthere?”
“Just so.”
“Oh, well, I suppose that would not be too difficult.” What was she saying? How could she ever bring herself to dothat?
“Then I will expect to see you smiling on the morrow.”
She glowered at him. “This was only one small problem. You would not believe how insufferably annoying that man can be. If I ever smile again, ’twill be a miracle.”
Chapter Twenty-two
