“Not another word, Sophia.” He slapped the edge of the tub. “You will address me as Alexander when we are alone. Which I intend us to be,” there was a thread of menace in his tone. “with increasing frequency.”
A tiny bit of vulnerability flickered in the shimmering green, the streaks of silver flashing at her.
I’ve hurt him by staying away.
That knowledge that she possessed the power to harm such a magnificent being had a tremble go through her. Her heart took a small leap before she forced it down. Roxboro would feel differently later.
Sophia came around behind him and picked up the soap. “Fine. Demanding, petulant duke.” Her eyes widened as she looked down.
Dear lord, I can see…well, it is larger than I imagined.
“Shoulders first,” Roxboro commanded. “You forgot arrogant.”
“I think that to be given.” She picked up the cloth and dipped it in the bath. “You’re put out with me.”
The shoulders tensed. “I am.”
She rubbed a good amount of soap on the cloth and drew it over the breadth of his shoulders. How unfair that one man had been gifted with such startling looks, a title and great wealth. Though Sophia thought the Lord had a sense of humor, because he’d also bestowed a great deal of clumsiness on Roxboro. Enough to keep him humble, perhaps.
Taking a seat on the stool at his side, Sophia glanced into the water. A mistake because—well, hiscockbobbed back at her.
“I thought we had come to an agreement, of sorts.” Roxboro shut his eyes. “Don’t you dare miss a spot.”
Absently, Sophia drew the cloth over his arms and shoulders, allthe while her attention fixated on hiscock. Yes, she’d caught a glimpse, once or twice after that first bath, but…he’d been ill and—honestly, Sophia had made sureitwas covered. Roxboro had been sick. She hadn’t wanted the distraction.
“This avoidance of each other must stop, as amusing a chase as it has been.” Reaching back, he took Sophia’s hand, flattening her palm across his chest. “Don’t make me yell through the window for you again.” The words were gentle. “You’ll upset Barstow.”
“Roxboro—”
“Alexander. I need you to address me as Alexander.” His hand pushed hers more firmly into his chest. “Please. I—nearly dying—well, your view of the world changes. Oh, I realize that almost dying is something of a hobby of mine. Usually accidental. Sometimes for my purse. And all those instances took place when I was foxed…so not entirely unexpected. Oakhurst might be there to laugh at my misfortune. The society pages would write of my latest brush with injury. But this time was different because there was someone who cared whether I survived and fought for me.”
“Lord Damon—”
“Bears me a great deal of affection. As do Rose and Violet. But none of them would ever sit by my bedside and read to me. Mop my brow. Bring me comfort. I think the last person who did so was Aunt May when I had a terrible cough one winter.” His brows drew together. “Laugh with me and—” The words halted.
“You are what?” she whispered.
“Not alone,” he rasped. “Because you are here.”
Sophia looked down to Roxboro’s hand, holding hers to his heart, realizing what he meant.
Oh.Her heart expanded sharply, leaning towards his.
“More importantly, I desire you. Greatly. Perhaps more than you can comprehend and definitely far more than I should.” Roxboro moved her hand from his heart to his stomach, then still lower, untilSophia’s fingers caught in the thatch of hair surrounding hiscock, which was now…so stiff the tip pointed directly at her.
The green of his eyes glinted up at her, the heat, unmistakable. And longing. So much of it.
Her breasts grew heavy and taut with arousal, because now Sophia knew exactly what desire felt like. The sensation spilled along her mid-section to sit throbbing between her thighs until she pushed them together.
Roxboro’s free hand lifted from the water, looping around Sophia’s neck, dripping water and staining her dress. He brought their mouths close, mere inches apart before his tongue flicked out, tracing along the seam of her lips.
Sophia whimpered.
“Sophie,” he whispered her name against the corner of her mouth. “A bad start does not mean that we cannot have a good ending.” He kissed her carefully, his lips lazy and sensual, full of promise.
A sound left her. Soft with surrender.
Sophia dropped the cloth with a plop into the water. He pushed her hand further, encouraging her to touch and explore. His skin was slick with soap as her fingers slid along his stomach, daring to come close to hiscock.
