He cupped her chin. “My best friend was always you.”
He kissed her, his wet lips claiming hers, his tongue taking deeply and completely. She shuddered against him, her nails digging into his broad shoulders as he caught her legs and wrapped then around his waist in the water.
“And now I want to do things to you that are not something friends do,” he murmured, his voice rough.
She shifted and felt his cock pressed at her entrance. “Like this?” she asked as she slid lower and took him inside of her on smooth thrust.
He rested his forehead on hers. “Oh yes, most definitely that.”
Their panting breaths merged as they rocked their hips together. The slick slide of him, the water sloshing around them, the way his hips rubbed against her pelvis, stimulating her clitoris, it was all perfect. She lifted into him, kissing him deeply as the pleasure built and built and finally she spasmed out her pleasure.
He followed swiftly after, groaning out her name as he pumped his release deep inside of her. He kept her in his arms, their bodies intertwined as he carried her through the water, still kissing. Her legs were still locked around him as he exited the lake.
He set her on the blanket carefully and then moved the food so none would spill before he took a place beside her, laying on his back, both still utterly naked. The afternoon sun warmed her wet flesh as she stared up at him.
“I can only imagine the reaction if we’d donethatat that picnic all those years ago.” She said with a laugh.
He didn’t join her in her laughter. “Life certainly would have been very different if I’d taken that chance.” He glanced at the water. “Well, perhaps notthatone. But the chance to say something then.”
She sat up and kissed him. “Come on, I’m hungry. Let’s eat, yes?”
He nodded and they dove into the food before them, but she could see he was still troubled by all the talk about the past. And in truth, so was she. For there was more to discuss before they could move on to what the future held for them.
Meg was smiling as she and Simon approached the caretaker cottage together hours after their passionate encounter in the lake. He smiled, too, though he knew he had a long way to go still to earn Meg back. He’d made headway, of course. She had opened herself to him, allowed him in as they talked as well as when they made love, but he knew her hesitance remained.
He opened the door and they were met with warmth and delicious scents. The servants had done as he’d asked—a fire now burned in the hearth and a fresh basket of food was set on the table. She laughed as she looked at him. “Did you hire sprites to do these things and then disappear?”
He shrugged. “If I told you all my secrets, I would no longer be mysterious and you’d bore of me. Now, why don’t you go into the bedroom? If my sprites have done as they were asked, then you should have a bath waiting for you.”
Her eyes went wide. “You arranged for a bath for me?”
He nodded. “I didn’t expect we’d take a dunk in the lake together, but I thought it might be nice after a day out and about in the woods.”
She eased up closer, staring up at him with those dark eyes he was forever lost in. “And will you be joining me, Your Grace?”
He swallowed hard. “There is nothing I’d like more, but I have a few things to prepare.”
She held her gaze on him a long moment and he could see her mind turning. She was judging him, analyzing his every move. He couldn’t help but wonder what decisions she was coming to.
“Very well,” she said at last, then lifted to her tiptoes to kiss him and slipped into the bedroom.
When the door was closed, he took a long breath. Just being near Meg set him on his head. Made him dizzy. She always had. It seemed she always would. And today had repaired some of the damage he’d caused between them. They had been friends today, as well as lovers. When they talked it wasn’t just about their marriage or their past, it had been easy and comfortable.
All that gave him hope, but not enough. There was more work to do to prove that he wouldn’t fall back into old habits, that he wouldn’t push her away out of some sense of fear or honor or self-punishment.
He moved about the room, lighting candles and lamps, stoking the fire, and then he carefully prepared their food for the night. When it was all finished, he moved to the bedroom door and knocked gently.
“Come in,” she called out.
He stepped inside and caught his breath. The fire burned bright in this room too and Meg had lit the candles, as well. The big tub was pulled right in front of the fire and the light spilled over her. She had pulled her damp hair up into a loose bun on top of her head, and her long neck and high cheekbones were accentuated beautifully.
The water was cloudy from soap, but he still caught glimpses of pink flesh that drove him mad. “You do tempt a man,” he murmured as he sank down on his knees beside the tub, resting his arms on the edge.
She smiled, but there was fire in her eyes. That fire he’d always been drawn to like a moth. “Tempt you enough to join me?” she whispered, leaning forward. The tops of her breasts bobbed out of the water, giving him a peekaboo glimpse of hard nipples, and he groaned.
“Next time,” he promised. “Next time I will join you.”
She smiled and leaned up, dampening his shirt as she kissed him. “If you say so.” She sighed and leaned back. “This was wonderful, thank you.”
