She gave a little yip as if his action was unexpected, and yet not unappreciated.
Slowly, withgreatpatience, she seemed to be forgiving him.
Here was the price he had to pay for his loss of control. He had to make himself wait, even though he had a strong desire to lift her out of the tub, dripping wet, and make love to her right there on the floor.
But he held back... because she was worth it.
The realization that he might have married above himself—and he was not referring to her money—had started to come upon him watching her yesterday among the wedding guests. She’d moved with grace. He’d watched her listening to conversations, taking in Kate’s boldness or someone else’s gossipy or crass behavior. She’d kept her thoughts to herself, but she had been thinking. She was no one’s fool. Including his.
“I’m finished with my bath,” she said.
“All right.” He picked up a towel, prepared to dry her off.
Her response was to snatch it out of his hand and wave him away.
He good-naturedly backed off. “Perhaps next time,” he murmured.
“Perhaps.”
Dear God, there was hope.
And he could ruin everything if he did as he wished and stared at her as she dried the water from her skin. Instead, he climbed into the tub.
The water was cool. Good. Cold as ice would have been better.
Willa went to the wardrobe and found a dressing gown on a hook. She put it on, sending a smile in his direction as if she had outwitted him. She began brushing her hair.
He didn’t mind that she’d put on clothes. It was enough to know that she was naked under that scrap of material.
Naked and beautifully formed. He was a lucky man. He was also hard as a rock.
Matt picked up the bucket the servants had brought with the bath, filled it, and poured it over his head. His thoughts were not pure ones.
Especially once he caught her covertly eyeballing him. It made him want to give her a true show... that, and he didn’t wish to climb out of the tub with what seemed to be, around her, a never-ending erection.
He also realized he didn’t wish to smell like a lavender field. “There is a bar of soap by the washbasin. Would you hand it to me? It is in the shaving kit.”
A simple request. She moved to do his bidding, picking up the soap and smelling it. “What is this fragrance? I always associate it with you. Sandalwood and what else?”
He held out his hand. “I don’t know. It is something Alice and her husband blend for me. One of the many luxuries of knowing a chemist. It is their annual present to me. They have a scent for everyone in the family. They’ll create one for you as well.”
She placed the soap in his hand but didn’t withdraw to the chair by the desk. Instead, she gracefully sat on the floor as he had and continued brushing the snarls out of her hair. “I wonder what it will be?”
“Something that will please you.” Matt didn’t dare draw notice to what he counted as a victory. This was a fragile truce between them. But also, he’d hurt her last night. She needed to heal.
He focused on scrubbing his body, splashing water everywhere. He didn’t fit in the tub as neatly as she did.
Wiping water from his eyes, Matt squinted to see her holding a towel. “Thank you.” He started to take it, but then paused. “Unless you wish to dry me off?”
Willa’s answer was to jump up and go to the wardrobe. She made a great production of choosing what she was going to wear for the day... however, as Matt dried himself off, he knew she was aware of his movements.
Just as he was aware of hers.
He was disappointed, though, when she chose a dress and petticoats and disappeared behind the privacy screen. He took advantage of the moment to put on a pair of leather breeches, socks, and boots before starting to shave.
Willa came out from behind the screen. “You don’t have a valet to do that?” The dress she’d chosen had a pattern of small flowers in shades of green.
“I will,” he answered, rinsing his razor in the bowl before applying it again. Meeting her gaze in the looking glass, he said, “But I haven’t had one. Fortunately, I could serve as my own. However, we will need to hire almost a whole new staff. I pray you are up for the challenge.”
