Page 145 of Tamed By Her Touch

Well, perhaps he did. At any rate, he wasn’t going to argue about it. Instead, he crouched in front of her so that they were closer to eye level.

“Clair,” he said quietly, holding her eyes with his own. “Will you allow me to take care of you?”

Her expression softened in a way that made his chest ache and after a moment, she nodded.

“All right,” she murmured. “If you really want to.”

“I want to,” Kaelus told her. “It’s all I want right now.”

She blushed and looked down at her hands.

“Thank you.”

Kaelus helped her unwrap the silver cloth without allowing his gaze to linger. That required considerably more discipline than he would ever admit, but he managed it. Then he lifted her again and lowered her carefully into the warm water.

Clair gave a long, satisfied sigh as she sank into the pool.

“Ohhh. That feels wonderful.”

Kaelus settled on the edge beside her.

The water covered her to the tops of her breasts, obscuring most of her curves beneath a faint shimmer of steam, and he picked up a soft bathing cloth and dipped it into the warm water. He added a small amount of cleanser, worked it into a light foam, and began washing the massage oil from her shoulders.

There was something profoundly soothing about the simple act. This was not a performance—there were no shadows on a screen and no one instructing him where to touch her or how to pleasure her.

It was just the two of them in the quiet, steamy bathing chamber and Kaelus was glad of it.

He washed her shoulders first, then her arms, taking one small hand in his and carefully cleaning the oil from each finger. Her eyes drifted closed and her head rested against the curved rim of the pool.

Kaelus watched her face as he worked.

There were faint shadows beneath her eyes. She had worked hard all day before returning to him overflowing with excitement about her discovery, then they had spent the evening analyzing data, discussing Sendar, and finally enduring the emotionally charged spectacle their hosts called “massage night.” No wonder she was tired.

And no wonder she had cried.

Perhaps it truly had been nothing more than emotional release, but the possibility did not absolve him, Kaelus thought.

He had seen enough of Clair during their months together to know that she used humor like armor. Whenever something frightened or embarrassed her, she talked. Whenever something hurt, she joked. Whenever she felt vulnerable, she filled the silence with nonsense until she could hide behind it again.

Tonight, after he told her he wished she were his, she hadn’t joked….she had cried.

Kaelus squeezed the bathing cloth in his fist. Never again.

He didn’t feel bad about the pleasure itself—he couldn’t regret giving her pleasure, especially after learning that the fool she had married had neglected her so completely.

But he would not allow the situation between them to escalate again, Kaelus swore to himself. No more intimate touching. No more lying beside her while they pleasured themselves. No more kissing her until he forgot every sensible reason they should remain apart. No more tasting her sweetness and imagining that the sounds she made meant she belonged to him.

He would play the role required by their mission—nothing more.

Because if he allowed himself to continue, eventually Clair would get hurt. He couldn’t Bond her to him and so they could never be together. So he needed to take a step back right now.

And bathing her is taking a step back? whispered that same voice in his head.

Kaelus pushed it away. He would take a step back after he finished taking care of her, he promised himself. That shouldn’t be a problem.

Kaelus dipped the cloth again and gently washed the oil from her neck and clavicles.

Clair made a soft humming sound but didn’t open her eyes.