“Oh that feels wondrous,” she moaned.
He covered every inch, coming up to knead her shoulders before retreating to caress the line of her back down to the dimple just over the crease of her bu**ocks.
Her eyes were closed, her head bobbing forward as sweet lethargy—and pleasure—flooded her veins. But when he reached around to brush the cloth across her ni**les, her eyes flew open and her breathing sped up and bounced erratically from her nostrils.
He paused then cupped both mounds in his palms. Slowly, his thumbs brushed over the peaks. Up and then down until each touch sent shards of exquisite pleasure bolting through her womb.
She flinched, not from pain but from the overwhelming shock of ecstasy when his mouth touched her nape. Just a simple, gentle kiss, but his mouth was like a bolt of lightning.
The dual sensations of his thumbs brushing her ni**les and his mouth moving sensuously over her neck turned her bones to jam. She was helpless. Completely at his mercy, and that excited her all the more.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her neck. “I look at you and I’m overwhelmed by your fire, your gentle beauty, your determination, and your courage. I think there has never been another woman of your equal. There never will be.”
Her heart swelled and the ache spread to her throat, tightening until words were impossible. What could she say anyway?
“Tonight I’m going to take care of you as you did for me.”
His husky whisper hummed over her ears, and she shivered at the images his words invoked.
He wet her hair and then slowly and thoroughly washed every strand. He ran his fingers through the thick tresses, one by one, until every part was clean. Then he tilted her head back and rinsed so that the soapy water didn’t wash into her eyes.
Over and over the warm water cascaded over her shoulders until finally he was satisfied that the job was done.
“Give me your hand.”
She slipped her fingers over his and he lifted her to her feet. Water rushed down her body, leaving her sleek and shiny in the low light. Nervously she waited as his gaze swept up and down, heating every inch in his path.
His eyes glittered as he lowered his head. She caught her breath when his mouth hovered precariously over her breast. Then he pulled her nipple into his mouth and sucked strongly at the tip.
Her knees buckled and she would have collapsed back into the tub, but he grasped her around her waist and hauled her against him, his mouth still firmly around her nipple.
“I’m getting you all wet,” she gasped.
“I don’t care.”
He moved to her other breast and flicked his tongue out. It rasped over the sensitive point, sending shivers of delight down her spine.
She was captivated by the picture they presented. Their bodies meshed together in the warm glow of firelight, his mouth at her breast and her skin gleaming from wetness. It was every romantic dream she’d ever hatched. He was her warrior. Though she’d saved him in the beginning, he saved her each and every day.
Her warrior. Her love.
“Love me, Alaric,” she whispered.
“Aye, I do, lass. I do. And I will. Tonight is mine. You’re my captive to do with as I see fit. Never will you feel more cherished and loved than you do this night.”
He left her for the barest moment and returned with a drying blanket. As soon as she stepped from the tub, he wrapped her in it and guided her toward the fire.
Carefully he worked all the excess water from her hair until it lay damply against her back. Then he collected her comb and began patiently working the tangles from her hair.
No one had ever attended her thus. It was a marvelous feeling. She felt important. Like she was the lady of the keep and beloved by her laird.
He pressed his lips to the back of her head and kept them there a long moment. “Tonight you will obey my every command. Aye, I’ll see to your every need because ’tis my wish. But this night you are mine and will cede to my wishes.”
His hands slid up and down her arms, and his mouth moved to the side of her neck. “Think you that you can agree to not say me nay?”
Her insides squeezed unbearably and she was breathing so rapidly that she was light-headed. The power and sensuality in his voice excited her beyond measure. Didn’t he know she would never deny him anything?
She nodded, unable to voice a single word around the knot in her throat.
He turned her head so that their gazes met. His eyes burned into her and his expression was fierce, every inch the warrior he was. “The words, Keeley. I would have the words from you.”
“Aye, I agree,” she whispered.
Chapter 26
Alaric lifted Keeley into his arms and strode toward the bed. The linen that he’d wrapped around her body loosened and fell to the floor, leaving her naked. He eased her onto the mattress and took a step back, his gaze never leaving her.
She felt intensely vulnerable and she swallowed with nervous excitement as he slowly began to disrobe.
His arms and shoulders rippled and bulged, and his taut abdomen stretched over tightly corded muscles. Her fingers itched to trace the lean lines and explore every hard spot on his body.
“Spread your thighs for me, Keeley. Let me look upon your womanly softness.”
Blushing, she relaxed her legs and then slowly drew them apart. Alaric reached down and circled her ankles with his fingers and then pushed upward until her heels were dug into the mattress and her knees were bent double.
The position bared her completely to him. Left her open and aching for his touch.
He knelt at the bedside and ran one finger through her damp petals, pausing at her entrance before pushing ever so slightly inside.
She gasped and arched her hips, wanting more. He withdrew and then lowered his mouth.
She held her breath until she was light-headed. Every part of her body tightened in anticipation of the brush of his lips.
But it wasn’t his lips that touched her. He licked from her entrance to the tight, straining bud sheltered under the hood of flesh at her apex.
She cried out and her body convulsed. He gripped her thighs and held her in place as he continued to lap at her. The roughness of his tongue sent indescribable flashes of pleasure splintering through her belly up to her br**sts where her ni**les beaded painfully.
Gently he sucked at the tiny mound and then flicked his tongue back over it, coaxing it to a hardened point.
It was simply too much. Her body shattered. It was as if she were leaves scattered on a windy day. After so much pressure and unbearable tightening, suddenly she was so light that she floated, drifting downward in a gentle spiral.