He barked a laugh and fell out on the bed, fell length with his head next to her knees, and buried his face in the covers so she wouldn’t see the wolf as the beast struggled to take her up on the offer. “You don’t know what you do to me, Ophelia.”
The glancing drift of her fingers over his shoulder nearly sent him over the edge; the tentative, gentle exploration strained his control more than any seductive technique or dirty talk. When he moved closer so she could stroke the back of his neck, she grew bolder and played with his hair. “Oh? What do I do to you?”
He groaned, draping his arm over her thighs so it could curl around her hip and ass, holding her close. “You drive me wild. You make me want to be better.”
“Better at what?” she asked, slow and soft.
“Everything,” he said, and looked up at her, desperate to know what she was thinking.
Her fingers trailed across his shoulder, along the tough muscle and scars still hidden by his T-shirt, and he shivered in anticipation. Ophelia bit her lower lip as her hand drifted lower, almost to the spot on his hip that had been gouged by the knitting needle. “Well, if I can’t kiss it better, maybe I could... massage you?”
The hesitation had Henry biting the inside of his cheek until it bled with the effort of not immediately grabbing her. She was too sweet, too shy. He almost couldn’t take it. He squeezed her hips, his hand teasing her ass and the waist of the soft pajama pants she wore, so she would hopefully realize how much he wanted her. “I would like that very much.”
“Good,” she said, suddenly bouncing off the bed to rummage through her suitcase.
Henry pushed up on his elbows to study her, confused. He definitely hadn’t meant for her to leave the bed, since his seduction plan required her to still be next to him. “Uh, babe...”
She stared at him, her face red, and blinked.
Henry swallowed a smile and sat, drawing off his shirt. “Full body?”
He almost choked at her expression, and flopped back onto his stomach so he could hide his amusement before she got too nervous and ran away. Henry stretched and slowly gripped the headboard when he felt the mattress dip as Ophelia returned. His control was about to be tested to its goddamn limits. It might take a few years off his life to not grab her immediately, but he couldn’t afford to fuck it up. He breathed and forced himself to relax as her palm pressed on the small of his back and the slick oil she poured on his skin filled the room with a hint of something flowery.
Henry’s hands twitched as he resisted the urge to pat her ass. He just had to lie there. That was his only job, at least until she signaled she was ready for more. He clenched his jaw as her thighs moved over his so she could reach more of him, and figured it was payback for something awful he’d done in another life. It might be the longest night of his damn life, and he would revel in every minute of it.