Her hand trembled as she opened the door and stepped into the room. It was dim, lit only by a pair of candles, but she saw Jack immediately. To her disappointment, he was not naked. His hair was wet and his back bare, but he’d pulled on his trousers and was standing at the open window, looking out.
“I’m almost afraid to turn around,” he said when she closed the door behind her. “First it was a bear, then a child. Don’t tell me you’ve found a lion this time.”
“That’s not funny, Jack.” But she couldn’t stop a small smile. When people met her, they were always surprised at how those in need seemed to gravitate toward her. It was as though she was a beacon for the sick and injured, the poor and helpless.
He turned then and took her in. “You’re tired,” he said. “And it’s my fault you haven’t had much rest.”
She blushed. “I didn’t mind.”
He crossed to her, took her hand and drew her to him. “But I do.” He put his hand on her cheek. “Another day and these circles will be as dark as your beautiful sapphire eyes.”
Maddie felt her heart seize. He knew the color of her eyes. It was too dark in the room for him to see them clearly, which meant he knew without even looking. She felt the sting of tears and swallowed hard to keep them from falling.
Jack led her toward the empty tub on the floor near the crackling fire in the hearth. “I had them take away the used water and bring fresh.” He lifted one of several buckets on the floor and poured the steaming water into the tub.
“Jack, you don’t have to do that.”
“Oh, it’s not for your benefit.” He emptied another bucket into the tub and winked at her. “Whatever it takes to get you naked faster. Start undressing.”
A rush of heat coursed through her, and Maddie felt suddenly self-conscious. She knew she was his wife, and Jack had seen her without clothing before. He’d seen her quite intimately and in full daylight, but somehow the two of them alone in this room with its flickering candles, warm fire, and waiting bed made her new position all the more obvious.
She was his wife. She was Lady Blackthorne, who made love in ponds and carriages and took delight in the sight of her husband’s unclothed body. She belonged to Jack, and he to her. Her emotions surged when she thought about the momentous thing they had done in marrying each other. And yet, she shied away from giving her emotions free rein. She knew she could so easily fall in love with Jack. He was everything she desired in a man. And everything she wanted to avoid.
She had the sinking feeling that outside of the bedroom, little about their marriage would be blissful.
“I’m waiting,” he said, pouring the last of the warm water into the hip tub. “Or maybe you’d like my assistance.”
Maddie quivered with pleasure at the thought of his hands on her body.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
And before she could say anything—think of a way to express all the emotions she was experiencing at that moment—Jack was beside her, his large warm hands flicking the buttons on the back of her gown open. His breath was on her bare neck, his fingers inching her gown over her shoulders, and Maddie couldn’t stop herself from leaning back against him.
His bare chest felt delicious against her exposed skin. He smelled like soap and faintly of mint.
Then Jack bent on one knee and turned Maddie to face him. He took her slipper in one hand, and she held onto his shoulder while he removed it and then its partner. Throughout the task, he never stopped touching her. A finger here, his arms there, his mouth . . .
And then his hands were on her legs, inching her shift upward, revealing more and more of her body to him as he undressed her. She closed her eyes as the shift cleared her head, and didn’t open them again until she felt his arms come around her.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, his hands tracing the line of her spine and then branching out to caress her hips. He guided her to the tub and held her hand as she stepped in. When she sank into the warm water, she let out a slow sigh of contentment.
“Feel good?” Jack asked from behind her. His hands came around her neck, and he began to knead away at her sore and tired muscles.
Maddie could only moan an incoherent response as his magic hands slid over her wet skin, teasing away the aches and pains and slipping her closer and closer to sleepy contentment.
But Jack wasn’t about to allow her to sleep. Not yet. His hands dipped in the water, and when she leaned forward, his fingers, slippery from the soap, glossed over her.
Now she knew why he smelled of mint. The soap’s fragrance refreshed her—or perhaps it was the feel of his slick hands sliding around to cup her breasts.
“Oh, Jack,” she murmured as his hands dove down to her belly and lower still.
“You want me to touch you?” he whispered in her ear.
“Please.”
The lower his hands strayed, the more she ached for him. He rose, moved to the front of the tub, and she saw the evidence of his need for her. He was full and hard, his trousers straining from the force of his desire.
Wantonly, she opened her legs for him when he knelt before her, but Jack shook his head. “Not yet.”
