“Are you forgetting the dream?”
“But that was just…” her words trailed off and she appeared uncertain. Kathryn shifted from one foot to the other. “That wasn’t real.”
“Yes, it was.” Going to one knee in front of her, he began to unlace her shoe. “I touched your soft skin, tasted you.” He paused long enough to kiss the inside of her knee. “Smelled your arousal.” When it was done, he lifted her foot and pulled off the shoe. She grabbed the edge of the tub for support. She had to use both hands, which caused her bra to loosen, giving him a tantalizing peek of firm, white flesh.
“You mean you really touched me?” She licked her lips. He was sure it was an unconscious action but it set his blood racing through his veins. Her pupils dilated and her breathing quickened. She was becoming aroused by the memory, just as he was.
He removed her other shoe and laid it aside. Reaching up, he hooked his fingers in the straps of her bra and began to slowly slide them down her arms. “I know that your breasts fit the palm of my hand but I don’t know what color your sweet nipples are.” Her arms relaxed by her sides and he tugged the bra off, tossing it over his shoulder. Her nipples were tight pink buds, begging to be touched. Tasted. Using his thumbs, he traced the edges, enjoying the sight of them tightening even more at his touch. Covering both mounds with his palms, he groaned.
He almost howled with pleasure when he felt her lean into his touch. It was the slightest of movements but he felt it all the same. His cock throbbed, an ache that only she could slake. He wanted to bury himself in her heated depths and never leave.
Sliding his hands downward, he traced his fingers over her ribcage, feeling the fragile bones beneath his palm. He frowned again. She was definitely too slender. Had she been ill?
She gasped as he stroked her stomach, his hands coming to rest on the button at the top of her pants. “Let me take care of you.” He slipped the button from the hole.
Grabbing the metal tab, he pulled it downward. Thanks to Christina, he knew what a zipper was. It was a fascinating contraption but right now it was simply one more impediment to getting Kathryn naked. More of her flesh came into view and he caught a glimpse of the edge of her underwear.
Pushing his hands inside, he couldn’t resist giving her lush behind a squeeze before he shoved both pants and underwear down her thighs. Kathryn made a soft sound in the back of her throat but she didn’t stop him. He quickly divested her of the rest of her clothing. When she was naked, he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face against the soft skin of her belly.
“I’ve tasted your honey. Traced the hot, slick folds of your pussy. Felt your inner muscles tightening around my fingers.” His head was spinning as his breathing quickened. His cock was pressed so hard against the front of his pants that he was surprised the laces hadn’t snapped.
He felt Kathryn begin to tremble. Swearing at himself, he bounded to his feet, picked her up and carefully lowered her into the tub. The water lapped at the edges as he released her. “You can say no to anything you don’t like.” He stroked a lock of fiery-red hair from her forehead. “Let me bathe you.” Kathryn almost moaned aloud. The man was seducing her with words alone. She was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that the dream she’d had was no dream but had actually happened. That meant that both Logan and Tienan had touched her as well. Seen her naked. It was enough to make her head spin. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it.
On one hand, what woman didn’t dream about being pleasured by three different men? If the book she’d found in the attic was to be believed, and at this point everything else had been accurate, then that kind of behavior was not only accepted but was expected in this world.
On the other hand, Kathryn didn’t like the feeling that her life was spiraling out of control. She’d had more than enough of that over the past few months. She needed to think and to take charge of the situation.
But, a voice whispered in the back of her head, what is the harm of taking some pleasure with Marc? She’d dreamed about the man. Fantasized about him for months now. It still boggled her brain that he was real. But he was so much more than the writer had been able to portray in the book.
He was a living, breathing, sensual man in his prime. Older than he’d been depicted but more handsome than her imagination had been able to conjure. It didn’t matter that he was a virtual stranger. He didn’t feel like one. It was if she’d always known him.
She trusted him and that was the most bizarre feat of all. For she’d trusted very few people in her lifetime, never knowing who might be spies for her father. Tienan and Logan were the only other people in her life that she had trusted before Marc.
He sat on his knees by the side of the tub, watching her. Waiting. The surety that he would walk away if she asked him to struck her like a bolt of lightning. He truly meant it when he said she was in charge. A thrilling sense of feminine power shot through her at the thought of being in control of all that masculine sexuality. Her nipples tightened and heat pooled between her thighs.
She nodded slowly and Marc’s posture relaxed, revealing exactly how tense he’d been. He stripped off his vest, leaving his chest bare. She’d seen it before but she hadn’t taken the time to really look at it.
The light from the candles flickered, bathing his skin, giving it a golden glow. The man was built. She was used to the lean, supple muscles of Tienan and Logan. Marc was very different. His shoulders were incredibly wide and thick, his biceps huge. The metal arm and wristbands only emphasized their size and strength. A light sprinkling of hair dusted the center of his chest and tapered down his belly. Muscles banded his stomach. His waist was thick but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man.
From her vantage point in the tub, she couldn’t see much below his waist, although she knew what was below it was as impressive as what was above. She’d seen his erection and the heated glint in his eyes. There was no doubt that he wanted her.
For a woman who’d always been treated as an oddball, a misfit, this was heady stuff. There was no faking that kind of response and it was an aphrodisiac to be wanted so much by a man like this.
She sucked in a breath when he leaned across her and plucked the bar of soap off the shelf. “I’ll wash your hair first.” He positioned himself behind her. She could hear the sound of his breathing but she couldn’t see him.
She felt nervous and excited all at once. Her earlier sleepiness had fled, replaced by a rush of adrenaline and anticipation. His fingers sifted through her hair, plucking out the few remaining pins. They plinked against the stone floor as he dropped them. His motions were firm and sure as he messaged her scalp for a moment before sliding his fingers through the tresses to loosen any tangles.
“Lie back,” he murmured.
Falling under his seductive spell, she slid downward in the tub until her hair was immersed in the water. When it was totally soaked, she sat up and he began to work.
He wrapped his arms around her, dipped the soap in the water and worked a thick lather between his palms. Laying the soap on her tummy, he then proceeded to work the lather through her hair from root to tip. He worked slowly and methodically.
Kathryn felt the stress of the day slip away.
Closing her eyes, she was lost to his tender ministrations. “Back down,” he instructed. Without opening her eyes, she submerged totally beneath the water. She felt his hands in her hair, working the soap out. She sat back up, sputtering when she could no longer hold her breath.
Marc handed her a cloth and she swiped her face. “Thanks.”