Page 49 of Love, Remember Me

"Only if you will wash me yourself," he teased her. "I have always wanted a wife who would bathe me. And then I will bathe you."

"You forget, sir, I have already bathed," she said, smiling at him. She was rather enjoying his teasing. She had never imagined a man and a woman would tantalize each other so. She finished off her capon and licked her fingers before picking up the chunk of bread she had taken for herself. Thoughtfully she smeared the butter across the bread with her thumb, then bit into it. She had certainly not realized that men, like boys, enjoyed playing games. These games, however, were surely of a more dangerous, though eminently satisfying, sort. She swallowed down her bread and then arose to pour herself some wine. He was watching her. She could feel his eyes upon her. It was exciting, and not just a little frightening. Nyssa wished now that she had not been so bold and had wrapped herself in the coverlet. Nervously she pulled the leaves from the artichoke and nibbled them.

What an adorable creature she is, Varian thought. Nyssa.His wife. He could scarce believe it. They had not even been wed a full day yet, and he wanted her more now than he had before. She bewitched him, fascinated him, consumed him not just with her beauty, but with a mixture of intelligence, wisdom, humor, and sensuality. He had not realized that a woman could possess all of these traits, but then, he thought to himself wryly, what had he really known of women other than their lovely bodies? In his own way he was as ignorant of women as she was of men. What a wonderful time they were going to have learning about each other. He wondered if Thomas Howard had really known what a magnificent gift he was giving his grandson, would he have given it? His grandfather was not noted for his generosity, even to those of whom he was fond, and they were few.

"I am ready to bathe you, my lord." Nyssa's voice broke the silence of the room. She looked anxiously at him.

Varian arose and slowly stripped off his breeches. He held back a smile at her blush. It was charming that she could still blush, considering their last and recent lusty bout with Eros. Then she bent to check the water's temperature, and he felt himself becoming aroused. He forced himself to control his randy member, saying, "Is it comfortable, madame? I do not like too hot a tub. The skin shrivels."

"I think the temperature perfect, my lord," she answered, "but put your hand in and see if it suits you."

"I will trust your judgment," he told her, stepping into the tub and seating himself. He held out his hand to her. "Come, madame. This tub was built for two, and I specifically instructed Toby not to fill it so full that two people would overflow it."

"You told your servant that we would bathe together?" Her voice was shocked. "Ohh, my lord, how could you! What will he think?"

"It is not his duty to think, Nyssa," the earl replied.

"Mayhap not, my lord, but nonetheless servants do think, and they gossip among one another as well. Why, half the gossip at court comes first from the servants. If one wishes to learn the latest bit of scandal, one has but to ask the servants. I cannot believe that you did not know it!"

He looked perplexed, as if such a thing had never occurred to him. Of course, she thought. Men were so damned dense when it came to the practical. They never noticed what was right underneath their noses. He probably never considered that all the information that his Toby passed on to him was but the latest gossip from Toby's fellow servants. Even dear loyal Tillie, far more discreet than many, was prone to exchanging gossip.

"Since you will be accused of deliciously wanton behavior, madame, whatever you do, come into my tub and join me," he said. "I need you to scrub my back for me."

"I can scrub it from outside the tub, my lord," she replied.

"But I cannot scrub yours," he said. "Come, Nyssa, though I know some people at court who do not bathe from one month to the next, I have not heard it said that bathing twice in a single day can harm you."

His eyes were twinkling at her, and she found she did not want to resist him. So far his games had brought her naught but pleasure. Besides, if she was to be honest, she had become sweaty during their lovemaking. Her skin did feel quite sticky. He waggled a finger at her, and with a small laugh Nyssa stepped into the tub, sitting opposite him.

"There," he almost purred, "is that not nice, sweeting?"

"I think you a most outrageous and possibly dangerous man," she told him. "How can I scrub your back from here, my lord?"

"I shall turn about," he told her, and proceeded to do just that before she might protest about water upon the floor.

Nyssa took a handful of soft soap from the stone jar by the tub and smoothed it over his back. Taking up a soft cloth, she began to scrub him. His torso was very long, and his shoulders broader than she had realized, but then she had had little time to observe him.

"Be gentle," he teased. "My skin is delicate, sweeting."

"Do not play the fool, sir," she scolded him. Carefully she rinsed off his back. "There now, you are done."

He turned so that once again they were facing each other. "Wash my chest now, madame," he commanded her.

"You are determined to be spoilt, I can see," she told him, but dutifully took up a second handful of soap and smeared it across his smooth chest. Her hands rubbed with a circular motion over his muscled frame. She rinsed him, saying, "Now, sir, are you satisfied?"

"I must wash you," he told her, and before she could protest, he was rubbing soap over her breasts, fondling them, squeezing them, playing mischievously with her nipples.

"That is not how to properly wash," she exclaimed breathlessly.

"No?" He feigned innocence as he rinsed her, and then bending his head down, he kissed each pretty breast in turn. "Now, madame, your back," he said, but instead of letting her turn about, he slid his hands beneath the water and, cupping her buttocks in his hands, lifted her slightly before settling her down upon his raging member. Then pulling her against him, he began to calmly wash her back.

Nyssa gasped, shocked by his action. She had never heard of people making love in a bath! His hands smoothed soap over her back, while at the same time she could feel him very distinctly deep inside her sheath.He was throbbing. She shuddered with a rising awareness of her own desire even as he drizzled water down her back. Then he was taking her face between his hands and kissing her passionately, his tongue foraging deep within her mouth, making her dizzy with her own longing. She realized that their legs had somehow become tightly wrapped about each other, yet she felt like she was going to fall at any moment.

"Lean back," he growled in her ear, and when she did, he kissed the slender column of her throat, her chest, and her breasts, all the while thrusting with sharp, little movements within her. He seemed almost deranged in his longing for her, and she felt a strange wildness coming upon her. Her nails clawed at his shoulders and back. "Vixen," he groaned, and his mouth fastened about one of her nipples, drawing hard upon it. He suckled her fiercely, and she moaned, her head thrashing.

"Varian!" she managed to cry out. "This is madness!"

"I cannot get enough of you!" he half sobbed. "Dear God, Nyssa, why can I not be satisfied?" He was kissing her frantically.

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