Page 61 of Whiskers and Wiles

“At least someone was thoughtful enough to provide lunch for us,” Kat said as she picked a dried apricot from the platter that had been set on a stool beside the tub. “I am famished after, well, everything.”

Waldorf hummed in agreement as he slowly rubbed his fingers across Kat’s scalp, cleansing her hair. “I am famished for more than food after all we’ve been through.”

He bent to kiss her shoulder, but as lovely as scented soap smelled, it did not taste nearly as nice. He was left sputtering and spitting to get the acrid taste from his mouth when he straightened.

Kat laughed at him and reached for the cup of weak wine that sat on the tray with the food, handing it to him. “So by yoursurmising, did we succeed at our mission today or have we failed yet again?”

Waldorf found it a more interesting question than he was certain Kat intended it to be. “To be honest, I do not know,” he said. He straightened and reached for the pitcher of clear water beside the tub so that he might rinse Kat’s hair.

“Just because Lord and Lady Walsingham agree with the Mercian Plan does not mean Lord Walsingham will introduce it for debate when Joint Parliament opens,” Kat agreed wisely.

“I suppose we will not know if we have been redeemed in Queen Matilda’s eyes or if our heads will roll until the matter is brought up, or not, in a few days’ time.”

Their conversation paused then as Waldorf bade Kat to tip her head back, and as he poured clear water over her hair to rinse it.

Once that was done, the bathwater had turned too cold and dirty to continue lounging comfortably, so they both stood and stepped out of the tub.

“And what of our engagement?” Kat asked, rubbing a towel over Waldorf’s body once she herself was reasonably dry. “Is that over as well?”

She peeked coyly up at him, and Waldorf’s heart juddered before beating harder. He took the towel from her, finishing the job in a few rubs, then dropped the towel and forgot it.

He took Kat into his arms, holding their heating bodies together, and rested a hand on the side of her face. “What do you wish?” he asked. “Is it all a farce after all? Are we too angry at each other to ever pick up where we were interrupted twenty years ago?” He stroked the side of her face, then added, “I had fully intended to propose to you that afternoon.”

“I know,” Kat said breathlessly. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and hope. But then she said, “I am still angry with you. I fear a part of me always will be. You hurt me, Waldorf.”

“I know, my darling, and I am sorry,” he said. “You hurt me as well,” he added, merely as a statement of fact.

Kat lowered her head slightly. “I know, and I, too, am sorry.” She lifted her eyes to him again and went on with, “The scars we inflicted on each other will always be there, but we do not have to pay them any mind.”

“We do not,” Waldorf agreed, smiling. “But we must speak of them from time to time to keep the wounds clean.”

“Yes,” Kat agreed. “I…I believe that if we can remain open and honest with each other, if we are always clear about what we are feeling, even if it is not pretty or nice, then we could be wonderful together.”

“And we would not need any Trials of Affection or Initiations of Trust or Illusions of Grandeur to keep us on the straight and narrow?” Waldorf teased.

Kat laughed and thumped his arm playfully. “The phrase isDelusionsof Grandeur, and no, we would not need those either.”

“We only need each other and honesty,” Waldorf said, tugging Kat closer. “Because I love you, and that is all that matters.”

“I love you, too,” Kat said in return, smiling. “I always did. I never stopped.”

He slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her with twenty years of passion. He would always regret the time they’d wasted, but they did not have to waste a single moment more. By some miracle, they had found their way back together again, and he would never let Kat go again.

“I believe we have the entire afternoon to ourselves,” he growled, then kissed Kat again.

Kat kissed him back, looping her arms over his shoulders, and making a sound of interest and approval.

That was as good as acquiescence, as far as Waldorf was concerned. He lifted Kat off her feet, then carried her straightto his bed. He did not even pause to peel back the counterpane before spreading her under him and wedging himself between her legs.

Kat accepted him heartily, opening herself to him and embracing him with her arms and legs. She kissed him back as heatedly as he kissed her. They always had understood each other’s needs and wants when they were in bed together, and this time was no exception. Waldorf understood that she needed him inside her, and if he were honest, he wanted nothing more in that moment than to feel joined to her in every way. They had spent far too long apart.

The kissing and touching that led up to their moment of union was short and, for a change, unimportant. As soon as he could, Waldorf pushed carefully inside of her, breathing heavily through the pleasure of union. It was not the thrusts or the friction between them that caused the moment to be so special and so joyful that he became as emotional as Kat looked with her eyes full of joy and lust. It was the sense that they were where they needed to be, they were with each other.

That did not mean the moment when things turned pitched and the two of them strained together, seeking release from each other, was not passionate and sweet, however. He was still a man and she was still a woman, and before long, their sighs and cries were as loud and desperate as the neighbors’ on the other side of the wall had been. And when the blissful moment came when Kat tilted her head back and let out a cry as her body clenched around him, then Waldorf released himself inside her, everything in the world felt as though it had been set to right.

He would never let it go wrong again.

Twenty

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