Page 72 of Pawns of Fate
“What about York and Ava?”
“I think they should ride back to Onanish.”
Nicholas frowned. York wouldn’t like that idea, but their options were limited.
“Alright. It’s a plan. Go get some rest, Syzman. We need you at full strength as soon as possible.” Nicholas handed him the keys to a room.
The shadow mage gave a small bow. “I’m going to check on Lyla one more time, but I will recover my strength tonight, little lord.” He strode off down the hall.
Nicholas didn’t have the heart to tease Syzman about how much his true feelings for Lyla were showing through.If it had been Rose in that hospital bed…He perished the thought and returned to the room, where he was greeted with the adorable sight of Rose waking up from her terribly short nap.
She rubbed her eyes and mumbled, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“You can sleep longer, if you want,” Nicholas replied gently. He looked over at her, noticing that a little color had returned to her face and warmth to her eyes.
“I’d like to take a bath first.” Her stomach rumbled. She clutched it and smiled awkwardly. “Perhaps some dinner, too.”
Her awkward smile made butterflies dance in Nicholas’s chest. He’d missed this woman so much, thought about her every day while he was stuck in that swamp. The fact that she was here with him still felt surreal.
“The bath is through that door. I’ll ask the kitchen to sendsome dinner to our room,” Nicholas said.
“That sounds heavenly,” Rose replied as she pushed off the bed and meandered to the bath. Gods, how he wanted to follow her. But he’d just promised her dinner.
Nicholas walked brusquely to the inn’s tavern room, which was beginning to fill with patrons. The smell of roasting meat and cold beer filled his nostrils, and his stomach grumbled.
“Can I help you?” the barkeep asked Nicholas from across the counter.
“Two dinners sent to my room, please.”
The barkeep cleaned a mug as he said, “They’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
Nicholas thought about his wife bathing all by herself. The thought of joining her roused a deeper hunger in him.
“No need to rush. Don’t bring them for an hour.”
The barkeep raised an eyebrow but shrugged in agreement. Nicholas marched back to the room, barely keeping himself from running.
He undressed hastily, wrapped a towel around his waist, and practically tripped over his own feet in his rush to the bath.
“Can I join you?” he asked, as he opened the door and laid eyes on his wife, contentedly lounging in the embrace of the hot spring water. The sight sent jolts of arousal straight to his lower half.
“I was just about to finish my bath. You can have it all to yourself if you’ll hand me a towel,” she replied sweetly, moving to get out of the bath.
His heart leapt into his throat. “I want to bathe with you.”He hoped that the words didn’t sound too desperate.
“Oh, well… That would be alright,” Rose replied quietly.
Nicholas climbed in behind her and stretched his legs to rest on either side of her. He leaned against the side of the bath, sighing as the warm water soaked his limbs. It felt almost as wonderful as Rose’s back pressed against his chest.
“Come here, Rose.” He pulled her closer and breathed in the scent of her hair. It smelled like the inn’s lavender and vanilla soap, with a hint of Rose’s own floral scent. He’d missed that scent dearly and felt himself growing hard as his body began to recall hers.
“You smell even better than I remember,” he whispered with a guttural voice. He lightly bit her ear, then ran his tongue over it.
“Nicholas,” Rose said, shudders running up and down her spine. She squirmed a little in his lap, and the softness of her body only caused more arousal to flood his lower half. He needed to make sure she wanted this, too.
“Rose,” he murmured. “You’ve been through so much in the past few days. I’ll be fine if you only want to bathe right now.” He laid a few light kisses on her neck. “Please, just let me hold you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Nicholas,” she replied with a sultry, breathy voice. She turned her face to his, and their lips found each other.
