Page 28 of A Nine-Month Deal With Her Husband

CHAPTER SEVEN

LYINGINTHEenormous bed in their exquisite room at a private, exclusive spa north of Reykjavik, Millie yawned and rested her head on Ben’s shoulder after an extremely satisfying bout of lovemaking. She felt soft and floaty, a sorbet that had been left to melt under a hot summer sun. She pulled her knee up to rest it on Ben’s thigh and felt the pull in her thigh muscles.Ow.Thank goodness she’d had a massage that afternoon—if she hadn’t, she doubted she would still be able to walk.

She and Ben were a week into their Icelandic adventure and muscles she didn’t know she possessed were saying ‘hi’. Loudly and resentfully. Millie thought she was reasonably fit, but a week full of outdoor adventures—skiing, snowshoeing and ice skating—had her thinking that a few hours spent in the gym each week didn’t amount to much.

They’d taken snowmobiles and explored Langjökull, the second-largest glacier in Iceland, but driving a snowmobile was so much harder than she remembered. But the experience had been amazing and sore muscles were a small price to pay to explore the amazing winter wonderland.

She’d forgotten how compelling and magical Iceland was, how endlessly beautiful. How effortlessly romantic.

‘Have you ever been in love?’ Millie asked, her voice breaking the comfortable silence.

He pulled back to frown at her. ‘That’s an out-of-the-blue question,’ he stated. She shrugged. Did his body tense? Just a little?

‘We’re in a romantic room in a romantic place. I haven’t, not really. I haven’t experienced I-can’t-live-without-you love,’ Millie told him.

Ben stroked her head, then her shoulder. ‘Have you enjoyed rediscovering Iceland?’

‘So much,’ she told him, kissing his chest, aware that he didn’t answer her question. ‘It’s been brilliant.’

She’d always be grateful to Ben for joining her on her tour of rediscovering the land of her birth. Together, they’d marvelled at the Gullfoss waterfall, watched geysers shoot from the ground and walked through ice caves. And she’d never forget seeing a massive chunk of ice calving into the water and floating towards the sea at Jökulsárlón. Her Icelandic was, very slowly, improving and Ben, apart from taking and making a few phone calls, had left work behind.

Ben’s phone lit up. He picked it up and squinted at the screen to read the message. Who was rude enough to send messages so late at night? Putting it back down on the bedside table, Ben turned his head to kiss her forehead and she expected a sleepy goodnight.

‘Let’s get up.’

She dragged her eyelids open and tipped her head back. It was shortly after midnight, what could he possibly want to do? ‘Let me think about that...’ she told him, yawning. ‘No.Go to sleep, you maniac.’

Instead of following what she thought was a very sensible suggestion, Ben left their bed and flipped the covers back. He slid one hand under her bum, the other under her back, and walked her to the en-suite bathroom. The huge shower was tucked into the corner and Ben placed her on her feet and flipped on the taps to the multi-headed shower.

‘Can we not do this in the morning?’ Millie asked as he handed her a band to keep her hair out of the pulsing spray.

Ben dropped a kiss on her nose. ‘We could,’ he agreed.

Millie’s eyes widened as Ben stepped under the spray and quickly and efficiently washed. Shrugging at his hurried movements, she stepped under the lovely, hot spray and allowed the power shower to pummel her stiff shoulders. Mr Efficient could power his way through the shower, but she was in holiday mode and intended to enjoy every experience at this luxury geothermal spa. And that included spending many, many luxurious minutes enjoying this power shower.

She’d booked another spa appointment tomorrow and later they were taking a private tour to hunt for the Northern Lights. They could drive for hours, Ben warned her, and not see anything. Nature’s most amazing light show only appeared when conditions were perfect—their appearance had something to do with solar activity, cloud cover and the darkness of the night sky. They might get lucky, or they might not.

Unlike Millie, who had been getting very lucky alot.

Ben used a soapy flannel to wash her down and Millie’s eyes flew open. ‘I can wash myself, thanks,’ she told him, irritated by his brisk strokes.

‘Then can you hurry it up?’ Ben asked, sounding uncharacteristically impatient.

What was his problem? If he wanted to get back to bed, he could leave her here to enjoy her shower in peace.

‘You’re killing me here, Mils,’ Ben said, with a low groan. He dropped the flannel and used his hands to smooth soap across her body and Millie’s protests died away. Her body, as it always did, melted under his skilled hands and she placed a hand on the wall to keep her balance when his hands moved between her thighs. She rocked against him, closing her eyes...he’d pulled more than a few orgasms from her earlier, yet here she was, on the edge again.

‘Nope, not happening,’ Ben muttered, shaking his head. ‘Not right now.’

Millie looked down, saw he was interested and if they sat on the built-in ledge, they could add shower sex to their ever-increasing repertoire of sexual positions. Instead of stroking her, Ben yanked his hand from between her legs and pushed her under the shower so she could rinse the expensive shower gel from her body.

When she was free of soap, Ben turned off the shower and handed her one of the extraordinarily fluffy bathrobes hanging on a hook in easy reach of the shower door. He yanked his on and pulled her out of the bathroom.

Instead of leading her back to bed, he led her through the sliding doors on to the wooden deck outside and Millie yelped when her feet hit the icy planks. The cold air was a shock and she tried to turn around to rush back to the warmth of their bedroom, but Ben planted his feet and held her in place. ‘Trust me, Millie.’

Millie hopped from foot to foot. ‘Where are we going?’ she demanded. ‘And will you pay for my medical treatment when my toes drop off from frostbite?’

In the darkness, Ben’s white teeth flashed as he smiled. ‘The planks are nowhere near cold enough to give you frostbite, they are heated. Stop being dramatic and start walking. I promise it will be worth it.’

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