Bride for a Night(141)

He slowly lifted her hand to his lips. Feeling oddly bemused, Talia watched as he nibbled along the length of her thumb.

“I believe that I warned you of my intentions once we were aboard the yacht.”

She gave a strangled sound as her entire body shuddered in anticipation.

“Surely you must be tired?”

“Exhausted, but that does not diminish my desire for you,” he assured her in low tones. “But first…”

Without warning he bent to scoop her off her feet, cradling her against his chest as he moved to push open the door that led to his adjoining cabin.

She had a brief impression of glossy wooden paneling and sleek furniture that was cleverly tucked into shallow nooks, but it was the small copper bathtub that was set in the middle of the floor that captured her attention.

“Gabriel, what are you about?” she demanded as he set her to her feet and dropped his arms.

“As much as I might want to tumble you on the nearest bed, I believe you will prefer my embrace after I have bathed,” he said with wry amusement, the wicked smile still curving his lips. “Or better yet, once you have bathed me.”

Talia attempted to appear offended even as a fluttering excitement raced through her body.

There was an undeniable temptation in the thought of being invited to explore his hard body in the guise of bathing him.

“You wish me to be your handmaiden?”

He pressed his lips to the center of her palm, his eyes shimmering with an unmistakable intent.

“I promise to return the favor whenever you desire,” he murmured, glancing toward the copper tub. “In fact, while the tub is small we might manage to squeeze in together.”

A heated color bloomed on her cheeks at the delicious image of their two naked bodies entwined in the hot, soapy water. Did husbands and wives truly do such a thing?

“Really, Gabriel,” she breathed.

“Such an enchanting blush.”

He gave a soft chuckle as he bent down to claim her lips in a consuming kiss. Talia groaned, her hands lifting to grasp the lapels of his robe as his hands ran a restless path down her back. A voice in the back of her mind whispered that she should be disturbed by the swift ease he managed to stir her passions, but it was a voice that she readily dismissed.

In truth she was too captivated by the glorious sensations spreading through her body to care.

Muttering beneath his breath, Gabriel pulled back to regard her with a smoldering gaze, a line of heat staining his cheekbones.

“Help me remove my robe,” he commanded in thick tones.

With shaking hands she reached to tug at the belt that held the robe together, her stomach clenching with a tingling eagerness as he shrugged off the satin garment and allowed it to pool at his feet.

She licked her lips, her gaze skimming down the perfect width of his chest that was lightly dusted with golden hair and down the flat plane of his stomach. She shivered. He was magnificent.

Continuing with her unwitting inspection of his naked body, her nerve faltered as she reached the proud thrust of his erection, and she hastily lowered her gaze to the muscular legs and narrow feet.

It was his soft chuckle that had her lifting her head to meet his sparkling gaze.

“What is so amusing?”

He pressed her hand to his lean cheek. “I would like to believe you are regarding me with such absorption because you are captivated by my manly form, but I fear you are merely searching for deformities.”

Embarrassed to have been caught staring like a naughty schoolgirl, Talia gave a small sniff, refusing to admit that the sight of him was making her ache with need.