Page 52 of To Honor

“You will remove . . . everything?”

“It is custom to bathe in the nude,” he said, trying not to smile and remembering his wife was a virgin. She had likely not seen a man completely before.

His wife.

It had happened so quickly, their lives irrevocably changed. But he’d not think of the repercussions now. Not tonight.

When he wore nothing but the long linen undershirt that covered him, he reached for her.

“I will not hurt you, Evie. Not tonight. Not ever.”

“Of course, I know as much. But . . . this is new to me.”

“Come.” He took her hand as they walked to the tub. It was large enough for them both—not an accident. He’d given the innkeeper extra coin to ensure it would be so. “Turn around,” he said, gently turning her away from him. Pulling off his shirt, he got into the tub. Eventually she would not be modest around him, but Gareth wanted to take it slowly. “Join me, wife?”

When she turned back around, he was submerged already, waist deep.

“I would remove my shift.”

Again, he tried not to smile. “Aye.”

Hesitantly, she slipped it off. Gareth took in every bit of her at once. “You are so beautiful, Evie. Perfect. Utterly perfect.”

And she was.

Shy, more hesitant than he ever saw her, Evie stepped into the tub. He guided her to sit between his legs, and eventually she settled her back to his chest.

“You are comfortably positioned?”

“Aye,” she said, her fingers twirling the surface of the water.

Reaching for the cloth and lavender-scented soap on the stool beside him, Gareth moved it in circles across his wife’s shoulders and arms. When he moved to her front, he began with her stomach first, and then, satisfied she was at ease, her breasts next. Eventually placing the soap back onto the stool and draping the cloth on the edge of the tub, he used his hands to explore. Covering both breasts, relishing in the heat of the fire beside them, along with the warmth of the water and his wife atop him, Gareth counted himself a lucky man.

“Mmmm,” she murmured as his thumbs rubbed circles around her nipples. But he was just getting started. Reaching one hand down, he whispered, “Do not be startled.”

But of course, she was startled, the sensation of a man’s hand at her most intimate spot was not one anyone could fully prepare for. Not surprisingly, she closed her legs together.

“Open for me, Evie,” he whispered. “I will ensure you do not regret it.”

She did.

Growing hard at the feel of her, he finally found his mark and slipped a finger inside. And then a second.

“Gareth,” she said, her voice low and thick.

“Aye, love?”

He moved slowly, circling and using his thumb to give Evie pleasure. His efforts seemed to be working, his wife’s breathing increasing, her soft moan filling their small chamber with the delicious sound of lovemaking.

“That feels . . . very good.”

“It will feel even better,” he said, increasing pressure, “when you come for me. Your body will find release, and it will feel like you left yourself for a moment. There,” he said, as her hips circled, her breathing becoming more and more erratic. “Aye, like that. Let go for me, Evie. Allow me to show you the pleasures that can be found between a man and a wife.”

She was close. So close that Gareth changed his mind. Pulling his fingers from her, he lifted his wife from his lap and spun her toward him.

“Straddle me,” he said. She did, her hands grasping the sides of the tub. The tips of her hair were wet, Evie’s cheeks flushed.

“It will hurt briefly,” he said, guiding himself toward her.