Page 43 of Stolen Princess's Secret

‘And you haven’t seen me of a morning lately. Be warned—my morning sickness is brutal. Why do you think I’m cramming this food down now? Because I’m practical and I like good plain food, a warm fire and a clean bed. I think it’s time that you put your thoughts about us not sharing similar values behind you. Deal?’

‘Done.’ He took a deep breath and recommitted to the path he’d chosen for them both and dug for the inner strength and confidence required to walk it. ‘So.’ He shed his coat, emboldened by the way her gaze lowered to the snug fit of his trousers and his plain cotton shirt that did have a few buttons at the neck but otherwise pulled on and off like a T-shirt. Very plain. Possibly flattering, according to the sudden appreciation in her eyes. ‘We have no nightwear.’

She arched one single elegant brow. ‘Surely you have a spare shirt somewhere.’

Such a long way to go to the car and get his duffel and bring it in. ‘No.’

‘Well, then.’ She removed her cloak and placed it over a nearby chair, and then set her socks and boots beside it. Tidy. Her embroidered shift followed and then her trousers. He didn’t look away as she sauntered towards the bathroom. ‘I think Alhena should sleep in the other room, don’t you? Wouldn’t want to disturb her.’

‘I can sort that.’

‘Will you be showering before bed too?’

‘And then joining you in bed, naked. Yes.’

She slid him a brilliant smile. ‘Perfect.’

Only when she’d disappeared from view did he put his hands to his face much as the innkeeper had done. She’d been outfoxing him from the moment she’d seen him again and he showed no signs whatsoever of gaining the upper hand. But he had a true heart, his course was set, and his bed skills had pleased her last time around. If he could keep his head in that regard, reduce her to a quivering wreck first, maybe there was hope for him.

He crossed to the eagle. ‘I’m going to pick up your stand with you still on it and put you in the other room. No protest, now, you’ll like it. And tomorrow I’ll take you downstairs and introduce you to Caitlin and Balo. You’ll like that too.’

The eagle stayed quiet for him as he set her up in the adjoining room and tied her off. To call her an attack bird was doing her a disservice, given her placid nature. She’d been with him for over seven years and he’d been putting potential mates before her for the past three. She liked being around people too much to pay attention to any of that, though. Alhena the star had quite forgotten how to be a bird.

That or she was excessively picky. Emotionally unavailable, much like he had once been, but look at him now. Getting married tomorrow and all that. Rushing in to stake his claim and protect, protect, protect what was his.

He was shirtless by the time he returned to the main bedroom. He was completely naked by the time he reached the shower cubicle.

Claudia smiled and moved aside to let him enter.

He took his place, every nerve alive and reaching.

And let the future in.

Claudia loved it when Tomas took charge. She needed him to take control in order to surrender. No more thinking or planning or trying to stay one step ahead and be safe. She was already safe with this beautiful man, and with that came the freedom to follow wherever he led. She closed her eyes as the kiss they shared deepened, relearning the taste of him and the warm expertise of hungry lips. He lifted a hand to the back of her neck, his thumb below her jaw, the better to tilt her head, and there was a sensuality about him, a willingness to let pleasure rule, that left her flushed and breathless.

He took the soap from her and placed her hands on his chest. He soaped up his hands and started at her fingertips, and then the vee between her fingers. He circled her wrists and kissed her as he worked soap up her arms and over her shoulders. She shuddered into him when his hands cupped her breasts, gentled by slick suds as warm water rained down her back.

Her nipples pebbled for him, and it wasn’t just because his skilled fingers were attentive. It was him. Her Tomas.

He turned her so she could lean back against him as he took the shower hose and directed it to remove the soap on her arms and breasts and then he moved the pressure lower, and between the water and his fingers coaxed her to swift orgasm.

‘Cheat,’ she murmured when she’d recovered breath to speak.

‘I’ll make it up to you.’

She took her leave a short time later while he got clean, but not before she let her gaze linger over his erection. ‘That’s for me, right?’

He gave himself a leisurely stroke, his eyes never leaving her face. ‘Yes.’

‘And you won’t be long? Because all I’m going to do is be in bed trying to arrange my body to best advantage. That’s going to drive me mad with indecision in very short order.’

She’d made him smile. Impossible not to feel smug about that.

‘On your back, hands beneath the pillow.’

She could do that. ‘And my legs?’

‘Apart.’

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