Page 46 of The Tempting of a Devilish Lord

“I only want you to be happy,” he managed to say, aware his voice sounded strangled.

Which it was. Her proximity was making every part of his body pound and it would not be long before she glanced down and realized that.

“I am happy.” Her smile broadened. “Happier than I have ever been. However—”

He straightened in the bath a little. “However?”

“I should like to start our lives off on the right note.”

He scowled. “Lucy?”

She lifted a hand and tentatively ran it over the damp skin of his chest. He closed his eyes briefly and sucked in a sharp breath. Only Lucy could make him feel this way with a mere touch.

“I wish to be scandalous, Alex.”

∞∞∞

LUCINDA COULD SCARCELY believe she had managed to utter the words. Although having Alex naked and wet before her helped a great deal. These past months of courting had been wonderful and had allowed her mother time to get over her disapproval of this man.

Her father already liked him, most likely because he knew Lucy would be taken care of, but whilst she appreciated the time given to slowly rediscover the old Lucinda—the one only brought to the surface by Alex—she was tired of the formality of their arrangement. She needed to be with him. Alone. And properly.

Or improperly, perhaps.

His eyes darkened and a few beats of silence passed, accompanied by only the slight slosh of water. “You understand what you are saying, Lucy?”

She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded.

“I have tried exceedingly hard to be a proper gentleman,” he said. “You test me right now.”

“Good.”

He shook his head, his lips slanting. “Will you ever fail to surprise me?”

“I hope not. I hope our life will always be filled with adventure.”

“Oh, I know it will.”

He twisted in the bath and lifted a hand, giving her the briefest glance of his body in all its glory before curving it around the back of her head to draw her close to kiss her.

Frankly, it was a miracle she had survived this long. His muscular body, all slick and spread out for her, had made her knees weak from the moment she set foot in the bedroom. She gasped at the contact of his mouth and closed her eyes, sinking deep into the kiss.

Rising onto her knees, she cupped his face and kissed him back urgently, pouring two months’ worth of desire into it. He twisted suddenly and, with a splash, she tumbled into the warm water.

“Oh.” She snapped open her eyes, finding herself on top of him with water up to her waist and lapping at her bodice. Water sloshed over the side.

Alex grinned wickedly. “If we’re going to be scandalous, we may as well do it properly.”

“In water?” she asked, eyes wide.

“That can be done but I do not think there’s enough room.”

“Then why—”

He lifted a shoulder. “You cannot blame me for wanting to get you wet for a third time.” His grin expanded. “It has been rather a large part of our relationship and, I have to tell you, you look rather fetching when soaked to the skin.”

She drew in a shuddery breath and smoothed her hands down his shoulders. “As do you.”

“There are other things we can do here, though.” He moved his hands down her waist, grabbed her hips and allowed her to feel the hard length of him against her.

---