Page 78 of The Lady Was Lying
When the tub was full and steaming and she and James were alone once again, she began stripping. Because she had never been patient, her gown and her undergarments had been designed so she could remove them without help.
“Perhaps I should step out into the hall,” James suggested, averting his gaze.
She raised her brow. “Ravishment will be rather difficult from the hall.”
“I thought to give you privacy to bathe,” he replied. Even in the soft glow of the fire, the pink tinge to his cheeks was visible.
“Please stay.”
She didn’t want him to leave. If he left, she feared he’d take her confidence with him.
He nodded slowly. “If that is what you prefer.”
He remained still as she took off her gown and tossed it aside. His attention was heady, and her lips curved up of their own accord at the heat in his gaze when she loosened her stays. She dropped them to the ground, shed her stockings, and then pulled her chemise gently over her head, careful not to dislodge any hair pins. Washing her hair was an ordeal she did not want to deal with when there were more interesting things she could be doing.
The fire she saw reflected in his eyes as he watched her was almost enough to make up for the fact that he was still on the other side of the room.
Almost, but not quite.
She knew she was beautiful, and she liked being looked at, but she wanted him closer. She wanted his hands touching her. His mouth kissing her. His body blanketing her.
In her imagination, more than just his eyes were tracking her movements, and even though she was ready for more than being stared at, he clearly needed more encouragement, so without artifice or uncertainty she took a handful of steps to the tub and gracefully slid into the warm water.
James had thought about bedding Belinda.
Of course he had.
Even before he’d decided he was going to marry her, he’d imagined what it would feel like when he sank into her body, and yet in all his imagining, he’d never once considered her pleasure.
His lack of consideration branded him an idiot. Thankfully, she would not allow him to remain one. He desperately hoped that her confidence in him was not misplaced.
In an abstract sense, he had assumed she would enjoy their coupling, but her enjoyment had been a product of the act itself rather than any competence that he possessed. Or in his case, didn’t possess. Admitting failure before he failed was presumptuous. It would also probably be smart. Or at least necessary.
What did he know of feminine pleasure?
Not nearly enough.
Appropriately setting her expectations meant she was less likely to be disappointed and therefore was less likely to leave him if he failed. He hadn’t come this far to lose her now.
“I don’t…uh…know much about ravishment.”
Sinking to her chin in the small tub, she closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the edge. “But you do know that it requires proximity.”
A nervous chuckle escaped as he shuffled closer. “I suppose that’s true.”
With her eyes still closed, her hand rose out of the tub and beckoned him to her side.
Powerless to resist, he approached, not stopping until his thighs met the side of the tub and he had a clear view of her pale skin, flushed from the heat of the water. Not much was visible except for the tops of her knees and the swells of her breasts. Had kneecaps always been erotic? Was that why women wore gowns that fell to the floor? He’d always thought it was their ankles they were trying to keep covered, but maybe he’d been wrong.
Slowly, her eyes cracked open, and she smiled ruefully. “Bathing in front of you was sexier in my imagination. It’s difficult to achieve alluring in such a tight space. I’m so cramped that all my best bits are hidden.”
A cramped bath couldn’t diminish her beauty.
“You are alluring no matter what you are doing.” Even fully clothed she was stunning.
She chuckled throatily, the sound almost like a caress.
“Besides, you weren’t hidden before you slid into the water.” He would never forget his first glimpse of her bare torso. His gaze had touched every part of her exposed skin, and it had been impossible to look away.
