Page 75 of Wicked Rivals
“Would you scrub my back?” she teased, her lips curving into a sultry smile.
“God yes, and I’d certainly do a lot more than that.”
“Good.” She stood and removed his coat, then knelt by the tub and offered her back to him. “My stays,” she said.
He scrambled to get his clumsy wet fingers though the laces. Once he was done, she let her loose chemise drop to the floor before she climbed into the tub. Her body was an ever present temptation with its gentle curves and enticing softness as he reached up to grip her hips.
“Lie back on me,” he said, pulling her shoulders against his chest. The water level rose with their two bodies, sloshing close to the top of the tub, but Ashton didn’t care. It felt good to have her lie on top of him. He massaged her shoulders, resisting the urge to slide his hands down and cup her breasts. This was about trust, not satisfying his urges.
She shifted against him, and he bit back a groan as his lower body stirred to life.
“That feels lovely.”
“I thought tomorrow we could tour the local chapel, if you wish.” He held his breath, waiting to see if she would react poorly again to the mention of the dreaded wedding.
“I suppose. If I do not like it, could we marry somewhere else?” she asked. He sensed in her renewed tension that she was testing him.
“Of course. If you do not care for it, then we shall find another place. One of your choosing.”
Rosalind sat up, and before he could react she was turning around and straddling him in the bath. He had the glorious view of her glistening bare body. Her full breasts were too tempting to resist. He trailed his fingers down from her neck to her breasts, cupping the soft flesh, kneading it. Rosalind rubbed against him, her lips feathering kisses against his throat.
“Perhaps we ought to do something else to keep warm?” she suggested, then bit her lip in an attempt to hide her charming smile.
“Hmm?” He played with one erect nipple, making her hiss when he lightly pinched it.
Rosalind lifted her hips, took his erect length and placed it at her entrance.
“Ah, that…something.” His laugh changed to a moan of pleasure as her body enveloped his shaft. She was hotter than the water and felt too good to be real.
“Am I dreaming?” he asked, his head feeling a little fuzzy at the waves of delight moving through him.
“Perhaps.” She grinned and leaned forward to nibble his bottom lip while her breasts rubbed against his chest. He’d never made love with a woman in a tub before. It seemed too intimate a thing, and he’d never wanted that kind of intimacy before. Now he craved it with a woman who was torn between lust and hate for him, all because he’d tricked her into a pledge of matrimony.
“Stop thinking,my lord. I can almost hear your thoughts.” Rosalind kissed a path up to his ear and licked the shell. His cock jerked as a sharp bolt of arousal shot through him.
“Hellion,” he growled.
“Sassenach,” she replied saucily. “I suspect you like that about me.” She purred as she raised her hips and sank back down, taking him completely inside her.
“I suspect you’re right.” He gripped her hips, digging his fingers into her flesh as he jerked her back down on his shaft,hard. The soft splashes of their wet bodies accompanied their little sighs and moans as they made love in the large tub. It felt as though they were weightless as they moved together in the bath, their mouths hungrily devouring each other.
Neither of them could talk after that. Ashton took her hard, making her cry out in pleasure in a way she would not be able to deny later when she was angry with him.
The bathwater sloshed over the sides of the tub as Rosalind clung to his shoulders, and he watched the inner storms of her gray eyes as she climaxed. Her sweet, delectable lips parted as she tried to breathe. Everything about that moment was burned into his memory. She was the loveliest thing he’d ever seen. His body went rigid as he unleashed his last ounce of control, and he came inside her with a shout that made Rosalind jolt.
Rosalind settled on top of him, exhausted, their bodies still connected. He circled his arms around her, holding her close to him as he stroked her back.
“I fear we left more water on the floor than in the tub,” he murmured with a drowsy chuckle, and she smiled.
“May I ask a question?” He drew patterns between her shoulder blades, and her muscles twitched at his touch.
She pressed her cheek against his chest. “You may.”
“How did you become involved in business? I understand that your husband left you his, but most women do not get involved in business affairs.”
Rosalind did not pull away; rather, she pressed against him even closer.
“From the moment I married Henry, he insisted that I learn how to run his businesses. He often said he saw my keen mind in our morning discussions over breakfast and wanted to foster it. I believe he feared he would die early into our union, and he wished to make sure I could handle things after he was gone.”
