Page 106 of Tears of the Wolf
Where was she supposed to put her hands? Was she supposed to take her clothes off now or did he want to do it?
“Cenric!” Brynn shoved against him, panic getting the best of her.
He released her immediately, brow furrowed in confusion. “Brynn?”
Her chest heaved with a swirl of emotions.
“I’m sorry.” Cenric shook his head. “I thought…I’m sorry.” He shifted away from her, putting space between them.
Brynn grabbed his arm. His muscles were delightfully firm under her fingers, threatening to distract her. “No,” she panted, embarrassingly out of breath. “I just…I’m not good at this.”
Cenric studied her hand on his arm. He didn’t draw toward her again, but he didn’t pull away any further. “What do you mean?”
Oh, this was humiliating. Brynn’s face heated and she looked away.
He was going to be disappointed. So disappointed. Brynn always tried to do the right thing, but this was one area she’d never gotten right.
“This.” She swallowed down her shame, trying to find the right words. “Pleasing men. I’m not good at it.”
Cenric still didn’t seem to understand. “Pleasing…men?”
Brynn closed her eyes. To be fair, she’d only been with one man, but when that was the sum of her experience, it had a way of diminishing a woman’s confidence. “Paega was never pleased.” She didn’t know how else to explain it.
That did not seem to answer any of Cenric’s questions. “You had a child.”
“Yes, but it wasn’t a good experience.” Brynn thought her face might catch on fire.
“He hurt you?” Cenric’s tone turned hard. He shifted toward her again, like he could protect her from the past.
Brynn didn’t know how to answer that. It had been rough, but Paega hadn’t forced himself on her. She wasn’t sure she was allowed to say the man had hurt her when she was the one who had asked him for a baby.
“It wasn’t good,” Brynn answered, her voice small. “For either of us.”
Cenric muttered something in Valdari under his breath—a curse on Paega if she had to guess from the tone.
Brynn gathered her courage again. “I want to please you.” She dropped her hand, letting it fall near his on top of the blankets. “But you’re going to have to tell me how.”
Cenric shook his head, letting out a long exhale. Some of the tension left his shoulders. “Brynn.” He shifted on the bed to close the distance between them again. “My sweet wife.”
Brynn’s heart leapt at his endearment, her body tingling as he drew close again.
He cradled her face with one hand, resting his forehead against hers. “You already please me.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Everything is better since you came here.” He kissed just to the side of her mouth. “The air is cleaner.” He brushed his cheek against hers as he lowered his head to kiss her jawline. “The mead is sweeter.” He kissed her throat, the barest touch of his lips on her skin. “The fields are greener.”
“It’s autumn,” Brynn whimpered, pressing closer against him. She wasn’t sure where this was going, but she hoped he wouldn’t stop.
Cenric chuckled. “Well, then we can say you make the fields more golden, if you insist.” He caressed her neck before sliding her collar aside to kiss her collarbone. “But you make everything better. You are my fondest delight.” His lips teased her skin, sending shivers of heat straight to her core.
Brynn gasped, struggling to contain a moan. She wrapped her arms around him, hoping that was alright. His back was broad, rippling. Solid. Comfortingly warm. Alive. “What should I do?” she whispered. “Tell me what to do.”
“Take your clothes off.” Cenric nipped her ear lobe before pulling back.
Nerves fluttered in her stomach. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but maybe if he kept telling her what to do, it would be fine.
She pulled away, feeling a sense of chill at the loss of his nearness. Brynn stood, undoing the belts and ties that held her dress in place. Brynn stripped down to her linen shift, setting her wool dress and outer clothes aside.
Cenric’s eyes had gone dark watching her. He gestured to her shift. “All of it. Off.”
Brynn trembled as she obeyed, removing the last of her clothes. She pulled off her stockings for good measure, standing in front of him naked as the day she was born.
