“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“Helping me.”
He frowned, something in her tone grating at him. Why did it sound like she was saying goodbye? “I didn’t do anything. You dispatched that man on your own. And besides, it was part of our agreement, remember?”
Her face shuttered. “Ah, yes. I’m your pretend fiancée.” She laughed, the sound hollow. “There’s that word again. Pretend. It’s so whimsical, isn’t it? But all it is…is a blade hidden in silk, roses sheathed in thorns. A dangerous lie.” She reached for the glass, wrapping her long fingers over his, and drained the remainder of its contents.
Then she leaned forward and kissed him, the scent of her invading his senses, the press of her lips making his thoughts unravel. “Sarani…what are you doing?”
She uncurled her slender, graceful body from the chair and stood, every inch a princess, ever still a warrior goddess, voice imperious. “I believe you said something about a bath, Your Grace.”
* * *
Sarani’s hands trembled as she disrobed, the sound of running water making her breaths shorten. Thank the goddess for the front-fastening ties of her gown, as it would have tested her mettle to have Rhystan undress her. She was on the edge of absconding as it was. But this had to be goodbye, and before she left, she wanted him to make love to her as herself. Not as anyone else.
She’d never staged a seduction before, but a bath was as good a place to start as any.
She would be naked, after all, and if she had anything to say about it, he would be, too.
A blush chased over her skin. Before she lost courage, she pushed open the connecting door to the bathing chamber and peeked around it. The room was empty, though steam rose from the filled bath, the scent of jasmine oil drifting toward her.
“Rhystan?” she called.
There was no answer, so she darted across the floor and stepped in, sinking into the deliciously hot water of the massive tub. It slid across her skin, the heat seeping into her aching muscles, and Sarani sighed with unbridled pleasure and closed her eyes. It was so large that she couldn’t reach the other end with her toes and she had to stretch her arms wide to reach the sides. It was obvious that this bath was built for two. The thought made more heat drizzle through her.
“Good?”
Her eyes flew open to see the duke standing at the door to his chamber. Sarani’s breath fizzled in her throat. His coat and waistcoat were gone as was his cravat, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, exposing thick, muscular forearms. Her mouth dried as he walked toward her, sitting on the carved built-in mahogany bench at the end of the bath. He reached for a cloth and dipped it into the water.
“What are you doing?” she asked over her shoulder, watching as he wrung it out and rubbed a bit of soap on it.
He grinned, his eyes flashing. “Seeing to my duties as a good cabin boy and washing your back. May I?”
“I suppose I could get used to this.” She nodded and bit back a groan when the cloth grazed her nape.
“Lean forward and put your arms around your knees.”
Doing as he asked, Sarani sighed in contentment as he rubbed the cloth over her shoulders, leaving a rash of gooseflesh in its wake. His strong fingers massaged the soap into her skin with small, ever-expanding sweeps, and she couldn’t hold back her moan when they dug deep into the tense muscles of her back. She was nearly purring like a kitten as his hands worked their way down her spine.
After a while, the only sounds were their combined breathing and the soft slosh of the water as he worked the knots out until Sarani was limp and boneless. At some point, he’d discarded the cloth, and it was skin to skin. His fingers caressed her sides, up her ribs, tantalizingly near the slope of her breasts beneath the water, and she shivered.
When he gently tugged back on her shoulders so that she was lying with her nape resting on the lip of the tub, his slippery hands moved down her clavicles in tiny circles. Each sensual dip brought them closer to her tautened breasts. Her nipples ached in anticipation of his touch, and when he finally slid his wet palms over them, Sarani couldn’t swallow her whimper fast enough, arching into his touch and eyes finding his.
His gaze stormed into hers, blue fires lit in his smoldering irises. The blue had darkened almost entirely to slate gray with desire. “Do you have any idea how exquisite you are?”
Words failed her at the possessive look on his face. The slippery feeling of his hands on her skin was intensified as he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers until every inch of her was aflame with arousal. He didn’t release her eyes, and Sarani felt the pressure start to build deep in her core, just from the combination of his touch and the intensity of his stare.
“Kiss me, Rhystan,” she whispered.
He braced his arms on the sides of the tub and hovered over her, taking her lips in an inverted position. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth, his tongue grazing along the soft inside of it, the reverse feel so erotic that her entire body shuddered in response. Heat danced across her nerve endings as she parted her lips and invited him in, their tongues teasing and dueling for control. The sultry kiss threatened to incinerate both of them.
“I want you in here,” she moaned into his mouth. “With me.”
Rhystan licked along her swollen lip. “You wish me to bathe with you?”
“Among other things.”
Sarani had no idea where her sudden boldness came from, but an answering groan ripped from his chest. He stood and pulled off his shirt, making her mouth water along with other needy parts of her. She would never tire of seeing him unclothed. He was magnificent—all sculpted, lean muscles and edible masculinity.
Shucking off the rest of his clothes, he stood there in all his ducal glory. His erect male part bobbed nearly at eye level, standing thick and firm, a drop of opaque liquid pearling at the end. Sarani didn’t stop to think. She pulled herself to the side and licked it off. The taste of him was heady and potent. Encouraged by his groan, she rose to her knees, gripping the edge of the bath, and took the rounded crown of him into her mouth.
“Sarani!”
She peered up at him through her spiky, wet lashes. “You like this?”
“Yes.” It was part gasp, part growl as she took him deeper. Emboldened at his reaction and how she’d felt when he’d licked her, she flicked her tongue on the underside of him, working her mouth up and down and adding more friction with one palm curled around his base.
She was just settling into a rhythm when he groaned and pulled himself from her mouth. Water sloshed over the sides as he plucked her from the bath, but Rhystan didn’t seem to care. He sat on the edge and hauled her toward him between his knees until she was flush against his large body, his arousal prodding her stomach. Water from her body dripped down his.