Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Tavia stared at him a moment, her lips left aching from the loss of his kiss, and she shook her head. There was no time to waste and no time to question why his kiss and touch had surprisingly felt so good.
She got busy. His boots were the first to go, then she got to work on his plaid and shirt, glad he had worn them, rather than the many furs and hides he had first arrived in. It took several exhausted pushes and rolls until finally one last roll, and it would be done. She went to roll him to his side and her hands slipped and she found her breasts planted firmly against his chest. She hurried a glance at his face expecting his eyes to open, but they didn’t. He was dead asleep.
She took a moment to look at his face. He truly was a handsome man, his face unmarred with the slightest scar and his lips evenly shaped with just enough fullness to them. Was that why his kisses had felt so good?
A spark ignited in her suddenly sending the same tingle between her legs and it had her rushing off him, though she stood beside the bed to glance over him.
He was thick with muscle and his manhood large, even flaccid as it lay draped against his leg. She shook her head not wanting to think of how it would feel inside her when enlarged, and the sensations she had experienced when he had touched her returned with a shock. She shook her head again to clear it. She could not waste her time on such thoughts and yet they lingered, making her wonder if they could share a good marriage since she did not mind his touch.
“Be done with this,” she reminded herself on a whisper.
It took work to try and get him where she needed him in the bed, his size and weight not easy to maneuver. She was breathless by the time she finished and though he was not quite where she wanted him, it would suffice.
Once done, she stripped off her nightdress, threw it on the floor by his garments to make it seem like they had both hastily shed them and grabbed the small bowl of blood from under the bed. Fia told her too much blood would make him fear he had hurt her and might spark doubt. She spilled what she hoped was a sufficient and unquestionable amount.
With a quick rush to the hearth, she dropped the remaining blood and small wooden bowl in the fire waiting until the flames consumed it. She added more logs so that more ash would cover any evidence of what she had done.
She blew out the few candles and afterward stood by the side of the bed for a moment. Once she crawled in beside him, her fate would be sealed, but there was no other way for her. This was her duty, and she must do it. She slipped in beside him and pulled the blankets up over them, then inched closer to him. The warmth of his body startled her chilled skin as she settled against him, and she found herself inching closer as his heat began to chase the cold away.
Sleep was something she did not think she would get this night, for she worried what the morning would bring when the servant she ordered to wake her early found her and her husband naked in bed together. She shut her eyes exhausted, praying for sleep or her endless thoughts would invade her mind and she would question the deceit she had perpetrated on her husband.
Deceit.
Never had she been deceitful in her life, and it did not set well with her now that she had been forced to do so. But what choice had she? And what price would she pay for it?
Her endless thoughts continued to haunt her, and she feared she would not sleep at all, but her body could not fight her exhaustion, and worry and sleep soon claimed her.
CHAPTER 5
A slight hammering in his head stirred Bhric awake, though he did not open his eyes. He had drunk himself into oblivion once years ago—never again. He had learned his lesson, having almost lost his life on the battlefield the next day. After that, he never did it again. He drank but never to the point he was not in control. He always wanted to be prepared to fight, to protect those he loved and his home.
So why did he feel as if he had drunk too much?
He let himself drift, enjoying the naked warmth snuggled against him. His hand explored, silky soft, toasty warm, and a slender curve.
His eyes shot open, and a pain stung his head for a moment. It was nothing to the jab he felt in his chest when he saw his wife planted snug against him… and she was as naked as was he.