Her heart thundered and her cunt clenched. “I know I want to feel you inside me.”
The kiss he gave her was nothing short of sizzling. Then he shut off the water and said, “Take your bath. You know where to find me.”
He stepped out of the shower, and when she followed, he handed her a thick, white towel. She wrapped it around her body while he turned the faucets back on to fill the tub.
She watched him strut out of the bathroom, a smile playing on her lips. Nothing felt quite so empowering as making a king come.
Trying to contain her excitement, she busied herself rummaging through the velvet drawstring bag someone—Jocelyn or Sheena, presumably—had left for her, along with a robe and slippers. Inside the bag, she was delighted to find human, female necessities, including a razor, somewhat crudely fashioned like the ones she’d pick up at the pharmacy from time to time.
Then she scanned the labels on the small glass dispensers tucked into the corner ledges of the tub, finally settling on bath salts that smelled like jasmine. She poured them into the water and they instantly bubbled, making her laugh. She overdid it and ended up with a mountain of suds, but as Jade slipped into the bath, she found the silky foam that coated her skin luxurious and sensual.
Resting her head against a plush, folded towel, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The relaxation that oozed through her body was a new sensation. The tension she’d carried with her since her childhood eased considerably.
Despite being in a castle full of demons—most of whom, she ventured, likely did not share the same compassion toward human life as Darien did—she felt safe under the protection of the king. And while she knew her friends in the village would be worried about her disappearance, the slayers would have reassured them she was alive and recovering, after speaking with Morgan.
For once, she allowed herself that sense of security she’d never been able to latch on to, given her dangerous life. In particular, she didn’t wrestle the age-old quandary of what her purpose in the village was meant to be. She let all of those thoughts fall by the wayside and, instead, wiped her hands over the towel she leaned against to rid the bubbles from her skin and reached for the book Darien had selected for her.
* * * * *
Darien had settled on the large sofa before the fireplace in his bedroom to read papers Morgan had brought him, mostly updates from the stewards in other regions across the continent. As the flames from the candles danced and the fire crackled, he caught the sudden hint of jasmine. A moment later, Jade’s teasing breath caressed the shell of his ear as she leaned over of the back of the couch.
“Do you have a dictionary in your personal library?”
“Of course.” He grinned, though she couldn’t see it from behind him. “Desperate to know what ‘obsequious veneration’ and ‘pedantic nature’ mean?”
“I’ve given up on those,” she said in her sultry voice. “I don’t know what a fortnight is and, apparently, Lizzy is to attend a ball in that time period.”
“Two weeks.”
“Oh. Well, then. Why didn’t she just say so?”
He chuckled. “You do understand that Lizzy Bennet would be equally stupefied by the vernacular and cultural differences of this day. For instance, what you did to me in the shower would send her running and screaming for her mother.”
“Poor Lizzy.” She made a soft tsking sound. “To miss out on such a delicacy…”
He groaned. His cock sprang to life. “There you go, being uncouth again.”
Still whispering in his ear, she said, “I didn’t hear any complaints about my behavior when we were in the shower.”
“Nor will you if the urge to repeat your performance strikes you.”
“Mm, so tempting.”
He set aside his papers and stood. “What’s tempting is your breath on my skin and that enticing scent you’re wearing. Where did you find it?”
“You don’t use the bath salts in your vast collection?”
“No. I rarely use the tub. Jocelyn puts out the dispensers. I always assumed they were for decoration.” He rounded the sofa and pulled her into his arms. She wore the red robe and slippers Sheena had left her. “Nice to know someone enjoyed them.”
“Did I ever.” She sighed contentedly. A sound he loved hearing when it came from her.
“And what about the book?”
She shrugged. “It’s off to a very pretentious and conniving start. To be so obsessed with marrying off your daughters to a rich man—one nobody’s even met yet. It’s absurd.”
“It was not uncommon back then. What do you think of Mr. Darcy?”
“I haven’t gotten to him yet. Why?” she asked with a crooked brow. “Is he going to sweep me off my feet?”