"I agree. Your skin is flawless." Julian's fingers interlaced with hers, his palms warm and soapy, unbearably erotic as they rubbed lazy circles against hers. "Tell me, where shall I wash next?"
That incredibly seductive voice made her heart pound, caused her slumberous state to lift like the morning fog.
Abruptly she was wide awake.
"Where would you like to wash next?" she inquired, her loins dissolving with that now familiar yearning.
Julian sensed her reaction instantly. She could tell from the way his fingers tightened over hers—ever so slightly—the way his lips nudged aside her heavy mane of hair, kissed the back of her neck. "Don't ask that question unless you're prepared for the answer. And let me warn you: I respond in actions, not words."
"Another warning, Your Grace?" Aurora could scarcely speak past the drumming of her heart. "Didn't you realize from our earlier encounter how undaunted I am by your warnings?"
"Ah. I'd forgotten." His hands freed themselves, only to slide under her legs, lifting them as he eased them apart. "Very well then. I'll rely upon my instincts to select the proper areas to wash." So saying, he draped each of her thighs over the powerful columns of his.
Aurora moaned as warm water cascaded between her legs, swirled about her tender flesh, no longer soothing but arousing. Behind her, the hard ridge of Julian's shaft pulsed to life, throbbing against her back. "Julian…"
"Yes, soleil." Keeping his own desire carefully leashed, Julian ran his soapy fingers up her calves, her knees, the trembling muscles of her inner thighs—washing her limbs and easing closer and closer to her aching core. "I'll continue with your legs. After all, they've been cramped for hours. Surely they require some tender ministrations." Shifting higher, he massaged her soft skin, his thumbs circling just shy of where she wanted them.
"Julian…" She half-sobbed the protest, struggling to shove her body downward, to seek out his touch.
"Is that not to your liking? Is this then?" One hand left her thigh and swept over the smooth skin of her abdomen, coasting upward until it brushed the underside of her breasts.
Her nipples hardened painfully, her breasts swelling in urgent arousal. "I can't bear it."
"You needn't bear it, soleil," he murmured, burning a trail of hot kisses from her shoulder to her neck. "Just tell me what you want and it's yours."
"Touch me," Aurora managed. "Please, touch me."
Swiftly one palm covered her breast and grazed her nipple, while the other palm completed its journey, cupping her intimately. Before she could catch her breath, Julian's fingers slid inside her, glided into her hot slippery passage.
"Julian!" She arched, sensation slamming through her with renewed fervor. Blindly she groped behind her, determined not to touch heaven alone. She found and grasped her husband's engorged manhood, stroking him from base to tip and back again.
Julian reacted like a wild man. Growling deep in his chest, he abandoned his caresses, gripping Aurora's waist and whipping her about to face him. Wedging her thighs apart, he brought her down to straddle him, not stopping until his straining flesh found its goal, pressed into the wet velvety folds. "Can you take me again?" he rasped, the question moot, given that he was already pushing deeper, groaning as she melted around him.
Aurora answered it anyway. "Yes—oh, yes." She pressed downward, the pleasure far too acute to allow pain to intrude. "Tell me what to do."
"Move. Like this." He cupped her hips, raising and lowering her until Aurora's eyes widened, her hands clutching his shoulders as she took over the motion.
Julian urged her on. His grip became bruising as his thrusts quickened, turned savage. His powerful hands worked her, dragged her down, impaling her on his full length. His eyes blazed topaz fire, his teeth clenched as he battled against the climax escalating inside him.
Abruptly he lost the battle.
With a feral shout, Julian went rigid, disbelief flashing in his eyes as he swelled—and exploded. Crushing his wife's loins to his, he plummeted over the edge, the corded muscles in his neck standing out as he lurched upward again and again, pounding into Aurora with the full force of his climax. "Aurora…" he gasped. "Come with me. Come … with … me…" His eyes slid shut as wild hot bursts of completion jetted from his body into hers.
Julian's plea, the feeling of his seed spurting into her, propelled Aurora into her own release. Grasping his forearms, she followed him into the sun, crying out his name, shuddering as gripping spasms claimed her, clenched about her husband's pulsing flesh.
She went limp, sagging against him like a rag doll, grateful for the solid strength of his arms as they held her. She pressed her head to his chest, hearing his heart thunder against her ear, the harsh, uneven sound of his breathing.
"God," he managed. "That was … unbelievable."
With the greatest of efforts, Aurora nodded, not eve
n bothering to raise her head. "It grows more shattering each time," she whispered raggedly, her limbs still quivering with reaction.
Something about her response caused Julian to tense anew—this time not in passion. "Aurora." He tugged back her head, silently commanding her to look at him. "You can barely speak. And you're trembling like a leaf. Did I hurt you?"
Aurora's lashes lifted. "Oh, no," she refuted at once. "On the contrary, I never imagined so splendid a bath. Nor so splendid a lady's maid."
Julian looked visibly relieved, if not amused. "Nevertheless, this bath was meant to ease your discomfort, not worsen it." He shook his head, uttering a stunned admission evidently meant more for himself than for her. "The problem is, I can't keep my hands off you."