To Tame a Dangerous Lord (Courtship Wars 5)

She let her eyes tease him. “A very pleasant duty, of course.”

Her throaty voice seemed to affect him, for he smiled a slow, sensual smile. “I am at your command, wife.”

“Why don’t you undress then?”

Standing, Rayne complied, shedding his clothing without further comment.

The memory of his naked body danced across her mind, but a memory couldn’t compare to Rayne in the flesh. Madeline caught her breath at the raw power of his tall, sinewed male form.

There was something untamed about him, an intense edge that didn’t fit the conventional boundaries of a nobleman of leisure. That magnificent chest, for instance, was solid with muscle, while his thighs were those of an athletic horseman who had spent long hours in the saddle.

She could scarcely believe this glorious man was her husband. It was even harder to credit that she could arouse his lust so strongly, even though Rayne had told her from the first that he wanted her. Yet his desire for her was evident, she realized, following the line of dark hair trailing down his belly to his loins where the thick length of his arousal jutted out.

Madeline bit her lip, remembering the feel of him moving inside her, the incredible pleasure he had given her. This time, however, his pleasure was her primary aim. A shiver stole through her at the prospect.

His movements were lithe and graceful as he climbed into the bath with her. Madeline moved to the foot to allow him room, causing water to lap at the edges of the tub, while Rayne positioned his back against the higher end.

“Now what did you have in mind?” he asked, the sound rich and very male.

When she felt a rush of heat at the husk in his voice, Madeline murmured a silent oath, vexed at herself for reacting that way. She was supposed to remain in control, ravishing Rayne while letting him think it was his idea entirely.

“You are the expert lover,” she replied. “I will leave it to you.”

“Come here then,” he commanded. “You are too far away.”

Still kneeling, Madeline moved between his spread thighs. Rayne was close enough that she could smell the musky scent of his skin mixed with the fresh fragrance of soap. Yet apparently it was not near enough for him, for he slid a possessive arm around her waist. Madeline found herself drawn against the hard planes of his body, the heavy fullness of him pressing against her belly.

“I shaved this morning,” he told her, “but I fear my jaw may be too rough for your tender skin.”

She regarded his handsome features, seeing the shadow of stubble on the lower part of his face, but shook her head. “I don’t mind.”

“Good, because I want to kiss you.”

He ran his thumb over her lower lip with a sensuous stroke, then lowered his head to hers. His mouth was a wicked warmth, his lips gliding over hers with seductive pressure. Understandably, Madeline fell headlong into his kiss, drinking him in, relishing the dance of their mating tongues. When finally Rayne set her mouth free, she drew back, dazed by the piercing arousal he’d stirred in her.

She swallowed hard, trying to remember her plan to seduce him rather than be seduced. “You should let me scrub your back,” she murmured. “Isn’t that a wifely duty?”

“Later. For the moment, I have something else in mind.”

Taking the cake of soap from her, he lathered his hands and spread them over her shoulders, then directed his attentions higher. Her throat arched as he pressed his palm to the slender column, holding his hand there against her erratic pulse, molding it to fit before slowly sliding down again.

When his fingertips skimmed the undersides of her breasts, her nipples instantly turned into two demanding peaks of arousal, which Rayne then circled with his thumb.

A moan of pleasure slipped from Madeline’s throat at the primal pleasure he was giving her, but Rayne stopped her from closing her eyes. “No, watch me.”

“Why? What do you plan to do?”

His slow, lazy smile was absolutely devastating. “You’ll see.”

Dropping the soap over the tub’s side into the basket, he returned both hands to her breasts, letting his slick palms glide over the ripe mounds. Her rose-hued nipples were already pebbled and hard, and Rayne’s plucking with his fingers only made them more keenly sensitive, while watching him arouse her heightened the feeling even further. Madeline sucked in a sharp breath as his erotic caresses speared a hot ache through her.

Then he slid one hand downward into the water, reaching for the dark thatch of curls crowning her thighs. Her entire body flushed a welcome, but she grasped his arm to stop him from touching her there. “Rayne, darling, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Curiosity lifted one of his brows. “What favor?”

“Ours may be a marriage of convenience, but there is no reason we cannot enjoy it, isn’t that right?”

“Yes. I’ve told you so.”