* * * * *
Marly awoke slowly, peeking through her lashes and seeing the bare spot in the bed beside her. She breathed in shaky relief. He was gone. She licked her swollen lips slowly, feeling the sensitivity there, as she did in the rest of her body. She ached, between her thighs, her breasts. She closed her eyes again, swallowing tightly. She hadn’t expected the sensation, the intensity of the pleasure that bordered on pain. She hadn’t expected it, and she wasn’t certain she could handle it again.
“I have your bath ready.” Cade’s voice was smooth black velvet, drawing a gasp from her lips.
She clutched the blankets to her breasts and turned her head slowly. He was propped against the doorframe of the bathroom, dressed in low-slung jeans, his erection bulging beneath the material. His eyes were dark, heavy-lidded and watching her carefully.
She licked her lips again, then nearly gasped as his gaze flared intently, tracking the move.
“I’ll bathe later,” she whispered.
He shook his head slowly.
“You’re sore, Marly. And frightened now. I promise you, I have no intentions of taking you again for a while. I just want to help you.” He came toward her, making her heart beat quickly at the slow, rolling walk. He was too damned sexy.
“I want to sleep some more.” She didn’t want to be naked in front of him. She didn’t want to tempt him.
“No you don’t.” He drew the blankets away from her, ignoring her grip as he pulled them from her hands. “Come on now. Don’t fight me. Not right now, baby.”
His voice deepened, the muscle at his jaw working furiously as he stared down at her nakedness. Staring up at him in distress, Marly allowed him to draw her from the bed, barely hiding her gasp as her thighs protested every movement. She remembered the hard hands holding her, the driving thrusts inside her, and trembled at the memory. Too much. It had been too much pleasure, too many sensations piling inside her body with no ease, no time to assimilate them.
“I don’t want to bathe right now,” she protested as he picked her up in his arms and began to carry her to his bathroom. “I can bathe in my room, Cade.”
“This is your room now.” He set her down in front of the large sunken tub, swirling with steamy water.
Her eyes flew to his at his startling statement as he gathered her hair, twisting it expertly atop her head and anchoring it there with a thick clasp.
“No—” She shook her head in protest.
Cade’s lips quirked sensually at her instinctive reaction, and she watched the arousal that flared in his eyes. She shivered in reaction, her nipples hardening as his eyes flickered over them.
“Yes, Marly. My woman sleeps in my room, in my bed and bathes in my bath. It’s that simple,” he explained firmly.
“The others didn’t.” She shook her head, confusion running rife through her body.
“The others weren’t my women, Marly,” he told her gently. “I fucked them. They relieved an ache. That was it. I warned you what you were asking for. You can’t say I didn’t prepare you.”
The tender understanding in his voice brought tears to her eyes that she refused to shed. Her body throbbed for him, but she was terrified of the sensations he could build within it.
“Come on. Into the bath, then dinner. No more play for now, I promise. I know you hurt, Marly.” He reached out, his fingers caressing her cheek with a gentle touch.
He helped her into the bath, pushing her back until she was reclining against the back of the tub. The deliciously warm water washed over her sore body, and lapped at her swollen breasts. Her nipples were so hard they ached.
“You still want me.” He smiled down at her as his fingers caressed over one hard little point in a soft movement.
Marly closed her eyes on a whimper. She was so sensitive. Her body primed and ready, but her fears surrounding her.
“Sit and soak for a while.” He retreated from her, bringing a soft sigh of relief from her lips. “I used an extra dose of salts, and there’s relaxing oil in there as well. You’ll feel better when you get out.”
“I’m frightened, Cade.” She couldn’t stop the words. The fears.
He sighed roughly as he knelt beside the tub, leaning on the rim thoughtfully as he watched her.
“I know you are. I knew you would be.” He grimaced. “The fear will go away in time, Marly. That’s all I can tell you. I won’t let you go now. I can’t. There’s nothing we can do but get through this learning stage together, the best way we can.”
“I can’t take it again.” She shuddered, remembering the violent pleasure that racked her body. “It’s too much.”
“It’s not near enough,” he denied softly. “And you will take it baby, as soon as you’ve rested. Whenever I think you’re ready. And it never gets easier, but it does become less frightening. That’s all I can tell you.”