Highlander of My Heart (Mcardle Sisters of Courage 1)

Sorrell smiled, finally meeting a friendly face. “I am pleased to meet you, Blodwen.”

“And I you, my lady,” she said with a quick nod of her head after shutting the door behind her. “Now let’s get you washed.”

Sorrell looked longingly to the door, wishing for her husband, thinking about going to him, not caring about propriety.

“Come, my lady,” Blodwen said, “I’ll get you scrubbed up in no time.”

Sorrell was glad for the assistance and distraction from her thoughts and glad she felt comfortable with the chatty woman

“Up with your arms now,” Blodwen said and yanked the shift up and over her head as soon as Sorrell raised her arms up. “You’re a wee bit of a thing, if you don’t mind me saying so, but you must be a strong one since you wed Lord Ruddock.”

Sorrell didn’t get a chance to ask Blodwen what she meant. The door swung open, slamming against the wall and there stood her husband… naked.

Chapter 21

Sorrell stood stunned, unable to move, seeing her husband standing naked in the open doorway. His body glistened with water, droplets sticking to him, not wanting to let him go, and she couldn’t blame them, though she was jealous of them. The thought of catching each droplet with her tongue delighted her and made her feel wicked all at once.

He strode toward her and scooped her up in his arms. “We bathe together.”

She grinned and swung her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek, and as they walked out the door she heard Blodwen chuckle.

“There is no one in your bathe chamber is there?” she asked anxiously as they neared the room.

“I chased them all away. It’s just you and me, the way I like it.”

“The way I like it as well, but you’re wet. You bathed already?”

Ruddock shook his head. “I got in the tub and realized something was missing.”

“Me,” she said and kissed his cheek again.

“Aye, wife, you,” he said and entered his washing room and went straight to the massive tub.

“That tub will certainly hold two people,” Sorrell said and understood why there was a separate washing room. The tub was simply too large to move.

Ruddock settled them in the tub with ease, the water not hot but more than warm, and she sighed as she sunk into it. When the water reached her chin, her husband lifted her higher against his chest until it was only at her neck.

“Never would I have thought of sharing a bath with my husband, and now,” —she sighed— “I don’t believe I’d have it any other way.”

“That’s good, since I don’t intend to have it any other way,” he said and hugged her tight.

Ruddock closed his eyes after a few minutes of silence passed between them and rested his head back against the rim of the tub. This was peace and solitude to him, being alone in the quiet, his wife in his arms, and the warmth of the water cradling them both.

Words were not necessary and he was glad she felt the same. After a few moments, or had it been longer, the water having lost a good bit of its warmth, he glanced down at his wife and saw that she slept.

The journey had been exhausting, still she had not complained. He laughed softly. She had complained about one thing… privacy for them to make love. He had planned on doing just that tonight, but it wouldn’t be fair when she was so bone-tired.

“Sorrell,” he said softly, “the water grows cold. We need to wash and you need sleep.

Sorrell woke with a moan.

“We need to wash, the water grows cold,” he repeated in case she hadn’t heard him.

Sorrell barely opened her eyes as she nodded her head.

Ruddock realized she was far too tired to do anything but sleep.

He’d get her washed and dried quick, tuck her in bed, and then return to the tub and see to himself.

He started with her hair, tipping her head back for the water to soak through the stubborn strands, then grabbed the soap from the small ledge on the outside of the tub and lathered her hair. He loved her wild, red curls that did whatever they wanted. They suited her. When the sun shined on them, she looked as if her hair was ablaze and as fiery as her nature.

He rinsed the soap from her hair, running his fingers through it. When that was done, he went to work on her body, not an easy task and one that produced an arousal in him that kept growing.

He hadn’t had a chance to touch her all over, get to know every inch of her intimately, but not this way. He wanted her awake, participating, and enjoying. With strength he feared wouldn’t last, he ran the soap over her chest, turning her nipples, that bobbed in the water, hard.