Page 66 of The Wolf Duke

She shrugged her shoulders and then she stilled.

To hell with the blasted lack of space.

He lifted her and slid her onto his member. Slick, wet. The tightness of her encased him, ripping him to shreds with nothing more than the sleek warmth of her body.

He moved her upward and then dragged her down onto him—three strokes and his body was shaking beyond control. Too soon. He set her tight on his cock and slid his hand forward, finding the nubbin, his movements fast and quickly drawing her to a screaming edge.

But this one was his. All his. He lifted her off his cock once more, slamming her body down onto him. It was enough. Water sloshed out of the tub as she came, her body doubling over, the tightness ravaging his cock, drawing him into his own brutal release that shredded every muscle in his body, threatening to never let him free.

Shattering everything he knew of how his body could react to a woman’s. Shattering everything he knew of how he wanted to live life.

It left him with one thought alone.

She was everything.

And he had better become accustomed to that fact.

{ Chapter 15 }

Sloane shifted on his chest, a soft sigh coming from her throat. “The water is getting cold.”

“Then we better move to the next bath before it’s freezing.”

He lifted her, slipping her into the adjacent tub, then slid over himself. The water was tepid, not exactly cold, but no longer steaming.

Sloane reached back into the first tub and dug out the washcloth and soap, then snuggled herself onto his lap again, leaning back against him. She grabbed his arm and started scrubbing the mud that had caked through his shirt onto his arm.

Reiner leaned his head back on the rolled edge of the tub. He liked it, liked her hands on his body doing the most mundane actions. Her delicate fingertips pressing into his skin. Her bare lap on his thighs. Heaven help him, he was already getting hard again.

She cleared her throat. Suspicious.

His head lifted from the edge of the tub. “What?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, then her attention went back to his arm, her strokes against his skin faster. “You need to ken—Milly isn’t the only one. She had two tubs brought up, but she did that because it’s her job and the extra coin was too hard to pass up, even though she wouldn’t admit to it.”

He stared at the back of her blond hair, the streaks of red deepened into russet with the wetness. “She’s not the only one that what?”

“That despises you.” Her face went into a cringe as her eyes flickered back to him. “Everyone in these lands thinks you killed Jacob. That it was you that ordered those men to kill Torrie’s family. Though they blame Falsted just as much. He has been a scourge upon this land for far too many years.”

He sighed. “So everyone in these lands hates me?”

“Those that ken of you, aye.” She stopped scrubbing his arm and shifted on his lap to turn and look at his face. “Once I learned of it from Falsted and then told my brother, it was only a matter of time before word spread from Lachlan’s mouth. Torrie’s family had lived in the area for generations and were well-respected. It was why she was the cousin chosen to be my companion when we were three—their unfailing loyalty to my grandfather. It’s why she’s as a sister to me.”

“So everyone in this land hates me and I just married a daughter of their lands?”

The cringe around her eyes deepened and she nodded. “Aye. You did. So you can see why you won’t be exactly welcomed in the area. I just want you to be aware, in case Milly’s reaction is repeated by others.” She set her wet hand on his chest, her fingers curling into the divot centered along his breastbone. “It will just take explaining to people, that is all. The only trick is to get them to listen when they’ve already made up their minds about you.”

“A disadvantage, absolutely.” His bottom lip jutted up. “I assume your grandfather and brother are the sorts not to be swayed easily?”

“You guess correctly.” Her right cheek lifted in a half smile. “But you managed to change my mind about you and you yourself noted how stubborn I am.”

“You didn’t have a chance to hate me before you liked me. That was my only saving grace.”

Her lips pulled to the side. “Maybe we give it a few weeks before you meet them. Or months. Or years.”

“I’ll not be skulking about in shadows with you, Sloane. After we marry again at Wolfbridge, I have full intentions of traveling to Vinehill to properly meet with your grandfather and brother.”

She inhaled a long breath, then expelled it in a sigh. “Or we could delay it.”