Steam rose as he poured the water into the basin.
“Oh, my!” Linnet said, looking down at herself for the first time. And then she laughed, of all things.
Lord above, there was no woman like her.
The water turned brown and gritty as she washed her hands. While she wiped them on the small towel he handed her, he took the basin to the window and tossed the dirty water out.
He poured more water in it, then stood back and watched as she washed her face. It was an intimate activity to witness—something she did every day, alone in her bedchamber. Water dripped from her long slender fingers as they caressed her cheeks and forehead. With her eyes closed, she reached her arm out. He handed her the towel again, as if he always shared this routine with her.
When she looked up from the towel, her skin was damp and glowing. And she was smiling at him.
He took the towel from her to wipe a drop from her chin.
“You’ve smudges on your neck as well.” He dipped the edge of the towel in the basin and took his time dabbing at a long streak of mud that ran from beneath her ear and—God help him—down across her collarbone. He swallowed. This was dangerous country. But he already knew he was not going to turn back.
He dipped the towel in the water again. Her breathing grew shallow as he wiped at another streak marring the perfect white skin just above her bodice. His own breathing quickened as he saw how her nipples pressed against the cloth.
“Your gown is heavy with mud and past saving, anyway,” he said. “You’d best take it off and wear my cloak to leave the palace.”
She nodded and turned around for him to undo the buttons. He undid them slowly, praying this was going where he thought it was. He should ask her what had happened, how she got so filthy.
But if she did not care to discuss it right now, neither did he.
His mouth was dry as he eased the gown off her shoulders. This was wrong, he knew it. He might regret it later, but no man was made to resist this kind of temptation. At least for him, Linnet was the apple in the garden. The one great passion he could not resist.
He stood still, aching to touch her. Every part of him throbbed with need as she pulled the gown down over her breasts and hips. It fell to the floor with a wet swoosh.
When she turned, her lips were parted. His breath caught at the sight of the pink tips of her nipples showing through the thin white cloth of her chemise. When he returned his gaze to her face, she was looking at him with wide blue eyes, in that direct way she had, as if he were the only man in the world for her.
“Jamie…,” she whispered, leaning toward him.
He pulled her against him and crushed his mouth to hers. God, how he wanted her. Her hands gripped his hair, and her mouth was open, tongue seeking his. His desire grew into a raging inferno.
And she was as inflamed as he. When she locked her arms around his neck, he did not care if this was heaven or hell. He clamped his hands on her buttocks and pressed her against his throbbing shaft. Right now. He wanted her right now.
Nay, he wanted her naked first. He pulled away, breathing hard. Her lips were swollen from his kisses.
“Your chemise,” was all he could manage to say.
She nodded and reached down her side for the hem. “Slowly,” he said and dropped to his knees beside her. He ran his hands up her bare thigh as she eased the cloth up out of his way. Closing his eyes, he rested his head on her hip as he rolled her stockings down, inch by inch. She tugged at the chemise to free it, and his face touched bare skin.
“Touch me,” Linnet said above him, and it was all he wanted to do.
It was always like this between them. A shared lust that allowed for no embarrassment. No denial.
She quivered as he ran one hand up the inside of her thigh. When he touched her center, she was already hot and wet, and he thought he might explode. She leaned forward against the wash table, gripping it with both hands as he moved his fingers over her sensitive nub. When she dropped her head to rest her forehead on the table, he nipped at the smooth rounded flesh of her buttocks with his teeth.
He thrust a finger inside her, and she gasped. His throat tightened. Oh, Lord, she was going to come quickly the first time.
He’d been wanting to taste her since he first dropped to his knees, and he wasn’t getting up until he did.
“Turn round and lean your back against the table,” he said.
Without a word, she did as he asked. Her chemise had fallen down so he pushed it up to her hips to reveal the golden triangle of hair.
He looked up at her. “Will you be too cold if you take your chemise off?”
In one motion, she crossed her arms, pulled it over her head, and dropped it on the floor.