Oria turned and sighed softly. Even half naked her husband managed to spark her passion. And while she was too tired to discuss her trip into the woods or partake in coupling, she got the sense that that wouldn’t matter. And not because her husband would make demands, but because her own body would dictate her actions.
She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head slightly as she asked, “Do you trust me, husband?”
“Of course I do,” he said as if insulted she should ask.
“Then why ask me what you already know?”
“You’ve grown far to wise, wife,” he accused.
“You haven’t grown wise enough,” she said with a laugh. “Did you mean to catch me in a trap? Expect not to hear the truth? Or was it that you were annoyed because I hadn’t confided this to you?”
He tore off his plaid and went to the chair near the hearth to slip off his boots.
“Do you need to think of a response or is it that I’m right that annoys you?” she asked.
“Are you looking for praise for knowing your husband so well?” he said a sharp bite to his tone and turned his annoyed expression to the flames in the hearth.
Guilt stabbed at her. They were still finding their way with each other and the remnants left of the years they’d been apart didn’t help any. They each had been left with seen and unseen scars. The unseen ones could be poked without realizing it, the pain returning to suffer them all over again.
Today an unseen scar had jabbed at her heart. Seeing Royden reunited with his da had brought both joy and heartache. It had made her miss her da terribly. And now she was regretful for whatever scar she had unintentionally opened on Royden.
Oria slipped off her garments and shoes and went to her husband and, with his knees parted just enough, she slipped between them to stand close to him.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry,” she said softly.
He turned his head and looked up at her. “You didn’t. I made myself angry.” His one hand went to rest on her hip and his stump rested on the other. “I worried day and night about everyone here. Who had survived and who hadn’t. What had been forced on those who had survived? It tore at me that I was helpless to do anything about it. I don’t want to feel that ever again. I know we were interrupted when you were about to trust me, confide in me about who you met in the woods, but I was annoyed that it had taken you time to do so. That I learned more from my da than you about Purity.”
“I didn’t want to keep anything from you, but I gave—”
“Your word, as you said, and I can’t fault you for that. And I should have taken your response for how it was meant—playful teasing. It would seem you were not only right about that but right about me being grumpy. Forgive me?”
Her heart hurt seeing the hurt in his eyes. They’d both been hurt enough. She wouldn’t let the past dictate their future.
“There’s nothing to forgive, though…” She tapped her finger to her lips for a moment. “If you feel the need to make it up to me, you could always keep that promise you made earlier.”
Royden scrunched his brow, not recalling, then suddenly he smiled. “I think I remember.”
“I remember it clearly and there has been something I’ve wanted to try,” she said.
“Whatever you want, wife,” he said, eager to couple with her any way she wanted to. He wasn’t, however, expecting her to kneel down in front of him.
“I’ve wondered what it would be like to taste you.”
Before he could say or do anything, her face disappeared between his legs and he groaned when her mouth settled on his shaft. He’d already sprung to life when she had stood naked in between his legs and it didn’t take long for him to swell in her mouth.
It didn’t take long for him to fear that he’d climax far too soon and he definitely didn’t want that.
She stopped suddenly and looked up at him eagerly, “Am I doing it right?”
A strand of her blonde hair had fallen over her eye and he reached down and brushed it away as he said, “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
She smiled. “Good. It’s more enjoyable than I imagined.”
And once again her head disappeared between his legs and he dropped his head back against the chair and thought the same. It was beyond enjoyable. It was real and not one of the many dreams he would have, when captive, only to wake and find she wasn’t there. Not so now. She was here, wanting to taste him, enjoying the taste of him. Good God, but he was a lucky man.