Allara bit her lip. After a whole week of build-up, it felt cowardly to just go to bed having done nothing new to deepen their intimacy. Part of her was still frightened to death, but she was no coward.
Lifting her chin, she looked him in the eye.
“No, husband,” she said clearly. “I am not ready for bed yet. At least, not to sleep.”
A slow smile curved Brand’s sensuous mouth.
“In that case, baby, how do you feel about getting a massage?”
Twenty-Four
Brand couldn’t believe he was finally going to get to touch his bride’s beautiful, curvy, naked body with no barriers in between the two of them. Every time he had caressed her through her silky nightgown, he had dreamed of touching her bare flesh.
But now that the moment was finally here, he didn’t want to frighten her.
To that end, he kept the towel firmly wrapped around his waist as he led her back into the bedroom, where he had a folding massage table set up in the corner. He would have used the bed, but it wasn’t quite high enough and he didn’t want to be bending over awkwardly while he tried to give his bride a good massage.
He helped Allara onto the table and adjusted it to the right height before carefully removing her towel. She was face-down and he saw a shiver go through her small, curvy body, but she made no protest or complaint as he took the towel.
“Easy now, sweetheart,” he murmured in her ear. “I’m just going to rub a little oil into your skin to start with, all right?”
“All right, husband.” Her soft voice was slightly muffled by the face-rest but Brand could feel the tension in her small body when he placed one hand between her shoulder blades.
Turning to the array of bottles, all filled with different, lightly-scented oils for different parts of her body, he chose one which would warm her skin and ease the tension in the muscles beneath and poured a small amount into the palm of his hand.
Starting at the back of her neck, he began to smooth the oil up and down the length of her back in long, soothing strokes. He kept his pressure light but firm, letting her get used to his touch.
Gradually, he felt some of the tension leave her body.
“Is this…all there is to a massage, husband?” she asked hesitantly. “Just you…petting my back?”
“I’m going to pet a lot more of you before I’m done,” Brand promised her. “As long as you’re comfortable with it, sweetheart?”
He made it a question, wanting to be certain she was all right.
“I am very comfortable,” Allara assured him. Which let him know he could go on.
Moving lower, Brand got a little more oil in his hands and smoothed it over the round, curving mounds of her ass. Allara stiffened at first, but then, as he continued to rub her, she gave a little moan and relaxed under his hands.
Brand wondered what else he could do to help her relax and then it came to him. Keeping his voice low, he began to sing in the tone he knew she liked best—the one that always brought her to him when he sang it in the afternoon, when he was supposed to be working.
The effect on his bride was immediate. She moaned again and then her hips twitched up, her legs spreading as though of their own volition to show her soft little pussy.
Brand bit back a groan when he saw the soft lips of her sex opening to show her glistening inner folds. Gods, she was so beautiful, he thought, looking at the tight little button of her clit, which was increasingly visible as she thrust her hips up and down.
“Mmm, husband,” she murmured, her voice husky with pleasure. “Are…are you going to massage my pussy now?”
“Do you want me to give you a pussy massage, baby?” Brand growled softly, still kneading her sweet curvy ass cheeks.
“I…I think I do,” she moaned and then she was spreading her legs even wider for him, inviting him in.
Gods! It took every ounce of self-restraint Brand had, not to lean down and bury his face between her thighs. He wanted so badly to taste the juices he could see glistening on her berry-dark folds. But it wasn’t their Tasting Week yet, he reminded himself, and Allara wasn’t expecting to feel his mouth on her. Right now was his chance to prove he could be trusted—to prove that she could open herself to him and he would treat her with tenderness as he brought her pleasure.
He poured more oil on his palm—a special kind especially for use on her sex—and then gently cupped her soft little mound. Still humming to her softly, he began to massage, stroking slowly up and down as Allara gasped and moaned.