and bathe,” he told her. “Let it be, lambkin. I will bathe in the morning.”
“Now,” she said firmly, in a tone he had not heard her use before, “and not in an icy stream, either, my lord. Sit by the fire, and have some ale while I make the preparations. I have spent the better part of this day making the solar fit for our habitation. I will not sleep in the hall another night, Wulf Ironfist. If Aurora is to have a brother, we must have some time to ourselves. There is gossip already! The world will not come to an end because we seek our privacy each night.”
“Should not our daughter sleep in the solar, too?” he queried her mischievously, cocking a bushy, tawny eyebrow quizzically.
“For now,” Cailin answered him severely, “Aurora will remain in the hall, with Nellwyn to care for her.” Then she left him and went to the end of the room, calling instructions to her household servants.
He watched, somewhat astounded, as a large oaken tub was slowly rolled into a corner of the hall. He had never seen it before, and he realized she must have had their cooper make it. She had great foresight, he decided. A hot bath would feel good. A line of male servants began running back and forth with pails of steaming water which they dumped into the great tub. It took fully half of an hour to fill the tub to Cailin’s satisfaction. While it was being done, she marshaled soap and other implements necessary to bathing. Then she signaled him, and he arose, walking down the hall to where she waited, tapping an impatient foot.
“Remove your clothing, my lord,” she said, then ordered the serving men to place screening about the tub. As he took each item of clothing from his tired body, she gathered it up into a pile. When he was entirely naked, Cailin handed it over the screen to the woman appointed laundress for the hall.
At her command, he climbed sheepishly into the tub. He was astounded when she stripped off her own clothing and joined him. “You mean to make my bath a pleasant experience, I see,” he said, grinning lecherously at her.
“I mean to make it a thorough one,” she countered sternly. “ ‘Twill not be easy. A Roman bath is best, but this is better than nothing.” She took up her strigil and began to scrape the sweaty dirt from his neck, shoulders, and chest. The water in their tub just barely concealed her breasts, but Wulf’s body was exposed from his waist up.
Reaching out, he cupped the twin orbs in his big hands and began to play with them as she worked. “We must begin to bathe again every day,” he murmured, leaning forward to kiss her earlobe.
She giggled. “Behave yourself, Wulf Ironfist. How can I do a proper job of bathing you if you distract me so?”
“Am I indeed distracting you, lambkin?” he said softly, his tongue swirling about the shell of her ear. He slipped a hand below the waterline to give her right buttock a gentle squeeze.
Her violet eyes twinkled at him. “You are very distracting, my lord,” she admitted to him, “and you must not be, or I shall never get done. If I do not, we shall never reach the solar, where our newly prepared bed space is awaiting us. There is food and wine there aplenty, my love. Once we have gained the privacy of that chamber, and drawn the ladder up behind us, no one will be able to reach us.” Then she pressed herself against him teasingly. “Do you not wish to be alone with me, Wulf, my husband?” She ran her tongue over his lips and then kissed him quickly.
His aquamarine-blue eyes smoldered at her. Their look was eloquent beyond measure. “Finish your task, lambkin,” he ground out. “It is far past time Aurora had a brother, and if you are not finished quickly, we shall begin our endeavor right here in this tub!”
Cailin smiled alluringly at him, and without another word began to smear soft soap over his skin with gentle fingers. She bathed him and then sent him from the tub to dry himself while she washed her own body. A fresh tunic, barely covering his thighs, was set out for him. Cailin, exiting the tub, dried herself under his hot gaze and slipped on a long camisa.
“We must have a special place where we can bathe,” she said.