“I was missing you,” he murmured, one hand burrowing in her hair. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Kylene snuggled deeper into his arms, hoping her presence would comfort him.
“Why don’t you come to bed?” She traced the outline of his jaw with her fingertip. “It’s been a long day.”
Hardane grunted softly. Bed, he thought. A nice soft bed with Kylene to warm him.
“A hot bath to relax you,” Kylene suggested, “a glass of wine, and then a good night’s sleep.”
Hardane nodded. Effortlessly, he stood up and then, carrying Kylene with him, he made his way up the winding stairway that led to their bedchamber.
He closed the door behind them. A tub of scented hot water awaited him. A flagon of wine stood on the bedside table. The blankets were turned back, and his pillows had been plumped.
“Thank you, wife,” he murmured, kissing her cheek.
“You’re welcome, my lord wolf. Will you put me down now?”
“If you wish.”
He let her slide through his arms until she was standing in front of him, her body pressed to his.
Kylene smiled up at him as she began to unfasten the laces of his shirt. Lifting the garment over his head, she tossed it onto a chair, then knelt to remove his soft leather boots and breeches.
Taking him by the hand, she led him to the tub, trying not to notice his body’s reaction to his nudity and her nearness.
When he was settled in the tub, she dropped to her knees beside the tub, took up a soft cloth, and began to wash him.
Hardane groaned softly.
“Is something amiss, my lord wolf?” she queried, dragging the cloth across his chest and down his belly.
“Nay, lady.”
“You don’t seem very relaxed,” Kylene mused, noting the taut muscles in his arms, the tension in his jaw.
He gasped as the cloth brushed the inside of his thigh. “You can hardly expect me to relax with you so near.”
She had not meant to arouse him, only to soothe him. “I did not mean to torment you,” she remarked, not certain whether she was causing him pleasure or pain.
“Ah, lady,” he muttered hoarsely as her hand hovered dangerously near his groin, “it’s torment of the sweetest kind, I assure you.”
“Shall I stop?”
“No.” He ground out the word, his body aflame as the soapy cloth moved over him, teasing, tantalizing.
His nostrils filled with the scent of the water, and with Kylene’s own sweet scent, which was more intoxicating than ale, more potent than Mouldourian wine.
Lifting a hand, he cupped the back of her head and drew her toward him, his mouth covering hers. She was his woman, his life-mate, overflowing with life. His free hand moved to the soft swell of her belly. She was life renewing itself, and he needed that reassurance, needed it badly.
Kylene sighed with pleasure as his lips moved over her face, her neck, and then, abruptly, his arms went around her waist and he buried his face in the cleft of her breasts. She felt his shoulders shake and realized he was crying.
“Hardane.” She dropped the cloth and wrapped her arms around him, her heart aching for his sorrow.
She held him close until his sobs subsided and then she coaxed him from the tub, dried him with a square of heavy toweling, and led him to bed.
Undressing, she slid in beside him, turned onto her side, and drew him to her breast.
Like a fox to its den, Hardane snuggled against her, his arms locked around her waist, his face buried in the warm softness of her breasts.
For a time, he didn’t move, only lay there beside her, content to be held in her arms. The warm womanly fragrance that was hers and hers alone rose all around him. He could hear her heart beating a soft tattoo beneath his cheek.
He lay still for so long that Kylene thought he’d fallen asleep. Gently, she smoothed his hair, caressed his cheek, her heart swelling with such an outpouring of love it was almost painful. She wished she could do something to ease his sorrow, and the knowledge that there was nothing she could say or do brought tears to her eyes.
“Why do you weep?” Hardane murmured.
“Because you’re unhappy and I . . . I love you so much and . . . and there’s nothing I can do to help.”
“Your presence comforts me, lady, as nothing else can.”
His words, so clearly spoken from the depths of his heart, brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes.
Rising on one elbow, Hardane kissed the