no question that they would have to deal with what had happened tonight. But while the moon was up and she was naked and soft and warm in his arms, wouldn’t it be worse not to show her all the ways a man could—and should—worship her? And knowing just how responsive she was to even the slightest touch, how could he not want to teach her everything he knew about pleasure? Just the thought of it had him wanting to tie her to his bed and never set her free...
And since tonight was the first and last night he’d ever make love to her, he’d make damned sure every single second counted.
Slowly sliding his hands up from her lower back, he felt her muscles jump slightly beneath his gentle caresses up her spine, then over her shoulders and neck until he was framing her face in his hands.
“I should have started with this.”
He lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that was barely more than breath and the faintest brush of lips against lips. He let himself taste her slowly this time, the delicious flavors of her lips, her tongue, her skin bursting into his system one by one. She was a potent combination of sweet sugar and exotic spice and he deepened the kiss until they were both straining to take air from each other’s lungs.
He could feel in the pliancy of her muscles how ready she was for him again. It would be so easy, too easy, to drag her back to his bed and take her. She was so eager, so responsive, that he knew he could be inside of her again before either of them had time to take more than a handful of breaths.
But he’d promised her slow and soft and sweet. And though he couldn’t give her his heart, he could, at the very least, give her the memory of a few hours of perfect pleasure.
Tearing his mouth from hers, he slid his hands over her shoulders and upper arms. Goosebumps rose over her flesh as he gently caressed her. “Are you cold?”
Her ni**les were hard points against his bare chest as she said, “A little. But I’m sure that if you take me back to bed, I’ll heat right back up again.”
Knowing the odds were extremely low that he’d be able to trust himself to go slow and soft once he got her back into bed, he decided to stay right where they were for a while longer.
“A bath will warm you the quickest.” He drew her across the large bathroom to the tub beneath the window, then quickly had the taps running hot and full. He lifted Tatiana over the porcelain edge and was about to kneel on the floor beside the tub when she tugged at his hand to stop his progress.
“Join me in the tub, Ian.”
Lord, there was nothing he wanted more than to get into the tub with her. “If I take a bath with you...I’m afraid I’ll hurt you again instead of cherishing you.”
“You haven’t hurt me,” she said softly. “You won’t.” She laid her hand over his heart. “I know you won’t.”
How could she have that kind of faith in him after what he’d done? Especially when he knew exactly how this would end in the morning, regardless of how much pleasure they found in each other’s arms tonight?
But before he could say as much to her, her hand curled into a ball on his chest. “I should have told you that I was a virgin. It was selfish of me not to, especially now that I can see how much you’re beating yourself up over it. I can’t go back and fix that mistake, but from here on out I promise to tell you when something is new for me.” She bit her lip, letting the plump flesh slide erotically from beneath her front teeth. “I’ve never taken a bath with a man before.”
He had to pull her against him, had to kiss her again. “I like it hot,” he warned her.
“Me too.”
He got into the tub and lowered her down with him so that she was sitting between his legs, her back pressed against his chest. Tatiana let out a happy sigh as the hot water rose and steamed over both of them. Taking his hands in hers, she pulled his arms tightly around her, then reached out with her right foot and deftly turned off the faucets with her pretty painted toes.