he two watched as the last pail was brought up and the tub brimmed with water. Steam rose in rapid puffs, and Keeley’s eyes rolled back in her head as she imagined getting in.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it, lass. Gannon will be outside, so call if you need anything.”

Keeley’s cheeks burned. “Gannon! I can’t have him barging in here. Besides, ’tis his duty to see to Alaric’s needs.”

Maddie chuckled. “He won’t barge in, not unless he fears for your life, then it won’t matter if you’ve not a stitch on. But if you call out to him, he’ll summon me or Christina for you.”

“Whew,” Keeley breathed.

Maddie laughed and left the chamber. Keeley wasted no time ripping her dress over her head. She sent it sailing across the room and hastened to the tub.

Every movement caused considerable ache, but she inched down into the water until it lapped over her body and finally to her chin as she settled back against the side.

This was heaven.

She closed her eyes and relaxed her tired, sore muscles. She let go of everything but the wondrous sensation of so much hot water. If someone would but dump a fresh pail of hot water into the tub every so often, she’d be content to remain here for days. She wasn’t entirely certain she’d be able to get back out anyway.

She sighed and settled her arms along the sides of the tub then tipped her chin skyward so that her head rested against the back. The heat from the fire just a few paces away toasted her skin and relaxed her even more.

She was nearly asleep, her head tilting to the side, when her door opened. Startled, she looked up to see Alaric standing across the room, shrouded in darkness. The few candles ablaze in her chamber were all situated around her tub and dressing area. The rest of the light was cast from the fire in the hearth and it didn’t quite reach to where Alaric stood.

For a long moment he stood watching and she returned his gaze, waiting, and absorbing the hunger in his eyes. There was something decidedly different about his demeanor this night.

Typically he was lighthearted and teasing. They’d laugh softly before making love and often talk about the events of the day.

Tonight his expression was fierce and his eyes glittered dangerously. She swallowed nervously as he advanced toward the tub, his gaze never leaving her.

She was struck by sudden vulnerability, and it excited her. Power rippled through his body and swelled through the room until it was a living, breathing thing.

He stood over the tub, looking down at her nak*d body, his gaze stroking possessively over her. When she went to cover her br**sts with her arms, he knelt beside the tub and gently pried her arms away.

“Nay, do not shield yourself from me. This night you are mine. Solely mine. You belong to me and only me. Tonight I take what is mine. I cherish what is mine.”

Her chin trembled and she pressed her lips together to curb her nervousness. It wasn’t that she was afraid. Far from it. She was excited. More so than she’d ever been, and she was about to fidget right out of the tub.

He took the cloth where it hung limply over the edge of the tub and touched it to her neck. Despite the warmth of the water and from the fire just a short distance away, chill bumps instantly dotted her upper torso.

They rushed over her chest to her br**sts and beaded her n**ples into tight nubs as he gently pulled the cloth over her shoulder.

The scent of roses wafted through her nostrils. Alaric took the bar of soap from its nook and massaged the cloth around it until suds formed.

“Lean forward,” he commanded.

His quiet, sensual tone made her insides quiver. There was a dark promise in his voice that had her wound so tightly, she felt near to bursting.

When she was positioned as he wanted her, he began rubbing the cloth in lazy circles over her back.

“Oh that feels wondrous,” she moaned.

He covered every inch, coming up to knead her shoulders before retreating to caress the line of her back down to the dimple just over the crease of her buttocks.

Her eyes were closed, her head bobbing forward as sweet lethargy—and pleasure—flooded her veins. But when he reached around to brush the cloth across her n**ples, her eyes flew open and her breathing sped up and bounced erratically from her nostrils.

He paused then cupped both mounds in his palms. Slowly, his thumbs brushed over the peaks. Up and then down until each touch sent shards of exquisite pleasure bolting through her womb.

She flinched, not from pain but from the overwhelming shock of ecstasy when his mouth touched her nape. Just a simple, gentle kiss, but his mouth was like a bolt of lightning.

The dual sensations of his thumbs brushing her n**ples and his mouth moving sensuously over her neck turned her bones to jam. She was helpless. Completely at his mercy, and that excited her all the more.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her neck. “I look at you and I’m overwhelmed by your fire, your gentle beauty, your determination, and your courage. I think there has never been another woman of your equal. There never will be.”

Her heart swelled and the ache spread to her throat, tightening until words were impossible. What could she say anyway?

“Tonight I’m going to take care of you as you did for me.”

His husky whisper hummed over her ears, and she shivered at the images his words invoked.

He wet her hair and then slowly and thoroughly washed every strand. He ran his fingers through the thick tresses, one by one, until every part was clean. Then he tilted her head back and rinsed so that the soapy water didn’t wash into her eyes.

Over and over the warm water cascaded over her shoulders until finally he was satisfied that the job was done.

“Give me your hand.”

She slipped her fingers over his and he lifted her to her feet. Water rushed down her body, leaving her sleek and shiny in the low light. Nervously she waited as his gaze swept up and down, heating every inch in his path.

His eyes glittered as he lowered his head. She caught her breath when his mouth hovered precariously over her breast. Then he pulled her nipple into his mouth and sucked strongly at the tip.

Her knees buckled and she would have collapsed back into the tub, but he grasped her around her waist and hauled her against him, his mouth still firmly around her nipple.

“I’m getting you all wet,” she gasped.

“I don’t care.”

He moved to her other breast and flicked his tongue out. It rasped over the sensitive point, sending shivers of delight down her spine.

She was captivated by the picture they presented. Their bodies meshed together in the warm glow of firelight, his mouth at her breast and her skin gleaming from wetness. It was every romantic dream she’d ever hatched. He was her warrior. Though she’d saved him in the beginning, he saved her each and every day.

Her warrior. Her love.

“Love me, Alaric,” she whispered.

“Aye, I do, lass. I do. And I will. Tonight is mine. You’re my captive to do with as I see fit. Never will you feel more cherished and loved than you do this night.”

He left her for the barest moment and returned with a drying blanket. As soon as she stepped from the tub, he wrapped her in it and guided her toward the fire.

Carefully he worked all the excess water from her hair until it lay damply against her back. Then he collected her comb and began patiently working the tangles from her hair.

No one had ever attended her thus. It was a marvelous feeling. She felt important. Like she was the lady of the keep and beloved by her laird.

He pressed his lips to the back of her head and kept them there a long moment. “Tonight you will obey my every command. Aye, I’ll see to your every need because ’tis my wish. But this night you are mine and will cede to my wishes.”

His hands slid up and down her arms, and his mouth moved to the side of her neck. “Think you that you can agree to not say me nay?”

Her insides squeezed unbearably and she was breathing so rapidly that she was light-headed. The power and sensuality in his voice excited her beyond measure. Didn’t he know she would never deny him anything?

She nodded, unable to voice a single word around the knot in her throat.

He turned her head so that their gazes met. His eyes burned into her and his expression was fierce, every inch the warrior he was. “The words, Keeley. I would have the words from you.”

“Aye, I agree,” she whispered.

CHAPTER 26

Alaric lifted Keeley into his arms and strode toward the bed. The linen that he’d wrapped around her body loosened and fell to the floor, leaving her nak*d. He eased her onto the mattress and took a step back, his gaze never leaving her.

She felt intensely vulnerable and she swallowed with nervous excitement as he slowly began to disrobe.

His arms and shoulders rippled and bulged, and his taut abdomen stretched over tightly corded muscles. Her fingers itched to trace the lean lines and explore every hard spot on his body.

“Spread your thighs for me, Keeley. Let me look upon your womanly softness.”

Blushing, she relaxed her legs and then slowly drew them apart. Alaric reached down and circled her ankles with his fingers and then pushed upward until her heels were dug into the mattress and her knees were bent double.

The position bared her completely to him. Left her open and aching for his touch.

He knelt at the bedside and ran one finger through her damp petals, pausing at her entrance before pushing ever so slightly inside.

She gasped and arched her hips, wanting more. He withdrew and then lowered his mouth.

She held her breath until she was light-headed. Every part of her body tightened in anticipation of the brush of his lips.

But it wasn’t his lips that touched her. He licked from her entrance to the tight, straining bud sheltered under the hood of flesh at her apex.

She cried out and her body convulsed. He gripped her thighs and held her in place as he continued to lap at her. The roughness of his tongue sent indescribable flashes of pleasure splintering through her belly up to her br**sts where her n**ples beaded painfully.

Gently he sucked at the tiny mound and then flicked his tongue back over it, coaxing it to a hardened point.

It was simply too much. Her body shattered. It was as if she were leaves scattered on a windy day. After so much pressure and unbearable tightening, suddenly she was so light that she floated, drifting downward in a gentle spiral.

Bewildered by the intensity of her release she raised her head. “Alaric?” she whispered.

But he didn’t answer. Instead he gently turned her onto her belly and drew one hand behind her back. To her shock, he wrapped a linen strip around her wrist and then pulled her other arm back to bind her wrists together.

Butterflies swarmed in her belly and her knees trembled uncontrollably.

When he was finished, he tested the binding and it held firm. Then he pushed her onto her knees so that her cheek rested against the mattress and her behind was high in the air, her hands tied securely behind her back.

As he rose, his palm caressed the curve of her buttocks. Then he palmed both of her cheeks and pushed upward and out so that she was spread to him.

“I hurt you this way when you were nearly a virgin still. Tonight I’ll only give you pleasure.”

One hand left her and then she felt the brush of his knuckles as he positioned his c*ck at her opening. He pushed and his thickness filled her, stretching her around his shaft.

She moaned softly. It was a wondrous sensation as he forced himself deeper. Her body clasped tightly to him and rippled over his hardness. When he pulled back, her swollen tissues protested the movement and clamped wetly around his cock.

“Does it pain you?” he asked.

“Nay,” she whispered.

He thrust into her, harder this time. Never had she felt so stretched, so full. After he was assured that she could take him this way, he began to ride her more vigorously.

He reached up and grabbed on to her bound wrists. Holding her tightly, he pulled back as he thrust forward.

The smacking sound of his thighs pounding against her bottom filled the air. As gentle as he’d been before, now he took her ruthlessly, setting a pace to please himself.

Faster and harder and then he paused, buried deeply inside her. She was opened wide and defenseless against whatever he wanted to do. It only heightened her excitement. She wiggled impatiently, but he held her still as he remained lodged inside her.

Then he withdrew and pounded forward. Much slower and methodical this time. He was in control, his thrusts measured. Hard. Deep. Over and over he retreated and then plunged forward until she was begging him to give her release. She needed more. She needed him to move fast and hard, to provide sweet friction.

“Have not I said that you are to obey me this night?” he asked huskily. “ ’Tis I who say the commands, Keeley. You will say naught but aye to whatever I ask.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth in sweet agony as he powered forward in a particularly forceful thrust as if to reinforce his words. Aye, he was in control. She had none.

She had to bite her lip to keep from protesting when he pulled from the tight clasp of her body. He pulled her to her feet and held her until he was sure she was steady. Then he grasped her shoulders and pushed her to her knees on the floor.