This was pure bravado. Her body must seem thin and frail compared to his Animari lovers, and she couldn’t read his expression at all. If he refused, it would damage her pride and she’d still have to worry about a potential annulment because of Ruark Gilbraith.
“You’re sure this is what you want?” Raff finally asked.
She didn’t know him well enough to want his body, but she did want to get this over with. Thalia nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Then let’s see how we do together. Under these circumstances, I’ll take willing instead of eager. But get this, Thalia. If I can’t make you hungry, we won’t finish tonight. Even if it takes a month of trying, I won’t make you mine until you’re shivering for it.”
That seemed unlikely and quite a waste of time, but she didn’t protest his intentions. It spoke well of him that he cared about her satisfaction, and maybe she could fake the necessary enthusiasm. She’d done that when she didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, and they weren’t getting the job done. Most of her best orgasms, she’d given to herself, possibly because it was so hard to let her guard down.
“Very well,” she said.
“Get in bed. I’ll shower and join you soon.”
While she hadn’t expected him to be overwhelmed with lust at the sight of her bare skin, some reaction would’ve been nice. She kept her dignity as she padded across the room and slid under the covers. Think sexy thoughts. Thalia ran her hands down her body, and it had been long enough that a whisper of pleasure flickered to life. With so many worries whirling in her mind, she couldn’t fan the spark to life.
Sighing, she dropped her hands to the cool sheets. Pretense would have to suffice.
A few minutes later, he came out of the bath in a swirl of steam. With his dark hair tousled and beads of water dotting his beard, he looked…wilder than she’d seen before. His body was very different, brown, broad and hard, dusted with hair. Raff moved to the bed and got in beside her, chucking the towel after he did so.
“Was that to protect my modesty?” she asked, amused.
“Maybe it was to safeguard mine. Come here.”
Raff had never been in a situation like this.
Well, hell. You pride yourself on being good at three things: drinking, fucking, and hunting, not necessarily in that order. Time to prove yourself.
That didn’t give him any insight as to what she liked, though. She was naked beside him yet still cool and remote. He knew she wished he would just get on her and do the job like a contractor, but few things sounded less appealing than making love to someone who didn’t really want it.
Tentatively, he pulled her into his arms. We’ll start with body heat. Raff kissed her temples and touched the fine, silky hair that streamed down her back. The strands were still damp from her bath, and she shivered a little. Does she like that? He sifted his fingers through her hair, but she didn’t move, still and quiet against him.
“Tell me about the hottest thing that’s ever happened to you.”
“What?” She jerked, lifting her head.
Thalia probably couldn’t see him well, but her features were clear, along with the rapid blink of her eyes. Such adorable surprise.
“If you don’t trust me enough to talk about dirty things, how are we supposed to do them together?”
“It’s not hard,” she muttered. Then her small hand darted out and she grabbed his cock. “Shit. It’s really…not hard.”
“I like sex. You could even say I love it, but I don’t bone up on command. You know what turns me on more than anything?”
“What?”
“Being wanted.”
She let out a sigh of a breath that he felt against his shoulder. “Does that mean it won’t work otherwise?”
“What, sex in general? Or my cock?”
“Both, I guess.”
“You were planning to fake it.” It didn’t take a genius to figure that out, but she seemed so surprised. “I’d rather not take you that way, Thalia. Honesty is all we have.”
“I understand,” she whispered.
“It’s all right not to want this. All things considered, it would be a little strange if you did, right now.”
“But I want that peace of mind.”
“You have my word that I won’t let Ruark Gilbraith take you away from me or force an annulment. Is that enough for tonight?”
“Then…should I get dressed?”
“Only if you want to. I like sleeping this way, and your skin feels incredible. You’re like silk all over.”
She made a little sound, pleasure or embarrassment, or both combined. Hesitantly, she put out a hand and touched his cheek, rubbing the curls of his beard between two fingertips. “It’s softer than I expected.”
“Will you answer my question now?”
“About the…hot thing?”
“Yes, princess. Tell me a filthy bedtime story.”
Beside him, Thalia squirmed in his loose hold and her small breasts scraped against his chest. He wasn’t impervious to her beauty, but right now, she didn’t need a quick dicking. Her requirements ran a lot deeper, and Raff didn’t even know if he could meet them. This represented his best effort in good faith, though.
“That was an endearment, wasn’t it? Not my title.”
“It was indeed. And you’re dodging. Again.”
“I’m organizing my thoughts, and I guess…one incident stands out.”
“Incident? You make it sound like a sexual accident.”
“It was, a little. I was in the bath at Riverwind…”
Oddly, her shyness was getting to him. Raff never would’ve guessed that she was so prim. He imagined cutting her loose from all that propriety, and his cock jumped a little. Not now. In encouragement, he stroked her back in long sweeps.
“Big tubs like in Ash Valley or a small, private one?”
“It’s large enough for two, but it’s private. At first, I was just washing up, but at some point, I started…feeling good.”
She hardly seemed to have the words to describe the event, which struck him as endearing. “You got turned on, touching yourself?”
“I suppose. Yes. Well,
