A Midsummer Night's Kiss (Howertys #1)

Chapter 33: Neither Birds Nor Bees

"Nathaniel!" Panicking, she grabbed the towel on the stool next to the tub and pulled it around herself, soaking it in the water. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't immediately answer, having stopped just inside the door as he caught sight of her, staring as if she'd dropped out of the sky. His gaze moved from her soaked-through towel to her face, and a slow smile spread over his face. The sensuality of it sent off a fluttering inside her stomach.

"I've come to pay my wife a visit," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Well, you're too early," she told him pertly. "You must leave and return in an hour."

He chuckled, a low sound that sent off another wave of flutters. "I don't think so. I've waited too long for this and I've been downstairs in the library, going mad from wanting to be with you."

"I'm not dressed yet." She was being very reasonable. Why wasn't he leaving?

"I can see that." Something dark glittered in his eyes, making her skin tingle as his gaze swept over her. "That is not an issue. Not at all."

"Nathaniel..." Her tone turned plaintive. "Please give me some privacy to get out of the tub and get dressed."

Moving across the room to the bed, he shook off his black coat and threw it on a chair. When he untied his cravat and unbuttoned the top buttons on his shirt, she swallowed with some difficulty. Surely he would not undress right in front of her? He removed his cufflinks and rolled the white shirtsleeves up before looking at her with a smile playing at his lips. Picking up the rose lying on the bed, he sauntered over to her where she sat in the tub. She pulled the towel a little tighter.

"How could I possibly resist you when I find you naked in a tub?" he asked in a low, seductive voice. "In my bedroom."

"I'm wearing a towel," she mumbled, making him laugh.

"That hardly counts as a piece of clothing, darling."

He crouched on the floor next to her, and she could feel the heat emanating from his body, even though he wasn't touching her. Placing the rose on her shoulder, he used its soft petals to trace a line across her collarbones before following the same path back again. Moving it along her throat and up to her jaw, he followed the jawline until he could touch the velvety petals to her mouth. She drew an unsteady breath, suddenly unable to get enough air into her lungs.

Tucking his fingers under her chin, he gently moved her face towards him, tilting it up a little to replace the petals of the rose with his lips. The kiss started softly with only a light pressure of his mouth on hers. He nibbled and teased until she relaxed and he could deepen the kiss, his tongue stealing across her lips. He tasted slightly of brandy, and the slow, drugging kisses he bestowed almost made her intoxicated.

Finally breaking the contact and placing a soft kiss on her neck, he mumbled, "Do you truly wish for me to leave?"

She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to remember what she was doing in the tub in the first place, and then she shook her head. "My towel is wet."

"I know." Amusement laced his voice. "That's usually what happens when you wrap it around yourself while still sitting in the tub."

"You startled me," she muttered, a blush warming her cheeks.

"There's another one." He lifted a second towel from the stool as he stood. "Here. I'll help you."

"I would rather do it myself." She wasn't sure she was ready to stand naked before him yet.

"Very well," he agreed. "I'll turn my back while you make yourself presentable."

He stood, holding the spare towel out behind him. Hesitantly, she stood, still holding the soaked towel wrapped around herself, and water dripping down her legs. She quickly snatched the dry towel and swapped it for the wet one. After making sure Nathaniel still had his back to her, she stepped out of the tub and walked over to the fireplace, where she quickly dried herself off.