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It mattered not. He had decided to teach her a lesson and he would see it done.

When he reached her, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, placing her down on it, then joining her.

He stretched out on his side beside her, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek while he brushed her rosy lips with his thumb. “I am going to explore your body and you are going to submit to my touch as is your duty as my wife and as it is your duty to obey me.”

Her eyes turned wide. She was not expecting that. She did not even know if it was proper for him to touch places on her body that she rarely touched herself.

I will never harm you. You are safe with me.

She was glad she recalled his often repeated and reassuring words and since he had kept his word since meeting him, there was no reason to think that he would not keep it now.

She said the one thing she felt would help ease her worry. “I trust you, Slayer.”

Bloody hell, but the woman could land a good punch and this one hit directly in the heart. That annoyed him even more since his plan was not only to teach her about obedience but also to prove he had no heart. But who was he truly trying to prove it to, Sky or himself?

His hand itched to touch her and that was unusual since he had never been so eager to touch a woman as he was to touch his wife. He intended to keep control of his desire since this was not about consummating their vows but when his hand drifted slowly along her slender neck, his manhood had other ideas and took control.

He stilled his hand when it reached her silky-soft shoulder, having never felt such soft skin and enjoying the feel of it. But he was eager to reach her breasts and when he did, he cupped one gently in his hand and ran his thumb faintly over her puckered nipple.

Sky did not expect his languid touch to feel so good or for it to spark something inside her, and she gasped.

Keep focused, he reminded himself, hearing her surprising response to his touch but it was proving difficult. He enjoyed touching his wife more than he expected or intended to. Soon his hand left her breast to explore more of her while he settled his lips on her nipple.

Sky gasped again when his tongue rolled over her nipple then tugged gently at it with his teeth. She could not contain the moan that slipped from her lips, nor could she stop her body from squirming beneath him, her body awakening and responding to his touch. He’d been truthful with her when he said she would come to know his touch, but he had failed to tell her how much she would enjoy it.

She was soon lost in a haze of passion she had never known existed but found she quite favored. And the more his hands explored her, kissed her, the more she wanted him to.

“Slayer,” she cried out shocked when his hand slipped between her legs and was more shocked when his finger slid into her. Her body responded, arching, welcoming him. His touch felt as if it woke some primal sensation in her that once awakened would never sleep again, never be ignored, would always demand attention.

His lips captured hers, strong and demanding, urging her to respond, though it was not necessary. She was eager to return his kiss, eager to experience more, feel more, share more.

Sadness gripped her and could be heard in her moan when his lips suddenly left hers, but it was not long before she moaned with pleasure once again, as he explored her body with intimate kisses and in places that blushed her cheeks red.

His touch soon turned demanding, and her body did as well. She became a prisoner of the passion that surged through her, and she did not mind being held captive by it. Captive of her husband’s intimate touches that were pleasurable beyond words.

Instinct or pleasure had her pleading, “Please, Slayer. Please.”

She lay stunned when his touch came to an abrupt halt. She rushed her eyes open and hurried to connect with his. Seeing that he had gone still and stared at her with a look in his eyes she did not recognize, she waited anxiously for what would come next, not knowing what to say or do.

She sighed with relief when his touch returned, and soon after his thumb brushed across a spot that had her crying out with intense passion and grabbing hold of his arms as if she needed to anchor herself.

Slayer rested his cheek against hers to whisper in her ear, “Let go, Sky, I will catch you. I will always catch you.”

His whispered reassurance that he would be there for her was all she needed to let go and fall into what seemed like a never-ending spiral of exquisite pleasure, where in the end, she would find herself safely in Slayer’s arms. And she did.

Only as soon as she opened her eyes, Slayer left the bed, grabbed his shirt, slipped it on, and left the cottage.

She stared dumbfounded at the closed door, her breathing having yet to calm down and the sensation that consumed her body still sparking in her. Had she done something wrong? She did not know what to think or do, but then her mind was far too hazy, sparks of passion still spiking in her and not allowing her to think clearly.

She lay there trying to calm her body and clear her mind.Think, Sky, think, she silently urged herself.

Lesson. He meant to teach her a lesson, to be obedient. She smiled. After all the years of being dutiful, this was one duty she would have no trouble obeying. So, why had he left her so abruptly? Had he not found the pleasure that she had? Or had she disappointed him? She did not like to think that, but not knowing what to think and having no experience with it, left it ripe with good or bad possibilities.

She could make no sense of it. It was no wonder she fared better with the animals in the woods. They were far less complex than humans.

A shiver reminded her that she was naked, and she hurried to slip on her shift, preferring not to be naked when her husband returned. Though not at all sure what she would say to him.

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