Page 7

"GOOD MORNING, H-HUSBAND ."

Nicholas opened his eyes at the giddy, breathless sound of Tabitha's voice.

She was on her knees on the bed, wearing his shirt, and her dark hair cascading down one slim shoulder.

He saw right away that she was obviously tickled pink to call him the H-word.

..and equally made obvious by her pink cheeks was how she had mustered all her courage to actually say the word out loud.

Bee let out a gasp when Nicholas, in one sudden move, had reversed their positions, and she found herself lying on her back while her husband - oh my gosh, this man was her husband - loomed over her with a rakish smirk.

"Good morning, wife." He half-expected himself to choke on the word, but instead it rolled smoothly down his tongue like he had always been destined to say it. To her.

He watched her lips part in surprise at the words, and then her face blossomed with a smile that threatened to make his heart do something stupid like skip a fucking beat.

This was getting out of hand, dammit.

But somehow he couldn't make himself regret it.

Bee let out another gasp when Nicholas ( her husband , her mind kept chanting) swept her up in his arms and off the bed.

"Where are we going—- oh. "

He had carried her to the en-suite bathroom, and instead of lowering Bee to the floor, Nicholas had deposited her right in the middle of his enormous wooden barrel bathtub.

Did that mean they were about to share a bath together?

The thought had a series of racy scenarios immediately popping up in her mind, and Bee's cheeks heated up. Some of her favorite mail order romances included this exact scene, too, and oh, if even just one of those things were to take place...

When Nicholas turned to face Tabitha, he caught her with her hands on her flushed cheeks mid-pinch, and he laughed. "I wonder what has you excited now," he murmured wickedly.

Bee pinched her cheeks harder ( oh dear God, how could this unbelievably beautiful and incredibly exciting man be her husband?), and when she saw him start untying the drawstrings of his sweatpants, she had a feeling she might end up pinching herself to death.

And three...two...one...

A fully naked and visibly aroused Nicholas now stood in front of her, and Bee bit back a whimper.

While last night had mostly been a sensual blur, with Bee too nervous and excited to fully take in the finer details of Nicholas' nude form, today was a whole new ballgame, with sunlight streaming from the window illuminating every bare inch of his masculinity in golden clarity.

Rugged cowboy angel indeed , she thought dizzily.

Sleek and muscular all over, he seemed too sexy to be real, and when her gaze finally fell to his engorged manhood, Bee could only gulp, unable to believe something that long and thick could've fit inside of-—

A tiny involuntary squeak slipped past her lips when Nicholas stepped inside the tub to join her.

"Take your shirt off."

The huskily spoken command sent Bee's senses reeling, and her fingers seemed to move on its own volition as she reached for the hem.

In seconds, the shirt laid discarded next to his sweatpants, and she barely had time to register the hungry look in his green eyes before he was kneeling down in the water, and his mouth had landed right between her legs.

"Aaaaaaaaah."

She made a clumsy grab for his shoulders, needing something to hold on to as her knees threatened to give out at the shattering feel of his lips nuzzling her folds.

Oh God.

His lips trailed up.

Oh.

Tongue laving her clit—-

God.

Teeth nipping the tiny, quivering nub—-

Ooooooooh Goooooooood.

And then he was sucking on it hard, and it was just too much. It took only five seconds, maybe even three; all she knew was that Nicholas eating her clit was like a bullet train ride to heaven.

"Nicholas." She sobbed his name out as her orgasm sent her spiraling, and it just went on and on and on that she was barely aware of Nicholas using the handheld spray to clean her up before getting the tub filled.

A leisurely bath followed, with Nicholas settling her between his thighs before shampooing her hair and leaving her body wet for an altogether different reason with his soapy caresses.

And later, much, much later, with Nicholas lying against the back of the tub, while she rested against his chest, she heard him say casually, "I'll have your things transferred to my room today."

Water splashed as Tabitha turned in his arms, dark eyes curiously peering up at him as she asked, "Why did you have them sent elsewhere in the first place?"

Because I didn't think I'd let my cock overrule my brain, and I'd end up taking you to bed and fulfilling the first condition of our marriage.

But out loud, all Nicholas said was, "I didn't want you to think I was taking anything for granted."

A dismayed expression crossed her face. "I should be the one worried about that," she said glumly. "And I am, actually. Because no matter how I look at it, you're the one who seem to be getting the shorter end of the stick with this marriage—-"

"You really think so?" Nicholas asked gravely.

She nodded.

"Because you think I'm the world's sexiest husband?"

With the words still uttered in the same grave tone, it took her another moment before she realized he was teasing, and she was unable to suppress her smile. "I'm serious—-"

"So am I," he countered. "I see the way you look at me."

Bree turned red.

"Just one look," he said huskily, "and your body immediately reacts."

"W-What—-"

"Like this..." His gaze fell to her already aroused nipples, and she gasped as he tweaked one between his fingers.

"And this..." His other hand delved under the water to rub her clit, and she moaned.

A moment later, and almost half of the water splashed out as he suddenly had her half hanging over the side of the tub.

"Nicholas—-"

His thick cock pumped into her from behind.

Oh my God.

She hurriedly grabbed the sides of the tub as he started fucking her, hard enough to have her gasping as her breasts swayed in the air.

His breath suddenly tickled her ear, and she whimpered.

"Does this feel like I'm unsatisfied with our marriage?" Nicholas whispered.

His hips started pumping faster against her.

"Does it?"

She started seeing stars, and when his cock slammed back into her, deep enough that she felt he had reached all the way to her womb, she could only cry out, her pleasure reaching its zenith.

Behind her, she dimly heard him growl, his orgasm following right after hers, and the feel of his seed filling her had Bee letting out another cry.

It was almost half past ten by the time they finally came out of his room, and Nicholas couldn't stop smirking when he saw the way she was walking.

"It's not funny," she half-wailed. The soreness between her legs had her waddling like a duck, and anyone who saw her now was sure to guess why.

"I'm sorry—-"

Appalled that her words had him thinking she was blaming him, she said quickly, "It's fine—-"

"I'm so big."

Oh.

Her glower had him laughing again.

"God, you are so conceited—-ah!" He had her up in his arms again, and she quickly protested, "There's no need—-"

He cut her off by sucking on her lower lip, and her toes curled at the sensation.

I really do have the world's sexiest husband .

As they descended the stairs, Nicholas felt her head rest against his chest while her fingers played with the top button of his shirt.

"I guess Hearts' Match had it right," he heard her mumble almost as if speaking to herself.

"Right about what?" They reached the foot of the stairs as he spoke, and Nicholas reluctantly let her go when she started wriggling insistently in his arms.

"The consummation clause," she told him. "It didn't seem right at first. It felt like we'd be moving too fast too soon, but..."

Tabitha smiled up at him, and Nicholas thought, God, she was beautiful.

"Last night wasn't just perfect," Bee whispered shyly.

Too damn beautiful.

"It also felt completely right."

The words struck his heart like a bolt of lightning.

Too damn beautiful, Nicholas thought again. Inside and out. Just too damn beautiful for him.

He took a deep breath, knowing that he couldn't let the words go without saying something in return.

"Tabitha—-"

She looked up at him hopefully...just as someone coughed behind her, asking in an amused drawl, "Are we interrupting something?"