Petals on the River (71 page)

Gage swept a hand toward the closed door of the storeroom.
 
"After you,

madam."

A slight frown of confusion lingered on her face as she picked up a

tallow lantern and led the way toward the back.
 
Pushing open the door

of the storeroom, Shemaine gasped in surprise as she saw a lavish

bathtub, easily large enough for two, in the middle of the room.
 
A

folding screen stood behind it, and as her eyes swept about the small

room, she realized that it no longer resembled a storage area but was a

bathing chamber outfitted with a washstand, a dressing table with its

own chair, Gage's shaving stand, and a chamber chair barely visible

beyond a screen.
 
There was even a tall stool near the washstand, no

doubt to aid Andrew in reaching it.

Gage followed her through the doorway and, taking the lantern from her,

lit several other candles to chase away the darkness.
 
"I had the

Morgans working in here while we were gone today.
 
Do you like the

changes they made?"

"Oh, yes, Gage!" Whirling, Shemaine flung her arms about his neck,

giving him an exuberant hug, and then leaned back in his arms to express

her pleasure in eager tones.
 
"Thank you for being so thoughtful !
 
"

Gage smiled down at her.
 
'I've noticed how much you relish your baths

and thought of the pleasure I would derive from sharing them with you

when I have the time.
 
The tub is too heavy for you to move on your own,

even when it's empty, so I determined that it needed to be drained where

it stood.
 
I had Flannery Morgan bore a hole at one end of it, fashion

copper sheathing into a funnel beneath the hole and extend more of the

sheathing under the floor so the water could run away from the house.

All you need do, madam, is pull the cork out of the hole in the tub and

watch it drain."

, Shemaine marveled at the cleverness of his plan.
 
"You're ingenious,

Mr.
 
Thornton!"

His brows flicked upward as he dismissed her compliment.
 
"I was

motivated to a great degree by my own desires.
 
You're a very tempting

bride, Shemaine, and I wanted to share with you all the comforts and

pleasures I could possibly imagine."

A smile coyly curved her soft lips.
 
"No one need tell me how vivid your

imagination is, sir.
 
There is ample proof of that everywhere I turn."

A slow grin accompanied his reply.
 
"It always helps to be inspired by

such beauty as yours, my sweet."

"Now you'll be able to enjoy the comfort of bathing indoors," she

pointed out happily.

Gage reached up to pluck the corner of the sheet from the enticing

valley between her breasts.
 
"Bathing in the stream isn't so bad when

it's shared by two who are enamored of each other.
 
On the morrow I'll

show you some of the delights to he had there." Sweeping his hands

downward over her round breasts and slender waist, he watched her eyes

grow dark and limpid as he hastened the descent of the sheet.
 
It caught

on her hips, where it lay bunched in folds.

"Shall we add the water now?" she asked breathlessly.

"Get the soap and the towels," Gage bade huskily, leaning near to nibble

at her ear.
 
"I'll get the water." But he made no effort to leave as his

hands continued their stroking caresses downward, loosening the sheet in

the process.

Shemaine caught the falling linen and, swirling it around behind her,

held it outspread like giant wings as she willingly submitted herself to

the magical seduction of his hands.
 
They moved with knowledgeable

boldness over her body and were complete in their possession, exploring,

fondling, and searching out the hidden places. The ecstasy he elicited

made her catch her breath in quick snatches and then slowly release it

in blissful sighs.
 
Like a moth warmed by a flame, she followed

irresistibly as he stepped slowly backward toward the high stool.
 
Upon

reaching it, he sat upon the edge.
 
Her eyes glazed with passion as he

lifted her astride him and resettled her onto the full warmth of him.

The sheet fluttered to the floor unheeded as she arched her back over

his encompassing arms, thrusting her breasts forward to meet his hot,

greedy kisses and the blazing heat of his tongue.
 
His hand slipped

downward to clasp her buttocks, urging her response in the sensual rites

of love and passion.
 
She stroked against him with increasing intensity

until a surging rapture began to wash over her, wrenching breathless

gasps from her.
 
Gage's own breathing grew harsh and ragged as his

passion raged in a zealous quest to be sated.
 
Once again they were

forged together in a rhapsodic bliss, and it was a very long moment

before reality came sweeping back.

In the aftermath of their lovemaking, Shemaine snuggled within her

husband's encompassing arms, unwilling to break away.
 
Gage held her

close, caressing her mouth with his own or closing her eyelids with

gentle kisses as he luxuriated in the silky softness of her breasts

against his chest and the gratifying feel of her warmth encompassing his

manhood.

Soon after they parted, Gage wrapped Shemaine in the sheet until it

resembled an enveloping cocoon.
 
She sat on the high stool with a foot

balanced on a rung, another drawn up on the seat, and a knee tucked

beneath her chin.
 
Gage paused briefly at the washstand for a quick

cleansing and then started carrying in buckets of water for their bath.

Her husband seemed totally uninhibited about his nakedness, and it was

so tempting for Shemaine to watch him.
 
She yearned to appease her own

curiosity and found her knowledge of the male form increasing by leaps

and bounds as she observed him.
 
Still, whenever he came her way, she

cast her gaze elsewhere, unwilling to let him know of her wanton

interest in his manly habits and parts.

 
Finally the bath was ready, and Gage returned to the stool where his

young wife perched.
 
'Your bath is ready, m'lady," he said, taking her

hand and drawing her up from the stool.
 
"And your husband is eager to

share it with you."

Shemaine paused to readjust the sheet, but Gage caught her hand, halting

her.

"You're far too comely to be kept under a tarp, madam.
 
Besides, I want

to look at you.
 
Do you want to look at me?"

Despite the vivid blush that swept downward nigh to her breasts,

Shemaine nodded in quick answer.
 
"Aye!
 
I want to very much."

"Then I give you leave to look at me to your heart's content," Gage

invited warmly.
 
Taking her hand, he stroked it down his firm torso. "It

pleasures me to have you do so."

"And it pleasures me to do so," Shemaine breathed, feeling the drumbeat

of her own heart as he instructed her in the art of fondling, as much to

her awe and delight as his.

His whisper was ragged and strained.
 
"You see, madam?
 
I'm naught but

potter's clay in your hands."

"No potter's clay, I trow," she sighed in admiration, "but a mighty

oak."

"Then come, little bird, and perch upon my branch," he coaxed, pressing

his lips against her temple.

"What about our bath?"

''We will enjoy it to the utmost, madam, for twill be there that the

mighty oak will be felled by a little bird."

Chapter 16.

The jubilant trilling of birds nesting in the tall pine near the bedroom

window awakened the newly wedded couple, rousing them to a delectable

awareness of each other and the dawning of a new day.
 
As her husband

stirred against her back, Shemaine smiled sleepily, enjoying the feel of

his hard, masculine form against her own.
 
She lay on her side, nestled

in the cradle of his naked body with his thighs tucked close beneath her

own.
 
After no more than a few moments of wear, her new nightgown had

been discarded and draped over the same chair where his clothes had been

left the night before.
 
Only the bed linens covered them, and

underneath, their bodies were as warm as their thoughts.

"As much as I desire to stay here and have my way with you once more, my

sweet," Gage breathed close against her ear, "I must leave this sweet

haven and attend the morning chores."

Shemaine snuggled back against him, reluctant to have him go.
 
"We

didn't get much sleep."

"Aye, we spent too much time dallying in the tub, but what does sleep

matter when we enjoyed such bliss?
 
I can still see your wet, lovely

body in the candlelight, the glistening hills and the shadowed valleys,

tempting me to touch and to taste."

Even now the memory of his passionate fervor drew her breath out in a

halting sigh.
 
She had been no less intrigued by the sight of him.

The tiny flames had bathed his glistening frame with a golden aura,

highlighting the knotted sinews over his lean ribs and the long, flexing

cords in his shoulders, thighs and arms, leaving her much in awe of his

manly physique.
 
"Never has a wedding gift been put to such amorous use,

I think, and never again will I make the mistake of thinking that a

couples' bed is the only place where children are con›eived."

''If we're alone together, madam, any moment is ripe, any place

convenient for making love, whether it's fully clothed or as bare as the

day we came into the world.
 
It doesn't matter.
 
When two are willing,

there's always a way."

"I shall endeavor to look for such opportunities to challenge your

statement, sir," she teased, finding the idea of such a venture totally

.
 
.
 
.

mtngumg.

''Don't be surprised if they come upon you unexpectedly," Gage warmly