The room took on a golden glow. “I don’t much care for fumbling around in the dark. I like to see what I’m getting.” He walked around to her side of the bed and lit that lamp as well. He touched the side of her face, then chuckled. “Don’t you?”
She opened her eyes, then widened them at the sight of him.
He was naked.
She closed her eyes once again, tighter than before. But it was too late. The image of his nude body, bronzed by the glow of the lamps, was indelibly etched on her brain. His skin was golden, much darker than hers, his chest broad with finely sculpted muscles. She was surprised to find he had two, round, brown patches on his chest, each with a hard, little nub in the center. She hadn’t realized men had nipples.
“Shy?” Reese asked sardonically. He yanked the covers from her clenched fists, flipped them back, and slipped into bed beside her.
Faith jerked the covers back into place and attempted to roll away. He was too close. She could feel the heat of his body.
He reached out a hand to grab her. “What’s this?” he asked when he encountered a handful of flannel nightgown. It had been a long time since he’d slept with a woman who owned a flannel nightgown, and he had never had to fight his way through one?flannel or otherwise. “Don’t tell me,” he muttered. “Let me guess. You always wear a flannel nightgown to bed.”
“Only in the winter.” Faith blushed at his blunt statement. “In the summer, I wear cotton.”
“And your sainted husband never asked you to take it off?”
“No!” She pinned him with her wide gray gaze.
“Did he ever take one off?”
“Certainly not!” Faith was shocked at the suggestion.
“There’s a first time for everything. Don’t expect me to wade through yards of fabric to get to you.” He turned on his side and pulled her close against his hard body.
“I don’t expect you to do anything,” Faith told him, holding herself still, afraid to relax into his inviting warmth.
She lay rigid in his arms, her spine, unyielding. Reese sighed aloud. He hadn’t thought she would require wooing. She had agreed to this. She had even signed a contract giving him the right, but apparently, she expected a little effort on his part. It shouldn’t take too much, he reasoned. Old Champ hadn’t put too much effort into it himself, and he had fathered Joy. Reese shifted his weight onto one shoulder and maneuvered his arm beneath her.
He caressed her, moving his hand from her waist up the column of her back, and down again while he exerted subtle pressure against the small of her back with his other hand, kneading her stiff muscles, silently urging her closer.
Faith gave a small moan of pleasure as his hands worked their magic.
“Open your eyes, Faith,” he ordered. “Look at me. I won’t hurt you.”
She did as he asked. She looked at his face.
Reese sucked in his breath. Her eyes were an unguarded smoky gray, her mouth, soft and inviting. She looked as if she wanted to be kissed. “Did your husband ever do this?” he asked as one hand moved from the small of her back, up her spine while the other hand moved down to caress her firm bottom.
Faith shook her head. Reese watched as the long black braid moved against her pillow. “Did he kiss you?”
This time she nodded.
“Like this?” His lips claimed hers, gently at first, then more forcefully. He pulled her to him. Her breasts flattened against his chest. He could feel the twin points pressing into him. He fondled the flesh of her buttocks through the flannel. He deepened his kiss. He wanted to feel her skin. The flannel nightgown frustrated him. He pulled away, placing a light kiss on the tip of her nose. “Well?”
She didn’t pretend not to understand. Again she shook her head.
“It’s a miracle Joy was ever conceived,” Reese muttered into the hollow of her neck.
It was a miracle, Faith thought. She couldn’t imagine her mother and father ever doing anything like this. She clenched her fists. Her fingers ached with the need to tangle themselves in his dark, hair and pull him closer. She wanted him to touch her, but more than that, she wanted to touch him, to explore the magnificent body he’d shown her.
“Is this your only gown?” Reese’s question brought her attention back to him.
“No,” she whispered.
“Is it new?” He nuzzled her neck.
“No.”