Love Through the Years

Chapter 7

'There you are!' She stood, clutching the cake of soap that she must have dropped moments earlier. She hummed in her endearingly off-key voice as she began to soap one tiny white foot that she lifted in front of her. He must have made a sound, because she shrieked, and whirled to look at him. But she must have forgotten she stood on one foot, because with another cry, she toppled into the water.

Rhodri wasn't sure he'd ever moved faster, even in the midst of a battle. He practically flew to her side, drew her sputtering face above the surface, then held her close as she coughed.

'Rhodri!' Her pearly skin reddened as she realized who held her. 'You startled me!'

'I'm sorry, sweeting. Can you breathe yet?' He watched her anxiously for signs of harm.

'I'm fine.' She brushed her wet hair back from her face with one hand, still clinging to his chest with the other. To his immense relief, her breathing began to return to normal.

But his own lungs were still heaving, his heart pumping furiously. It had finally occurred to him that they were standing in each other's arms, with only a thin scrap of cloth between their wet, naked bodies. He nearly staggered as every last drop of blood left his head for places south.

'Oh my!' Selene's soft, gentle hand began tracing the lines of his chest, the planes of his ribs. She gripped one shoulder as though testing its strength before sliding in a slow, sensuous stroke down the muscles of his arm. Her tiny pink tongue darted out to moisten her rosebud lips, and her breath had speeded up again, almost matching the ragged pace of his own.

'Selene!' Her name was all he could groan before he gave into the need, and allowed his hungry lips to crush down on hers. She must not have minded, because she tightened her grip on his waist and shoulder, then rose to her tiptoes to meet his kiss. Rhodri was lost then, and he wrapped his arms round her slender waist, pulling her body even tighter against his.

Nothing on Earth could have prepared her for the glory that was Rhodri's kiss. All Selene could do was hold on tight and enjoy the experience with every fiber of her being. From the moment his lips touched hers, every bit of rational thought had fled.

His lips were softer than she would have expected, but at the same time harder and more compelling. They moved against hers with strength and purpose, even opening to allow his teeth to ever so gently nip her lower lip. When she gasped in surprise, he took advantage of the opening, and thrust his tongue inside.

What was he doing? In what she could only guess was an imitation of the mating act, his tongue thrust and stroked against her own. She moaned deep in her chest, shamelessly rubbing her achy breasts against his hair-roughened chest. She could feel the bulge of his male member against her stomach, and the knowledge that she aroused him sent a fresh burst of tremors down her spine.

Wanting more, she tentatively stroked back with her own tongue, mimicking his motions. Rhodri must have approved, for he groaned, and pulled her even closer, one big hand cupping the back of her head, while the other slid downward to cup her thigh, then up, under the rucked-up hem of her shift. The feel of his hot skin against her bare flesh was so intense, she cried out, breaking the kiss.

At once, Rhodri released her, his hands only coming out to grasp hers as she wavered.

'Selene! Forgive me!' There was heartbreak in his grass-green eyes.

'For what?' she asked, her teeth starting to chatter as her body registered the loss of his heat. 'For st-stopping?'

A rueful smile twisted his kiss-reddened lips.

'For taking advantage. For being unable to resist your beauty.'

'Ha!' She snorted, wading toward the bank. 'If that were the case, my lord, we'd be lying in the grass by now.' Where had this blunt-spoken harlot come from, wondered a tiny, sane portion of her mind. The rest of her yearned to curl into a tiny ball and cry. She'd come so close. So very, very close.

He followed after her, seemingly oblivious to his own nudity.

'Selene, pleaseÑ'

She grabbed her drying cloth and wrapped it around her body, then turned to him.

'Please what? Please forget this ever happened?' She bit her lower lip to still its trembling. 'I'm sorry Rhodri, but I'm a simple country lass. I do not think I am sophisticated enough to do that.' She whirled, snatched up the rest of her clothing, and fled.

Rhodri reclaimed his own clothing then followed at a much slower pace. What was he to do about Selene? The question was fast becoming a refrain in his head. He'd marry her in a heartbeat if he was capable of doing so. His reluctance had nothing to do with her humble origins or even her bastardy, though he knew she believed it did. It was simply that he was no longer a man, no longer free to marry.

Taut silence reigned between them the rest of the day. Thank God and all the saints she'd deemed Huw well enough to join them for dinner. The younger man's blatant adoration of Selene was only moderately irritating, mostly because Selene continually proved herself immune to his roguish charm. Which was fortunate, because after having gone through so much to save Huw's sorry hide, Rhodri would have hated to have had to kill him.