He paused after wringing the water from the towel. “Yes, I imagine this would look rather damning, considering that under that flimsy fabric, you are as naked as the day you were born.”
The left-over tears that had been in my eyes were completely dry now. All it took to stop my sobbing, apparently, was a handsome warrior pointing out how unclothed I was beneath a sheet.
Torben sat down in front of me this time and reached up with the warm cloth. He pressed it to my face, and my eyes closed of their own accord as he began to wipe away the evidence of my break from reality. His touch was surprisingly gentle for such a large man. His hands were probably more familiar with handling a sword than a woman’s skin. But his movements were slow and confident. His face held a level of concentration that I knew from experience was not needed to accomplish such a simple task as wiping a face clean. But Torben seemed determined to do a thorough and proper job. My lips turned up in a small smile at my thoughts.
“What?” he asked as he pulled back slightly to look down at me.
I shook my head as my smile grew wider. “I was just thinking about how hard you were concentrating on your task.”
He chuckled but didn’t look the least embarrassed. “I believe if you’re going to do something, no matter what it may be, then you should always do it to the best of your capability.”
“Even washing a face?”
His own lips tilted in a roguish smile. “Certainly when washing the face of such a beautiful female.”
My eyebrows rose. “Beautiful, huh? And what if she’s not beautiful?”
He frowned. “Now why would I be cleaning the face of an ugly female?”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed at the seriousness in his voice and the utter dismay in his eyes. Though I could tell he was teasing, he seemed so appalled at the notion that it was comical.
“Forgive me, my lord, for assuming you would lower yourself to such a task,” I said in my best aghast voice.
“Well, Princess, see to it that you do not assume such ridiculous notions again.” He paused with a stern look, but then his eyes softened, and his mouth returned to its flirty grin. Torben tapped me on the end of the nose playfully. “He has no bloody clue how lucky he is,” he murmured.
My breath caught as I watched the playfulness fade from his eyes only to be replaced by something else, something much more consuming. He set the towel down and shifted closer to me. My mind was screaming at me to back away. This wasn’t my betrothed, this was not even a man I would be allowed to marry. He was a guard in my father’s royal army. His station was below mine and yet he was one of the most honorable men I’d ever met.
As his face moved closer to mine, one of his large hands reached up and cupped my cheek. I had to force myself to breathe so I didn’t pass out. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t even want to blink for fear I would miss something, or that he would suddenly disappear and I would come to realize this whole thing had been a dream. His lips were mere inches from my own when he spoke again.
“Princess, I’m going to need you to tell me to back off.” His voice was deep and rough.
My blood felt as though it were heating in my veins, and my heart felt as though it was going to beat up out of my throat. I swallowed and licked my dry lips, not missing the way his eyes followed the movement.
“And if I do not want to tell you to back off?” I asked, knowing I was playing with fire. Apparently, I liked the idea of being burned, because I was not about to push him away.
“Then we are both in trouble.”
“Why is that?” My voice sounded breathless, and I thought maybe I should be embarrassed over the sound, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. All I could see were those intense eyes and full lips. All I could think about was how badly I wanted those lips on mine. I wanted them to replace the memory of Cathal and give me the chance to have a man kiss me with passion—real, raw passion.
“Because I’m planning on kissing you. I have no willpower to stop, nor do I have the desire to stop. So, unless you tell me right now that you don’t want this, I am going to kiss you.”
I simply stared back at him, waiting, practically daring him to do what he was threatening. Good thing the man didn’t back down from a challenge, because I might have taken the choice from him if he hadn’t acted when he did.
“So be it,” he whispered before slipping his hand around to the nape of my neck and pulling me toward him.
My eyes closed, and the breath rushed out of me as his warm lips pressed to my own. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was a kiss that spoke of possession and want, desire and need. It was a kiss that would ruin a woman for any other man after him. It was the type of kiss that every woman should have as her first.
I felt his mouth part, and his tongue press against my lips, demanding entrance. I’d never willingly kissed a man in such a way, and, had it been anyone else, I think I might have hesitated. I didn’t hesitate with Torben. This man, who had shown up at my chamber doors half a month ago and declared himself my new guard, had captured my attention from the first look. He’d driven me crazy, made me furious and needy in the same breath, and protected me without worry for his own safety. I opened my mouth and moaned when I felt the heat of his tongue touch my own.
Why on earth weren’t people kissing all the time? That’s what kept running through my head. If this was what it felt like to really be kissed by someone who you desired and who desired you, then why were people doing anything else besides kissing? Silly and childish thought? Probably, but then you aren’t the one sitting on my bed having your mouth ravished by a handsome rogue. When that happens to you, then you can judge me on my thoughts about simply kissing every minute of every day for the rest of all time.
His hand tightened on my neck, and his other hand landed on my waist and pulled me closer. I had to remind myself that there was nothing under the sheet, because I desperately wanted to wrap my arms around him, but that would have left me a little more exposed than I was ready to be.
Torben’s deep rumble only caused me to open my mouth wider and push closer to him, as though I could simply crawl right inside of him to be as close as possible. I craved his heat. I needed his touch and at any moment, I was truly afraid I was going to start rubbing up against him the way Thomas’s cat, Sir Rufus, rubbed against anything that got close to him.
I ran my tongue across the roof of his mouth and was rewarded with a deep chuckle. I did it again in hopes that he would chuckle one more time. He did. I had no idea how much time had passed when he finally pulled back. My lips were slick and swollen, and my breathing sounded as though I’d run from the stables to the kitchen and back again.
Torben looked down into my eyes, and I was afraid to put words to the emotions I saw there. I felt them, too, but it was much too soon—not to mention a tad forbidden. I could not fall for him. I couldn’t… and yet I was pretty sure I already had.
“Thank you,” he said softly as the back of his hand caressed my warm cheeks.