“Allow me.” He stalked toward her.
“You’d wash my hair?”
“I shall try.”
“Do you know how?”
His brow crinkled. “I believe I am familiar with the general procedure.”
He removed a pitcher from the bathroom counter and retrieved shampoo from the shower. He placed the items on the platform in which the immense bathtub was set.
“Please add more hot water.” He gestured to the faucet.
Raven sat up and turned on the water.
William removed his clothes, folded them and placed them on the vanity.
There was something godlike about his appearance. His face edged from handsome into beautiful with fine features and an elegant mouth. His body was lean and well-defined, his muscles proportioned.
His perfection never failed to stun her. Even though she’d spent so many times naked with him, Raven could not help but gaze at him in wonder.
Without ceremony, he switched the water off and stepped into the tub behind her. Placing his legs on either side of her body, he coaxed her to lean back.
“You’re going to wash my hair like this?” she asked.
He arranged her long locks behind her shoulders. “I want to touch you.”
As if in demonstration, he lifted his knees, cocooning her between his hips. He pressed his hands to her shoulders and kneaded the muscles lightly before smoothing his palms down her back.#p#分页标题#e#
She shivered.
“Add more hot water.” He rubbed her arms up and down.
“I’m not cold. Just…excited.” Raven sounded shy.
William smiled, for her reaction pleased him. He dipped the pitcher into the bathtub and held it aloft. “Ready?”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes.
William smoothed her hair down her back. Slowly and deliberately, he poured the warm water, his fingers following.
He scratched at her scalp. “Are you sure the temperature is right? I have difficulty discerning it.”
“It’s perfect,” she hummed.
He chuckled and continued to wet her hair.
William used both hands to apply the shampoo and worked his fingers from her scalp to the ends of her hair as if it was his sole purpose in life.
“How does it feel?” He massaged her scalp using a firm, circular motion.
“Heavenly.”
“Women are mysterious,” he mused.
She laughed. “In what way?”
“They’re a study in contrasts: soft and strong, fierce and gentle. They can do everything, of course, and yet one feels compelled to do everything for them.”
“You sound as if you’ve just entered the Enlightenment, my friend. Welcome to the revolution.”
He tugged gently at her hair, and she laughed again.
He continued washing, and after the final rinse, he carefully squeezed moisture from the long tresses. He rested his chin on her shoulder, covering her breasts with his arms.
Raven sighed heavily.
“What was that for?” He kissed her shoulder.
She lowered her lips to his arm. “I have you, and my sister lost Dan.”
“You, of all people, know the world is unjust. Things are given, things are taken away. It’s beyond our control.”
“I should have found another way.” She bowed her head.
“Maximilian could have killed her. She is still alive.”
Raven didn’t answer.
“Let me turn you,” he whispered, his body tense behind her. “Then you will be safe, and we shall be together. Forever.”
“No.”
His grip on her loosened. “You didn’t even consider it. Not for a moment.”
“We spoke about this before. I don’t want to live forever.”
His mouth found her ear. “But you would be with me.”
“I love you, William. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But I don’t want a thousand years of this world. It’s riddled with loss and pain and guilt.”
William released her.
She turned and placed her hand to his cheek. “You won’t live forever. You know that. Your thousand years will end, and I’ll be condemned to century after century without you.”
His hand covered hers, his eyes strangely aglitter. “We would have more time.”
“If it were just time with you, of course I’d want it. But that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about death and feeding and battles.” She shook her head, her wet hair spilling over her shoulders. “I don’t want that.”
He laced his fingers with hers, pulling her hand to his mouth. “You would feel differently after the change.”
“Are you so very different from William Malet, the Norman? Is your character completely changed?”
He opened his mouth to argue and shut it abruptly.