Chapter Two

Gavin waited to rejoin his bride until he was sure she was in the bath he'd sent up. He'd agreed to give her two days before they consummated their marriage, which meant he had two days to get her comfortable with his touch. There were a lot of things the two of them could share without breaching her virginity. He planned to try as many as she'd allow. He wanted to taste every inch of her, and if she desired to reciprocate, he'd offer no argument.

He pushed open the bedchamber door and feasted his eyes on the beauty relaxing in the tub that had been placed before the fire. Her hair was wrapped in a sheet, the material helping to pad her neck where she rested it along the rim. She was beautiful. More so than he'd expected. It was her quick wit and engaging banter that turned him on, though. He hadn't anticipated that. If she expected him to show guilt over forcing the marriage, she'd be disappointed. When he'd set things in motion, she'd been a means to an end, but the moment she'd opened her sassy mouth, she'd become his sole focus.

"Is there a reason you're watching me in my bath?"

Her voice was husky, and he wanted to hear her moan his name while he was buried deep inside her. Soon. Two days.

"You're my wife," he replied as he settled in the chair that had been moved slightly to accommodate the tub that had been carried in. He had a perfect view of her. Her knees were up, hiding what lay beneath the water. One arm covered her breasts though he could see enough of her curves to know she'd be a generous handful.

"On paper," she reminded, keeping her beautiful eyes closed.

Gavin bent to remove his boots but kept his gaze on Nori. When he stood only his leathers remained. He loosened the ties and eased them down his thighs until they pooled at his feet. Then without a word, he stepped into the tub, lifting his wife and sitting with her in his lap, his hardened shaft trapped between her back and his stomach.

"Be still," he ordered when she squawked and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "Unless you want to end up validating our marriage in this tub."

She immediately froze. He lifted her enough, so his staff slipped between her thighs, then settled her back against him.

"Shh, Nori," he soothed. "We're just going to feel one another."

"You said I had two days," she whispered, her body shuddering against his.

"I'm not going to take your virginity yet." He brushed his hand along her side, fingers grazing the side of her breast. He grinned at the whimper that spilled from her lips. "Just a little touching."

"This isn't appropriate."

"There are no limits to the pleasures found between husband and wife," he promised as he continued to run his hands up and down her sides, his fingers gliding along her breasts without actually stopping to cup and squeeze them as he wanted. Two days had never seemed so long, but Gavin was a man of his word.

"Why did you want this marriage?" she asked, relaxing slightly, though she kept one hand clenched along the edge of the wooden tub and the other over her chest.

"There are few things that give a man pleasure. A place to call home. Men who are loyal and true. And a woman to warm his bed and give him children."

"Sounds like any woman would work," she said.

"No," he countered, finally sliding a palm in to cup her mound. "If that were the case, I would have already married."

"It's not too late to pick another."

He brushed his thumb under her arm to rub across her nipple.

"You're my wife. Accept it," he ordered.

"I don't even know you," she muttered.

"Put your arms in the water." He took both of her hands and guided them beneath the surface to rest on his thighs before lifting his palms to her breasts again. "Relax." He plucked at her buds with his fingers, enjoying the view as they rose in hardened nubs at his touch. "Close your eyes and let me touch you."

"I…I've never done anything like this."

He almost laughed at her confession. Of course, she hadn't. He'd kill the man who'd taken advantage of her if something similar had happened. Her innocence enchanted him. Knowing he'd be her first and only made him feel things he wasn't prepared for.

"It's okay," he assured her, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her neck. "Remember everything is okay between us. I like touching you. Your body's response says you enjoy it, too."

"Mmm," she said, making him grin again. He was supposed to be making her fall for him, not the other way around.

"My brother and I grew up here, in Phillip's lands. Two bastard sons of a man unworthy of having anything. Instead, your grandfather gifted him a beautiful wife who was pregnant at the time. My father used and abused her until she died. He sent Theo to train under a man who was even more brutal, and I followed shortly after. When the time was right, Theo left and took me with him. We went to the Dread Lands. Conquered and claimed parts of it for ourselves."

"And became War Kings," she said, and he almost groaned when her fingers gently skimmed along his thighs. It took all he had not to tense at a touch she didn't realize was tempting. His cock bobbed, rubbing along her folds, and he wondered how far he could lead her on their first sexual experience.

"Yes," he agreed. "Emphasis on war. We fight every day to keep what we've built, and some of that is because of Phillip."

"How?"

He took it as progress that she didn't tense up again but remained softly rubbing his thighs and letting him explore her breasts with his hands.

"For years, the worst of the worst from this land have been finding their way into ours, terrorizing our people and committing the worst of crimes."

"How is that my grandfather's fault?"

"Don't let him fool you when he says there's nothing he could do to prevent it. Do you think we've never had bad seeds among our men? Yet not one of them has managed to get into Phillip's land and wreak havoc. Because we punish swiftly and without mercy. It's a harsh world, and those who rule it have to be just as harsh."

"My grandfather isn't harsh."

Gavin snorted until she turned in his arms, her hard nipples grazing his chest as she straddled his thighs. Whether she meant to or not, she trapped his staff between her thighs, so that her sex sat on it. Hell, he was close to finding completion from that alone.

"He isn't harsh. He's kind and gentle. My mother died in childbirth, and my father was killed during a skirmish. He found my adoptive parents and gave me to them. He made sure they had everything they needed to keep me safe and happy. I wanted for nothing when I was growing up."

"How often did he visit you?"

"Every few years or so, he'd check in personally, but my father wrote him all the time, so grandfather was aware of how I was."

More like the bastard who Phillip had given her to had wanted to request more money, but Gavin didn't want his Nori to know that.

"Were your parents affectionate with you?"

"I didn't lack for anything, but I wasn't their child. Not really. They had three of their own. Two sons and a daughter. There was always laughter and fun in their home."

He did his best to hide his anger. Her grandfather had given her away, much as he had Rory's mother. Gavin noted Nori had referred to them as her parents, but he had the feeling she'd been ordered to do that. She referred to their children, her siblings. Their home not hers. Her grandfather had paid for her comfort. It hadn't been given to her, or at least, she'd been made to think it had been bought and paid for. It made him want to beat the hell out of Phillip. He vowed then and there she would never doubt her place in his life. As his wife, his queen, the mother of his children. Their children. Their home. He swore she'd never feel like an outsider again because it was obvious from her words she always had.

"Were you the oldest? Youngest? In the middle?"

"I'm between their youngest son and their daughter. Mary was born a few months after me. Justin was the oldest followed by Robert," she told him.

He noted the switch in tone when she mentioned Robert. There was something there. He planned to find out what.

"You said Justin was the oldest?"

"He was killed in battle when I was thirteen," she told him.

"Were you close?"

"He treated me kindly," she offered.

"And the others? Robert and Mary?"

She shrugged. "You and Theo seem close."

"Theo and I never doubted we were brothers, and we've always acted like it. He took his role as big brother seriously. Watched over me. We've been through a lot. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my brother."

"That's nice," Nori murmured, rubbing her check against his skin as she settled into him. "I always wanted a sibling."

She was killing him and had no clue. It would take everything he had not to rip into Phillip for what he'd done. How could a male be so oblivious to the lives he ruined? He placed people where he wanted them, wiped his hands, and moved on. The man was unworthy of the crown he wore. That was the difference between a male born to inherit and one who fought for what he held.

She mumbled something, but he didn't catch what she said.

"Hmm?" Gavin glanced down as Nori nuzzled into his neck and went limp. His feisty little wife was sound asleep. Naked. In his arms. She'd allowed his touch and been soothed by it. Enough to relax and drift into sleep.

He stepped from the tub, being careful to jostle her as little as possible. He chuckled at her wrinkled nose and the way she muttered as he dried her body and placed her on the bed. He made quick work of wiping the droplets from his skin before sliding under the bedding beside her. He pulled her back into his arms, dropped a soft kiss on her lips, and made a vow. No one would hurt his wife again. He'd make sure of it.