Chapter 76

Isobel stood and eased the dress off her shoulders, lowering it to the floor. Nothing stood between her and his hot gaze but the embroidered under shift. She moved closer to the tub and when she was beside it, she pulled the shift over her head and dropped it. Frang had an all too brief glimpse of her naked form before she stepped carefully into the tub and sank into the water. He collected the dress and shift from the floor, laying them over the chair placed by the fire. Frang noticed when he approached the tub to gather the shift, Isobel shrank a little in the water, wondering what his approach signified to her. More than at any previous time did he realize how badly scarred she'd been in her dealings with McTavish and how little she trusted men, even himself. Once again he damned the blackhearted villain and hoped he spent an eternity in hell.

When he moved away from her, she relaxed, even more so when he returned to the bed.

"Would you like me to wear something tonight?" Frang asked. "I could put something on if it would make you more comfortable."

"How do you normally sleep?"

"A nightshirt in the winter, normally bare during the summer."

"Would it bother you over much to wear a shirt?"

"I will happily wear whatever would make you more comfortable," Frang replied.

"A shirt please," her voice low and timid.

"As you wish, my Lady."

He went to the cupboard and found a lighter nightshirt. Going back to the bed, which was slightly behind her, he removed his wedding finery and put on the shirt. Putting his things away, he climbed into the bed.

"I have a suggestion, Isobel, which might assist us become more comfortable with each other."

"Yes?"

"Let us pretend, as best we can, that this is the first time for both of us. Neither of us has ever been with another. Since it will be our first time, we will be shy and uncertain. I will only reveal what you are comfortable with me revealing, and you will only show me what your shyness would dictate if this were our first experience. You may touch what you're willing to touch and I will only touch what you are prepared to be touched. Nothing need happen tonight. It will take awhile to overcome our reserve, but we have all the time in the world, so we aren't rushed. We aren't even married. You're a young girl, and I'm a young man and we want to explore the differences between us at our own pace. Do you think this would help you?"

"Perhaps. I'm unsure if I am able to pretend so much."

"I want you to be comfortable and I hope this might help."

"I'm willing to try."

"There are cloths for drying yourself beside the tub and the maid left your night shift on the chair by the fire. You may come to bed when you're ready. I'm going to close my eyes now."

Ten minutes later, he felt Isobel sit on the edge of the bed.

"Lie down," he said, "and face me."

She laid down, facing him. Her nightgown was on. He smiled at her.

"Isobel, with your permission, I would like to touch your face. May I please?"

"Yes."

Very slowly and with infinite care, his hand bridged the small gap between them and he cupped her cheek.

"You're so beautiful," he said. "My heart nearly stopped when I saw you standing at the door in your dress. Stuart had to remind me to breathe. He told me if I didn't, the ceremony would end quickly and ignominiously if I fainted. You were halfway up the aisle before I could take another breath."

He brushed a damp tendril of hair from her brow and grazed the backs of his fingers from her temple, along her cheek and down her neck. She shivered at the light touch, like a feather. His fingertips went out her shoulder and down her arm before retracing their way back to her cheek.

"I would like to kiss you," Frang said, "but if you would be kissed, you must kiss me as I do not wish to startle you nor crowd you. Will you kiss me?"

She nodded and leaned forward, skimming her lips across his cheek, then his lips. He didn't move, waiting for her. Her lips brushed his in a whisper, then gone. He waited and when he didn't move to grab her, they came back, lingered a moment longer before moving away.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Frang asked.

"Nay, not bad," she answered.

"Perhaps another, a little longer this time? I'm closing my eyes, surprise me."

Frang closed his eyes and he felt her lips touch his, then gone, but they returned shortly and as soft as a snowflake, they stayed, five seconds, seven, ten, before they left. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"That was a lovely kiss, so soft and tender, it could melt my heart. I'm going to keep my eyes open this time, so I can see your face. If you could give me another kiss exactly like that one, it would be perfect."

He waited, but only a moment and her lips found his again, warm and glorious, loitering on his for almost a minute. It was just a touch. Her mouth was not parting for his, but it was a start.

"I would like to hold you," he said, "but it should be your choice if I hold you from behind where I might kiss your neck, or as we are now, face to face, so I might kiss your lips some more, and perhaps your nose, your cheeks, your brow. I feel we've made excellent progress so far, so you may sleep now, with my arms around you. I will demand no more of you tonight."

"Hold me from behind, please."

She turned over and Frang pulled her close and wrapped her in his arms, but he did not grab her breasts nor her sex; he just held her loosely. Occasionally, she would feel his lips touch her neck, sending a shiver down her spine, and once he may have nipped lightly with his teeth where her neck met her shoulder, which almost caused her to arch her neck, but he did not persist and she resisted the impulse.

He was hard. Isobel could feel the rigid length of him against her backside; but he did not thrust, nor rub his cock against her. As his breathing evened out and she felt his body relax into sleep, his hardness went away. She lay awake, somehow expecting he would do more, force her in some way; but he never did and eventually, she found her own sleep without nightmares.