The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (21 page)

Up until then, the washing had been soothing without seeming overly sexual
.
But the rubbing, mixed with the lapping of the water and the contrasting coolness of the air, created a riot of sensations that caused her desires to abruptly fire
.

Damian bore an expr
ession of relaxed concentration
and seemed in no hurry
.
Having finished washing her breasts, he moved the cloth over her stomach, her sides, and then her thighs, keeping well clear of her most intimate parts
.
The thought of the rough cloth rubbing along her cleft made her squirm and rub her legs together uncontrollably
.

“Damian…” she moaned.

“My poor wanton bride, so desperate for her pleasure,
but for now she must wait.”

Genevieve froze
.
“Damian, you don’t mean that!” 

Last night they’d both been mad with lust, but today…
.
Wanton was almost the worst thing her mother would say of another woman
.

He shifted her so he could look at her face
.
“You fear I mean s
ome criticism of you, darling?”
he asked, genuinely puzzled.

“No… I mean…
.
”
She nibbled her lip, unsure what to think
.

He turned
her
so she was fully facing him and then to her shock adjusted her legs so she was straddling his hips
.
“You mean you were taught it
is
a wicked crime to be wanton, for a woman especially,” he said matter-of-factly
.

She shrugged
—
of course she was taught that
.
I
t was the truth.

“My dear girl, as far as I’m concerned, it is not possible for you to be
too
wanton
—
do you believe I would lie to you about that?” 

She touched his chest tentatively, watching his expression
.
“I know you wouldn’t lie,” she said finally
.

His look was gentle
.
“B
ut I mi
ght deceive you unintentionally?
” 

Genevieve shrugged again
.
People said what they wished they felt, or they offered reassurances they thought they believed
—
that didn’t make such things true
.
Damian gave her a look that was a bit too knowing
.
Then he made a bland smile that she didn’t trust a bit
.
“Damian…” she said nervously
.

“My adorable new bride has
implied
that I did not
tell the truth
when I
stated
she could not be too wanton
.
That feels awfully like a dare to me.”

“No, Damian, that’s…
.
”

“Don’t worry, darling
.
I am your
husband,
and it is
my duty to teach you that I am a man of my word
.
In fact, I think it best that we begin our lessons immediately
.
I already know my bride enjoys being bound.”

He pulled her wrists behind her back and held them with one hand
.
“I wonder,” he mused
,
running his tongue
over her right nipple
, “what other wicked things my wanton little Genevieve enjoys.” 

He moved to the other breast, opening his mouth wide enough
to take most of it in his mouth
and sucked hard
.
Genevieve let out a loud groan
.
His arousal brushed against her, driving her almost mad with lust
.
She couldn’t stop herself from writhing, trying to rub against him
.
To her dismay, he released her and moved her off
of
him completely
.

“Have no fear, love
.
I will continue the lesson after our bath
.
But first, it’s time to wash your hair.” 

Ignoring her protests, he reached for a pitcher on the shelf next to the tub, dipped it
,
and poured water over her hair
.
He
then
gently rubbed rose
water scented
liquid soap through the lengths, combing it out as he went
.
He gave her the cloth to hold over her eyes as he dipped the pitcher over and over again to rinse out the soap
.

“My turn,” he said and dunked his entire head in the water, ran the soap through it
,
and rinsed it
—
the whole process took less than a minute
.
How easy for a man to take care of his hair
!
 

He stood up,
which gave her
a quick glimpse of his naked body before she looked away, shocked at its strangeness
.
He wrapped a towel around his waist and
took her hand to
help her
out of the tub
.

He used another towel to dry her efficiently
—
too efficiently, she thought with irritation, trying to squeeze her legs again
.
But then, instead of giving her the towel to wrap
around her, he tossed it aside
and pulled her by the forearm towards the door
—
entirely unclothed!  She pulled back, trying to cover herself.

“No, no, darling,” he said with his wickedest smile
.
“It’s time for your lesson
.
I believe we will play a little game.”  Damian dragged her
to stand by
the edge of the bed
.
“
Do not
move
!” he ordered.

Genevieve had had eno
ugh of his tyrannizing
and stomped back towards the bath
ing chamber
to fetch the towel
.
She should have known he wouldn’t allow it
.
Damian’s eyes blazed as he lifted her by the waist and carried
her
back to the spot
where
he’d placed her
.
Once there, he
shoved
her
face
down over the end of the bed
.

“Darling,
I see we will have our lesson o
n how the Blacks deal with disobedient brides
.
Have no fear
.
I
t will make our game far more enjoyable
.
But for now, I must make sure my little wanton knows she must obey me.” 

He grabbed her wrists
,
and she felt something wrap around them
—
once again her hands were bound behind her back
.
“This time you will stay put!” he sa
id, lacing his tone with iron.

Genevieve was heaving
.
He disappeared and returned a minute later, wearing t
he same loose pants and shirt.

“Now for our game
.
It is an old one, highly educational, and perfect for
this morning: it’s called the ‘
the
barbarian
’s slave.
’
”

He pul
led her up again by the
upper arm
and led her over to the divan before the hearth
.
“In this game, I play the
barbarian king
, while you play my lovely captive, bound to obey my every command no matter how lascivious
.
Since my captive is shy, we wi
ll preserve her modesty thus.”

Damian pulled her hair over her shoulders, arranging it so it covered her breasts
—
barely
.
He pushed her shoulders until sh
e was kneeling before the divan
and then
lay down on it himself
, stroking her cheek in a lordly fashion
.

“My captive may speak only when given permission
,
”
Damian drawled.

Genevieve’s eyes widened in a
delicious-
looking panic
.
As in the past, she seemed helpless to resist him
.
Her lips were pursed, her breathing short, a lovely blush spread over her body
.
In the three days since he’d met her, she’d already lost
some of
the unhealthy pallor she’d sported at the
Bridal Week
picnic
.

Damian reached over his head and picked up a basket
.
He glanced inside and then popped a cherry in his mouth, giving her a lazy smile
.
He pulled out the pit and tossed it in the hearth
.
He ate several more in the same leisurely fashion as her eyes narrowed furiously
.

Finally, he held a cherry just above her lips
.
She breathed in, as if trying to master her rage
.
He dangled it above her until she lost the battle with temptation and stretched for it
.
He pulled it out of the wa
y a few times teasingly
and then finally allowed her to put her plump lips over it
.
After she’d eaten it, he held out his hand for her to spit out the pit.

He continued to eat cherries, every minute or so allowing her to have one
.
Every time she stretched for the cherry, her breasts would peak through the covering of
honey-colored
hair
.
Finally, when he’d had a dozen and she’d had only five, he put the basket down against her knees
—
so close and yet entirely out of reach
.
If she’d been kneeling properly, with her knees as far apart as they could stretch, he could have placed the basket in an even more tantalizing spot
.
All in good time
.

The sultry minx truly adored her cherries
.
She looked at the basket so longingly, he almost didn’t have the heart
to
tease her
—
almost
.
He reached for
a
plate
filled
with jam tarts
.
Again he ate one, while she watched hungrily
.
Every few minutes he would feed her a bite
.

It was the first meal they’d eaten just the two of them, and he was seeing a new side of her
.
At her parents’ home, meals had obviously
degenerated into
a
battleground, with Genevieve being picky or simply refusing to eat and poor Mrs. Miran, who was a superb cook, constantly fussing over her
.
He probably shouldn’t be surprised that she’d instantly slipped into that mode with Derek as well
.
Beneath her skittish exterior, Genevieve was a stubborn, willful creature with her own quiet forms of warfare that were ev
ery bit as dogged as Derek’s.

But when
Genevieve
wasn’t fighting anyone, she relished food, savoring the texture, the flavor, taking inordinate amounts of pleasure from it
.
It was beyond erotic to watch
.
Damian made a resolution then that he would not engage in Genevieve’s battles over food, but focus purely on en
joying their meals together.

He picked up a tall glass of
iced
lemon-water, took a deep sip
,
and then gave one to her
.
A small dribble of water ran down her chin
.
S
he shook her head rather like a wet dog, but couldn’t wipe it
.
He smiled and traced
the trail of water
lazily with his finger.

When he thought she’d had enough of the tarts, he picked up the cherry basket again
.
T
his time he held the cherry so
she was forced to rise up
on her knees and move closer to the divan
to reach it
.