Chapter 179

Hydrangea watched with a conflicted mind as the two maids left. She would rather be undressed by Bastian than anyone. But… being undressed by him seemed too… suggestive.

Yes, they'd already been intimate, so she shouldn't be afraid of these things. He'd already undressed her twice in their time together. But undressing him… heat bloomed madly in her cheeks.

"Hydrangea," He called with a lazy grin on his face, "The water will chill if you keep stalling."

She sent him a look, "I am not stalling." She walked towards him, her shoulders still being pulled on by her heavy dress.

Stopping in front of him, her bathtub behind her, and his behind him. She raised her chin in determination. Her dress was still dripping onto the carpet beneath their feet, she'd removed her boots at the door.

Breathing in she began to prepare herself. He was her husband. She'd seen his naked body before, it was nothing new. Yet, just the thought of peeling off his damp shirt was enough to send a thrill through her.

He raised a brow, that smile still on his face, "Would you like you to go first?"

She shook her head. She would much rather him be naked first than her, "You first."

He smiled with a playful glint in his eyes, "Very well then. I'm all yours, my flower."

She flushed at his words but focused her gaze on the nearly see through fabric clutching to his torso.

Taking a step forward, she avoided his eyes, which watched her intently. He had already removed his jacket so all she had to do was remove his shirt, breeches and boots. Simple enough.

Her fingers raised to the strings on his shirt. The material looked as though she would be able to simply tear through it and his torso would be revealed.

Steadying her breath she began untying his shirt with concentration clear in her eyes. Upon finishing she met his eyes for a moment. Taking the shirt the off would likely prove more difficult. Taking another deep breath, she grabbed hold of the bottom of the shirt, which was partly untucked from his breeches, and began to pull it off of his body.

Her cheeks glowed pink at the first sight of his rigid abdomen and then crimson as his chest came into view. He raised his arms and bent slightly forward so she could remove it more easily.

He said nothing as she set the damp shirt in a basket, clearly meant for the use of soiled clothes.

Turning back to face him she met his eyes again, his were calm and relaxed, which in turn helped to calm some of her nerves.

Facing him, she began working up her resolve to remove his breeches. 'Stop bring ridiculous.' She ordered herself, 'They're simply breeches, covering his… member…'

She froze, and found herself distracted by the multiple scars across his body. The three jagged scratches from the snow jaguar, some stab wounds along his abdomen from the arena fight, a large gash sliced down his shoulder and to his elbow and she remembered that his back had been raked by one of those monkey-like creatures in the arena.

Her fingers unknowingly rose and touched one of his scars on his ribs. His hand moved and held hers there. Her eyes instinctively met his and nearly faltered at the raw vulnerability in his eyes. What did he think of his scars?

Her fingers began tracing them and he released her hand, allowing her freedom to touch his body. He had some older scars that had nearly blended back into his skin.

She didn't know what he thought of his scars, but she rather enjoyed them. She didn't like that he'd gotten hurt, beaten and bruised for them, no… that fact made her stomach churn. But they gave him a rather roguish look that she found enticing.

He grabbed her hand after she'd found herself mesmerized by the flexing of his abdominal muscles as she trailed over them with her fingers.

"The water is getting cold."

She looked up at the sound of his deepened voice and saw how his eyes had darkened. 'Oops…'

She blushed and had to stop herself from gasping when she realized the flushed feeling she felt across her body. And the heat settled between her thighs. She swallowed in her dry throat and mouth.

He released her wrist and she released his gaze and began to unlace his breeches with shaking hands. Slowly, very slowly she let them go and they fell to the floor. They were still tucked into his boots but her eyes were glued to half hardened appendage between his legs.

She drew in a quick breath and did her best not to begin breathing faster, but her heart was already beating wildly.

She didn't dare meet Bastian's eyes as she moved to remove his boots. He lifted his feet to help her and soon his legs were bare.

Rising, she stood before him, trying to look anywhere but his anatomy.

After a few seconds of agonizing silence he moved towards her and she forced herself to meet his eyes. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, "Your turn."

She shivered. He was doing this on purpose. He wanted her to get aroused so that they could… have intercourse. Well, she wasn't going to do that, not while she was still upset with him. And besides, the water was getting cold.

A small yelp escaped her lips when Bastian suddenly pulled her towards him.

She was immediately caught in his dark eyes, swirling with desire and lust. Her breath hitched and her chest began to rise and fall faster.

Bastian's eyes fell to her bosom and she struggled not to melt. This act hadn't seemed quite as sensual before as it did now.

His eyes meat hers one last time before they settled firmly on her corset. His long fingers slowly began picking away at the strings. She never tied her corset too tight, but she could still feel the air rushing into her lungs more freely.

When he reached the point where he could lift it off of her like she wished, he continued loosening it. She fought the urge to sigh in frustration. He could've been done with the corset and already taken her dress and shift off by this time.

She wanted his hands on her skin. She craved it. But he was teasing her.

Finally, he removed the corset and tossed it in the direction of the basket, and missed.

Raising her eyes, once again, she shuddered at the look in his eyes. His hand slowly rose and squeezed her breast. She let out a weak cry mixed with a moan. She didn't miss the glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

But his hand left her breast and she had to somehow continued standing on her wobbling knees. She didn't know quite what she wanted him to do. Her body was longing for him to repeat making love to her. All her mind could conjure was that she wanted his hands on her body.

He swiftly turned her around and she caught sight of his now fully hardened member before she faced with her back towards him. She didn't shriek but only let out a surprised gasp.

His fingers slowly, and purposefully grazed her shoulder and she shivered. But again, his touch abandoned her and began unlacing her dress. As soon as he was done she felt it drop away and leave her in nothing but a transparent shift. She shivered from the sense of a cool breeze washing over her.

Bastian slowly pulled her arms out of the sleeves and the shift fell away. And she was standing naked with him behind her.

She swallowed and turned around so that she could see him. She licked her lips when she realized how increasingly dry her mouth was. Kissing him sounded like a good idea.

Her legs nearly gave out when she met his eyes. Why did eyes have to be so powerful? She wondered as he held her gaze.

However, instead of fulfilling any of the rising amounts of fantasies in her mind, he turned around and stepped into the bath. She pouted slightly, but quickly hid it as she stepped into the lukewarm water.