Lady Thief by Rizzo Rosko

his … Marianne
was unsure of how to describe it. It was simply there . Never
before had she seen that area of a man, or any naked area of a man.
Even when she walked in on the servants loving they were always
fully clothed, and while her inexperience prevented her from
deciding whether or not she liked what she saw, she knew that she
would have to get used to that part of him as well, and soon.
    The hair became light again as it traveled
down his legs, legs that were so much larger than hers, skin
stretched with muscle, his feet alone were frightening in their
size.
    Her eyes traveled over him again, quicker
this time, and suddenly she felt as though she were not getting the
entire portrait.
    “Turn around,”
    He raised a brow. “You wish me to bare my
back to you?”
    “Aye,”
    “May I ask why?”
    The heat that had fled her face when she
accustomed herself to his body returned with fever. She could not
explain why she wanted to see his other side, but ‘twas an urge
that would not be ignored.
    Her spine stiffened as she fought back the
irritation that threatened to bubble to the surface. If he was so
eager for her to see him naked then what was his business in making
her feel awkward for wishing to see all of him?
    She was at a loss for words when William
shook his head and did as she bid. “Very well, I never knew women
to be interested in that part of a man’s anatomy.”
    “Perhaps you have as much to learn as I.”
    She meant naught by the words, but his curt
reply awoke her curiosity.
    “Perhaps,”
    She ignored him. The sight of his bare back
and bottom made her salivate and forget any previous indignation.
Oh yes, she enjoyed this part of his anatomy very much.
    “Do you like it?”
    “Aye,” She immediately said, unable to keep
herself from staring.
    “Good,” abruptly he turned and Marianne was
unable to fight back her gasp of horror. She had yet to finish with
him!
    “Because ‘tis now my turn to see you,”
    She clutched her robe tighter to herself.
“Me? But you have already seen all there is to see.”
    He shook his head, invaded her by standing so
close for what seemed to be the one hundredth time that day and
pulled her close. “Nay, I have only felt you, and not all of
you at that. I would like to see what I have been touching under
your robe and through your gown all this time.”
     

Chapter Seven
     
    William hardly knew how he survived
the night without losing control and grabbing her, pulling her to
him and taking her like his desperation demanded. Though he held
himself back for a reason he hardly recalled, today he kept a close
eye on the hips of his wife as she walked around the gardens.
    He promised her this time and he would make
good on his word, no matter how wonderfully difficult the sizzling
between his legs made it.
    He acknowledged the improvements in the herbs
and vegetables but they remained behind his current thoughts,
visions of her standing naked before him dominated him.
    She had turned red last night while he
watched. He kept one hand on his chin as if he studied some piece
of art to be purchased. To her credit, she did not flinch from his
eyes or shriek at him when he commanded her to turn around so that
he might see her backside like she had commanded him.
    When he saw her rounded bottom, he knew what
it was that she had been so fixated on when she looked at him,
though he doubted he was as pleasing to the eye.
    She faced him again, her eyes widening
comically at his cockstand. He did not try to hide it. Like always,
she raised her nose to greet the air at their silent challenge.
    Delight burst brightly inside him, like the
sun shooting through an open window when she did not leap away when
he touched her smooth shoulder. The same shoulder he’d kissed on
her first night in his chamber. He kissed her mouth and her
shoulder twice since that incident, and decided then that she was
no longer at risk of flying off her feet when he touched her.
    His fingers slid