Chapter Twelve: The New Bride pt. 2

"Excuse me?"

Anne thought that surely she misheard, or perhaps understood him incorrectly. 'We will bathe', sounded alot like he meant they'd be bathing together...at the same time. She'd never heard of such an act.

But by this point Xavier had already started to undress, right then and there, before stopping to frown at his new wife. "Do you need help getting the dress off?" His assumption was that, like she had in her own home, she needed help to get undressed. But Anne quickly shook her head, covering her breasts as if she were already naked.

"You want us to bathe together?!"

Xavier grinned, and for the first time she heard him laugh. He reached forward and grabbed her dress, starting to take it off of her. "Why would I not bathe with my wife? I am the only one who had this right."

Right... his right. It was like an unspoken warning, even though he was smiling the entire time he spoke. Was he warning her against taking another man in such an intimate act? Or was he warning the invisible future suitors?

She had little time to question him because soon she was naked, and he was throwing them both into the water. Coming up for air, she realized that the pool was actually fairly deep. She reached up and undid her hair, which she'd braided earlier in the day during their break. Now that it was down again, it was flowing freely in the water.

Xavier came towards her with a bottle of something, and once he took the lid off the scent of lavender hit her nose. She smiled shyly as he came to her, and ignored her arguments---, as he started to wash her hair.

His hands were gentle as his fingers rubbed her scalp, and the sweet floral scent relaxed her. He then cupped water in his hands and washed her hair for her, before taking what assumed was a different oil, and rubbed that over her arms and body. He even pulled her into his arms so he could reach all of her. She'd never been touched like this. Sure, they had spent a night together, but this was intimacy on another level. She'd always know the wedding night was a must, because all women were expected to produce heirs for their husbands, but this was a tenderness he was giving to her without her asking for it. And from what she'd heard of him, this was out of character. He had always been described as a warrior...a fighter who made his name through combat, but this was nothing like that. It was as if he actually cared about her.