"Is that a tattoo? Who gave you permission to give yourself a tattoo? Of a naked woman, Jem? You're only fifteen! If this is the sort of thing you're going to do if I let you watch TV, you're going to find yourself watching the kiddie channel for a very long time, I can tell you that!"

Christian sighed and raised one hand to Antonio. "Need I show you again how much power this dead man wields?"

Antonio's image flickered as if it were a candle flame in a draft; then (and if his expression was anything to go by, much to his surprise) he dissolved into nothing.

I blinked at the Antonio-less air. "How did you do that?"

Christian shrugged and pulled my chair back. "Call it a perk."

"He's not going to do that to us, is he?" Esme asked nervously, picking up her cat. Jem leaned forward to admire his new look in the glass of a picture. Alis jumped up and down and waved her arms through the statuettes.

"No, he's not going to do that to you. You can all go back to Christian's study. Quietly, please. I don't want the Turners woken up. Hey," I said as Christian gently scooped me up in his arms. "Wait a minute. You have that 'You need a bath and I'm just the man to give you one' look on your face."

"Ah, Allegra." He sighed happily as he carried me up the stairs. I waved to Esme before the door closed behind us. "How little time it has taken you to learn my ways. You, my Beloved, need a bath to soothe your aches and heal your pains, and I am just the man to see to any other needs you might discover while sitting in the warm, oil-slicked water."

It wasn't what he said; it was the erotic, oil-slicked, watery images he was projecting into my mind that had me all quivery inside. "You're dominating me again," I said a tad bit desperately. "You know I don't like that."

He pushed open the door to his bedroom and walked straight into the bathroom. "Then we shall take turns. I shall dominate you until you get into the bathtub, and then you shall dominate me until I make you scream my name with pleasure three times."

Three times? My knees sagged as he stood me up. "Um." There was a reason I had for not wanting to have sex with him. A good reason. I just wished I could think of it.

We do not have sex, Christian thought at me as he turned the taps on full force, then examined a couple of bottles of bath scents and oils. We make deeply arousing, soul-scorching love.

You just have to love a romantic vampire.

"You prefer the jasmine, yes?"

I nodded, unable to summon up one good reason why I shouldn't tear off his clothes and make him scream my name out three times.

"Shall I undress you again?"

"No. You will leave the room and let me get into the tub by myself."

He raised a glossy raven eyebrow. "Beloved, I have seen your body. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yes, but you haven't seen my body after it's been pummeled by a bunch of flying books. I'm bound to be bruised, and if you're going to want to touch each bruise—and don't tell me you aren't, because I can read your thoughts, too—then we'll be here all night. So just go do something for a minute and let me get into the tub by myself. Then, if you're good, you can come back and sit over there on that bench and talk to me nicely while I soak away the stiffness."

With a grin that didn't fool me for a minute, he bowed over my hand, then strolled out of the bathroom. As soon as the door clicked closed I ripped my shirt off, skinnied out of my pants and shoes, tore off my bra over my head without even pausing to undo the clasps, and had my underwear and socks off before I could take a breath. I sank into the deep water of the tub, sighing loudly with pleasure as the jasmine-scented steam seemed to ease away the aches of my bruises.

"It has been exactly one minute, and upon reviewing your response to me last night and this morning, I have come to the conclusion that I am good; thus I have returned."

"Naked," I pointed out as he stepped into the tub. "I noticed that you're naked and… um…"

He looked down on himself as he sank into the water at the opposite end of the mammoth tub. "Aroused?"

"Very." The water was about nipple high on me, which made me slouch a bit so my breasts were covered by the water. Christian tsked and moved toward me until his thigh slid alongside mine.

If you do not wish me to soothe your bruises, you must distract me.

I thought about that for a minute, then remembered that it was my turn to dominate him. I smiled. "If you insist."

He watched with interest as I gathered up the sea sponge and picked out a soap I liked (it smelled spicy, like him), then scooted my way over to him, plopping myself down so I sat on his thighs, facing him. Unfortunately that meant my breasts were out of the water, but I figured I'd just have to work harder at distracting him so he wouldn't notice that they were a little on the small side.

I like them just the way they are, he said softly, his hands just as soft as they cupped the aforementioned breasts.

A man will say anything when he's about to be soaped up and washed off.

His fingers stroked lazy circles around all the sensitive parts of my chest. I leaned forward into his hands as his mouth closed onto the wonderfully ticklish spot beneath my ear, shivering just a little as the warm water lapped around us with tiny, oil-slicked erotic movements.

"No more," I murmured into his hair.

"No?" He pulled back from where he was nuzzling my collarbone.

"Not for a bit. This is my turn. I get to drive you wild." I smiled a special wicked smile that I kept just for him and soaped up the sponge. "You, sir, need a bath, and I'm just the woman to see that it's done properly."

"You are so arousing when you give orders," he said, his half-closed eyes giving me a look that went straight to my groin. I just smiled and soaped up his arm, running my fingers along the slick surface of his skin, feeling the hard muscle flex and tense as I made soapy little finger designs along the flesh. I leaned forward to nip at his lips for a second while I soaped up the second arm, kissing him properly and biting his lower lip until he gave me what I wanted and opened his mouth.

He groaned into my mouth as I stroked the soapy muscles on his arm in time to the gentle little dabs of my tongue around his lips.

"Now for your chest," I said, pulling away. The water came to just above his belly button, which left me a delectable amount of chest to play with, and play with it I did. I soaped, I swirled, I spread my fingers across the muscles and through the chest hair, and watched his skin ripple in response.

"I like your chest," I murmured into his mouth.

"I like you liking my chest," he answered, his hands on my hips, tugging me forward.

"Not yet. First I have to wash you."

"I am not certain I will be able to survive such a delight."

"You'll just have to give it your best shot," I answered just before taking him into my soapy hands. "I have decided I like this extra bit you have."

His head tipped back and his eyes closed as I explored his hard length, letting my fingers dance on him as he had done earlier to me. I was suddenly possessed with a desire that shocked me because I'd never thought I'd willingly want to do it.

I moved off his legs. His eyes opened quickly and he looked at me with a worried concern that touched my heart. I smiled. "Slide up onto the seat."

The bath was so large that it had a broad marble ledge that ran around one side. He looked at the seat, then looked back at me, one eyebrow cocked.

"I know what I said, and I meant it at the time. My ex-husband used to make me—"

He laid a finger across my lips, then replaced it with his lips. "There is only you and me, Beloved."

I bit his finger, then kissed away the sting. "Then move over to the seat."