Elizabeth sat back and let William clear the table. She sat under the stars and enjoyed the evening as she listened to the water running in the sink and the dishes clink softly in the background as they were rinsed and put into the dishwasher.
She turned around slightly in her chair so she could look through the French doors and watch Will at work in the kitchen. She thought about how quickly it seemed she was getting to know this complicated man. His eyes looked up from what he was doing and met hers. She smiled at him and he went back to work. He was letting her in, she thought. And if she wasn't careful, really careful, she was going to end up breaking her own rule. She was going to fall in love with him.
Elizabeth got up, walked down the length of the deck into her bedroom and turned off the lamp next to the chaise, shrouding the room in darkness. She proceeded through to her bathroom and began to draw a bath. Liz lit the candles that were still there from the night before and poured in some of the bubble bath William had used the previous night. She then went over to the bed and turned down the covers. Elizabeth looked at her closet and after a moment's hesitation walked over to it and stepped inside.
Her closet was much more generous than would normally be found in an older home. She reached up, pulling a box off the top shelf. Elizabeth pulled the lid off the box and took out the man's robe that had been inside. She had planned on giving Hugh the robe for Father's Day; only she'd never got the chance. Elizabeth pulled the tags off and brought the robe into the bathroom. It was made out of high-quality black Egyptian cotton. It felt like silk. The inside was a plush red terry. It was obviously expensive and she remembered briefly the three hundred dollars she'd spent on it without giving it a second thought. Money had been plentiful then and Hugh liked expensive things. Elizabeth shut off the taps and turned the bathroom lights out. She stopped by the television cabinet and picked up a DVD case before heading down the hall to the kitchen.
She came up behind William just as he finished closing the dishwasher. She waited for him to hit the start button before wrapping her arms around his waist. He jumped, made a little yelping noise, and quickly spun around in her arms.
"Did I scare you," teased Elizabeth.
"Scare me? Pfft. Hardly," William said full of bravado.
"Oh! Aren't you the tough guy!" laughed Elizabeth.
"Baby, you have no idea what I'm capable of," said William with mocked menace.
"Oh, yeah!" she laughed, glancing down at the dishtowel that he had tucked in the waistband of his jeans. "You look very dangerous."
"And, don't you forget it, missy," he teased as he wiped his hands off on towel, then folded it neatly and placed it on the counter.
"My bad! I guess you squealing like a girl threw me off."
"I did not squeal like a bloody girl!"
"Did so. Come on," said Elizabeth taking his hand and leading him back towards the bedroom. "You took care of most of the dinner, let me take care of the movie." Elizabeth waved the DVD case in front of him and he grabbed it.
"Sweet Home Alabama?" William rolled his eyes.
"Look, it'll be fun. The truth is that this evening has been heavy with the serious. Most guys would have run screaming from this place. Let's just enjoy the rest of the night. Unwind, curl up and watch a good movie. I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it's great."
She led him to the bathroom. "Last night I got to experience the luxury, tonight it's your turn. You soak, I'll cue up the movie," directed Elizabeth.
"You ... you expect me to take a bath? Guys don't take baths!" William proclaimed. "Okay, I may have yelped but the chick flick and a bubble bath? Suddenly I'm feeling the need to somehow reassert my manhood. I mean, give a guy a break, Liz," William pleaded.
Elizabeth slid out of her sandals and walked into her bathroom. She untied the belt around the middle of her dress and slid the straps off of her shoulders. The soft yellow fabric pooled at her feet. She was wearing only a white lace thong underneath. Elizabeth hooked her thumbs in the sides of the thong and pushed it down her long well toned legs.
William's eyes followed her every move. Finally she stepped out of them and swept both her dress and thong over to the side with a flick of her foot. Elizabeth grabbed a clip off of the side of the tub and quickly pulled her hair up. She stepped into the tub, stretching out so that she was leaning against the back. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself. "The way I see it? Now your manhood will be seriously compromised if you do not get in this bath."
William couldn't remember ever seeing anything so beautiful. Elizabeth was lying in the huge sunken tub surrounded by candles and waiting, for him. She opened one eye, looked at him and asked, "Well, are you coming?"
William held back from making the obvious retort. He merely held up one finger then stepped out of the bathroom. He could hear the water slosh as he imagined Elizabeth sitting up. He walked out onto the back deck to retrieve the wine glasses, then through to the kitchen. William retrieved the last of the Chardonnay from the refrigerator, quickly filled the ice bucket and added the still half-filled bottle to it. When he walked back into the bathroom, he saw that she had slid back down so that the bubbles surrounded her, her right arm and right leg were both draped over the edge of the tub. There was a sheer layer of perspiration covering her face and upper chest.
"You're back," she said softly.
"You're hot," William observed.
"I bet you say that to all of the girls," said Elizabeth as she stretch her neck up in search of some cooler air.
William set the ice bucket down next to the bathtub and poured each of them a fresh glass of the cold wine. He then took one of the washcloths, sunk it deep into the ice bucket, and wrung it out. He smiled while he folded the washcloth in fourths, and handed it to Elizabeth.
"My hero!" teased Elizabeth.
"Your willing slave is more like it," chuckled William as he sat on the toilet to take off his boots.
Elizabeth placed the cold washcloth over her face and took a deep breath. She heard his clothes fall to the floor. A brief moment of panic ran through her, but she pushed it aside. Elizabeth felt the water stir as he stepped into the bath. She pulled her knees up and let them fall gently apart to make space for him to recline against her.
The tub was spacious and she'd spent many hours in it fantasizing about a moment such as this. Elizabeth removed the washcloth from her face and dropped it back into the ice bucket. She took a sip of her wine, then set it back down on the side of the tub.
Elizabeth brushed the backs of her fingers down his cheek before turning her hands over and running them down his chest. His body was exquisite. He was thin but well muscled. Not in that yucky, bulky way, but in that yummy, sculpted by a great artist kind of way. She picked up her bath sponge, dipped it into the bath, and then lifted it over him, letting the lavender infused water cascade down his chest.
He was nestled comfortably between her legs, his back against her chest. He could feel her breasts against his back. Her knees poked up slightly through the bath suds. He placed one hand over each kneecap and made slow, deliberate circles with his thumbs.
"Mmmm, good slave," moaned Elizabeth.
William reached over and again wrung out the washcloth, handing it to her. "Don't want you to get overheated, love."
Elizabeth poured some bath gel into the sponge. "Sit up."
William moved slightly forward and sat up straight, allowing Elizabeth access to his back. She washed his back gently with the sponge. William stretched his neck gently to the left, then to the right. She felt him relaxing, taking a slow, deep, breath before again reclining back against her. The slickness of his soapy back was arousing, causing her nipples to pebble. Elizabeth started to slide the sponge down his right arm.
As the sponge traveled back up the path, she noticed his well-defined biceps. She moved the sponge to her left hand and repeated the process with his left arm. She set the sponge on the side of the tub and rinsed her hands in the bathwater. When she pulled her hands out of the water, she ran them up his arms, her fingertips exploring the contours, enjoying the feel of him. She retrieved the sponge and started on his upper torso. Elizabeth moved the sponge back and forth slowly and sensuously. It dipped under the water and traveled a path down his right thigh. She felt something stiff brush up against her forearm. When William involuntarily moaned, she couldn't help smiling. Her affect on him was obvious and it made her feel a sense of confidence that she hadn't felt in a very long time.
)
