With her bare back against his chest and the water lapping around them with his movements, Selena didn’t hesitate to do as he bade. Taking a bite of the strawberry he placed against her lips, she laughed as the juice dribbled down her chin. With his thumb, he turned her head toward him and licked her clean before delivering a kiss that very nearly caused steam to rise from the tub.

After they’d made love, he’d called for a bath to be prepared. With sheets draped around her, she’d sat in a chair in the corner, facing the wall, nearly completely hidden from the servants who brought up the bathwater. Once they left, he shoved a small table against the large copper tub and brought in the offerings that had been laid out on the linen-covered table in the front room.

Reaching for the wine, she took a sip and considered her feelings at the moment. She most certainly could not claim disappointment, as she’d never felt more replete and had never before experienced such intense pleasure, but she was a bit frustrated to discover that Aiden was not going to give her what she needed as easily as she’d hoped. “I was quite taken aback when you . . . sheathed yourself. I wasn’t aware men did that.”

His fingers lazily trailed up and down her arm, sending delicious tingles through her. “No reason for your husband to do so. He’d want to get you with child.”

“Do you always don a sheath when you make love?”

“Always.”

“Even when you were sixteen?”

“Mmm. When we were around fifteen, our mum sat all of us boys down and explained the methods we could use so as not to get a girl knapped.”

She was unfamiliar with the term. “Knapped?”

“Pregnant.”

She took another sip of wine, finding it difficult to believe she was actually having this conversation. She’d never discussed the facets of sex with anyone, not even her mother. “Are there other methods?”

She felt his shrug against her back, then his lips on the nape of her neck. “A man can withdraw right before he spills his seed. However he needs to be quick and he needs not to forget. But sometimes, oftentimes, he’s not thinking at all except about how good it all feels.”

Twisting around slightly, she looked at him, certain her cheeks were flaming red. “Your mother explained all that to you?”

“She raised bastards. She said abstinence was best but wasn’t fool enough to think we’d choose that route, so she wanted to make sure we didn’t dip our wick and come to regret it. If we got a girl with child, we’d be marrying her.”

“Even at fifteen?”