“I love your dark possessiveness, witchling.” My voice is low and full of need, and her hips arch into me. My cock is instantly hard, pressing into her ass. “But if we talk about that much longer, you won’t get the soak you deserve. Dip your head under the water.” She obeys, and I pump out what I think is hair-washing soap. “This?” I ask, wanting to be sure. She nods, so I lather the sweet-smelling soap into her hair, making sure I scrub every lock. I massage her head, and she moans in satisfaction.

“No one has ever washed my hair before.” The comment is quiet and innocent, and pleasure jolts through me at being able to care for her in this way.

“I’ll wash your hair every single day, witchling, if that’s what you desire.” And I mean it. I would do anything for this female, for my Queen, my mate. I have no intention of ever leaving her side again, my father and his plans, my throne, and Velmara be damned. If Laurel isn’t with me, I won’t step foot on Velmaran soil again. “Dunk,” I order, preparing the conditioning treatment she points to as her head dips below the water. When she reemerges, I run it through her long reddish strands, letting it soak in. “Is this what makes your hair so shiny and soft?”

“Exactly how much time have you spent studying my hair?” she teases.

“More than is entirely appropriate,” I tell her. “Especially for someone who was supposed to be engaged to another and an ambassador from an enemy kingdom.” Her melodic laugh lights me up inside.

“I could tell. That’s why I always wore it down unless it was impractical not to.” Her smirk is intoxicating. I lean down to whisper in her ear.

“I knew you like my hair too, ya know. That little piece that always falls in my face. I might have intentionally coaxed it to fall a time or two.”

She turns around in my arms, expression incredulous. “You depraved, deviant flirt!” she teases as she lightly slaps my chest. Our laughter makes the water slosh out of the tub, but neither of us care as the laughter quickly turns to slow, sensuous kisses. This time there’s no hurry, no need to even have sex. We sit in the bath, pressing our bodies together and exploring one another slowly.

We finish the bath, and Laurel wraps herself in a thick robe, then hands one to me. When we’re seated on the bed, I comb her hair for her, and she closes her eyes in bliss. When the knots are all out, I realize she’s fallen asleep. I slowly lower her to the bed, then cover her with blankets. Crossing to the other side of the bed, I crawl in behind her, cradling her body in mine.