If he were a normal newlywed husband, he would take this to bed and slather her sweet body with it, touching and tasting every inch of her, using it to make her legs slick as they wrapped around him, her thighs warm and welcoming.
But he was not normal. The lightning power was still strong, sizzling beneath his skin, eager for release. Unfortunately, his cock didn’t know that and had another sort of release in mind.
Lightning rod? Damn. That might be too close to the truth.
With a sigh, he corked the bottle and set it back on the table. He pulled his gloves back on and a cape from one of the knapsacks. The loose material might help to conceal the bulge in his breeches.
When he entered the bedchamber, Ana was back at the table, seated and finishing her plate of food.
“That is all, Gabriella,” he told the maid. “You may retire for the night. Be assured there are guards outside your door to keep you safe.”
“Yes, my lord. Thank you.” She curtsied, then ran into the dressing room, closing the door behind her.
He sat at the table and wrenched off one boot, then the other. “I will be gone during the day for the next few days. Your father is showing me the nearby villages and castles, introducing me to his vassals—”
“Your vassals.”
Leo dropped a boot with a loud clunk. “The tour is to help spread the word that I’m the new duke. The sooner everyone hears the news, the safer you will be.”
“The last assassin might still be here.”
“I know.” Leo unbuckled his sword belt and laid it next to the blankets. “You’ll be guarded as usual.” He glanced up at her. “Be careful.”
“You, too.” She stood. “Did you want to sleep now? I’ll fetch you a pillow.” She rushed over to the bed and grabbed one. “Here.”
“Thank you.” He dropped it at the top of the blanket. “I know this isn’t the sort of marriage you probably dreamed about—”
“Don’t.” She regarded him sadly. “Don’t apologize for who you are.”
“You had to marry a Beast.”
“I married an amazing man.”
His heart lurched. “Ana.” He stepped toward her.
“Good night, Leo.” She blew out the candle next to her bed, then quickly took off her robe.
In the firelight, he could see the shape of her body beneath the white nightgown. The material wasn’t quite as sheer as the other nightgown he’d admired, but he was still able to detect the roundness of her rump as she climbed into bed.
“Good night,” he whispered as he settled onto the blankets. He stretched out, his back to her, his cape wrapped around to conceal his swollen groin. It was damned uncomfortable sleeping in overly tight breeches.
Rustling sounds from the bed tormented him as he imagined her long legs stretching beneath cool sheets. He watched the fire in the hearth, the flames slowly dying till the logs glowed with an amber light.
More rustling sounds. A soft, feminine sigh.
“Leo,” she whispered. “Are you awake?”
“Yes.” He rolled onto his back to glance at the bed.
She was sitting up and watching him. “Maybe we should use this time to get better acquainted.”
He gave her a wry look. “Are you going to reveal your secrets?”
She smoothed her fingers over the embroidered coverlet. “I was curious about you.”
“I see.” He took a deep breath. “What would you like to know?”
“Does it hurt? When the lightning strikes you?”
He scoffed. “What do you think?”
“I think it must hurt something fierce.”
“That’s about right.”
She stretched out, her head toward the foot of the bed so she could see him. “You told me how your mother died. How did your father pass away?”
“He was killed in battle with a Norveshki dragon.”
“When you were eight?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to you then?”
“General Harden rescued me from the assassins, and I started my training as a soldier. Nevis was my sparring partner. That’s how we became friends.”
“That seems so young to be with the army.”
Leo shrugged. “The general knew I had to excel as a warrior if I was going to survive.”
“When did you have your first battle?”
He paused. “I was fourteen.”
She paused even longer. “That’s so young to have to kill someone.”
He sat up, his gaze focused on the fireplace.
“Leo? Are you all right?”
His hands fisted around his cape. Don’t tell her. But he wanted her to know what a monster he truly was. “I killed my first person at the age of five.” He heard her quick intake of breath behind him. Good, she would know to stay away from him.
“That was the first time the lightning found me. It was hardly even raining yet. We were in a meadow, having a picnic, when a light shower began. We laughed, gathering up the blankets and food. Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and hit me so hard, it sent me flying across the meadow. I landed, my body twitching. I thought I was on fire. I could barely hear my mother and the servants screaming. My nanny was the first one to reach me. She touched me.” Leo closed his eyes as the memories flooded his mind. “She died.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He heard more rustling sounds. He’d probably made her uncomfortable. “And that’s when people started calling me a Beast.”