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ease your pain, if you let me try.
    His lips trailed down, closing over her nipple and sucking. She couldn’t help arching into the sensation, the heat of his mouth and velvet touch of his tongue even better than her fantasies. He let the nub go with a tiny pop, laying soft kisses across the valley between her breasts before repeating the act on her other breast.
    His other hand moved down her stomach, stroking the skin and sending tingling bursts of pleasure deep between her hips. His touch paused at the top of the crisp curls between her thighs, and he raised his head from her breast. 
    “May I touch you here?” he murmured.
    Her breath came faster. “Yes.”
    His fingers slid between her thighs, a bit too slowly for her taste. Danaë was wondering if she should urge her hips up when he stopped.
    “You’re wet,” he said, sounding puzzled.
    She frowned at the bizarre statement. “Well, yes. Does that surprise you?”
    “I didn’t—” He paused, then cleared his throat. “I thought I’d have to wet you in other ways.”
    She had a sudden image of his mouth leaving a trail of kisses down her body, nuzzling between her legs, licking and suckling the soft flesh there. Was he one of those men who enjoyed the taste of a woman?
    “But if it’s not necessary—” To her surprise he shifted until he was lying between her legs, urging them wider. She pushed away disappointment and reached down to caress him.
    He stiffened at her touch, and not in the way she wanted. “What are you doing?”
    “I—don’t you want me to touch you?”
    “You don’t have to do that.” Not ungently, he moved her hand to her side. “Just lie there. I’ll be quick.”
    A dull sort of horror crept through her. Was a handful of kisses on her breasts and some fondling all the attention she would get? Surely he wanted more. “Matthias—”
    “Please, Danaë. I said I’ll make this quick.”
    She bit her lip. This can’t be all that’s between us. There has to be more.
    She wriggled out from under him, leaving him fumbling in the dark. “Matthias, we need to talk,” she said.
    “Now?” He frowned at her forehead, unable to focus in the dark. “You want to talk now ?”
    “I think it’s important.”
    She watched him grind his teeth. Stopping right before sex wasn’t her favorite activity either, but she was determined. “Please, Matthias.”
    “Fine. I’ll light a candle.” Rolling away from her, he groped along the side table for the candleholder.
    “It’s a handspan to your right, and the flint box is on its immediate right.”
    He stilled. “How do you know that?”
    “I can see it.”
    “You can … but it’s dark as night in here.”
    “I know. Light the candle, Matthias.”
    He did with a bit more fumbling, grabbing the now-lit taper and turning back to her. In the dim bronze glow he seemed stunned. “How did you see where the candle was?”
    She tugged her blue hair lock. “I’m a mage. Darksight is one of the adept-level skills.”
    Matthias’s mouth worked for a moment. “Then … you saw me?” he said, sounding strangled.
    “Yes.”
    “I ….” He sat back against the headboard, his boggled expression shifting to one of embarrassment. “Gods. I’m sorry, Danaë. I had hoped to spare you that.”
    It was her turn to be confused. “Why? You’re a fine figure of a man. I wish you had let me look at you in the light.”
    “You can’t mean that. I’m old enough to be your father, for the gods’s sake. And next to Lukas ….”
    The light dawned. His remote kiss after the ceremony, his intention to not “bother” her, and now this paltry excuse for intercourse. He thought he was being compared to his son, and was afraid of coming out the loser in that comparison.
    Her own fears faded under this realization. She sat up, making sure the cover was tucked around her breasts, and folded her hands in her lap. “I believe I need to correct a few misconceptions between us,” she said, her tone