Page 83 of Chasing Sarah

I lie there long after the water has turned cold, and my skin has shriveled like a prune. I don’t bother rising when I hear the shower door open.

“Sarah?”

I hum, staring at nothing in particular.

Rhys lifts me into his arms, completely disregarding the fact that the shower is still on. His white dress shirt sticks to his body as the water saturates his frame from head to toe.

Wordlessly, he shuts off the water and steps out of the shower with me wrapped in his embrace.

I can’t find it in me to care that he’s seeing me in a vulnerable state. My heart flutters as Rhys dries my skin and dresses me in one of his black Henleys. After drying my hair, he grips my chin with his thumb and forefinger.

Fire burns in his eyes, changing the color from emerald to almost obsidian. “Tell me,” he demands. My brows pinch.

“Tell me who hurt you.” The promise of violence radiates off him in untamed waves.

Embarrassment decides now would be the perfect time to take hold.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I mutter, pulling my face away from his touch.

He curses under his breath and strips his wet clothes from his body. They plop onto the floor. He steps away for a moment before returning, wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs.

“Eventually you’re going to have to open up to me.”

My gaze snaps to his. He towers over me with his arms crossed over his broad chest. “I don’t have to do shit,” I hiss.

“Why do you insist on fighting what this is?” his voice raises.

Self-preservation kicks in.

I scoff and shake my head with a roll of my eyes. “I’m not fighting anything. I told you once and I’ll tell you again, this is only sex.”

Liar.

I refuse to allow myself to become attached to anyone else. Paige is the only one I need. Even if she’s going to build a life with Declan. As long as I can still be a part of it, I’ll be okay.

He grips my face roughly in his hand, squeezing my cheeks. The blood in my veins begins to boil and I feel the heat in my core.

“You can try and convince yourself that you don’t feel what I do, but I can see it.” His growl is low, and I feel the rumble down to my toes. “I see the way your ocean eyes darken with lust.”

He tips my head to the side, caressing my neck with his nose. “I see how your heartbeat accelerates right-.” He presses a kiss along the veins in my neck. “Here.”

This man needs to write a book on foreplay because dear god, he’s good.

I feel the slight lift of his lips before he meets my eyes. “Even in your sleep, your body – your heart – reaches for mine.”

It’s true.

No matter how hard I try, I always wake in his arms. Completely surrounded by a happiness I lost a long time ago.

Tears begin to blur my vision, and I can’t fight the whimper that rises. His eyes soften, his hold on my face loosening. “Let me in,” he whispers, stroking my cheek with his thumb, wiping away the droplet that slides down my skin.

Rather than answering, I wrap my arms around his neck, tugging him toward me. Our lips crash together in a punishing kiss.

Tommy said to be careful who I give my heart to, but the reality is, even if I was careful, my heart chose Rhys. Trying to stop it would be like trying to stop a hurricane from coming – impossible.

Together, we fall onto the bed. My legs spread and wrap around his waist. He rolls his hips, pressing his erection into me. I whimper into his lips, which tilt upward.

His fingers leisurely coasts up the inside of my legs, nearing where I need his touch the most. Just as he reaches my apex, hestops. I’m writhing, lifting to feel even the smallest brush of him against me.