Page 33 of The Hellion and the Captain
“Because you don’t need to!”
“I enjoy it.”
She looked at him with such undisguised surprise and horror that he laughed out loud. He had a loud, hearty laugh, and she realized she had never heard it before.
It was beautiful. And she decided right there that she wanted to hear it more often.
“I’ve never met anyone who runs out of enjoyment.”
“Then you haven’t met the right people.”
“Apparently not,” she panted out, right before she lost her ability to talk.
While Rhys matched her speed, having him next to her, step for step, caused her to want to run harder, faster.
He didn’t push her, nor ask her to say or do anything else; he just allowed her to continue to work, pumping her arms and moving one foot at a time as he silently supported her.
When she finally finished, he clapped his hands twice, but before she could stop to rest, he had her working on her strength, kicking the ball over and over again, before he directed her to one more set of runs, only this time, he made her sprint to one side, stop to rest, and then sprint to another.
Emmaline thought she was going to be sick for a moment, but she composed herself, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
She collapsed to the ground, arms and legs spread wide in the grass as she stared up at the sky, which was melting into soft pastels as dusk descended. She was slick with sweat, her cheeks heated, heart pounding hard, but she was… fulfilled. Proud of herself.
She didn’t move or say anything, even when he lay beside her, not touching, his gaze also on the sky above, where the last golden streaks of sun clung to the edges of retreating clouds, turning them into a fiery rose-gold.
“Do you see it?” she asked as her breath finally returned to its normal rhythm, although there was still a catch that had nothing to do with her exertion.
“See what?”
“There,” she said, pointing to the sky. “The first star of the night. I love this time of day. It’s as though twilight is wrapping the world in calm, for just a few minutes as the sun sets and the moon and stars emerge.”
He turned his head in the grass to look at her, and she did the same, their gazes connecting.
His eyes were a stormy blue that she could get lost in forever, and she wondered if she had destroyed any chance of more stolen moments.
“Rhys?”
“Yes?”
His voice was deep, husky, stirring something deep in her soul. “Before you found out that I was Emmett, you and I – as Emmaline, that is – we… connected.”
“We did.”
“Has that connection disappeared?”
He paused, his gaze returning to the darkening sky above them.
“It’s not gone, Emmaline,” he said so softly that she almost didn’t hear him. “But I don’t know that it would be a good idea for you and me to be… close.”
“Why not?”
He turned toward her, his eyes twinkling. “You don’t let up, do you?”
“I do not.”
His lips twitched, the hint of a smile playing at the corners. “I admire that about you, even if it drives me mad.”
Emmaline’s heart fluttered at his words. Admiration. From Rhys Lockwood, that was high praise indeed. She propped herself on one elbow, studying his face in the fading light. “Is that the only thing you admire about me?”
