Page 44 of The Hellion and the Captain
“So, what do we do now?” she asked, pushing him over so that she was lying on top of him, once again marvelling at the ridiculous perfection of his body. She had some experience with men but had never gone this far with one before. And now… she couldn’t wait to do it again. To do it withhimagain.
She couldn’t believe what she had been missing out on, but at the same time, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be like this with anyone else.
He reached up, trailing his fingers down her face, pausing on her nose. She knew exactly what he was looking at.
“My freckles,” she said, crinkling her nose. “No matter what I tried, they never faded. Finally, I just accepted that they were there to stay.”
“I’m glad,” he said, his eyes narrowing on them. “I rather like them.”
“Do you now?” she asked, wondering what was taking so much of his concentration.
“I do,” he murmured, before finally lifting his eyes to meet hers. “Twenty-three,” he said.
“Twenty-three what?”
“Freckles,” he answered. “I had been wondering how many you had.”
She couldn’t help it, then. She began to laugh, wondering how it was possible to have met a man who seemed so perfect for her, especially in such circumstances.
She began to trace patterns on his chest, loving the feel of the bristles on it.
“What’s so funny?” he asked gruffly.
“You,” she said. “To everyone else, you come across as so… rough and grumpy. But you’re so sweet underneath.”
He lifted his head to look down at her. “No one has ever called me sweet before.”
“Well, there has to be a first time.”
“Keep that to yourself, you hear me?”
“Or else, what?” she said, looking up at him mischievously and his eyes darkened as he looked down at her.
“Or else you’ll be running more laps.”
She gasped in shock as she swatted him. “That isnotwhat I was expecting as a punishment.”
“No?” he quirked a brow. “What did you have in mind?”
“Perhaps I’ll have to show you.”
“Perhaps,” he said, before looking to the window, where the sun began setting as evening announced its arrival. “I should probably return you home.”
“Probably,” she said, shrugging. “Is it so bad that I want to stay with you in this cabin forever?”
“If only,” he said, slight melancholy crossing his expression.
“Is this the part where you tell me that while this was fun, we can never do this again?” she said, looking down, unable to meet his gaze, in case in it she saw his true feelings of being done with her in this way despite his words of remaining desire.
“That is what Ishouldsay,” he said, and she lifted her head to meet his eyes as hope surged in her chest. “But the truth is, I can’t wait to do this again.”
“Well, if we continue to practice, then we can also continue doing…” she waved her hand between them, “this.”
She knew that anything more than their physical joining was more than he could ever want. But she would hold onto this, for as pathetic as she felt to admit it, any opportunity to spend time with him was worthwhile to her.
“I would like that,” he said.
“Good,” she said. “I can honestly say that I have never so looked forward to practice before.”
