Page 53 of The Hellion and the Captain
“It’s the truth.”
“Well, most men of my acquaintance would prefer a wife who listens rather than speaks, who does as she is told, whodoes not have opinions and is willing to follow along with whatever he requires of her. I have never been that person. I am far too bold, too opinionated, and too uninterested in doing something just to please a man.”
“The first woman you described sounds boring and is the very reason I have not yet found someone I enjoy spending more than a short time with.”
“That must be why we get on so well, then.”
As they landed on her family’s property, she glanced up at him, risking his denial, but needed to ask anyway. Having been apart from him the entire night, staring at him from across the tavern, so close yet so far away, wishing she could sit beside him, touch him, put her hand on his thigh as Lily was able to do to Colin, she was now craving time with him in which they could have those intimate moments together, moments that felt as though they had been stolen from her.
“What would you say about a visit to the gardener’s shed?”
“How could I ever say no to that?”
He reached down and took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers together, and in one motion, they took off at a run across the fields.
Emmaline loved the way her newfound fitness allowed the air to flow freely through her lungs. Her breath came out in a loud whoosh of laughter as they neared the cottage.
Her hand landed on the doorknob, and she pulled it open, bringing Rhys with her.
She lifted her palms to his cheeks, tracing her fingers over his high cheekbones and the stubble of his jaw.
“I missed you all night,” she whispered, and he nodded, agreeing.
“As I did you,” he said in a low, soft voice. “It was so hard to watch you having fun with others and not being able to join in.”
“I was worried you were watching Minnie,” she confessed.
“How could I have eyes for another woman, when you were sitting there among them?” he rasped out, his hands circling her waist as he slid the suspenders off her shoulders and untucked her shirt from her waistband. “I have a problem, Emmaline. And that problem is just how much I’m starting to care for you.”
Emmaline’s breath caught as his nose nudged hers, and she lifted her mouth to him, but he only nipped at her lips.
“While I don’t mind how these men’s clothes show off your body, I also can’t wait to slip my hands up the bottom of your dress,” Rhys whispered in her ear, causing all the hairs on her arms to stand.
“Interesting,” she murmured. “Just this afternoon, I was thinking about how much I would like to dress up for you as the woman I truly am.”
“Maybe one of these days, you will have to join me as Emmaline – somewhere a little less… private than our other meetings.”
“I’d like that.”
His lips fused on hers, their coming together quick, frenzied, and with a tenderness underlying it all.
Emmaline slid her hands down Rhys’s broad chest, her fingers nimble as she unbuttoned his shirt. She pushed it off his shoulders, revealing the results of all the work he so enjoyed. Her palms skimmed over his warm skin, enjoying the feel of him.
Rhys’s hands were equally busy, divesting her of the masculine garments until she stood before him in just her thin chemise and drawers. He stepped back, his eyes roaming over her appreciatively. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured huskily.
A blush stained her cheeks at his words. No one had ever looked at her the way Rhys did, with such raw desire and tender affection. It made her feel cherished.Desired. Loved.
Love. The realization struck her suddenly. Somewhere along the way, amidst stolen moments and heated glances, she had started to fall for Rhys Lockwood. The gruff, stoic football captain was capturing her heart, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever feel the same.
She had never been a timid woman, but all the same, the thought of putting her heart out there for him to accept or deny was nearly too much to consider.
Rhys lifted her effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Never breaking the kiss, he carried her to the small bed in the corner and laid her down gently.
“If we continue this,” Rhys breathed, “there is no going back.”
“Don’t be scared, Rhys,” she challenged. “Take me there.”
He lowered himself, holding his body over her, and she knew he was overthinking this.
