Page 79 of The Hellion and the Captain
She teared up at his words, especially knowing that Rhys was not a man who said anything he didn’t mean. In fact, he usually barely ever said anything at all.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” she said, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.
“That’s the thing, Emmaline,” he said gruffly, “you didn’t have to do anything at all but simply be yourself. You let me see who you truly were, and that means more than anything else.”
That did it.
She launched herself into his arms, rolling him backward so that she was hovering in a straddle over him.
Rhys’s strong hands came up to grasp her hips as she pressed herself against him, eager to find the friction she was searching for. Their lips met in a searing kiss, her skin hot everywhere they touched. Emmaline poured all the love and desire she felt for Rhys into the kiss. She talked so much that she needed to show him, beyond words, just what he had come to mean to her.
His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers asthe kiss deepened. She ground her hips against his, eliciting a low groan from Rhys, his grip on her tightening.
“Emmaline,” he rasped against her lips. “One of these days I need to take you on a real bed, not on a picnic blanket or a cabin in the woods or on a riverbank.”
“You don’t want me here?” she said, although her words were teasing.
“Oh, I want you all right,” he growled. “Every time I see you, I want you more.”
“Well, I am yours, Rhys,” she breathed. “Wherever you want me. Make love to me. Here. In the field. In a gardener’s cottage. On a real bed. It makes no difference to me, as long as I am with you.”
“You sure about that?”
“Completely.”
Rhys rolled them over, his solid weight pressing her into the soft grass. His hands roamed her curves as he trailed hot kisses down her neck. Emmaline arched into his touch, craving more.
Their urgency overcame the need to touch their bare skin against one another, and their shirts remained as they each removed the layers from their bottom halves.
It had been long enough since they last came together that the tension between them was stretched, although Emmaline imagined that she would want Rhys again and again, no matter how many times they were together.
They explored each other reverently, Rhys’s work-roughened hands reaching beneath her shirt to caress her breasts, impatiently moving the linen out of the way for his mouth to follow, lavishing attention on her sensitive nipples.
Emmaline threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him close.
“Rhys, please...” she whimpered with need, her hips rocking upward repeatedly.
He settled between her thighs, his hard length nudging at her entrance. Before Emmaline had a chance to reach down and tease him in turn, he joined them as one with a swift flex of his hips. Emmaline cried out at the exquisite fullness, wrapping her legs around him to pull him even closer inside of her.
They moved together, finding a perfect rhythm. Rhys drove into her with deep, purposeful strokes that had her seeing stars. Emmaline met him thrust for thrust, savoring the slide of his body against hers, within hers.
“I love you, Emmaline,” Rhys groaned. “This was meant to be.”
“And I love you,” she gasped. “I’ll never stop.”
She was a better person with him beside her. Rhys protected her, yes. But he had also encouraged her, enhancing her strength and courage, giving her full use of a power she hadn’t known was within her.
The spring coiled tighter and tighter within Emmaline as Rhys brought her closer to the peak. His thrusts grew more urgent, hitting that spot inside her that made her see flashes of white.
“Let go, love,” he urged. “I’ve got you.”
Emmaline shattered with a cry of his name, her release crashing over her in intense waves. Rhys followed her over the edge a moment later, spilling himself on the ground next to her with a shout of completion.
She wished he could finish inside of her, but knew he prevented himself from doing so only to protect her.
They clung to each other as they came down from the high, trading soft kisses and caresses. Rhys brushed her damp hair back from her face, his blue eyes filled with tenderness.
“No matter what happens, we face it together,” he vowed. “I’ll be by your side. We’ll take on those club committee members, the Athletics, Reeves, your brothers, anyone who wants to stop us.”
