Page 61 of The Highwayman's Bite

“No, I am all right.” To prove the point, she swung her legs over the bunk and got to her feet, swaying for a moment on weakened legs.

Rhys grasped her shoulders to steady her and did not release her until he walked her to the chamber pot. “I’ll fetch water for your bath and you must eat and drink something to combat the blood loss.” His tone brooked no argument. With a kiss on the forehead, he released her. “I will return soon.”

Vivian attended to her business as soon as he left. The place between her thighs was sore, but at least there was no blood as she’d been warned was a possibility. She must have broken her maidenhead one of the times she’d had a rough ride on horseback. Madame Renarde told her that often happened and advised her to prick her finger on her wedding night and let the blood drip on the sheets instead.

Well, there would be no wedding night for her.

Yet she didn’t regret it in the slightest.

The chilly air of the cave made her remember that she was clad in nothing but her stockings and garters. There were no more clean night shirts left, so Vivian brazenly helped herself to one of Rhys’s shirts. The garment hung down past her knees. She wished she had a pair of slippers as walked on the cold stone floor to the little larder. Filling a mug with cold water from the jug, she moaned in pleasure as the cool liquid slid down her parched throat.

Rhys returned, hefting the massive cauldron of water as she was wiping the crumbs from her lips. His eyes raked down her form, clad in his shirt.

“You look quite fetching in that. Enough to stir my hunger anew,” he said as he set the cauldron on the grate above the fire and added more wood. “I’ve brought you fresh water from the river this time. I didn’t want the saltwater to sting.”

As the water heated, Vivian ate. Despite having a scone earlier, she found that she was ravenous and quickly devoured a crust of bread, a chunk of cheese and some salt beef. By the time Rhys filled the tub, her dizziness had abated.

“Would you prefer that I leave you in privacy to bathe?”

She shook her head. “You’ve seen all of me.” That, and she took primal pleasure in the way his eyes followed her as she undressed.

He tried to busy himself with other things while she bathed, but he kept stealing heated glances. His attention brought a sense of power.

Just after she washed and rinsed her hair, he cursed suddenly. “I am the greatest of fools.”

“What?” she spluttered as her heart froze in her chest. Did he suddenly regret what they’d done?

But then he laughed and grabbed her cot, sliding it from its place at the wall and moved it against his. “We could have been much more comfortable earlier, had I a single thought in my head.”

“Oh.” Relief curled her lips upward. “Perhaps next time.”

“Vivian?” His face suddenly went somber. “Would you sleep with me? Dawn approaches and I would like to hold you longer.”

The thought filled her with a joy she could never imagine. “Yes.”

Quickly, she dried off as best as she could and donned Rhys’s shirt once more. He removed his own, along with his boots and trousers, clad only in his smalls. As she slipped beneath the blankets, she wondered if he wished to take her again. Part of her wanted to allow him while the ache between her thighs protested.

But Rhys only pulled her against his chest and rested his chin on top of her head. “Heaven,” he murmured.

As her body relaxed against his warmth, she could only agree. If only it could last forever.

---