Page 89 of Nothing Compares to the Duke
For the first time, she looked shy, uncertain.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and the warmthof her bare skin against him seemed the best gift he’d ever been given. Holding her like this was becoming all that he wanted. She shifted and his body was so sensitive and aching for her, he groaned. Apparently, holding wasn’tallthat he wanted.
“You’re wearing an impractical amount of clothing,” she told him when she reached for the fastening of his trousers.
Rhys grinned. He imagined that being impractical was the worst character flaw Bella could imagine of anyone.
He slid his trousers and drawers off as she settled onto the bed. His throat went dry when she slid back and lifted onto her elbows to watch him.
“You’re quite lovely too,” she whispered.
He climbed onto the bed, holding her gaze. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Everyone thinks so.” She hissed out the last word because he’d begun to draw his fingers up her leg, all the way to her inner thigh.
“But you see,” he told her as he stroked a finger into the damp heated curls at her center, “I only care that you think so.”
When he slid a finger inside her heat, she arched against him and let her head fall back. There was such trust in the movement that something inside him melted.
He bent his head and replaced his fingers with his mouth, kissing and licking until she bucked againsthim. He loved the taste of her on his tongue, the way her body trembled and arched against him. She scraped her fingers along his shoulder, then sank them into his hair.
“Rhys,” she said softly, lovingly. Then again with more need.
He knew the moment she was close. Already, he knew her body and her sounds well enough to know, and he loved every second of feeling her body go taut.
“Let go, love,” he whispered against her. “I’ve got you.”
When she did, Rhys lifted up to watch her face. To watch the moment she let control slip away and gave in to her release. When her breathing steadied, she reached for him, pulling at his shoulders, and he settled between her legs.
“I need you,” she whispered on a shaky breath.
The words slipped inside him, soothed over pain, filled hollow spaces.
“I need you,” he said as he eased into her and told himself to go slow, to savor every second.
But Bella refused to let him take her slowly. She set the pace, moving against him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and lifting up to kiss him. Her kiss was deep and hungry and when she nipped his lower lip, he couldn’t hold back any longer.
He wanted her desperately, not just to please her but to get closer to her, past all of the defenses she’d built up against him. Past all the rules and propriety that she believed she needed in order to keep others at bay.
Before he tipped over the edge, she whispered against his skin. The same words she’d spoken at the cottage in Margate. “It’s always been you.”
He kissed her and then said against her lips, “I love you, Arry.” The words came unbidden because he couldn’t resist them anymore.
She stroked his hair, his back, nuzzled against him as he settled beside her.
That was enough. He told himself that having her in his arms was enough. But, God, did he want her to give those words back to him.
Bella woke with a start and squinted in the darkness. Not her room. Realization came and brought a wave of relief. Rhys’s home. His bedroom.
She slid her hand slowly across the sheet and encountered the hot firm stretch of his body next to her. From his slow steady breathing, she knew he was asleep. She waited for her eyes to adjust and leaned closer so she could get a better look at him.
Good heavens he was a gorgeous man. Even his profile made her yearn to touch him, kiss him. She was sorely tempted to lie back down, wrap her arms around him, and go back to sleep.
She didn’t want to wake him yet, but she couldn’t bear to leave without brushing a kiss against his shoulder.
On the way to the door, she gathered her chemise and gown. Before stepping into the hall, she donned both and buttoned herself in as well as she was able.
Her thoughts were a jumble. Her feelings were a muddle. She needed to think.
