Page 33 of Rex's Honor
“We’re not talking about me right now, are we?” She took another gulp.
Rex squeezed Tilly’s hand. “I can assure you this isn’t a game and I’m not playing at anything. I love my mother and I’d do almost anything for her, but I care about Tilly. That’s a fact. I honestly want to get to know her again and am grateful she’s giving me the chance.” He reached across the table and filled his plate with a couple of shrimp.
This was such a bad idea. Everyone was going to get hurt in the end.
Especially her.
Tilly tossed her purse on the dresser, then fell backward onto the soft, plush bed, exhausted after the evening with her wacko mother.
The second they’d walked in the door, Rex had been called to see his mother. She’d had a rough day, pain-wise, but also, the day nurse said Louisa had taken a turn for the worse. Tilly feared the end was sooner than everyone thought.
Louisa put on a brave face every day and was a true fighter. One of the strongest women Tilly had ever known.
A couple of light knocks came from the bathroom. She rolled her head and there stood Rex in the same light-blue button-down shirt and pair of dark slacks. The only thing missing was his tie.
“Is your mom okay?”
“She’s resting a little more comfortably right now. The doctor will be over in the morning, but he thinks we should take her to the hospital. He doesn’t believe she has much time left. Days maybe.”
“She wants to stay home and die here.”
“I know. I told her I wouldn’t make her go.” He leaned against the doorjamb. “Is that the right decision?”
“I think so.” Tilly scooted up to the head of the bed. “All they will do in the hospital is manage her pain, which we are doing here, but she won’t have the comforts of home.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at her intently.
“Something wrong?”
He sauntered across the room, kicked off his shoes, and stood at the end of the bed. Curling his fingers around her ankles, he yanked her toward him. Her dress slid up her thighs and over her butt, exposing her tiny thong. Her breathing became erratic as her chest heaved. She opened her mouth, but no words came out, only a lust-filled groan.
He dropped to his knees, leaned forward, and kissed her passionately through her cotton panties. There was no foreplay. No teasing. He went right for the prize.
She should stop him. He didn’t want her; he wanted to bury his pain inside someone. Anyone would probably do. She understood the pain of losing a parent. When her father died, all she wanted was for someone to hold her. Love her.
She’d wanted Rex and wished he’d come for her.
But he didn’t.
Not even when she wrote him and begged.
He pushed the fabric to the side and slipped in two fingers. Her body was already wet with anticipation. She clung to the bedsheets, digging her heels into the mattress. Whatever he needed, she’d give it to him if it eased a tiny bit of his suffering.
As he pulled her panties off, a ripple of heartache washed over her. She’d let him take her because she was selfish. She wanted to have him as many times as she could, no matter the cost to her heart. She tried to tell herself she was doing this for him. Helping him ease his grief of reconnecting with his mother, only to lose her in death days later.
She understood guilt and grief and the turmoil that it could create in a person’s soul.
He nestled himself between her legs, kissing and sucking. Her hips rolled involuntarily with the gentle gliding of his fingers. He kissed her passionately as if he were kissing her mouth. His hands massaged her thighs. His normal earnestness was replaced with tenderness. There was no desperation in his touch. No raw animal desire.
Just sweet love.
She gasped, resisting the urge to clutch his head and grind herself against him.
His tongue floated across her like a feather drifting in the air. The room spun as an orgasm erupted inside her like a volcano. Her body trembled, and she struggled to catch her breath. He kissed her stomach, pushing himself off the bed.
She watched him undress in silence as she removed her dress, tossing it haphazardly to the floor, their normal banter replaced with unspoken words. His gaze roamed her body like a knife gliding through a decadent piece of chocolate cake.
For the first time with him, she had no idea what to do, so she lay there, waiting, letting him take his fill of her body.
