Page 53 of Bachelor

“Kiss me,” I whispered, unable to stop myself.

His lips brushed over mine so gently I could have cried.

For so long, I was used to having things taken from me. Used to having things fall just outside my grasp. My freedom. My future. Everything I wanted that didn’t line up with the life my parents laid out for me. I’d carved a path for myself and allowed little flexibility to stray from that hard line I’d drawn.

And then I’d found him.

He never once made me feel small. He never laughed at my ambitions or tried to persuade me to abandon my dreams. He fought for those dreams, those plans and hopes, even if it meant losing me to them.

I reached out, gripping his shirt, feeling as though if I let go of him, he’d disappear.

His arms wrapped around me, his hands flat on my back as he pressed me to his chest and held me there. Nothing else mattered. Not the world outside. Not our future or our past. Just now. Here, and now, in his arms.

His heart thumped hard against his ribs. His breath came in pants as he bent his head and stole a kiss so tender it would have brought me to my knees had he not been holding upright. I parted my lips, beckoning him to kiss me harder, deeper, to explore every inch of my mouth with his tongue and take what I knew was his.

So he did. One of his hands roved up the length of my spine, closing around the back of my neck and holding me still so he could ravish my mouth. I tilted my mouth over his, meeting him stroke for stroke with my tongue, biting down oh so gently on his lower lip until he growled and desire flooded the room around us, making the air hot and heavy with the tension that had been building between us for weeks now.

I started pulling on his shirt, wishing it had buttons so I could rip it open and feel his skin under the palms of my hands.

He took the hint and stepped back, a hungry smile on his face as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his bare chest. My heart started to hammer against my ribs.

We were doing this. Whether we liked it, or not, we were in this together now. We couldn’t stay away from each other, that was clear. Stolen glances and dancing around our feelings wasn’t cutting it anymore. I’d rather damn the consequences to hell than lose my mind spending another minute on what-ifs.

I was out of my clothes in an instant, my jeans and sweater in a pile at my feet. He stormed forward, catching me in a kiss so deep my mind went blissfully and wholly blank. All I could think about was him. All I felt was him.

He picked me up and laid me on the bed. His kisses turned heated and feral, moving from my lips to my neck, then down to my breasts. I arched my back into his touch and moaned his name, tangling my fingers in his hair as he entered me, thrusting hard, until we were fully joined.

“Rhys,” I panted, tears of pleasure stinging my eyes as he rose up above me, balancing his weight on one elbow so his free hand could explore my body.

This was worship—there was no other way to describe it. Every touch, every sensation blurred the line between dream and reality as I lost myself to him.

“You’re mine,” he said against my neck, grunting with effort as he thrust again and again, pushing me closer and closer to the edge of white-hot oblivion.

I canted my hips, grinding into him until I felt my muscles coil with tension, begging for release. He pinned my wrists above my head as I wrapped my legs around his waist, taking him deeper. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Damn, Whitney.” My name was like a prayer on his lips, and he was doing everything in his power to stay here with me, to not lose himself just yet.

But I wanted him unleashed. I wanted him to let go of his restraints. I needed to see him as Rhys and not the tight-laced professor and explorer the rest of the world got to see. This side of him was only for me, now and forever.

His teeth grazed my shoulder, and he moaned deep in his throat as we came together, both of us trembling and gasping for breath.

I felt blissfully warm and dizzy as he pulled away just enough to look down into my face, his eyes locked on mine. His mouth parted, and I knew what he was about to say.

But then a sharp knock on the door ripped us back to reality, the air in the room dropping several degrees like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over our heads.

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