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CHAPTERNINETEEN
“What are you doing here?” she asked, surprised he was there and even more surprised she did not hear him enter. But then the library was quite extensive. He wore only a shirt and breeches with a deep red banyan over them.
He held the book above his head when she reached for it. “I was looking for you,” he murmured.
His words stopped her. “You were?”
He shrugged. “I was not exactly looking for you when I left my chambers, but when I saw light into the hall from this room, I knew I had found what I was looking for.” She tilted her head, a flutter awakening inside her. Irene was right about him being very charming.
“Why did you leave your chambers?” she asked.
“I could not sleep. I suppose you could not either.”
She nodded. When he started putting the book back, she grabbed his arm, the strength and hardness she felt in his bunched muscles stealing her breath. “That is mine,” she managed to say.
“No, it is mine, but I will allow you to claim it if it will satisfy you.”
“It will,” she said quickly. “May I have it?”
“I cannot let you read this tonight. If you cannot sleep, then Galileo’s observations are certainly going to worsen your condition.” He held the book over his head again.
Their bodies were almost touching, she realized, and the heat growing between them was only going to increase if she did not move. Stepping away, she said, “You do not know the reason I am unable to sleep, Rhys.”
“Perhaps I do not, but I can say with certainty that the howling dogs are not the reason you are awake at this hour.” He placed the book back and began to search another shelf. “Unfortunately, the creatures are not to be silenced.”
She breathed against her pounding heart. “What do you suppose the reason is?”
“It might be that we both need something from each other.” He selected a slim volume and handed it to her. He was right, but they could not do what their bodies craved. She took the book without reading the title and walked past him. He followed her.
“Are you going to look at what I gave you?” he asked.
She glanced down at the book then stopped and opened the pages. “Poems about stars?” She looked up at him. “How is this a better substitute?”
“It will not stimulate your thoughts as the other book would,” he explained, bewildering her with how correct he was. “It is a collection of poems but very dull poems.”
Elizabeth laughed softly. “If it is dull, then it might annoy me enough to keep me up.” She walked back to her desk, and only when she was a foot away from it, did she realize her mistake. Her writings were scattered about, and Rhys believed she had stopped her work. She could not predict his reaction, but the worst that could happen would be him telling her father. She could not allow him to see them.
She collided with him when she turned abruptly, and his hands came to her shoulders to steady her.
“Is something the matter?” he asked, his eyes searching hers. He had not noticed the papers, and she still had the chance to stop him, but she had to act fast, and there was not enough time to think. She took hold of the lapels of his banyan and rose on the tip of her toes, touching her lips to his. Before he could properly kiss her, she drew back and ran toward the other end of the library.
He followed her and drew her into his arms. “You are not going anywhere.” He kissed her lips. “Not after tempting me.”
They were a good distance away from the desk, but she had to keep him occupied until she could find a way to completely prevent him from finding the papers. Her body was already singing, and she did not want him to stop kissing her. He undid the sash of her robe and pushed it down her shoulders then his hands began to roam her body, waking every cell in her body with heat. Elizabeth arched her neck when his mouth moved down it, and her fingers twined in his long hair.
He kissed her collarbone and slowly moved to her eager and aching breasts. She clutched the locks of his hair when his mouth closed over her hardened nipple through her night rail. The sensation captured her between her legs, and she moaned. Rhys moved his mouth to the other breast and suckled her. She caught her lips between her teeth as one of her hands left his hair to touch the throbbing flesh at her center. He caught her hand and straightened, shaking his head.
“That is not yours tonight but mine,” he whispered, and a shiver shook her body. Grinning, he left her standing there and walked over to a small chair a few feet ahead. He picked it up and brought it to her. “Sit,” he commanded, his expression both unreadable and provoking. Elizabeth sat, unable to make her body do anything else. He removed the velvet sash of her robe and took her wrists.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, and she nodded, barely able to breathe while anticipation curled around her chest. “Do you want me?” She nodded again. “Say it.” He stepped around the chair and stood behind her.
“I want you,” she whispered.
“Say it again,” he moved her hands behind her and began to tie the sash around her wrists, “with my name.”
“I…I want you, Rhys.”
He leaned close to her ear, his breath spreading tiny tingles across her skin as he said, “Good.”
