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CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Elizabeth guided him back into her, wishing to take back the power he had taken away from her, but it did not matter whether she was atop him or beneath him. He was already in possession of her heart.
His hands moved up her waist to stroke her breasts while she rolled her hips, the sensual gratification sweeping away like the waves of the sea sweeping the sand from the shore. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, surrendering.
Rhys sat up to meet her, taking her face between his hands. “Open your eyes, Liza,” he whispered. When she did, she found him looking intensely at her. “You are mine,” he said.
She nodded. “And you are mine.”
“All of me,” he affirmed before pressing his lips to her temple.
That pushed her beyond the brink, and every sensation that had been building culminated. She cried out his name, feeling as though her body was shattering into a million ecstatic pieces and then was put back together all at once. Rhys held her against him, stroking her damp hair and cooing gently, but he was still rocking within her. And in an instant, the sweet sensation of falling overtook her again.
Rhys buried his face in the crook of her neck and groaned, every inch of his body tensing. He held onto her as though she was his very breath, and her heart bloomed with contentment. They remained thusly for several moments before he lowered himself onto his back and pulled her with him, his fingers tracing the line of her spine.
“Can you breathe?” he asked after some time.
“Yes,” she whispered. “You?”
“I do not think I can ever breathe again, Liza.” He said her name so softly her heart ached. She rose and gazed down at him. “I do not see you turning blue,” she teased.
He laughed and kissed her chin. “You little minx.” Holding onto her waist, he flipped her over on the bed and began to stroke the side of her rib cage.
“Rhys!” She laughed as the thrilling sensation flitted across her skin. “What are you doing?”
“What you stopped me from doing earlier,” he murmured, kissing her shoulder. “I want to touch every inch of this glorious body.”
“Should you not be attempting to regain your breath?” She gasped happily and closed her eyes when his teeth grazed her nipple.
“Not until I have given you more pleasure.” His mouth moved down her body, biting her tenderly as he went, and soon, she was afire again and writhing in his arms with a need so violent she ceased to recognize her body. But Rhys satisfied her, and every touch reassured her that this was where she was supposed to be, with him.
When she was too sated to move, he held her against him and stroked her hair until he fell asleep, and she listened to the sound of his heart beating steadily in his chest. Elizabeth wondered if it would ever be hers.
* * *
Rhys was unsure what woke him, but when he felt around the bed for his wife and found it empty, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“Elizabeth?” he called as he looked about the room. She was not there, and a strange feeling gripped his chest, and his heart began to beat faster. He jumped off the bed and grabbed his breeches from the floor. As he was putting them on, he saw a sheet on the nightstand and picked it up.
I could not sleep. If you do not find me in the Castle, then I am by the sea.—Liza
He cursed then smiled at the name she signed. “This woman will be the death of me,” he muttered, putting on the rest of his clothes and finding a lamp.
Rhys did not bother to search the Castle for her because he was almost certain she would be at the beach. Her wandering spirit would not allow her to remain here while she could be by the sea. He saw a lamp sitting on the sand as he descended the hill to the shore, and beside it sat Elizabeth with a blanket about her shoulders and her feet tucked beneath her.
He slowed his pace and watched her, discovering that she had unraveled him in more ways than he thought possible. She was completely his now, yet he yearned for more of her…not only her body but her heart and everything that made her whole. She turned around when she heard his footsteps, her unbound chestnut hair gleaming in the lamplight.
“You did not wake me to walk with you,” he said, stopping beside her.
She smiled. “I did not want to disturb your peaceful slumber.”
“Are you stealing my words now?” he chuckled, setting the lamp down and opening the blanket he had brought with him. He wrapped it around her shoulders before sitting beside her and covering himself with the other end.
“Perhaps I am,” she replied smugly, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled, his eyes moving from her to settle on the horizon where the first light of dawn was emerging. He found her hand and held it. “Beautiful, is it not?” she asked with a contented sigh. She sounded happy, and that in turn made him happy.
“It is,” he agreed, referring not to the sunrise but to her.
“Do you not wish you could capture it with something more than your mind to keep the memory forever?”
