But then there’s a knock on our door, and he quickly comes out of the bathroom. My eyes are open now, and he flashes me a smile, wrapped in one of the robes offered by the B&B, and opens the door.
He returns to the room with a silver tray. There is only one covered plate on it, along with a single red rose.
“Breakfast,” he says with a wink. “Did I wake you?”
“No.” I shake my head and sit up in the bed, tucking the sheet under my arms. “I rarely sleep past seven.”
“Have I told you before how beautiful you are in the morning?”
I chuckle. “No.”
“Well, you are.”
He leans over the bed and kisses me back into the pillows, covers me with his lean body, and simply continues to kiss me.
He makes me dizzy.
He makes me forget my own name, for God sake.
“So beautiful,” he whispers against my lips, then sits up, uncovers the plate, and with his fingers picks up a strawberry and holds it up to my lips. I bite it and his fingers, then laugh as he scowls. “And a biter.”
“Hey, you’re the one who held food up to my lips.”
“Let’s see if you can be nicer about it.” He grips a piece of pineapple in his fingers and offers it to me. I lean in, smiling, and gently take the fruit from him, chewing happily, slurping the juice.
“Better.”
“My turn.” I choose a slice of apple and hold it up for Rhys to take from my fingers. “No biting.”
“I seem to remember you enjoying my teeth on your skin last night.”
I feel my face flush as I remember the way he skimmed those teeth over the ball of my shoulder, my ear, my neck.
My pussy.
“Yeah,” he whispers and bites the apple, then leans in and bites my lower lip. “You like it.”
I lick my lip where he just bit it and taste the apple there.
“The fruit is delicious.”
“You’re delicious.” He’s finished with the fruit now, nibbling down my neck to my shoulder, making my eyes cross. “How do you keep your skin so soft?”
“Genetics,” I reply hoarsely. “And I try to stay out of the sun.”
“It’s working,” he replies and kisses my chin. “Are you still hungry?”
“We ate three bites of fruit,” I remind him. “Aren’t you still hungry?”
His green eyes smile into mine as he reaches over and plucks the rose from its vase on the tray. “I’m hungry for you.”
I snort. “Charmer.”
“You’re not an easy charm, Gabby.” He lightly drags the soft petals of the rose down my nose. “But just because you don’t need the pretty words, doesn’t mean that I don’t mean every single one of them. You are beautiful. You are amazing. And—” He pulls the petals down between my breasts, over my belly, and down my hip, making me gasp. It tickles. “I’m hungry for every inch of you.”
Suddenly, he flips me over onto my stomach, brushes my hair off my back and away from my face, and returns to skimming the rose down my spine to my ass, barely over the crack, then in a circle over each of my butt cheeks.
“I enjoy your skin,” he murmurs and kisses between my shoulder blades.
“I enjoy you enjoying my skin,” I reply with a grin. “I feel pampered.”
He pauses. “You should feel pampered every day.”
I snort. “Who are you?” The rose skims down my inner thighs, making me moan. “Who says stuff like that?”
I hear him toss the rose away, and suddenly his naked—he must have lost the robe—body is covering mine and his mouth is next to my ear.
“I’m the man about to be deep inside you.” His voice is rough, his breathing already different. Hard. “I’m the man that can’t get enough of you.” He spreads my legs with his own. I hear him rip open a condom, and with me flat on my tummy, he pushes inside me, all the way inside, making me bite my lip.
“Oh, my God.”
He kisses my neck, pulls out most of the way, then slams into me, harder than he has before, and I gasp, shocked at how fucking good it feels.
“Too much?” he asks.
“No.” I shake my head and try to tilt my hips up to meet him, but he holds me down, his hands on my ass, pushing me into the mattress.
“I’m the man who’s about to fuck you into this mattress, Gabrielle.”
Holy hell.
And he does. Hard and steady. I can’t wait to see his fingerprints on my ass later.
“Rhys.”
“That’s right. That’s who I am.”
I freaking know who he is!
“Damn, I’m gonna come.” I bury my face in the bed, but suddenly he pulls out and flips me back around.
“Look at me.” He props one leg on his shoulder and kisses my calf as he wraps the other leg around his waist and slips back inside me. “I want to see you while you fall apart.”
I can’t look away from his face. He’s intense, but his eyes are happy as he watches me. I know that most men are visual creatures, but Rhys loves to watch me. We kept the lights on all night long.
His eyes never leave me.
And it makes me feel just what he says. Amazing. Beautiful.
I reach between us and circle my clit with my fingertips, sending little zings through my limbs and spine, and Rhys’s jaw clenches.
“Oh, fuck yes, touch yourself.”
I reach farther down and press against his cock as he pulls in and out of me, and for the first time, his eyes close.
Well, look at that.
I file that away for later.
“Tell me you’re about to come,” he growls. I can feel him swell even more inside me and I know he’s so close.
And so am I.
I cup his face in my hands and rise up to kiss him, tightening my core and pussy, clenching around him even harder, and we both fall over the edge into ecstasy.
We’re panting, a little sweaty, as I fall back onto the bed and Rhys follows me, careful not to crush me, but his head is on my chest and his arms are gripping my sides. I summon up enough strength to push my fingers through his hair as we regain our senses.
“You’re good at that,” I say finally, staring at the ceiling. “Now I know what all the fuss is about.”
I feel him smile against me. “Oh baby, we’ve just gotten started.”
***
“This is Jackson Square.” I point to the park surrounded by wrought iron fencing in the heart of the French Quarter. “And behind it is St. Louis Cathedral. We can go inside, if you like, to look around.”
Rhys shrugs. “If you want to. I’m just enjoying the walk with a beautiful woman.”
He’s holding my hand, and when we have to push our way through a crowd, he simply rests his hand on the small of my back, or my ass, to let me know he’s right behind me.
The man is forever touching me.
And I freaking love it.
Instead of leading him to the cathedral, I lead him down Royal Street, away from the heart of the Quarter. There are so many amazing art galleries and shops on this street. It’s one of my favorites.
One boutique in particular catches my eye, and I pause to stare in the window.
“I have a soft spot for pretty things,” I say softly.
“What do you see that you like?” Rhys asks. I shrug my shoulder, then point at a simple silver chain with an amethyst pendant.
“That’s pretty.”
And then I begin to walk away, ready to look into the next window, and feel Rhys behind me. We pause to watch some street performers, who secretly give me the willies. I mean, it’s weird that some guy is dressed like a transformer, driving on the street, then stands up.
How does someone fall into that line of work?
“I’ll be right back. I need a bathroom.” Rhys kisses my cheek.
“I’ll be here,” I reply and toss him a smile over my shoulder as he walks away. Afraid that Mr. Transformer is going to decide to drive right up to me and freak me out, I return to the sidewalk and admire the art in the window there. The colors are bright, too bright for my home, but it’s interesting.
“Art lover?” Rhys asks as he joins me.
“I appreciate art,” I reply, still thoughtfully staring at the piece in the window. “I would never buy this, though.”