Stone Passions Trilogy (47 page)

“Hmm?” she looked up at him and he swallowed thickly as he was once again smacked by the beauty of her eyes. Nothing had prepared him for the blueness of those eyes. They reached into his soul and tugged at something he hadn’t known existed. Everything about her drew him in, completing something inside of him.

“Are you cold?” he repeated the question, afraid that she hadn’t heard him because her ears were already frozen.

She chuckled, reaching into her pocket and tugging a moment before she pulled out a thick hat. “I forgot I even had this with me. You’re very distracting, you know.”

Taking the hat from her, he pulled it onto her head, cupping his hands around her ears to thaw them out. Her eyes widened and her lips parted as she stared up at him with those blue eyes of hers. Her voice was barely more than a breath as she asked, “How come your hands are so warm?”

“I run hot,” he said softly, the lust coursing through his body making the words rough. As her eyes darkened in sexual awareness, he had the nearly painful need to kiss her. But if he kissed her, he wouldn’t want to stop until she was tied up and screaming her release. He could see it so clearly, her delicate wrists wrapped in the finest silk, her long, slender limbs spread wide so she couldn’t hide any of her treasures from him. Slowly, lightly, he would drag his fingers over her skin, not leaving a single inch untouched. And then he would repeat the action with his tongue….

With a wry chuckle, he stepped away from her, trying to adjust the thick erection that was aching with eager anticipation, trying not to be too obvious in his actions. “Whoa, I let my imagination get away from me for a moment.”

“It must have been some moment,” she replied, her voice uneven.

“It really was.” Sliding his hands down her arms, he took her hands in his and grinned, “Now, let’s catch up to the others and let them know that their nefarious plan almost succeeded but they forgot one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s too damn cold to properly seduce a beautiful woman,” he grinned, looking down at her and appreciating the lovely blush that colored her pink cheeks.

Jenna felt like she should feel some guilt for flirting with a gorgeous man but guilt was in surprisingly short supply. Rhys made her feel good; he reminded her that she was a woman and that she was desirable. She had forgotten how hot the glow of attraction could get, how it made her feel loose and languorous, and for one night she was going to bask in the splendor that was Rhys. She’d worry about the rest of it tomorrow.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she smiled to herself. Maybe Melanie wasn’t completely insane for suggesting Rhys be her foray back into the dating world. There was something to be said for primal sexual attraction and even if it didn’t lead anywhere it was a hell of a rush. If Melanie suffered even a fraction of the desire swamping Jenna, it was no wonder why she had mind-blowing sex with Vaughn hours after meeting him.

She chuckled, “Were you there when Melanie and Vaughn met?”

“I was.” Humor laced his brief answer and when she tilted her head back, he was smiling down at her. He had a wonderful smile! It reached his eyes and lit up his entire face. “It was quite remarkable and I do believe the two of them would have crawled through shards of broken glass to reach one another.

“Ah,” Rhys said, lifting his hand and waving at a trio up ahead. “And there are our wayward siblings and your adorable daughter now.”

Melanie wore a brilliant smile as she looked back and forth between Rhys and Jenna, noticing Rhys’s strategic arm placement and Jenna’s leaning. Vaughn held Ferris in his arms and he wore an indulgent smile, though there was a trace of sadness around his eyes. Despite the melancholy, Melanie and Vaughn made a striking couple, with him so golden and her so, well, so Melanie. “They’re beautiful together.”

“Yes,” Rhys agreed readily but his tone at odds with his words. Tearing her eyes away from her insanely happy sister, she looked up at Rhys and saw the grave expression he wore as he gazed at Lenni and Vaughn. “She’ll always have his heart, no matter what happens.”

That was an odd statement, especially when it was evident that Vaughn had Melanie’s complete and utter devotion. Rhys turned his head and looked down at her with a smile, all trace of the seriousness of a moment before completely gone. “Did you know that they are not very discreet when they are having sex? I have had to back out of a room more than a few times.”

The absurd statement made her pause a moment before she let out a horrified chuckle that turned into a full belly laugh. Rhys waggled his eyebrows and leaned closer, lowering his voice, “They look so normal now but when they think they’re alone they’re insatiable. It can be very distracting when I’m trying to watch something on the television and they forget they’re not alone.”

Jenna put her hand over her mouth as laughter spilled out, although she could have done without hearing about Melanie’s sex habits from Rhys. By the time they caught up to the others, her stomach hurt from laughing so hard. Rhys had kept up a stream of comments, telling her the average number of brain cells a man loses every time a pretty woman smiles at him or the length of time it takes for a coherent thought to travel through his mind when she says,
Hello
: twenty three minutes, give or take a day or two.

Several hours later she was still laughing, though there had been that brief moment of terror when an ice sculpture nearly crashed on top of Melanie. Luckily, the drunk who had knocked over the carving managed to knock her out of the way when he fell. Melanie didn’t seem any worse for wear after the shock had worn off and she came out of her dazed trance. She did cling to Vaughn and Ferris for the rest of the evening, leaving Jenna alone with Rhys for the most part.

Even after her mild reprimand for swearing in front of Ferris, Rhys continued to focus all of his attention on her, making her laugh and making her burn. He made her forget all of her worries and fears and doubts, and he was good for her spirit, her soul. Her libido.

Rhys stood behind her with his arms around her waist as they got ready to watch the fireworks that would signal the end of the festival. His beguiling voice whispered in her ear as she leaned back against him. “What are you thinking right now?”

“How exceptionally wonderful this evening has been,” she murmured dreamily, leaning further back into his embrace. “And that Melanie was wrong: you’re just as gorgeous as Vaughn.”

“Only just?” he asked softly, his hold tightening in a mock threat.

“Oh, all right,” she sighed, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “You’re a little bit more gorgeous but you can’t tell Melanie I told you that. She’d throw a fit.”

He chuckled, the sound going straight to her heart. Tomorrow she would lock the stupid organ away again but for tonight… For tonight it could have its fun. “Are you cold?”

She smiled at the familiar question. He had asked that at least dozen times and each time she had answered that she was a hardy Minnesotan and she didn’t get cold until the wind chill dropped to twenty below. This time she murmured, “A little.”

“Come here, you,” he growled, unwrapping his arms from around her and opening his jacket. With a cautious look over her shoulders, she stepped back into his arms as he folded the coat around them both. Heat infused her body and she was pretty sure it was all coming from Rhys. It was unutterably delightful to be held in his arms, in his jacket and as she got comfortable, he buttoned her in. Since she still wore her bulky jacket, they probably looked ridiculous but she didn’t care because she was toasty warm and pressed up against Rhys’s hard body.

Pressing his lips against her ear, he whispered, “Better?”

She had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be held in a pair of strong arms. The only thing that could have made it better was if there had been fewer layers of clothes between them. With a little hum of approval, she sighed, “Much.”

“You’re still shivering,” he whispered. “Turn around and put your arms around me.”

Curious, a little nervous, she did as he asked, wrapping her arms around his trim waist and bringing her body flush against his. She laughed as her jacket prevented her from getting too close. “I feel like a giant marshmallow smooshed between two graham crackers.”

“Unzip your jacket,” he murmured, rubbing his hands up and down her back through the layers of their jackets. “You’ll warm up faster if your skin is next to mine.”

“Rhys,” she protested feebly, her heart beating furiously against her ribs as she maneuvered her arms from around his waist and unzipped the jacket. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Who, me?” he asked innocently, smiling down at her with an unrepentant grin. “Nah. There are far too many people around. I’m just trying to warm you up. Besides, I don’t have access to your luscious body with you being in my coat and my arms being outside of my coat.”

Needing something more, she shamelessly unbuttoned the front of his shirt and once more pressed her body against his. It was like lying out beneath the burning sun as the warmth from his skin seeped through her, warming her completely. As she squirmed closer, she felt the heavy length of his erection against her stomach and wanted to laugh in delight.

Resting her cheek against his chest, listening to the strong, steady rhythm of his heart, she was surprised to see the strange little man from the apartment building standing nearby and smiling at her. When she opened her mouth to ask Rhys about him, the little man put his fingers up to his lips and grinned, making Jenna grin back. Rubbing her cheek against Rhys’s hard and hot chest, she let out a little sigh of pleasure.

Sliding her hands into the waistband of his pants, she smiled when she realized he wasn’t wearing any underwear, something that she would have guessed had she thought about it. His muscles leapt beneath her touch and his arms tightened around her as he asked gruffly, “What are you doing?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been so close to a man,” she purred, pushing past the barrier of his belt and curling her fingers into the flesh of his hard butt. Against her stomach she felt his penis thicken and grow even more.

His hips rolled but then he froze. “Damn it, Nod! What are you doing out here?”

“I just wanted to watch the fireworks,” a high pitched but surprisingly beautiful voice answered. Startled out of her revelry, Jenna looked over and saw that Rhys was talking to the man from the castle. Only, he didn’t look quite human. In the low light his skin was the wrong color and his hair was lavender but when he looked at her with that impish grin, she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Nod,” Rhys sighed in exasperation, a smile on his lips as he shook his head. “You need to get back to the apartment building in case one of the residents wants something.”

“Surely a few minutes can’t hurt,” Jenna murmured, strangely reluctant to see the strange little man leave. Rubbing her cheek against the skin over Rhys’s heart, kneading the hard muscles of his butt, she closed her eyes in contentment. She wanted to stay exactly like that for eternity.

Bending his head, Rhys pressed his nose against the curve of her throat and breathed in her scent. The move was so unexpectedly erotic that her eyes squeezed tightly shut and she inhaled sharply. The moist heat of his breath moved over her skin as he whispered, “I don’t want to take advantage of you, Jenna, and if he stays I’ll do something you’re not ready for.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she murmured, tilting her head back and meeting his chocolate eyes, her nose touching his. “He has no control over our actions.”

“You’d be surprised,” he muttered. “The little bastard thinks he’s Cupid and with the level of pheromones he's releasing right now I’m inclined to believe him.”

Jenna’s brows pulled together in confusion at the strange words. His gaze roamed over her face and she felt it as if it as if it were a physical touch. His body trembled against hers and it felt as if she were standing at the precipice of something new and terrifying and wonderful. Licking her lips, she met his gaze, “Nothing could make me do anything I don’t want to do.”

“Screw it, Jenna,” he breathed, his lips moving against the shell of her ear. “We’ll make this work because I’m not giving you up.”

“Rhys,” she whispered, her heart suddenly racing in her chest at the heated promise of his words. It was excitement laced with fear because the last man she loved to distraction was taken from her and she didn’t want to fall in love, not with someone like Rhys. She just wanted sex, didn't she?

“Shh,” he murmured gently, pressing soft kisses against her neck, her temple as he tightened his hold on her. “Don’t be afraid, Jenna; I’m not going to abandon you.”

Smiling shakily, her eyes glistened with heartfelt tears. His voice was so tender and sincere, how could she not adore him, just a little bit? Pulling her hands out of his pants, she rested her palms against the bare skin of his chest. “You don’t know that.”

“I do know.” At her look of disbelief, he grinned, “There’s so much that you don’t know,” he crooned, hugging her closer. Resting his cheek against her head, brushing his thumb over the curve of her cheek, the heat of his skin leaving a trail of warmth in its wake, he sighed, “So much. It’s insane but I want to give you everything.”