Her lips fell apart in a moan of surprise.
I have to see her eyes for this.
He reached for the blindfold and pulled it off in one swift movement, gazing deep into her eyes as she smiled.
“Do you wish me to stop?” he whispered, waiting for her answer. He wanted her, but he wouldn’t take her if she didn’t want it.
“Please, Rafe,” she murmured through her gasping breaths as her hands found his shoulders, “do not stop.”
Smiling, Rafe moved down toward her. He found her lips with his own and kissed her. This kiss was far from their usual heated or fierce kisses. It was slower, much more sensual than usual. It made her nails dig into his shoulder blades before he slipped inside of her.
It must have hurt, for she winced in pain. He kissed around her cheeks and her forehead, then down across her neck. He didn’t dare move his hips as he just adored her with every kiss, wanting her to be as comfortable as possible before they continued on. When she rocked her hips against his own, as if with curiosity, he lost himself.
She felt perfect, wrapped around him.
Rafe drove his hands to the ground again, lifted himself up, and slowly slid in and out of Evie. The way she gazed at him, sometimes biting her lip, other times just letting her lips fall open as she moaned, sent him to new dizzying heights.
He couldn’t get enough of Evie. He just concentrated on pleasuring her, trying to make her moan as much as possible. Sometimes he moved excruciatingly slowly, her gasps growing louder as she rocked against him. Other times, he thrust hard into her, loving the way she grappled at him, her body shaking as she raised her legs higher and higher, as if she couldn’t get enough of this feeling.
He could feel her end coming. It was what he wanted, to see her so contorted in pleasure. Her eyes closed; her hands slid down from his shoulders to the center of his chest.
“God, Evie.” He bent over her and kissed her neck, needing to be this close to her when they found their ends. She found hers first, her moans filling the air as her hands slid up around the nape of his neck, gripping tight. That touch sent him over his final edge too. He thrust inside of her one last time, overwhelmed by the sheer feeling of pleasure as well as the way she held onto him.
Panting heavily, trying his best to catch his breath, he leaned up just enough to capture her lips with his own again. She was smiling sweetly, her cheeks blushing richly pink.
“I…” She struggled for words, still breathless with desire.
“I know,” he whispered. “God, that was amazing, Evie.” She giggled a little before he kissed her once again.
Rafe couldn’t imagine leaving this moment, so he indulged in it. He made no effort to leave her body just yet. Instead, they stayed entangled on the rug, holding onto one another, sometimes kissing and sometimes murmuring soft words for only the other’s ear. When he did eventually pull himself from her body, worried she may be sore, he collected her into his arms and carried her toward the bed.
He intended to keep her with him that night, so they could sleep together until morning like so many nights before. When morning came, Rafe knew he’d have to think of a way to keep Evie in his life.
I cannot let her go. Not after tonight.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Evelyn awoke, warm beneath the bedcovers, though it had much to do with Rafe’s body beside her own and his arm that was wrapped around her waist, holding her close. She smiled as she angled her head back, gazing at his peaceful face.
He didn’t dream.
She’d noticed a couple of times when they slept side by side that his face twitched with nightmares, yet it had seemed increasingly to be the case that these nightmares faded. It struck her that she didn’t think he had dreamed at all the night before.
But I dreamt so much!
A warm smile graced her lips as memories of her dreams, intertwined with moments of passionate encounters with Rafe, flitted through her mind. She had seen her and Rafe together again, making love.
She had no wish to leave him, none at all, but her body was sore, and she feared she had to wash up a little after what they had done together. Sitting up in the bed, she looked around the room, trying her best not to wake Rafe as his arm slid off her.
Across the room, a door led to a garderobe. Inside, there would surely be a basin of water. Climbing out of the bed, she padded across the floor in her bare feet, heading toward it. And just as expected, a basin filled with cool water awaited there which she used to freshen up.
She thought back to sharing her first time with Rafe and found she hardly cared. Just as she hadn’t minded the pain of the first time either. The pleasure, the excitement, the love that she had felt overpowered it.
Love… could it really be?
She practically giggled at the feeling, for it was what she felt, was it not? She had fallen in love with him.
Evelyn reached for a wardrobe behind her, hoping to find something to put on rather than the silky black gown. Inside, the armoire boasted a vast array of garments. There were rich hues of fine tailcoats and jackets. She searched between them, looking for his dressing gown, when something dropped down between two tailcoats.
