Admire?
Bloody hell, it was more than that.
Love.
Could he truly love her? Was that why fear had twisted his gut when he hadn’t found her in the keep or the village? Had love already taken root before he even recognized it for what it was?
Fawn caught her breath at his words, her laughter faltering. Something in his gaze pierced deeper than she wanted to admit, reaching places in her heart she’d thought closed to him.
Admire?
What if it was more? Was it possible she could grow to care for him—care so much that it frightened her? Why else had her lips parted willingly beneath his kiss, why else did her body betray her every time he drew near?
She lowered her eyes for a moment, afraid he might read too much in her expression. “You admire me only because you cannot tame me.”
“Don’t challenge me, wife,” he said, his voice rough, though his hand lingered at her jaw as if he couldn’t bring himself to let go.
“Don’t tempt me to,” she countered.
The fire in the hearth crackled, the wind whipped against the shutters, and for a moment the world ceased to exist.
Rhodes lowered his lips to hers once more, his kiss strong, commanding as if he never intended to let her go. He shifted his stance, his weight pressing firm against her, his body hot and solid where it molded to hers.
The storm outside might be burying the earth with snow, but she felt only the lure of his kiss, the rush of his hands as they slid down along her sides to rest at her backside, and the shiver of her own skin from his tempting touch.
He tore his mouth away from hers. “I will have you now, wife.”
There was no decision left to her. She was his wife, and this was her duty, but it wasn’t duty that had her stepping away from him and shedding her garments. It was desire for her husband.
Her garments fell away one by one, pooling at her feet, and the fire painted her nakedness in light and shadow. He drew back a fraction, his gaze raking over her as though she was something both holy and forbidden.
Fawn’s heart thudded wildly, suddenly feeling vulnerable, and she went to turn away from the intensity in his eyes, but his hand stilled her.
“Never turn away from me,” he murmured, voice roughened by passion. “I love seeing your beauty.”
His words sank deep, and her vulnerability faded as heat raced through her. She lifted her chin in confidence and shoved his cloak off his broad shoulders, then tugged at his plaid until he shed all he wore to stand naked in front of her.
Her breath caught. She had known he was strong, feared on the field, but to see him like this, skin flushed with heat, muscles taut, and his impressive manhood swollen with desire, struck her silent.
She couldn’t resist, she pressed her palms to his chest, needing to touch him, and marveled at the strength she felt there.
He scooped her up in his powerful arms, startling her, and carried her to the bed. He lowered himself over her after placing her down on the straw mattress, their bare skin meeting in a blaze of heat that stole her breath. That she welcomed the feel of him startled her even more as did the passion that built inside her.
His lips brushed hers briefly before wandering down along her neck, nipping at her tender skin and sending shivers racing through her body. She gasped, her fingers knotting in his hair as if out of habit, as if they had shared such a moment before now, as if they were always familiar with each other.
“Rhodes…” His name slipped from her lips.
“Say it again,” he commanded, his lips grazing her breast. “Say my name as if it belongs to you and only you.”
Somewhere deep inside she felt something stir, something powerful and his name spilled from her lips with a strange strength. “Rhodes.”
A strong wind pounded at the door, sounding like a screeching woman.
His head shot up and their eyes locked and so did their hearts.
“You’re mine, Fawn… forever.”
He said what she felt, what she knew in her heart. She would be his, but he also would be… “And you belong to me, no one else but me.”
