Chapter Eighteen
Savannah
Istared atthe dark ceiling of my bedroom, wondering if Rhys was asleep yet. Glancing over at the clock, I saw that it was just after midnight and sighed. When Ava suggested that he spend the night, I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t him insisting that he sleep in the guest room.
I turned over in the bed and stared at the wall, watching the shadow of the tree outside my window sway as the wind blew. I knew what I wanted, but I was too intimidated to ask for it. For so many years, I’d been alone and now it felt strange for me to tell a man that I wanted to have sex with him.
But I did. I’d even added a box of condoms to my grocery delivery list and I’d been unable to look the delivery driver in the eye when I accepted my bags.
I wanted Rhys, body and soul.
If I wanted him, I would have to go and get him. Rhys was not a modern man who expected a woman to be intimate with him. Chastity was valued during his time as a human and it was only in the last few centuries that attitudes had loosened somewhat.
I got out of bed and looked down at the pretty purple nightgown edged with black lace I wore. I’d put it on in the hopes that Rhys would come to my room when we went to bed. Hopes that remained unfulfilled.
If he wouldn’t come to me, I would go to him.
I opened the nightstand drawer next to my bed and removed a condom from the box I’d opened earlier. I tucked it into the material that stretched over my breast. Satchel opened one eye and watched me as I crept around the end of my bed and toward the door, but she didn’t move. Hoping that she would stay in my bedroom, I walked down the hall toward the guest room, surprised to see the door standing open.
I hesitated in the hall, right outside his door, my courage wavering.
“Savannah?” Rhys called quietly. “Are you okay?”
Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that I was asking for what I wanted. I walked around the corner. Rhys hadn’t bothered to close the curtains over the blinds and the moonlight poured in, falling across the bed in thin lines. His upper body was bare and the lean muscles of his shoulders and chest were illuminated in the pale beams.
My mouth was suddenly dry and I swallowed hard at the sight. He was beautiful. “I, um, couldn’t sleep,” I murmured, standing just inside the door to the guest room, staring at him like some sort of creeper.
He sat up, leaning back against the headboard. “What’s wrong?”
Unable to stop myself, I took several more steps into the room and heard his quick intake of breath when the moonlight touched my body. “There’s something I need but I’m afraid to ask for it,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I told you that you could ask me anything and I meant it.”
I crept forward, putting one hand on the end of the bed then lifting a knee and crawling up the mattress toward him. I heard his muted groan as I moved closer.
“Savannah, I’m not sure—”
I stopped with my knees on each side of his thighs and straightened so my bottom rested on his legs. “Do you want me, Rhys?” I asked, unsure of what I would do if he said no.
“Of course I do,” he replied gruffly. “But I’m not certain you understand what you’re doing.”
I frowned down at him. “I’m nearly twenty-nine years old, Rhys. I realize I’ve not had thousands of years under my belt, but I am an adult and I know what I want.” I started to shift off the bed, hurt welling within me.
His hands shot out and gripped my wrists. “That’s not what I mean,” he said, holding me still. I stared at the amulet that rested against his sternum, unable to meet his eyes. “Look at me, Savannah,” he pleaded.
Feeling exposed, I lifted my gaze to his face and felt my heart thump hard in my chest at the sight. His eyes were fierce and his jaw was clenched tightly, as though he were holding himself back with iron control.
“I want you more than anything, but I need you to understand what this means to me. If you let me touch you like this, I won’t be able to let you go. I will be yours forever.”
My body began to tremble as he spoke. I craved what he was offering me. A partner who would never want to leave me despite my abilities. I was falling in love with him and I knew that his feelings for me were strong. He was everything I wanted in a partner, even though I hadn’t realized it before.
“I like the idea of you belonging to me forever,” I replied.
His hold on my wrists tightened. Then he pulled me forward until my knees straddled his hips and he placed my palms on his chest. I could feel the hard, fast rhythm of his heart and knew that he was just as affected as I was.
“Then touch me,” he whispered.
I splayed my fingers wide, feeling the firm muscle beneath his hot skin. I shifted my body against his and he made a low noise in his throat. Moving my hands down his chest, my fingertips trailed over his nipples and down his abdomen. His muscles twitched under my touch and his hands came up to grab my hips, pulling me tightly against him.
