In fact, every muscle in his body is pulled tight.
“I would have expected the same from you today.” His voice is hard.
“You didn’t give me the chance to. You interrupted before I could say anything.” His fingers are inching my shirt up over my head, then he throws it on the ground and nimbly unfastens my shorts, letting them fall around my ankles.
“You said he looked good—”
“And he did.” Now my panties are gone.
“When what you should have said was no thank you.”
“I was getting there.”
“Not fucking fast enough.” He unzips his pants and rolls a condom over his cock, lifts me effortlessly, wraps my legs around his waist and props me against the door. We’re at eye-level now, and it kills me to see that in addition to the fire in his eyes, there is hurt too.
“Rhys, I don’t want Rich.”
“When you’re naked with me, I don’t want you to even remember another man’s name.” He slides inside me with one fast thrust, making me gasp. How am I already so wet when he’s doing nothing but pissing me off?
“You’re being unreasonable.”
His eyes narrow. “No, Gabby, I’m not.” He begins to move, making me moan. “This right here? This is mine. You are mine.”
What?
“Rhys.”
“That’s right, me. Just me. Do you understand, Gabby? What we have is ours, and I’ll be fucking goddamned if I’ll share you with anyone else.”
Jesus, the things this man does to my body are insane. But even more than that, what he does to my heart is out of control.
How can I be mad when he just wants me?
“I want you too, Rhys.”
“I want you, yes, but I fucking need you. Do you have any idea how damn terrifying that is?” He tips his forehead to rest on mine. “Seeing another man come on to you, and you not shoot him down right away was a knife to my chest.”
“I’m sorry. I was about to shoot him down.”
He shakes his head, unable to speak any more as he thrusts in and out of me, harder than he ever has. His fingers are gripping my ass so hard he’s sure to leave marks. Not pink ones: bruises.
I’ve never seen him this intense. This…needy.
And it’s all because of me.
“Mine,” he mutters again, and reaches between us to press his thumb on my clit. “Come. Now.”
My whole body clenches as I come, caught between him and the door, my entire world breaking apart and coming back together again, all centered around this amazing man holding me up.
“Did you just mark me?” I ask breathlessly.
“Literally or figuratively?”
“Both.”
“Yes.”
Chapter Fifteen
~Gabby~
“Gabby, I heard you hired some help,” Mama says as she stirs the red beans and rice on her stovetop. We’re all at her house for a Sunday dinner, as usual.
“About six weeks ago, yes,” I reply and smile as Rhys leans down to kiss me on his way to help set the table. He’s been very affectionate with me in front of my family. My brothers are all a little twitchy because of it, but Van, Charly and Kate just wink and smile.
Mama simply pats my shoulder.
He makes me happy.
“And how is that working out?” Declan asks and picks a carrot out of the salad bowl. “You’re such a control freak.”
“It’s my business,” I reply with a shrug. “I should be a control freak. But it’s working out great. Eva comes in for me in the mornings and takes care of breakfast, and helps check guests out. She leaves by about noon each day.”
“I’m glad you took Rhys’s advice and hired Eva,” Kate says, ignoring Eli’s glare. “You were taking on too much.”
“It was beginning to be a lot to handle,” I admit softly. “But I love it. It’s not work for me, you know?”
“But it is work,” Rhys says and plants his lips on my head. “You work your ass off, sugar.”
“She comes by that honestly,” Mama says with a smile. “Every one of my children are hard workers.”
“Just like our parents,” Van says.
“There’s nothing wrong with hard work,” Beau adds. “But there is also a time to admit that you need help, and I’m glad you did.”
“It is nice to have some flexibility in the morning,” I reply with a nod. “And Eva seems to love it. She caught on quickly, doesn’t piss me off, and is happy to have the job.”
“Perfect,” Charly says with a grin and pulls the pork chops out of the oven. “There is nothing worse than an employee who pisses you off.”
“Of course she’s happy to be there,” Mama says as she pulls me in for a big hug. “You’re very easy to love.”
“You’re my mom. You’re supposed to say that.”
I glance up at Rhys, who winks at me then resumes a conversation with Kate and Beau, and I can’t help but remember an evening in bed with him not long ago, when after we’d made love, he smiled and said, “You’re so easy to fall for.”
Yet, he’s never said he loves me. But he shows me he does in so many little ways. The easy affection he shows me, the way he jumps in to help me whenever he thinks I need it.
And I’m beginning to hope that maybe, just maybe, he’s not going to disappear from my life. He seems so content here. Maybe he’ll stay.