He held her against his heart. How blind had he been? How foolish that he couldn’t see how much she meant to him? That he couldn’t realize what a perfect wife she would make? That he couldn’t understand how much he loved her? A growl of anguish tore loose from his throat.
“Oh, Jayce,” he whispered. “Forgive me. Please forgive me.” He kissed her cheek and her eyes. “I’ve been so stupid. So blind. I love you,” he moaned. “I love you.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her throat, to her chin, to her cheek.
Then he felt her move. Her hand slid over his back, around his shoulder.
Reese pulled away, gazing down into her face. Her skin was wet, and Reese tried to dry it with his tunic sleeve, but he quickly realized how useless that was a second after he ran the rain-soaked fabric across her cheeks.
Jayce’s eyelids fluttered and then, like the sun emerging from behind a dark cloud, her eyes opened. She stared at him for a long moment with those deep blue eyes, her gaze moving over his face. Reese’s agonized stare drank in her beauty, her glorious lips, her wondrous eyes; he drank like a man who had been stranded in the desert and was suddenly given a flask of cool water to quench his parched throat. He bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then to her lips, murmuring, “Jayce. Oh, Jayce.” His arms engulfed her, drawing her closer. He coaxed her to open to his kiss and she obeyed. As he tasted the sweet recesses of her mouth, his blood pounded through his veins. His relief and frustration gave way to a fierce and fiery passion that consumed him.
Her kiss swept him like the lashing winds of a storm; her hands swirled around him, pulling at his shoulders. But the fury of these winds was something he never wanted to abate.
Frantically, Reese pushed at her dress, sweeping it aside to reveal her glorious breast. He lowered his lips to the tip, licking and sucking it with an intensity beyond reason, beyond comprehension.
Lightning flashed and sizzled all around them.
Reese’s other hand traced the curve of her back, down to her rounded bottom, pulling her tight against him.
Jayce groaned beneath his touches, running her hands through his wet hair, over his strong shoulders.
Rain cascaded around them, splashing through the trees, drenching them.
Reese eased her dress up, higher and higher until he touched her naked thigh and she gasped, touching his hand. The rain made the path slick and smooth, inflaming his already uncontrollable passion.
He blazed a trail of hot kisses down her neck, over the soft ridge of her collarbone. In the next instant his passion rose to tidal-wave heights as he reached down and unlaced his leggings, freeing his manhood. He was burning with a raw want, a desire so desperate, that it boiled his blood, searing his very skin. He barely heard the clap of thunder, didn’t see anything but two round pools of blue staring at him with the same desire, the same passion. It was as if they were one.
His hand moved across her womanly curves to the opposite thigh, reveling in the feel of her body. She instinctively arched toward his hand. Reese lowered himself to her, claiming her kiss-swollen, rain-wet lips in a final attempt at control.
She groaned and squirmed beneath him.
He felt her wetness against his manhood and moved forward to feel the heat of her core. He clenched his teeth, fighting a losing battle against the raging want threatening to sweep him away before he had claimed her. Then he thrust forward, driving into her. He felt her stiffen beneath him, felt the pain that pierced her body.
Reese groaned softly in anguish at having caused her further hurt.
Jayce moved her hips in a slow, tentative movement.
Reese couldn’t help himself. He moved with her, and, like a summer storm, the tempo built until Jayce matched his thrusts, raising her hips to welcome him. Reese kissed her savagely, hungrily devouring her.
As Reese watched, her face blossomed beneath the rain, and contented joy spread across her features. Thunder boomed in the sky, rocking her body with its might. Reese heard Jayce cry out as the heavens shattered around her.
Lightning lit up the sky, illuminating Jayce’s face. Reese had never witnessed a more captivating sight, a more wondrously glorious vision. Then, thunder rocked the ground, and he stiffened, exploding into her.
*****
When Jayce opened her eyes, she found herself lying beneath Reese, sheltered from the pelting rain by his body.
He wore a grin on his face and a dark look in his eyes that promised much, much more.
A shy smile curved Jayce’s lips.
He scooped her up into his arms and trapped her tightly against his body. “Are you hurt?” he asked.
She shook her head.
As he bent over her, drops of water fell from his face and trailed down her cheek like tears. “I’m so sorry, Jayce,” Reese whispered. “I’ve been a brute to you. There’s no reason for it. I’ve treated you horribly. I’m sorry.”