Thea threw her head back in delight. Felix waited a moment as if he dared not touch her, move inside her, lest the moment disappear. But after three shallow breaths, he drove into her again. And again. And again.
Over and over, he pounded into her, his eyes closed tight in concentration, the crunch of the hay beneath them scratching through the blankets into Thea’s back. She was in danger of losing her senses, but there was no way she’d stop him, slow him down. She needed this.He needed this.
“Harder,” she rasped, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
Felix’s eyes met hers for half a breath before, with a guttural groan, he reached for one arm, pushing it above her head, holding it in place. A pulse of fire in his eyes told her to leave it there, and when he reached down for the other, reuniting herwrists in one of his large hands, a fire lit inside her. At the fevered look on his face, Thea moaned. She gripped her legs around his waist as he thrust into her, her work boots digging into his hips.
The heat of their bodies and the relentless rhythm of his strokes drove Thea on until he swept her up in a spiral of ecstasy. Each kiss from his soft lips, each breath at her neck, sent her higher and higher until she couldn’t bear it.
“Now,” she whispered, her lips at Felix’s ear.
At her request, his lips found her mouth and with a growl, he thrust deep into her, banishing any doubts about how much she wanted him. With his breath growing more ragged and his teeth dragging at her lip, Felix let go of her wrists and arched up, the muscles in his shoulders outlined in the golden lamplight.
“Thea,” he roared, and at the intense ecstasy on his face, the gravel in his voice, she tumbled over the edge, gripping his hips tighter. With the hay crunching beneath them, they rocked together, came together in a tangle of raw desire, heat and hopeless love.
After,they lay together, their legs intertwined. Felix had pulled a blanket over them, and Thea rested on his chest, her fingers running through the soft hair there. With a sigh, he curled his arm around her, stroking her shoulder. She’d never felt so complete. So content. It may be a cliché, but her lips bowed at the thought of their real-life roll in the hay.
“You didn’t say the new millionaire in town was the one who was so noisy.”
Felix chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I think it’s all the country air. It’s done something to me. Turned me all primal.”
“You can go as caveman as you like, but maybe next time, keep your voice down. We don’t want to wake up the geese and risk whipping them into a frenzy. I don’t want to be held responsible for any injuries.” As she spoke, Thea brought her knee up under the blanket, pressing it into Felix’s crotch.
He let out a throaty breath that tickled the top of her head.
“So what now?” she asked.
Felix shifted on the hay. The crackle of its stalks reminded her of summer afternoons spent in the fields, cloud-watching and giggling with ex-boyfriends.
“That’s up to you,” he said. “But I want you to know how much I need you. How much I want the two of us to work. Whatever it takes. I promise I’ll make you happy.”
A soft warmth infused her chest, and Felix ran his fingers through Thea’s hair. He didn’t get very far before they ran into a tangle. She’d left it down today but hadn’t brushed it since she woke at dawn.
She sucked a breath in through her teeth. “And I promise I’ll try to brush my hair more often.”
Felix’s eyes widened. “Oh hell, I almost forgot.”
With a kiss to the side of her head, he moved Thea off his chest and sat up, rummaging through his clothes. They lay in a crumpled heap on the ground. After a moment, he rejoined her, leaning on his elbow, one hard, pale hip peeking out from under the blanket. “I have something for you.”
Felix opened his hand. Nestled inside was a small bundle of black material. Thea’s eyes narrowed. In the gloom, it looked like nothing, but with a flicker of lantern, a glimmer of gold sparked in the fabric. She picked up the cloth, holding it into the light, turning it round in her fingers. It wasn’t black at all. It was a deep midnight blue, shot with gold.
Her breath skittered, and she met Felix’s eyes. “It’s my dress.”
He nodded, taking it from her and stretching it in hisfingers. As they spread, so did the fabric to form a ring. It was a Scrunchie.
Thea turned to him. “But is it really my dress? You didn’t have it cut up? Even someone as rich and used to getting his own way wouldn’t be so cruel.”
Felix tucked a curl behind Thea’s ear. “No. Even I’m not that conceited. I had it made for you. I contacted the designer.”
Thea snorted. “Now I know you’re rich! I can’t imagine anyone custom-making a scrunchie!”
A full-throated laugh rumbled in his chest. “Stick with me, baby, I’ll take you places.”
Thea quirked a brow at his awful American accent. “We’ll see. It’s beautiful, though. I couldn’t wear it. I’d get it dirty.”
“So get it dirty. I just wanted a way to say sorry. I should never have asked you to wear my clothes that night. It was rude and presumptuous. Unfair. I don’t want you to think that you’re not enough for me, just the way you are.”
Thea’s body filled with an incandescent glow. Could her heart be any fuller? His gesture was so sweet, but dare she tell him that his dressing her up had had the opposite effect? She wouldn’t go for it every day, but his power play that night had set her pulse racing a little more than she expected. Dressing your partner was even a thing. She’d Googled it.
