Page 42 of Taylor’s Warrior

He wasn’t having any of that. “Tay, you’re going nowhere,” he stated. “When I wake up in the morning, I want you to promise me you’ll still be here. No sneaking off, okay?”

He felt the tension flow out of her body. “You mean that?”

“I do, every word of it.” Moving a little more onto his side, he kissed the top of her head. “Unless you want to go, I have every intention of keeping you right here. And not just for one night.”

A simple enough statement, but the reasoning behind it struck deep into his heart. Though he’d never stand in her way, the truth of it was, Taylor Markham meant more to him than any other woman ever had—or ever could.

She’d proved to be every bit the threat he’d thought from the start—just not by way of being the pain in the arse he’d assumed. She was a threat to his life as a single man, and he didn’t give a flying fuck about it. Not when he was basking in the afterglow of the best sex he’d ever had, and now he knew precisely why that was the case.

It was the first time he’d ever made love while being truly, deeply in love.

“Not just for one night? You mean you want there to be others?”

The genuinely innocent question made his brow crease, and made him wonder what her previous relationships had been like for her to ask a question like that. “I hope there’ll be a lot of others.”

“That’s convenient,” she whispered against his chest, “because I’d like there to be lots of others, too.” She hid a yawn behind her hand.

“In that case, fy nghariad, I promise there’ll be lots of others. Now, I think it might be a good idea if you got some sleep, because I have every intention of waking you up before we have to get ready to leave in the morning.”

“Can’t,” she murmured sleepily. “No more condoms.”

Rhys knew and didn’t care. She had yet to find out fully how inventive he could be as a lover. “I don’t have to be inside you to make you come, remember?”

Watching her shatter into a million sated pieces was a sight he’d never forget and one he’d never tire of making happen. He wasn’t even thinking in terms of weeks or months. Years might not even be enough. All of a sudden, going home to Wales when he was ready to call an end to his time with Spectrum was not the absolute certainty it had been. What if…?

Wait right there. Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself? This isn’t a normal situation. She might kick you out of her bed once her life returns to normal, and where will you be then?

“I remember.” The soft whisper, with its hint of a smile, warmed him. “Don’t think I’ll ever forget.”

“Good.” His masculine ego congratulated itself. “Now go to sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

CHAPTER 13

When Taylor woke the next morning, it was with a feeling that, for the first time in a long time the world was at last the right way up.

Great sex—and lots of it—the night before had helped, but there was more to it than that. The denial of and battle with her feelings for the man in whose arms she lay was categorically over. She loved Rhys. And how Charity, happily married to her handsome Englishman, would laugh when she found out.

Taylor’s lips curved up in a spontaneous smile as she recalled how Rhys had schooled her about the difference between him and Nick about four hours earlier. That callused finger on her clit had delivered wave upon wave of ecstasy when she’d called him Welsh, while brutally denying her when she’d teased him by saying he was as English as Nick Blackmore. More heat rose to her cheeks when she remembered him teaching her how to ask him to fuck her in his first language.

“You’re blushing—what are you thinking?”

His words, spoken in the accent she’d now decided was the sexiest turn-on on the planet, wrapped her in warmth and intimacy. “I’m thinking about the first Welsh words you’ve taught me, and how I would like to learn a few more… orthodox phrases.”

He laughed and hugged her tightly. “Such as? What would you like to learn?”

“Everything.”

And she didn’t just mean the language. Taylor wanted to learn everything about the man who now held her heart in the palm of his strong, capable hand.

“That could take a lifetime,” he warned.

So much the better. “I’m willing to put the work in.”

“Fair enough. How about if we schedule the first lesson for after we find out what’s happening with your father?”

She liked the sound of that—a promise for the future. “Might be best. I think I’m going to need a lot of time to get my head around all things Welsh.”

“Not a problem. If we want it, we have all the time in the world.”