Garden of May - Chapter 55
Chapter 55
His fingers kneaded her sweat-slicked skin, each touch sending jolts through her, scattering her thoughts. The sensitive flesh of her core clung to him, pulling him deeper, the friction exquisite. Pleasure overwhelmed her, sparking and flashing before her eyes.
She knew, logically, that time had slipped away, that they should return to the castle, that Mary, sent to wake her, might have already discovered the empty bed. But the knowledge remained abstract, disconnected from action. Each thrust shattered her thoughts, leaving her adrift.
He shifted his grip on Vanessa’s trembling body, pushing himself fully inside. A warm rush flooded her, and in that instant, she reached a silent cl1max.
***
“Nessa. Wake up.”
Someone was calling her name. She forced her heavy eyelids open and saw River Ross. He cupped her cheek, turning her face towards his.
“Don’t fall back asleep. Breathe slowly.”
His hand, cool against her heated skin, felt strangely soothing.
“What…?”
“You fell asleep suddenly. I’ll get you something to drink. Stay here; you’ll collapse otherwise.”
Satisfied she was conscious, he released her and rose, his expression infuriatingly calm and composed, as if he hadn’t exerted a single ounce of energy.
Vanessa watched him dress, a mixture of resentment and disbelief swirling within her. He seemed utterly unaffected, while she was utterly spent, lacking even the energy to glare.
She’d begun observing him with a touch of defiance, her pride stung by the disparity in their states. But as she watched, tucked beneath the sheets, a flicker of admiration ignited within her. In the morning light, his movements were captivating. Reaching, bending, grasping—with each motion, the intricate muscles of his back rippled like waves. Unlike her own depleted strength, his body pulsed with vitality, powerful and lithe as a wildcat.
Her gaze lingered on the scratches she’d raked across his back before drifting lower, to the elegant taper of his waist, and then…
He turned, as if sensing her gaze. Their eyes met, and a smile touched his lips. Vanessa instinctively pulled the sheet higher, and his eyes narrowed, a knowing glint in their depths, as if he could see right through the thin fabric, mirroring the way she’d scrutinized him moments before.
“Beautiful.”
Vanessa, momentarily speechless, let out a shaky laugh.
“You said it was nonsense before.”
“So savor it. You’re only hearing your own words echoed back.”
He slipped a shirt over his head and disappeared behind the curtain, returning with a glass of water and a small bowl. He sat on the edge of the bed, offering her the water.
“Here.”
He treated her like an invalid. Vanessa obediently tilted her head back and drank. As soon as she’d swallowed the last drop, he propped her up with pillows and cushions, then placed the bowl, filled with summer strawberries, on her lap.
“Strawberries? Where did these come from?”
“Mr. Ross,” River replied, his voice muffled as he rubbed the end of a cigarette against his lower lip, a familiar gesture that betrayed his suppressed urge to light it and inhale. A small habit, perhaps unnoticed by him, but one she now recognized.
“He brought over a whole basket.”
“Oh. That.”
