She heard Rhys calling her name, but it seemed so far away. When she glanced up, she saw him running towards her. Her lips tried to tilt in a smile, but her face seemed heavy.
Just as he arrived next to her, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Rhys. I’m so glad you came. I’m sorry I didn’t stay inside,” she said in a shaky tone. “I love you.” Then everything went black.
Chapter 20
One Month Later
“Marry me, Hyacinth.”
“I already married you. Don’t you remember flying to Vegas with my parents? My arm was still wrapped in a bandage. The chapel with the gaudy decorations and larger-than-life officiant. Are you feeling ill?”
Rhys pulled her body close to his as they lay in bed. His face snuggled close, and he inhaled the scent of her hair products. For some reason, he couldn’t sleep at night unless he had the scent of her around him. As a result, she now had to travel with him whenever he left for an overnight trip.
One day, he’d stop needing her so much.
Maybe.
Unlikely.
“Of course, I remember. Your mother was crying the whole time. Even Carlos and Bruno looked a little teary-eyed.” He would never forget that day for the rest of his life. After they released her from the hospital, they had to stick around for a few days to deal with the police. After Rhys had watched Hyacinth handle Kenny, he’d called the detective and told him to meet them at the hospital.
It had taken a few days to put all the facts together, but it seemed Kenny had been stalking Hyacinth all this time. He was fine when she was alone, but as soon as Rhys started playing a role in her life, he’d gone off the deep end. They found pictures of Hyacinth taped to the wall with red X markings on her face. Notebooks full of Kenny’s ramblings were all around his place. He’d stopped working and his parents had been paying his bills.
As soon as they got the all-clear that Hyacinth wasn’t going to be charged in Kenny’s death, Rhys got them all on a plane and flew to Vegas for a quickie wedding.
“Baby, you can’t blame my mother. Her only daughter was getting married in a shabby wedding chapel. It wasn’t quite the wedding of her dreams. Nor mine.”
“Do you regret marrying me?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. But my dream wedding would have taken place in a garden, surrounded by Hyacinth’s. Our closest family and friends would have been with us under the moonlight on a starry night. Baby’s breath would have covered my hair and I would have worn a beautiful white mermaid wedding dress. My dad would have walked me down the aisle and my mother would have sat in the first row beaming with pride.” She leaned over to kiss him. “I would never regret being your wife, but I want my moonlight wedding so we can do some sexing under the star-filled night sky.”
Rhys smiled. “Our very own moonlight plucking?”
Climbing on top of his naked body, she slid her wet channel over his thick member. “You do have a way with words, Mr. Mannetti.”
“For you, Mrs. Mannetti, I’d be a fucking poet.”
Reaching up to grab her hair, he fused their lips together as his dick notched at her channel. A hiss escaped her lips, and Rhys slowed down. Last night had been rough. Although they’d made love after her injury, he’d been taking it slow. He was selfish and wanted his wife every night, but he wasn’t an animal. Yesterday was the first day in almost a month when she felt like her old self. He let all his pent-up needs out, fucking her hard and fast as they came together.
He had no doubt she was sore this morning. But if his baby wanted more from him, who was he to deny her? Sliding inside her slowly, he positioned both hands on her ass, grabbing her flesh tight in his grasp.
“Rhys,” she moaned out loud.
“Yes, Wife,” he said in return. It made him very happy to call her that. His wife. His heart. His love. Every chance he got, he called her wife or Mrs. Mannetti. When he thought he’d lost her that day, his entire world had stopped. Although they had no proof, he knew it had to be Kenny who had almost run down Hyacinth that day on the street.
That fateful day she’d come into his life.
As she continued to ride him, he couldn’t help but smile at the surprise he had in store for her. He knew she would balk and tell him he didn’t need, but her words today made him realize how much she had missed with them doing a Vegas wedding. For the woman who would give him children, and be by his side for the rest of their days, she deserved everything and more.
“I love you, Rhys,” she moaned against his lips, her hands cradling his face.
“I love you, Hyacinth Mannetti. You are my light, my flower, my sun, and my moon.” Although he spoke sweet words, his hips never stopped lifting beneath her. His only goal this morning was to make damn sure she knew it was his job to bring her pleasure every moment for the rest of their lives. “Having you in my life was meant to be. One day soon, I want you to swell with my child. I want to experience everything with you. Your smiles, your tears, your laughter, and everything in between.”
One hand reached up to grab her breast, his fingers tweaking and pinching her nipple. Tonight, they’d play a little. He had some new toys he wanted to try with his wife. When he realized just how much fun Hyacinth liked to have in the bedroom, it opened so many options for them to explore. She was so fucking perfect for him. Rhys almost couldn’t believe it was real.
“Marry me, Hyacinth,” he demanded again.
“Yes. Yes, Rhys. I’ll marry you,” she screamed out as her body clenched in release. He followed swiftly after.