Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Hold Me Tight
Rhys Hawthorne’s hand landed on Victoria Monroe’s calf, his dry palm touching her wet leg.
Very smooth, yet very firm.
Victoria Monroe couldn’t care less about her current messy state; most of her body was resting in Rhys Hawthorne’s embrace, with only a bath towel as a cover.
Damp strands of hair clung to her scalp, still dripping with water.
One hand was wrapped around Rhys’s neck, while the other clutched his shirt, her whole face buried at the side of his neck, in pain and torment.
"It hurts..."
It was an indescribable pain, all her senses focused on that leg.
Rhys knelt on one knee on the ground, one hand supporting Victoria’s waist, the other massaging her stiff leg.
Their bodies were almost completely pressed against each other, the air filled with the intoxicating fragrance of the bathroom.
After a moment of massaging, her calf finally stopped its painful twitching.
The agony on her face gradually faded, and the sound of her moaning lessened.
"Does it feel better now?" Rhys’s gentle breath caressed her ear, making Victoria tremble slightly.
Only then did she regain her senses; beneath the towel, she was completely unclothed.
Though Rhys would never take advantage of her, she had been too imprudent!
What’s more embarrassing is that she had voluntarily clasped someone else’s neck.
Victoria was absolutely mortified!
"I, I’m fine..."
Seeing her clumsily disentangle herself from his embrace, one hand covering her chest, the other supporting herself to stand up: "Sorry, I, I just felt dizzy..."
She looked like a child who had made a mistake, her pale face suddenly flush with embarrassment as she hastily stood up.
The leg that had been twitching exerted force, and her body collapsed weakly again.
Rhys had expected this, immediately supporting her waist.
Victoria was close to tears, far from the playful demeanor she had on set before.
"Rhys, I really wasn’t trying to seduce you, I’m just... I don’t even know why this happened."
She even contemplated hitting herself on the head.
Could it be that saying is true, pregnant and foolish for three years.
Rhys of course understood; in fact, he had hoped she might try to seduce him.
She didn’t need to do it deliberately, he was willingly caught.
Rhys grasped her trembling hands, "Don’t be nervous, I know, I understand, calm down first."
He leaned slightly, his dark eyes gazing gently at Victoria, "Hold onto me."
The magnetic and beguiling voice made Victoria lose her rationality.
She encircled his neck, and the man lifted her.
She was very light.
Like a feather lightly brushing across his heart.
Victoria’s face turned bright red, unsure where to place her hands and feet.
Rhys had no ulterior motives, yet his hand rested on her thigh.
Almost bare, only the bath towel between them.
Victoria had grown so much, yet besides Julian Fordham, no one else had ever touched these places.
Victoria tried deliberately to ignore it, but Rhys’s dry, burning hand constantly reminded her of his presence.
Not to mention ignoring it; she even felt she could almost clearly sense the lines in his palm.
Within a few short steps, Victoria’s heart was nearly pounding out of her chest, fists clenched shyly at her chest, daring not move.
Rhys cautiously placed her on the bed, picking up her nearby nightgown to cover her.
Shielding her exposed shoulders, only then did Victoria feel slightly more secure.
Hastily, she pulled back her legs, knees together at an angle on the bed.
"I’m fine now, you should rest, sorry for disturbing you."
Rhys disregarded her words, retrieving two towels from the bathroom, one warm and wet, the other dry.
He wrapped the warm towel around her calf and encased her wet hair with the dry towel.
Only after completing everything did he speak: "Not drying your hair can easily cause colds. Your leg’s still hurting; if you fall again, you won’t always have such luck. You’ve decided to have the kids, right? So take good care of them."
Mentioning the children made Victoria’s heart flutter.
"I’ve been stumbling a lot lately."
"It’s normal, your morning sickness is particularly intense, and you’re not consuming much nutrition. Your body has two children absorbing your nutrients, causing weakness, possibly calcium deficiency. And with your grandmother’s recent accident, you’ve stayed up sleeplessly, hence you’ve been mentally exhausted, leading to all this."
Victoria had never seen Rhys so gentle before; he seemed like a life coach gently guiding her: "You haven’t done anything wrong, you’re just too tired and need proper rest."
The towel on her leg had already cooled; he removed it, "Stretch your leg out, I’ll massage it some more, so it won’t hurt as much tomorrow."
"But..." Victoria clutched the corner of her nightgown, hesitant.
Biting her pink lips, she gazed at the man before her, his shirt dampened by her.
After soaking, the thin fabric pressed snugly against his skin, outlining his faint abdominal muscles.
This kind of man, intensely attractive.
Rhys’s gaze fixed on her, his voice magnetic with deep allure: "Come on, give it to me."