She quickly led the kids over to a panicked teacher, who was herding the children out of the main hall with the help of several of Haven’s museum staff.
“Get them out of here, Ron,” Haven ordered. “Ensure they get free tickets to come again.”
The man nodded.
Once they were gone, Haven started shaking. She glanced back, and saw that Vander had her attacker cuffed, and was yanking him to his feet. He glared at her.
Oh, shit. She twisted her shaking hands together.
Rhys stepped in front of her—his handsome face set like stone.
She stared at him. “I… Um… Can’t stop shaking.”
Then he yanked her to him. Her face pressed against his chest and she breathed him in. She felt the warmth of him through his shirt.
God, he was so warm, and she suddenly realized that she was so cold. Frigid. She wrapped her arms around him, sliding her hands under his jacket. Then she held on.
The best thing was, his strong arms wrapped around her and he held her back.
Rhys led a still shaken Haven into her office. He was pissed as hell that she’d been in danger— again.
She’d held it together during the attack, but now she was dealing with the aftermath.
Haven’s office was like her—neat, tidy, with touches of class. She had a wooden desk with a shiny surface, and nothing out of place. A pretty painting hung on the wall, and an interesting twist of a sculpture rested on a cabinet nearby.
“I’ll be fine.” She swiveled on her heels, tucking some hair back behind her ear. Her face was impossibly pale which made her bruises stand out even more. “You don’t have to stay. I know…you don’t want to be near me.”
She sank back against the desk, still shaking.
Rhys moved closer. “Just breathe, Haven.”
She nodded, and dragged in a quick breath. He got closer and she stilled. Her big eyes locked on his face.
“Rhys—?”
“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped.
She jerked. “What?”
“He had a gun to your head and you grabbed his balls? He could have killed you!”
Something sparked in her eyes. “There were kids right there. He threatened to shoot them.”
“Vander, Easton, and I had it under control.”
“I couldn’t risk the kids, Rhys.” Her lips trembled, and she pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Why won’t the shaking stop?”
He was still pissed, but he pulled her close again. Fuck, he liked the feel of her. She fit against him perfectly.
Her hands clutched his shirt, twisting. “Thanks for tackling him.”
“Be quiet.”
She was for a beat. He drew in the scent of her shampoo. Coconuts. Made him think of a tropical island, and Haven in a bikini.
He’d just watched her risk her life for two kids. He tightened his hold.
“Rhys? I…I wanted to say sorry for what I said yesterday. I have no right to judge you and twist things about you to keep myself safe.”
His heart thudded. He pulled back to look at her face. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, instead staring at the buttons on his shirt.
“I, um, well, you know I had a bad ex. That still colors a lot of stuff. I don’t—”
“Shh.” He tipped her chin up. “I know about Becker.”
She grimaced.
“He sounds like an asshole.”
“He is. Grade-A.”
“He played you.”
“He cheated on me. It’s not nice to catch your boyfriend getting a blow job in his office.”
“Shit.” The guy was clearly an idiot to have Haven and cheat.
“Anyway, that spilled over, I took it out on you. So, I’m sorry.” She fiddled with a strand of her hair.
“Okay,” he said.
She managed a tremulous smile. “Great. I’m glad we cleared the air.”
He circled her narrow waist with his hands and lifted her onto the desk. She gasped, and her mouth dropped open.
He pushed closer, and traced his fingers along her cheekbones, the shell of her ear.
“Rhys,” she breathed.
He ran his fingers over her lips. Damn, so soft, and gave him so many ideas.
Then her tongue darted out and brushed his fingers. He felt it all the way to his cock and groaned. “I’ve got to kiss you.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
He took her mouth—hot and hard. The taste of her exploded in his mouth.
She wrapped her arms around him, sexy moans coming from her throat. She tried to get her legs around his hips, but her skirt was too tight. She made a frustrated sound.
Rhys reached down, gripped the hem, and jerked it up.
“You like me kissing you on your desk?” he growled.
“Yes.” With more freedom, her legs clamped onto his hips and she undulated against him.
“Got a naughty side, Haven?” He leaned over her and ground his cock against her. She cried out.
She was a hot little thing. All class on the outside, with sexy hidden underneath.
“Um, just with you,” she said.
That confession made his cock throb. He was damn glad to see the fear and shock bleed from her face. Now her features were flushed, her eyes bright with desire.
He cupped her breast and she bit her lip.
“We can’t do this here,” she panted.
“Probably shouldn’t.”
“Easton and Vander will probably be up here soon.”
“Yeah.” God, he could smell her arousal. He slid a hand between her thighs.
She bucked. “Oh.”
All she had on was a tiny thong, and she was soaked. “This wet for me, baby?”
She made an incoherent sound.
Screw it. Rhys needed a taste of her. He dropped to his knees.
Her eyes widened. “Rhys?”
He nudged her thighs apart, shoved the scrap of cloth aside, and then his mouth was on her. Haven moaned and her thighs clamped on his head.
He slid his hands under her skirt and cupped her ass. He licked her. She tasted like heaven. He explored her pretty pink folds, then sucked on her clit.
Soon, she was riding his face, her hands tugging in his hair. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
He licked her again. “I’m not going to stop, baby. I want you to come.”
Her husky cries were driving him crazy. His cock felt like steel.
“Rhys!”
He felt her release coming. He gave another hard suck of her clit, and she shattered for him. Her body convulsed and she cried out his name.
Oh, yeah, he planned to hear that again, soon. When he had his cock lodged deep inside her.
He held her as she came down. Her hands released from his hair and she blinked at him.
He pushed to his feet and kissed her. He knew she tasted herself on his lips, but she didn’t hesitate. She kissed him back with hungry need.
Then she yanked her head away. “Rhys, we shouldn’t have done that.”
In her eyes, he saw the walls he’d shattered slowly rebuilding. He cursed Leo Becker to hell and back.
Straightening, he pulled her skirt back into place. He saw her trying to avoid looking at the bulge in his pants.
“We won’t talk about this now.” But later, for sure. “We need to discuss what happened downstairs.”