by Mary Martin
"Kiss me ... everywhere . . . like that other time," she said breathlessly.
Supporting her slender frame easily with one arm about her waist, he deftly unfastened her gown. Before she was even aware, it drifted downward, a shimmer of ivory satin cascading to the floor. An indrawn breath, a quiver of uncertainty, and her body was revealed to his gaze. Naked and unbelievably beautiful lying back over the circle of his arms, Starlin had no idea how devastating the first glimpse of her was to Morgan.
Slim, alabaster curves, sleek golden thighs, and full., rose-tipped breasts narrowed his gaze and brought his breath into his throat.
"You're perfection, goddess." His eyes, ablaze, followed the fluid lines of delicate beauty from her finely arched brows to the graceful turn of trim ankles. Half smiling, he traveled the return path and met the sultry heat of her eyes. His head bent forward, his lips pressing against her breast, his tongue, warm and wet, circling the rigid peak that trembled at his touch.
Dark memories threatened to tear her away from him. Stubbornly, he fought against them with the fierceness of a predatory animal. Dammit! She was his for this night. For a few short hours he wanted just to make love to her. He held her against him, and thought that he must be losing his mind for having even brought her here like this. The risk he was taking was great, but not as great as his desire. Something had transpired between them earlier. Unplanned, unmotivated, but too heady to deny. He knew he was taking all manner of chance to have brought her here. In all of his thirty-three years he had never known another woman who made him feel like this one. She was enchanting in her unassuming innocence, yet all fire when he awakened the woman within.
Starlin moaned in his arms. She wanted him, oh how she longed for that moment when his body would at last join with hers. The high, hard passion of him pressed against the vulnerable joining of her thighs, taught her once again the motion that would claim her.
"Undress me," he commanded softly, and she complied, slender fingers moving swiftly to untie the lacy jabot, unbutton his shirt, then hesitate and stand shyly away from him. He understood, and silently cast aside his boots and unfastened his breeches. She did not take her eyes from him, yet could not help but suppress a shiver when he shrugged out of the last garment to stand like a bronzed god before her. Wide, assessing purple eyes roamed over his gleaming, muscular torso, and could not help but stop and stare in wonder at the proud, jutting staff between his legs. He was big there, she thought, her heart beating crazily, and faster when she thought of how soon he would be inside her. Her tongue ran across dry lips. Would there be much pain like the first time? she thought, frantic.
He sensed her fear and held out his arms. "Come here, Starlin." She eagerly went to him and buried her face in the curve of his shoulder. "You're trembling," he said, placing a kiss on top her head. He tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. His lips came forward to brush across hers. "I promise you, there will be no pain."
Her arms went about his neck, clenched in tawny curls as he seared her lips in a burning kiss. Her mouth opened, drew in the taste of his as their tongues touched. His hands were everywhere, teasing, stroking, awakening a raging inferno within while thoughts spiraled and tumbled in tempo with her emotions.
The night breeze sighed through the open portal, a sibilant sound treading softly through her innermost thoughts and taunting her with all of the things she longed to hear him say. Only in her mind, in her dreams, did he answer. She knew she could not go on like this with him, for beyond a doubt, she was losing herself to him. She desperately tried to recall her firm resolve to win over him at no matter the cost.
The plaintive sound of soaring nightbirds drifted on the breeze, sounding lonely, as if calling for a mate's return. Pressing closer to him, against those long, knowing fingers that were causing her such exquisitely sweet torment, she abandoned her will and gave herself up to the magic of his hands.
"I want to take away all of the pain that I caused you that long-ago night, my fiery beauty." It was a ragged statement as his hands tangled first in her wild mane, then cupped her face, raining kisses along its petal smoothness. His hands slid down her back, over her rounded buttocks, and molded her against him. Their eyes held, his hot and now very definite.
Somehow, she knew before he'd even spoken the words what it was he was going to say. She was already complying, springing upward in a lithe, catlike movement, aware of strong hands supporting her.
"Put your legs about my waist." Their gazes smoldered as her slim legs wrapped unhesitatingly about him. Her fingers laced around his neck and held fast. Her eyes opened wider when he nestled instinctively against her womanly charms. She sighed in the wake of unbelievable ecstasy upon feeling the pulsing heat of his passion touching her so intimately. He* moved his hips, the throbbing length of him sliding up and down her satiny splendor, readying her for his possession.
She was moaning through gently parted lips, head thrown back, eyes closedJo the unbelievable sensations awakening there. Between her legs, she softened and surrendered, hips writhing now against his, unaware when he shifted her just enough so that he felt her moist acceptance. With a possessive snarl he grasped her beneath the arms and up, so that her breasts were now level with his ever-seeking mouth. His lips sought her breast once again, suckled the aroused bud until she was drowning in a sea of passion. His tongue laved the delicate flesh, first one, then the other.
"Ohhh . .." she purred raggedly, feeling him slide her body downward, across his hair-roughened chest, his lean belly. His large hands beneath her coaxed her limbs wide, just before his hips thrust forward. Then he was completely sheathed inside her. She moaned in mindless desire upon feeling the delicate flesh yield swiftly to his possession. Still she was unable to comprehend how so much of him could fit there without tearing her asunder. Her body trembled with emotion.
"Are you all right?' he whispered in a voice thick with desire. He held her unmoving, allowing time for her to recover. He watched her face closely.
She could only nod, for she, too, felt overwhelmed by the feelings coursing through her. With a tenderness that surprised her, he began to move in a beautiful, satisfying rhythm that drove everything from her mind but the exquisite pleasure he was giving her.
"Starlin . . . Starlin ..." he murmured, "you are more wonderful than I remembered." Their bodies still joined, and while kissing her hungrily, he carried her to the bed of furs and gently eased her back into the enveloping luxury.
He thrust deep inside her, burying his face in the warmth of her neck. She clung to him, raining kisses along his chest, driving him to heights of incredible passion with her wild, unhampered movements.
Unbridled lust like she'd never imagined surged through her. Intense, driving strokes, so hot she felt on fire inside, drugged all of her senses. She arched upward in unrestrained response, her fingers grasping his sweat-slick shoulders as shudders of ecstasy encompassed her body. She wanted him to love her forever and never let her go.
His lips captured hers, hard and demanding as his arms tightened around her like inescapable steel bands. She grasped his buttocks, felt them quiver beneath her touch. He groaned her name again and again, relinquishing his firm control and soaring with her to blissful fulfillment.
"Wake up, Starlin, it's time for you to leave."
Sleep-dazed, she turned over to stare up at the dark face hovering over hers, recalling then their shared intimacy. Her body went rigid as she met his eyes. They held no warmth for her. "The debt has been paid. I'd like to go home now."
He didn't protest, or say much of anything. "All right. I'll see to it." She saw a muscle quiver in his lean jaw.
"And that finishes things between us, Morgan," she stated firmly. "I don't ever want to see you again." She fought vainly not to express even a fleeting glimpse of emotion. She did not draw back when he reached outward to cup her chin in his hand.
One large hand lifted to grasp her damp hair and entwine it about his fingers to draw her close. "Do yo
u honestly believe that?"
"I never say anything that I don't mean."
"You tell me how much you hate me, and expect me to believe you, yet I sense something else when I hold you in my arms." His voice held a mocking tone. He easily dodged the wild slaps she aimed at him.
Starlin was furious. "Your arrogance is insufferable!" she snapped, trying to roll away from him before he could catch her.
He reached out and grabbed her about the waist. Starlin screamed in outrage when he tumbled her back onto the bed. Rational thinking became difficult with her naked body pressed against him, yet Morgan knew he truly had only one mistress—revenge. It had claimed him long ago. And until her flesh and blood were made to suffer as his had, there would be no room in his heart for anyone. Beloved enemy, he thought holding her, how I wish it did not have to be so. Mentally, he shook himself free of her sinuous silken threads that threatened to bind him.
"The hours have all been claimed away from us, Starlin. But you will never forget me, no matter how s hard you may try. I will be leaving England and returning to the sea. So you can rest assured that I won't come near you again."
His lips hovered over hers, and Starlin fought against the flame of desire that had ignited within her as soon as he'd touched her. Damn you, she thought. Why do you affect me like you do?
The air was charged with emotion, and for a moment, looking at her, he wanted to never hurt her again.
"Love and hate, so similar, and both so consuming," he murmured softly, lowering his head to kiss her hungrily.
When he lifted his head she was breathing as rapidly as he was and her eyes revealed her desire. If they shared nothing else, he knew they were perfectly
matched in their passion. She was magnificent. Not surprisingly, Starlin calmed once she was in his arms.
"Where will you be going, Morgan?" she queried huskily, feeling an odd little twist in her heart thinking of his leaving.
He placed a finger to her lips. "Enough talking .. . more than enough. Just know that by leaving, you'll be free to go on as before with your life." Even as he heard his own words and realized that he was seeking to keep her safe from his own vengeful wrath, he cursed his stupidity and her. Starlin was very close to destroying all of his carefully laid plans, and he had made it so easy for her. He'd gone willingly into her arms, been drugged by her kisses and caresses, and he should not have allowed it. At the moment, he was fighting himself more than he did her. He did not like that.
"Why don't you talk about yourself to me?" she asked quietly.
He stared at her. "There are things, that if I were to tell you, would tear you from my arms and heart, and send you running as far from me as you could." His tone had turned hard, and she immediately stiffened. "No more need be said. Just recall my words later, months from now when you hear of me again, and you will better understand." He reached up to unclasp her hands from behind his neck and roll away from her onto his back. He stared blankly up at the flickering shadows on the ceiling. "Get dressed. I'll see you safely back to Eaton Hall."
Starlin did not like the sick feeling of despair inside her. Why did she feel as if her heart were breaking? Could she possibly care for this man more than she was willing to admit? Foolish girl, her mind defended, this is not how love is. Passion is the only thing that is between you. His cold, heartless declaration—as if their lovemaking meant nothing to him now—surely revealed his true feelings. Love is trust, sharing, never wanting to part. The remembrance of his heated love words whispered in the throes of his passion had made her blood sing, but they had been merely breathless words, easily spoken in the heat of fiery desire. Lord, but they'd had that. Coming together in a tangle of sleek, golden limbs and searing passion that had consumed them both. She could not stop herself from blindly reaching out to him.
With a soft cry, she rolled over toward him, sable tresses whipping around her shoulders to flare across his lean belly as she placed her cheek against corded muscle. His clean male scent tantalized her senses. When she was so near him like this, she felt as if she wanted to absorb all of him, had to have everything: his flesh, his thoughts, his emotions to seep inside her through her pores and hold him there, forever.
Seemingly of its own accord, and without her conscious thought, her mouth pressed against his lean bronzed flesh, felt it quiver as her lips brushed over the whorl of damp hair so enticingly near. Strong fingers laced through her tangled curls, tightened almost painfully.
"Starlin .. . you witch," he rasped hoarsely, even as his hips pressed closer, his desire hard and urgent against her dew-soft cheek. He watched her through barely slitted eyes that gleamed golden green like that of a tawny jungle cat.
She glanced up at him with heavy lidded eyes. Burying her face against the hollow of his hip, she fought against rational thinking. She felt his hands, gentling, stroking the back of her head soothingly.
Slowly, her lips worked their magic upon him, kissing, tongue lapping lightly along the fine line of fur that traced down his belly, along the curve of his hip, tantalizing his heaving stomach, the gentle roughness of her tongue nuzzling him everywhere, knowing full well where he really wanted her, there between his thighs, where his desire rode high.
Impatient, his hands tightened around the back of her head, urged her to bolder motions. A moan burst from him. He was on fire beneath her teasing lips. Sharp little teeth nipped along the inner curve of his thighs, drove him into a frenzy of mindless desire. "You won't win, Starlin, I can never let you." Cries of exquisite pleasure escaped his half-parted lips to drift on gentle breezes through the open casement windows where it wavered above the dizzying surf and echoed across the night.
Later, neither of them had dared speak until they were both fully clothed once again. Already, the shadows in the room were lessening. She allowed him to wrap her cloak around her.
"We'd better go now," Starlin said calmly. She could feel his eyes watching her closely from behind those long, dark lashes.
"Ice Princess. .." he murmured. "You play your part so well. One moment, all fire, the next, so cold and distant."
"What do you want from me, RayneT she countered, her voice rising a note. "Do you want to strip me of all pride, have me cry over your leaving, and perhaps even beg you to marry me and ease my shame?" She gave a brittle laugh. As if dismissing him, she moved toward the door. "Can we go now, I am really very tired and wish to go home."
She appeared so matter-of-fact, and he stood there caught by the inexplicable desire to take her into his arms and force her to admit she cared for him. A frown marred his handsome countenance.
"Don't talk like that," he said tersely. "It doesn't become you."
There was a sudden knock on the door.
"Yes, what is it?'
"We've docked, Captain. I thought you'd be wanting to know."
"Aye, we'll be right out," he replied in a flat tone.
She was almost blinded by hot tears as she followed him above deck. Bravely, she fought them back. There were no whispered words of desire this time, or torrid kisses as he escorted her to his waiting carriage. And if she was surprised that he climbed in beside her, she did not show it. She had assumed he'd send her on alone. His nearness drove her crazy. She sat staring out of the window at the brightening of the sky, nails digging into her palms to keep from screaming. Why did he confuse her emotions so? He had told her so many things in his passion. But she knew there was not a word of truth in anything that he said. She thought of her earlier decision to win at any cost, to expose him as Scorpio. _ In her pocket she had his personal diary. In her clenched fist she held a gold chain and medallion. Somehow, it had come unclasped during their love-making. It bore the likeness of a scorpion. She tucked it away. A memento ... or would she use it against him?
The entire trip back to Eaton Hall was spent in cold silence. Yet, just before the carriage had come to a stop beneath a canopy of concealing tree limbs and she'd stepped out, he'd taken hold of her hand and kissed her
palm.
"Sweet witch, I won't forget you." His voice held a smoky quality.
No longer able to control herself, and feeling the tears come in a rush, Starlin wrenched free of him and ran along the path toward the dark house. She did not know that another stood watching her in the shadows, and .her tears blinded her to his identity when he quickly stepped out to confront her.
Starlin felt arms going around her in a possessive embrace. Taken unawares, she had little time to react and could only gasp weakly, "Who are you?"
"You lying, deceitful jade," a male voice snarled. "Who have you been sneaking around with behind my back?"
Fingers like talons bit into the flesh of her upper arms, and then he was shaking her until she was certain she might swoon. Dimly, she recognized his face contorted with unbridled fury.
"Courtland! Let go of me," she cried. "You're hurting me."
"I saw you giving Morgan the eye tonight, and the way you allowed him to hold you while the two of you were dancing. He's the one you've been seeing on the sly, isn't he?" he growled, making no move to release her. "I bet you weren't cold as ice with him."
"Take your hands off me!" she burst out angrily.
An anguished sob escaped her as he grabbed her hair and yanked her head backward.
"Look at you!" he raved. "It's obvious you were doing more tonight than just talking and holding hands—which is all you've ever allowed me." He laughed cruelly. "Your lips look ravaged, beauty, your eyes dazed by passion. But you were the one taken in tonight, my darling." His words seared through her haze. "He made a boast to several of his chums how he would thaw the ice around your heart and have you in his bed. He did exactly that, didn't he?'
