But the abyss was bright and hot, and she was safe in her lover’s arms, even as she soared through space, slicing through the flames like an eagle.
In the midst of transfiguring joy, she heard Joss give a long, guttural groan. As he plunged inside her, the sinews under her hands tightened. A rush of heat flooded her womb. As she drifted from the sublime heights, she felt him pump into her.
He groaned again and slumped down, forcing the breath out of her. Maggie didn’t mind. She’d imagined she couldn’t feel closer to him than she had in those transcendent, transforming moments at her peak. But now with him collapsed over her in exhaustion, their bodies still joined, she felt a richer, deeper union with this man she loved.
His head was buried in the curve of her neck, and he was shaking. She tangled her fingers in the damp curls at his nape and smiled up into the shadows, her mind full of what had happened between them.
She’d satisfied him. Even in her inexperience, she knew that. And in return, he’d shown her a world beyond her wildest imaginings.
Eventually he shifted, and Maggie sucked in her first full breath in what felt like forever. He rose above her, his face in shadow. “You’re a miracle, Margaret Carr. I never want to be apart from you again.”
“Joss?” she asked, more shocked by what he said than by what they’d just done, extraordinary and magnificent as that had been.
Instead of answering her, he kissed her again. She waited for more passion, but Joss’s lips expressed tenderness, verging on worship.
When he lifted his head, she was trembling. In the uncertain light, those dark green eyes seemed to send her a message too profound for mere words. “Wait here.”
She frowned, caught by surprise. Wait here? What on earth was happening? “What’s wrong?”
“Absolutely nothing, my darling.” He cupped her jaw in his hand. “But I have something important to talk about, and I want to do it right.”
After another brief kiss, he rolled out of bed and found his dressing gown. More slowly, Maggie sat up and pulled the sheets up to her bare breasts. His unexpected behavior was making her self-conscious, as she hadn’t been since she’d offered herself to him.
Movement set up a myriad of twinges in her secret places, reminders of the marvelous things Joss had done to her. The skin on her cheeks, neck and breasts stung. During their turbulent passion, his whiskers had chafed her.
&n
bsp; “Why can’t we stay here?”
She caught the flash of white teeth as he smiled. “Trust me.”
He’d said that before he claimed her body. Well, that had worked out fine, hadn’t it? She told herself to have faith.
Joss stepped closer and kissed her with more of that soul-searching tenderness. She’d basked in his passion, but this sweetness left her completely defenseless. Reminded her that while he’d given her so much, he hadn’t given her the promises her aching heart longed for.
She reminded herself that she hadn’t asked for promises. When she’d arrived at his door, she’d just been desperate to give herself to the man she loved. The man who could so easily be lying frozen and dead out on the hills tonight, instead of standing beside the bed, teasing her.
But now that she knew what joy they created together, the prospect of Joss moving on and perhaps forgetting her was unbearable. Life had taught her not to be greedy, but when she looked at her bold and vital lover, she felt greedy.
For more pleasure. For more life.
For more…him.
She’d hoped that satisfying her desire would provide memories to compensate for the years of loneliness ahead. But watching Joss as he left the room—a foretaste of his final departure—she realized she’d made a fundamental and catastrophic mistake.
Because one night wasn’t enough. Even if he stayed until Jane came back, it wouldn’t be enough.
When a woman loved a man as much as Maggie loved Joss, a whole lifetime wasn’t enough.
The day he rode away from Thorncroft, he’d leave her life in ruins. And it was too late to do anything to save herself from the coming devastation.
***
The light from Joss’s candelabra disturbed Maggie’s troubled sleep. She hadn’t heard him return—he really did move like a cat.
She blinked and yawned. Her forebodings about the future hadn’t kept her awake. She was exhausted after a day of life-changing events and emotional upheaval. Not to mention those energetic hours skating in the cold, fresh air.
“Joss?” she asked sleepily, rolling onto her side so she could see him standing in the doorway. In his crimson velvet robe, he looked tall and oddly exotic, like a pasha visiting the harem to choose a concubine for a night’s pleasure. “Is everything all right?”