Giant of Mesabi

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her gaze wary and skeptical. "Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. How could you possibly be so certain when you hardly know me?"

His gaze narrowed, measuring. "I think I know you better than you do."

"Really?" Alanna taunted in doubting sarcasm. Deliberately she moved toward him, coming nearer to stand in front of him, tilting her head back to meet the full force of his gaze. Her heart boat faster. Her plan was daring and dangerous. "Then why don't I like you?"

"Because you're afraid," Rolt answered easily. "You're afraid of m

e and of yourself."

For a moment his reply disconcerted her. Bewilderment glittering briefly in her violet eyes. She quickly concealed it, but not before it had been noticed by Rolt.

"I'm not afraid of you," she denied, "and I'm certainly not afraid of myself."

"Aren't you?" His mouth curved in amusement, faintly superior and mocking.

"No."

The gleam in his eye plainly laughed at her answer. Alanna breathed in, controlling her anger. Then she thoughtfully nibbled on her lower lip, peering at him through the sweep of her lashes. Gathering her courage, she reached out, letting her fingers touch the opened front of his shirt. She felt him stiffen and a tingle of approaching victory ran through her nerve ends.

"I'm not afraid of you," she repeated, slowly letting her fingers travel up his shirt to the collar.

Standing on tiptoe, she lifted her head toward the ruthless line of his mouth. Rolt waited, not moving even when her lips lightly touched his. Alanna swayed closer, her hands curving around the strong column of his neck. His own hands settled on the bare curve of her waist, resting there without actually holding her.

As the kiss lengthened, Alanna felt his mouth moving mobilely in response, deepening with desire. Feigning reluctance, she disentangled her suddenly trembling lips from his, but she made no attempt to move away from him, letting his hands remain on her waist while her head rested on the granite solidness of his chest. A light blazed darkly in his eyes, sensual and seductive, partially screened by his thick lashes.

His head dipped slowly toward her. Alanna checked the movement with fingertips pressed against his mouth and a small negative shake of her head. Rolt didn't argue or force the issue, waiting, the disturbing look not leaving his gaze.

"You see, I'm not afraid of you," she murmured. Strength of purpose kept her immune from his male virility. For a few seconds more, she kept her eyes blank and expressionless. "Do you know why I kissed you?" Her fingers drifted back to his chest.

"Why?" His voice was even, faintly amused, not revealing any of the passion blazing so vividly through the veil of his masculine lashes. His control was superb.

"Because—" her gaze fell from his as she breathed in to control a tremor of temper "—I wanted you to know what I feel for your brother I could never feel for you. It's not your kisses I want, it's his. Not your arms and not your touch. I will never be yours because I find you disgusting!"

Intense hatred flamed through her voice as she finished her speech. On the concluding word, she started to wrench free from his unresisting touch, but her scathing words had not left him stunned as she had expected.

His hands left her waist, but only to grip the soft flesh of her upper arms and jerk her against him. Immediately his arms encircled her, crushing her in an iron vice, trapping her arms between their bodies. Alanna writhed and twisted in the trap, straining to be free.

Harsh, low laughter mocked her futile attempts. She stopped struggling, knowing it was no use, and tossed her head back to glare at him coldly.

His eyes were hard, the line of his mouth more ruthlessly drawn than ever. Her blow had not crippled him, it had aroused his wrath. The silent fury of it caught at Alanna's breath and she was immediately angry with herself for letting it intimidate her.

"Never?" Rolt taunted in a low sneer.

Before she could elude him, her mouth was imprisoned by the burning force of his. It denied her breath as it consumed and destroyed, shattering her illusion that a kiss was an act of love and affection. Controlled savagery marked his possession, dominating her until she felt the acid taste of surrender on her moist lips. She strained, fighting the crush of his arms, but the hard circle held her fast.

Her bare legs carried the imprint of the tight weave of his slacks. Muscular thighs, like solid rock columns, pressed hotly against her flesh. The pinning arms had forced her spine to arch, molding her skin, her senses already swamped by the heady, musky scent of him, blood pounding in her ears.

The cruel mouth released her swollen lips, which were throbbing now in quivering disbelief. Alanna breathed in shuddering gasps, her head bowed in acknowledgment of the superior force of the onslaught and her inability to fend it off. The ignominy of her defeat burned in her cheeks.

One arm of the vice moved away. The freed hand punishingly gripped her throat, forcing her chin up. Resentment flared violescent in her eyes that Rolt should inspect the extent of his victory. The bronze mask of his malely harsh features bore no trace of the primitive ravishment he had inflicted. Yet dark, intimidating fires still blazed in the cold blue of his eyes.

"I hate you!" Her words were half strangled by his choking fingers and the bitter sob that rose in her throat.

"Hate me if you want." The grooves near his mouth deepened sardonically. Her feelings or emotions didn't interest him, she realized again. "But you will be mine."

"No!" She had nearly said never, but she doubted she could withstand him a second time. Her walls were yet intact and she didn't want to risk having them breached.

"Yes, my Alanna." The possessive ring in his voice chilled her with its certainty. Rolt laughed softly, mockingly, at the uncontrollable shiver that danced over her shoulders. "Remember that when Kurt kisses you. Because soon you will know only mine and his will be a fading memory. It is my ring you will wear on your finger. When you lie naked in bed beside your husband, the man will be me. No one else."