Easing onto the bed, she knelt over him, pressing her lips against his bare chest. She kissed his entire body slowly, deliberately sweeping her hair over him as she moved lower.
Her caresses felt like silk, so soft on his skin, so poignant and incredibly erotic at the same time. He was already heavily aroused, but he hardened even further when Julienne swirled her tongue over the sensitive area of his inner thighs. Then she moved back up his body, her lips trailing fire over his flesh… his phallus, his belly, his chest…
It required almost herculean effort for Dare to lie totally still while she attended him, licking, stroking, tantalizing… She paused to brush his male nipples with her tongue before returning to his mouth, delivering a featherlight kiss that made his stomach clench in a mixture of tenderness and wrenching desire.
When her kiss deepened, his fingers wrapped helplessly in her hair. He tried to be gentle, but the coiling tension became too much to bear. Drawing her down to cover him, Dare whispered her name with a note of pleading. In response, Julienne lowered herself onto him slowly, taking him fully into her body.
Their joining was heaven. A hoarse sound escaped him at the blinding throb of sensation; his heart ached with a wild rhythm. He could feel the twisting need within her, the desperate longing to become part of him, and he reciprocated, giving wholly of himself.
They claimed each other with fierce tenderness, and in only moments the firestorm overcame them. They moved together in the throes of passion, drinking each other's cries, cresting on shattering swells that seemed to last forever.
When finally the rapture ended, Julienne collapsed limply upon Dare, trembling. She lay against his warm, powerful body, listening to the force of his thundering heart.
A serene peace washed over her. Dare finally knew the truth, that she hadn't betrayed him. She could lay the last of her demons to rest. Their lovemaking had been as exquisite as usual, but there was a newness about it… a heightened sweetness, a caring. They had given solace to each other.
She exhaled softly on a sigh. Dare no longer blamed her for the past, or for what Ivers had done. Nor had he condemned her because she'd been forced by dire circumstances to share her body. She felt cleansed somehow, as if a great burden had been lifted from her.
Her heart felt almost light. She scarcely recognized the feeling. Hope. It was an unfamiliar emotion, something she hadn't allowed herself to feel in years. She was free of the hurtful past at last.
Dare, however, could not forget, it seemed. He lay staring up at the ceiling for a long while.
"How you must have hated me," he said finally.
"No, not you," she replied, her voice soft. "Never you. I hated Ivers. I wanted to kill him."
"I intend to," Dare muttered darkly.
A sharp arrow of anxiety shot through Julienne, and she raised her head from his shoulder. "Dare, you cannot."
"Why not?"
"Because the satisfaction couldn't possibly be worth the possible consequences. If you killed him, you might very well have to flee the country. I couldn't bear it if you sacrificed yourself for my sake."
His green eyes flickered with pain as they searched hers. "Don't you want even the slightest measure of revenge?"
"At one time I did, but now… I only want to bury the past and move on with my life."
"Are you so certain Ivers will let the past stay buried? What did he want with you in Newmarket?"
Julienne flinched at the question. "He wanted money to pay his debts. He threatened to renew those old charges of treason against me if I didn't pay him."
Anger darkened Dare's eyes. "And you intend to surrender to his threats?"
"No, of course not. I told him to go to the devil. He can't hurt me any longer."
"And yet you carry a knife."
&
nbsp; "For protection, yes."
Dare's expression hardened. "He won't get away with what he did, Julienne. He deserves punishment for his crimes."
Dare was right, she knew. Ivers shouldn't be allowed to go unpunished. But she couldn't bear the thought of Dare suffering as a result.
She gave him a pleading look. "Dare, please, promise me you won't kill him."
He tightened his jaw. "Very well… I won't kill him outright."