With a soft growl of triumph he moved again, this time to plunder the dark, moist recesses of her mouth with a purposeful rhythm, while his hands—his hands!
Moving suddenly, restlessly, Sophie sat up, slipped out of her shirt and tore off her bra. Freed from their lacy constraint she knew her breasts appeared large on her slender frame, and felt the sweet pain of nipples engorged, hard and tempting. She faced him and had the satisfaction of hearing Xavier’s fast breath when he saw her naked from the waist up for the first time. She watched with savage pleasure as he took in the size of her breasts and saw the extent of her arousal. But still she held back. She wasn’t finished with him yet—not by a long way. Not after all the torment he had put her through since that night in the
truck. Maybe once she’d been compliant, but now she was impatient and needy—quarry turned aggressor. And when Xavier reached out to claim her, she denied him fiercely, bringing him to his knees as she turned her attentions to his clothing. Xavier responded instantly, removing her hands to tear at his shirt, and then tugging his close-fitting top over his head until they faced each other naked from the waist up, eyes burning with the fever of desire, lips parted to suck in the air they needed to fuel their passion. For a moment they paused, held immobile in a band of erotic tension. Sophie felt the power of her female heritage when she saw the fire in Xavier’s eyes matched her own; they were a tableau of raw passion in a land of savage beauty.
‘Come to me,’ he commanded softly.
Getting to her feet, Sophie moved towards him, loosening the fastenings on her jeans slowly, provocatively; holding his glance, she stood a little in front of him while she steadily eased them down over her hips. Stepping out of them, she was about to do the same with the tiny thong she was wearing when he stopped her with a short, imperative wave of his hand. Making a small gesture, he encouraged her forward.
As he buried his head between her thighs and she felt his hot breath warming her, Sophie groaned and felt her legs weaken, but he would not let her down yet and held her firm to nuzzle his lips against her swollen flesh. He let her feel the gentle nip of his teeth against the damp swell of her arousal and teased her beyond bearing with his tongue through the cobweb of lace.
‘Please, Xavier…please.’
‘Not yet,’ he warned, slipping his hand between her slim thighs to continue the work of his tongue.
As his fingers found her she let out a short guttural gasp, but he would not cease his stroking and only smiled with understanding, his eyes revealing how much he enjoyed watching her pleasure as his skilful touch made her tremble all over and pant with need.
‘Please, Xavier—’ Sophie gasped out on a juddering sigh, sinking to her knees in front of him.
Wordlessly, he loosened the buckle on his belt and stripped off his jeans. In moments he was naked before her. Lowering her gently to the ground, he eased her into position beneath him. Stopping to trace her cheek with one sensitive fingertip, he slid his other hand down her back, removing the thong.
He took her slowly, conscious of her inexperience, and after the briefest pause when she cried out softly at the moment of penetration, he settled into her deeply, inhabiting her completely, stretching her far beyond anything she could ever have imagined, moulding his body completely with hers until they were one. The intensity of sensation was something she knew at once could never be surpassed—then he moved again, and it increased. Withdrawing completely in one slow movement, he plunged into her again, and then again and again, until she was moving with him in an unbroken primal dance that only ended to begin again, for having found each other and waited so long they were like two parched creatures at the well of life.
It was almost dark when Xavier looked up into the sky again. ‘There they go,’ he murmured softly.
Lifting her head, Sophie saw the two huge birds swooping away across the valley until they disappeared from sight. ‘Thank you for bringing me here,’ she murmured, tracing the outline of Xavier’s hard mouth with her fingertip. ‘It’s been the experience of a lifetime.’
‘As I hoped,’ he said wickedly.
‘I mean the condors too,’ Sophie reprimanded, smiling as she spoke. But then he drew her fingers into his mouth and began to suckle, and she was incapable of thought. It was incredibly erotic—but, as she reached for him again, Xavier moved away.
‘Time to go, querida,’ he said softly. But he seized her passionately and dragged her back to him for one last, lingering kiss.
Only here…only with him, Sophie thought, softening as Xavier’s fingers meshed through her hair after he’d helped her to button up her shirt.
‘Do you trust me completely now?’ he murmured, kissing her before she could answer him.
As his hands moved lightly over her neck and shoulders, Sophie trembled with desire for him again, the shivers spinning down her spine weaving pulses of sensation that made her reach for him urgently. ‘I’ve always trusted you,’ she exclaimed huskily.
‘Then perhaps one day,’ Xavier murmured, holding her at arm’s length so that he could stare deep into her eyes, ‘you will explain why it has taken you so long to trust me not to hurt you when I make love to you?’
‘One day,’ Sophie promised, but he could see shadows already darkening the light in her eyes like a cloud moving across the sun. ‘Has someone hurt you?’ he pressed, his face full of concern, urging her to share the pain.
‘No,’ Sophie said quickly, swallowing hard as she turned her face away from him, ‘not me.’
‘Who then?’ Xavier demanded softly, gently bringing her round and tilting her chin with his hand.
Sophie pressed her lips together and would not look at him. It was something she never talked about with anyone.
‘Sophie?’
Staring sightlessly out across the darkening valley Sophie shivered a little, but she found it oddly comforting that the little pocket of human emotion could nestle beneath a crag whilst nature played out its own drama on a much vaster scale. It changed her perspective and made keeping the pain locked inside her seem pointless. Turning back to look into Xavier’s face again, she knew he would not press her for details, that wasn’t his way. But hadn’t she trusted him already with her body, her spirit, her very essence…? Couldn’t she trust him with this too?
‘I was frightened because—’ She stopped, concerned suddenly that the words had been locked inside her for too long. Maybe she couldn’t get them out—but the steady beat of his heart against her chest urged her to try.
‘My mother…my mother was hurt,’ she told him finally in a dry voice stripped of emotion. ‘Often…many, many times…hospital…never honest about what happened…’ She was speaking quickly now, the words choking out on dry, gulping sobs. But she had to get it over with—had to brandish the malevolence in front of Xavier, and challenge him to want her, now he knew the truth about her father was even worse than he could possibly have imagined.
When every painful memory had finally drained from her, she was left shaking and spent. But, instead of rejecting her, turning cold as she had feared, Xavier planted tender kisses on her face and her eyes and her lips, while he stroked down the length of her shuddering back until, very slowly, she relaxed again and rested against him.
‘Come,’ he said when she had been still for a while, ‘we should be going.’ And as he pulled her to her feet, Sophie realised that the sun had dipped down low behind the peaks, casting a crimson mantle across the plain spread out below them. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to burden you—’
‘Don’t,’ Xavier murmured, putting his finger over her lips. ‘I’m glad you did. I guessed some of it, and I’ve been waiting for you to trust me enough—’
‘There’s so much you have to do, you’ve got to pack,’ Sophie broke in, affecting a bright tone. His expression was hidden from her in the deepening shadows and she felt sure the extent of her revelations must have been a shock for him. She could only guess at his feelings.
‘Stop it, Sophie,’ Xavier insisted, his voice full of passion. ‘You don’t have to be brave—not with me.’ He dragged her close and held her until she relaxed against him. ‘Better,’ he murmured at last, cupping her face in his hands as he stared deep into her eyes. ‘We should go now,’ he whispered tenderly, ‘or had you forgotten, querida, that you still have to pack too?’
As soon as Sophie saw Anna Groes waiting for them on the top step of the clinic her happiness evaporated. Problems never went away of their own accord—they only stacked up awaiting attention until you dealt with them, she mused grimly as Xavier drew the truck to a halt.
Anna seemed to be waiting expressly for them—perhaps she had been standing there on tenterhooks ever since they drove off! But, whatever the story, she looked
pretty pleased with herself now. She came tripping down the steps to greet them with a broad smile on her face, as if she was positively thrilled by their arrival. And, predictably, focused all her attention on Xavier.
‘Some more doctors have arrived,’ she said excitedly before he even had a chance to climb down from the cab. ‘They are waiting inside to meet you—’
‘I was expecting some more doctors, Anna,’ Xavier confirmed coolly, refusing to be hurried.
She stood back expectantly and was clearly frustrated when Xavier came around the other side of the truck to see Sophie safely out first. ‘Have they eaten yet?’ he asked Anna, one hand still resting lightly on Sophie’s arm.
Sophie saw by the merest flicker in Anna’s eyes that she had noticed the possessive gesture and resented it. But she also saw that the glamorous Danish doctor rallied fast. There wasn’t a hint of petulance about her. In fact, Sophie decided curiously, she looked distinctly smug.
‘I prepared a meal as soon as they got here,’ Anna said with a degree of suppressed excitement that seemed at odds with the mundane revelation.
‘Good,’ Xavier said, walking alongside Sophie to the base of the steps. ‘Well, we haven’t eaten yet, so—’
‘You haven’t?’ Anna said, tut-tutting with concern. ‘Then I shall take the greatest pleasure in feeding you, Xavier,’ she said, embroidering her offer with a flirtatious glance.
‘Don’t worry about us,’ he replied pleasantly. ‘Sophie and I will rustle something up.’
‘But thank you anyway, Anna,’ Sophie cut in with a quick smile. There was no point in fanning the flames of resentment when she knew that the medical world, like every other, was small and the chance of working with Anna again was high.
‘Please yourselves,’ Anna said, and this time she even gave Sophie the benefit of her perfect smile.
Sophie noticed some figures in silhouette, milling about behind the carelessly drawn curtains. The new doctors, she supposed. She was curious to meet them.