A Daring Passion

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SHADOWS HAD BEGUN TO ENTER the bedchamber when Raine stirred from her sleep. With her eyes still closed she absorbed the feel of Philippe cradled close behind her, his arm curved over her waist and his hand cupping her breast with a possessive grasp. Even more shocking, she realized that his flesh was still deeply embedded within her.

Sensing the moment she awakened, Philippe shifted to trail his lips over the curve of her shoulder. His fingers toyed with her breast until her nipple was hard.

She wanted to protest. What sort of woman so eagerly responded to the touch of a man holding her captive? A man who saw her as nothing more than an object?

Unfortunately her body refused to listen to the voice of caution that warned she was courting disaster. Instead her eyes slid closed in aching need as he slowly began to rock himself inside her, his hand slipping down the length of her body to stroke the tiny nub of her pleasure.

He whispered soft words in her ear, refusing to increase his slow steady pace until her entire body cried out for the fulfillment he promised.

“Philippe,” she rasped, her fingernails digging into his forearm as he tormented her. “Please.”

“Do you want me, meu amor?” he demanded. She remained stubbornly silent and he gave the lobe of her ear a sharp nip even as he halted his delicious thrusts. “Say it, Raine. Tell me you want me.”

She nearly screamed in frustration. He had taken her freedom, her body and an increasingly dangerous part of her heart. Did he have to take her pride, as well?

It seemed that he did as he continued to hold himself still within her.

“Damn you,” she muttered. “Yes.”

“Say the words, meu amor. I want to hear them on your lips.”

“I want you,” she breathed, the words so low that they barely stirred the air.

Philippe moaned as he buried his face in the curve of her neck and began to drive himself into her with a raw, powerful force that had her swiftly arching in a shattering explosion.

She sighed deeply as he gently pulled from her, and then with a gentle care turned her onto her back so he could study her with his thoughtful gaze.

“I will never have enough of you,” he murmured softly. “Never.”

Raine ignored the treacherous warmth that flooded her heart. For the moment he was obsessed with her body. Why that should be so she hadn’t the faintest clue. But she did know that sooner or later he would tire of her. It was as inevitable as the sun rising. She would be the worst sort of fool to believe he could truly desire her to remain at his side.

Opening her mouth to offer a pert retort, Raine was halted by the embarrassing sound of her stomach rumbling in hunger.

A blush touched her cheeks as Philippe chuckled and stroked a familiar hand over her belly.

“I see that I have not yet managed to sate all of your hungers, you greedy angel,” he said as he brushed a kiss over her forehead.

“You were the one to keep me from my luncheon,” she reminded him in tart tones.

His smile was smug, not at all repentant for having kept her in bed half the day.

“So I did. Something easily rectified.” He rolled off the bed and reached for his robe. “Remain here and I shall return in a moment.”

Raine lay back on the pillows, watching as he tied the robe and moved with predatory grace toward the door.

He was a wondrous creature. A lion that stalked through the world and took what he wanted with a ferocious will. And for now he wanted her.

Bloody hell, her entire body still tingled with the force and pleasure of his touch. She always felt sated when she left his arms. But today, there had been a raw edge of savagery in his lovemaking that left her feeling oddly disoriented.

It was as if he had been determined to…what? To prove to both of them that she did belong to him? To ensure that she would never be able to forget his touch? To steal what was left of her battered heart?

What the devil did he want from her?

PHILIPPE HAD FILLED A TRAY with delicately roasted pheasant, broiled potatoes, peas in a cream sauce and a delicate pudding that was Raine’s favorite.

Returning to the bedchamber, he set the tray next to Raine and settled on the bed to watch her eat with a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach.