Evening Star (Star Quartet 1) - Page 113
To his surprise, he felt his body leap with desire. It was as if she were offering another part of herself for the first time, a hidden, vulnerable part that his body, as well as his mind, wanted for himself. “No,” he said, “I won’t leave you.” He studied her pale face, her shuttered eyes, before lowering his head.
She felt his mouth lightly touch hers. She lay passively against his arm, neither encouraging nor pulling away from him as she felt his fingers unhook the fasteners on her cloak, felt it fall from her shoulders. When she felt the heat from the fireplace upon her breasts, she slowly opened her eyes and stared up at him. “You want me.”
“Yes, I want you.”
She still lay passively, her arms at her sides as his hands moved over her. She realized that something was happening to Alex, something she did not as yet understand. There was no gentle seduction in his touch, but a fierce possessiveness.
When she lay sprawled on her back, his body against her, her fear mingled with an awakening desire in her belly and she cried out. She felt his fingers caress her face.
“Look at me, Giana.”
She obeyed him, her eyes dark with confusion.
“Tell me you need me.”
“I need you,” she said. It was the sound of her own voice, speaking those simple words, that made her realize she was willing to do anything, be anything he wished so long as he stayed with her.
“Alex, love me. Please, love me.”
She cried as he moved deep within her, knowing in that instant that she did not want to leave him, ever. His body was a part of hers, melded to her. She felt herself tensing, felt her body convulsing in the almost painful pleasure. But it was more, much more. A new terror floated like a shroud over her mind. She cried out against it, anguished by its power, yet her body demanded she feel it.
“Giana.” Alex saw tears in her eyes, but was unable to slow his raging need for her. “Giana.”
Alex felt as though his very soul had been torn from his body. She was his now. Only his. And he loved her, loved her so much that he was afraid. He wanted to shout at her that he wouldn’t love her, wouldn’t allow her to hurt him. The words trembled on his lips.
“Alex?”
He felt her lips touch his throat.
“Thank you.”
For what? “Giana, I—” I love you. He gently turned her to face him, and smiled at her round belly pressed against him. “Giana, did I give you pleasure?”
“Yes, gr
eat pleasure.”
He started to move away from her, and she clutched at him. “Please, Alex—” Suddenly she caught herself, as if she realized he had torn all pretense from her. She heard herself say in a stiff, formal voice, “Forgive me for disturbing you and the other gentlemen.”
“Don’t be a fool,” he nearly roared at her. He saw tears still swimming in her eyes, and buried his face in her tangled hair. “Forgive me, love. Tell me again what happened.”
She did. “It was odd—the second man. I thought I recognized his voice.” She shook her head, knowing that she must have been mistaken. “I lost your Havana cigars,” she finished. “I must have dropped them.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘’Do you remember what the cab driver looked like?”
“He seemed very disinterested until I offered him ten dollars to hurry.” Her eyes narrowed as she tried to picture him in her mind, but she saw only a bearded face and heavy woolen clothes.
“I will find out who the men were, Giana. And you, Mrs. Saxton, will no longer sally forth alone for a stroll. Do you promise?”
“Alex, why would anyone want to hurt me?”
“Likely no one did. It was a strike, a riot, and you were caught in the middle of it. But I will look into it. All right?”
She nodded, and moved slowly from his arms. “I think I hear Delaney.” She reached for her dressing gown, surprised at how normal she sounded.
Alex rolled off the bed and rose. Her eyes fell to his sex, glistening with himself and with her.
“Yes,” he said shortly, his dark eyes shuttered. Give me more than your damned lust. But she had, and he saw it in the sudden hurt in her eyes at his abruptness.
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