Velvet Embrace

She thawed out gradually, and her trembles finally subsided. When feeling began to flow in her limbs once more, she suddenly became very aware of Dominic's hard length molded against her back and the heaviness of his iron-thewed thigh as it rested on her bare legs. She could even feel his breath stirring the soft hairs on the top of her head.

When his hand moved to rest lightly on the curve of her hip, Brie tensed. His knuckles brushed her hip, then slid down to stroke her bare thigh. But it was an idle caress. There was no urgency in his movements.

Brie relaxed against him, beginning to enjoy the solid strength of his embrace. It seemed natural somehow for her to be in his arms. She lay there, lazily watching the fire and feeling oddly content as she listened to the rain pound against the roof. The flames in the hearth began to courageously attack the stubborn tinder until gradually the fire grew into a crackling blaze. The warmth made Brie drowsy, and after a while, she closed her eyes.

Dominic was lost in his own thoughts, but when a log broke apart in the grate sometime later, he snapped out of his reverie. Lifting his head, he gazed down at Brie. She had fallen asleep, he realized with a rueful grin.

Obviously she couldn't be too worried, for she was slumbering with the confidence of a child. Her soft lips were parted slightly and her breathing was quiet and rhythmic. She looked so lovely with her long lashes fanning her cheeks like dark crescents. Cautiously, Dominic reached up to brush aside a damp curl from her brow. Her skin felt like velvet beneath his fingertips, and he ached to do more than touch her.

Lifting a silken tress of her hair, he watched it gleam richly in the firelight as it curled around his fingers. The beguiling fragrance stirred his blood, and Dominic closed his eyes, almost groaning out loud. Having Brie's slender body pressed so intimately against him was an exquisite torment. He wanted to take her there and then, while she slept. . . . But remembering her fear, Dominic told himself that he had to move slowly.

Brie required careful cultivation; she ws far too tempting a morsel for him to risk with precipitate action. Exercising patience would be difficult, though. Already his arousal was painful.

He was grateful when the fire began to die down, for at least it gave him something else to occupy his thoughts. Slowly he eased his arm from beneath Brie's head. She stirred, but didn't waken, and he quietly rose from the cot and went to the fireplace. After throwing another log on the fire, he knelt to stir the coals, staying there for a time, staring thoughtfully at the flames.

It wasn't long before Brie started to shiver. She tried to bury herself more deeply beneath the blanket, missing Dominic's warmth, but when she couldn't find it, she opened her eyes. Seeing Dominic, Brie decided she must be dreaming. A towel no longer draped his hips and his entire body was exposed to her fascinated view. His body looked lean and hard, with long sinewy muscles rippling beneath the bronzed skin. And he was so very dark. He was tanned all over, even his powerful flanks.

"So dark," Brie whispered. She didn't realize she had spoken the words out loud until Dominic responded.

"I like to swim," he said as if in answer to her question.

"You swim naked?" When she heard Dominic's soft chuckle, Brie felt a fiery blush flood her face. She was grateful that his attention remained on the fire.

"I do when the sun is hot enough," he replied, sounding amused. "I have a small plantation in the West Indies with a private beach. I was there until a few months ago and my tan hasn't left me yet. Perhaps some day I might take you there."

He rose then, and turned to look at her, cocking his head at an angle and regarding her with a quizzical expression.

Brie stared at him, shocked by his boldness. Beneath Dominic's hard, flat belly was full proof of his masculinity, standing proud and erect. She was amazed that he could be so casual about his nudity, but oddly she felt longing as well as fear curl in the pit of her stomach.

Hastily averting her gaze from that enormous swelling, Brie buried her face in the mattress. "Have you no decency?" she exclaimed, her words sounding muffled.

Dominic's mouth twisted sardonically. "I am only human, chérie. I cannot control my body, even if I can manage to keep my desires in check. You do have a certain effect on a man."

Not answering, Brie held herself rigidly still

, hoping he would go away. But Dominic only moved closer. She felt the cot sag as he sat beside her. Brie tensed, feeling his hand gently brush aside her hair, exposing the nape of her neck.

His warm fingers began massaging the sensitive area. Then he bent to whisper in her ear, his voice holding a hint of steel. "Your pretense of virginal innocence, chérie, is not very believable. This is not the first time you have been with a man."

Brie was startled that he could have learned her deepest secret. Dismayed, she turned to look up at him. "How did you know?"

Dominic was conscious of a sharp twinge of jealously. "No woman kisses a man as you did, my sweet, without having had some experience. Have there been many others besides me?"

Brie stared at him speechlessly, his insinuation making her furious. She had only had that one experience—and that had been when she was a foolish, love-stricken girl. She hadn't given Stanton any reason to think she would be receptive to his advances, either. Or perhaps she had, Brie amended, remembering that night at the lodge. But just because she had almost fallen for his seduction, didn't mean she would let it happen again, or that he could say such insulting things to her.

She was so angry that her words sounded strangled. "How dare you?" she sputtered. "I am not a . . . a common doxy. There was only one man and it happened but once!"

"Only once?" Dominic murmured. His doubtful gaze held Brie's as his fingers toyed absently with a russet curl. "Well, whoever he was, he must have been a fool to let you get away."

Brie's eyes flashed fire. "He was more than a fool! He was a blackguard and a knave."

Dominic smiled lazily, drawing a finger along her cheekbone. "A knave, is it? Would that he were here so that I could run him through with my sword."

Brie ground her teeth. "You mock me, my lord, but I assure you he was a scoundrel. I found being with him a perfectly horrid experience."

So that was it, Dominic thought. Someone had hurt her. That explained why she cringed in fright whenever he got too close. Feeling a surge of anger toward the unknown man who had laid claim to her body and branded her with his harsh usage, Dominic shook his head. "I do not mock you, my fiery vixen. I think it a pity that your initiation should have been so unpleasant. He could not have been much of a man. I would not have been so careless with the privilege, nor would I have neglected your enjoyment."

Brie arched a scornful brow. "Are you such an expert then?" she asked unwisely.