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hospital somewhere because I poked my nose into the wrong pot."
"If you loved me, I might risk it," she said. "But love isn't a word you know."
"It never will be," he said. "Dodging bullets is one thing. Being at the mercy of a woman is another."
She knew what he was telling her. He never intended letting a woman close enough to hurt him. She'd
heard rumors about his lady love at the FBI getting killed, and that he'd never gotten over it. Helen,
and Mary, had told her. He probably never would get over it. She couldn't go on tormenting herself
with hope that he'd care about her one day. Helen was right on that score. It was better to go ahead and
marry someone and settle down.
"You're independent," she said. "I know how that feels. But I'm tired of living alone and depending on
myself. Daniel and I get along very well. We'll have a good life together."
"Sure," he said easily. "As long as you don't have to suffer him too often in bed."
She colored. "I beg your pardon!"
"Don't sound so starchy. If Daniel could satisfy you, I wouldn't have had such an easy time of it last
night. You were ready for me the second I touched you. You don't want him at all, physically, do
you?"
"Sex isn't everything!"
"Marriages stand and fall on it, or so I'm told," he countered. "If you don't want him, Tabby, your life
is going to be hell. He'll know it, and hate you for it."
She couldn't admit that Daniel already found her stiffness unappealing. Her lack of response to his
infrequent kisses irritated him.
"I'll get used to that part of it."
"Get used to it! My God!"
"I'd rather have a man I can talk to...Nick!"
He'd torn the chair out of her hands while she was still speaking. Seconds later he had her back down
on the kitchen table, and his mouth was on hers.
She couldn't struggle. The slick Formica top made her position precarious, so that if she moved she
was in danger of sliding off. Nick held her down with one big, lean hand while his mouth ravaged
hers. She gave in helplessly, almost hating him for the ease of his conquest.
His hand slid down over her breast to her stomach and then to the top of her thigh. He eased the hem
of her nightie up, very slowly, making her all too aware that there was nothing under it.
All the while, she looked up at him with wide, shocked eyes that couldn't see beyond the intense
pleasure his mouth had given her, the feel of his warm, deft hand on her body.
His fingers trailed up her silky thigh. She caught her breath and shivered. She should catch his hand
and stop it. She should protest. But all she did was lie there, at his mercy, waiting.
His dark eyes slid down to the hem of the nightshirt. Under it, his hand had found the soft apex of her
hip and her thigh and was resting there.
She felt the caress in every pore of her body. Her legs felt boneless, her heart throbbed. Her lips
parted as the lingering touch made her ache and swell.
"You aren't wearing briefs," he whispered. "Do you always sleep like this?"
"Yes," she whispered huskily.
"And always alone?"
"Always."
His hand flattened on her body, teasing, tormenting. If he moved it a few inches, it would promote an
intimacy she'd never experienced. Part of her wanted that, wanted to know passion. Another part was
afraid, shy, inhibited.
"You're tense," he said softly. "So tense. It isn't necessary. I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the
world. Don't you know that?"
"Yes."
His hand moved slowly up her body until it found the taut, high swell of her breast. He touched her
there, feeling her stiffen and catch her breath. His thumb and forefinger drew circles around the taut
nipple, making her squirm.
"I've already seen you in my dreams," he whispered. Both hands went to the bottom of the nightshirt.
"Now, I'm going to make them come true for both of us."
He eased the fabric up her body until it came to rest, finally, bunched up under her chin. He looked at
her and caught his breath, while she lay there, flushed and hungry under his eyes.
"My God," he said through his teeth. "Tabby, you're exquisite!"
His eyes told her that she was desirable, even before his head bent and his mouth worshiped her
breasts. She arched upward, welcoming his warm lips, his tongue, his teeth as he made a meal of her.
His mouth was pressing down hard on her belly when the telephone rang and kept ringing.
He lifted his mouth from her body and stared at her, not quite rationally.
"It's the telephone," he said huskily.
"It isn't stopping," she murmured dazedly.
He gave her one long, last look. His lean hands smoothed over her body with possession, leaving a
trail of pleasure where they touched. "I thought you were thin," he whispered ruefully. His mouth
teased around her breasts and kissed the hard tips with a warm, torturous suction that made her pulse
with new hunger. "I want to make love to you," he breathed. "I want you to lie under me and let me
take you."
"Nick!" she wailed.
He stood erect all at once, his eyes dark and possessive for several seconds before he pulled her off
the table and jerked her nightshirt down to cover the body his mouth had explored so tenderly.
"You'd better answer it," he said curtly.
She picked it up with trembling hands. "Hello?"
"Tabby, it's nine o'clock," Daniel said impatiently. "Your class is waiting for you."
She gasped. "Daniel, I'm sorry! I...overslept," she said with a flushed glance at Nick. "I'll be right there. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]