Page 6 (1/2)
He understood all that But he had his own needs and vulnerabilities as well, and her demand was like a witchs spell If it had been uttered twice, or more catastrophically, the irreversible three times, it would have taken hiht
Or maybe not Surrender and submission were inseparable fros, the soul was lost, along with the treasure A Mistress had taught him that His Mistress, or rather, the Mistress, the one whod allowed hied to another
Not for the first tiht be problematic Yeah, thats an understate soe part of his Maybe that was the real reason he hadnt called her for uerite But he hadnt forgotten her, had wanted her, and when hed heard her voice on the phone, he knew he didnt want to deny hi to know her Hed accepted it as fate, but he ell aware he could be rationalizing a path to catastrophe, for both of them
A s he helped her into the Jeep and made sure her seatbelt was securely fastened, he noted her downcast eyes, bruised with lack of sleep
Brushing her cheek with his knuckles, he won an atte worth having never was
When Brendan dropped her off, he told her that hed come back for her at the end of the day Walked her to the side porch of the tea room Held her hand A part of her wanted him to kiss her, but she had no idea what she herself wanted Shed never realized her own thoughts could turn her into a lunatic She must have conveyed that indecision, because after a steady, searching look, he squeezed her hands and took a step back, nodding to her before heading back down the narrow path to the roadside parking She thought she detected an expression of regret, like hed hoped for ht be reading way too ood kid, play ith others, and dont give away the carrots I put in your Barbie lunchbox
He hadnt fucked her, though shed all but begged him Maybe she understood why hed turned her down, but his decision not to kiss her now took souy? Was that what she really wanted? A ny other day there would have been callous, insensitive, only-thinking-with-their-dicks Neanderthals lined up ten deep everywhere she looked, ready to take advantage of her desire for rough, violent sex
Hed stopped at the Jeep, his hand on the latch, and now he looked back, aze What was it that showed in her face? She didnt know, but he let go of the handle and considered her fro on the steps
She hadnt worn anything particularly alluring today She was dressed up enough to be presentable for work, no more, no less Usually she went for sos of colorful beads, unique costu clothes or faded jeans and quirky T-shirts She loved wild, floppy hats with feathers, decorated the briht wear a ribboned cameo at her throat, or poison vial amulets Some days she went for the natural look, her jewelry just a seashell or rock shed found, strung on a silk cord
Rather than being the armor they were for many other people, her clothes and accessories were part of her honest language, the way she laughed and talked to the world, which sang back in multiple colors and textures
If anyone could live on the curve of a rainbow, it would be you Gen had said that to her Over a year ago
Today, her throat was painfully bare, her outfit bland Jewelry and color were the last things shed been thinking about this aze coursed over her throat, instead of feeling like shed failed herself, she iined his hands or mouth as the embellish color she would have chosen She alot how tired and pale she must look
His focus moved back to her face A ll hed done was look at her, and she couldnt move, could only tremble Could he devour her body with a look, the way she wanted him to do? No, of course not No more than he could take her up on her needy deive her one daiven her a brush of lips the way he would a pathetic invalid, a psycho charity case, she ht have had to pluck the Welcome to Tea Leaves wall plate off the porch pillar and slap it against his head hard enough to spin hi the twenty feet of air between theht now? Tell ht I dont want you to give a damn about how I feel or what I want I dont want you to be sensitive or caring Its choking me, damn it
He cocked a brow Pivoted and opened the Jeep door For a second, she thought sheall the innocent flowers froed out of the coat, broad shoulders delineated by the pull of the white shirt beneath, and tossed it over the passenger seat Turning around, he strode back up the walk to her
His eyes were back on hers, but his expression was very different now He showed her fire, purpose, a sensuous set of hisin anticipation He racefully, such that she had approximately one indrawn breath to think I have no idea what the hell I hi not to bolt and hide Before she could decide, hed slid one arm around her waist and put one foot on the step next to hers When the weight of his body shoved her against the railing, her hands flew to his shoulders to grab
In a blink, her feet were barely touching the porch boards, then not touching at all as he took another step up The height difference, along with the strength of his one arainst his Before her feet could scrabble for purchase, hed shifted his hands, gripped her thighs and yanked the his body into that carnal cradle, deni cotton pants with her T-shirt, hand painted with a jasmine tea leaf One of her faded and frayed ballet style slippers toppled off her toe so that her bare foot curved around the back of his thigh Even though the outfit was thin, it felt like too ht rushed back in, the rean now pressed against her center