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"Is this against the rules?" I asked I grabbed the edge of the hot tub, one hand on either side of hiainst the rules It feels too good to be legal"
His voice was a hot, breathless growl "You refused to bindAh!"
He was hard as steel, hot as fire, and he felt so good going in that I shuddered and collapsed against hi between us "Tell ainst my neck
"It&039;s forbidden," he said "And it&039;s stupid I need to-to stay-don&039;t-"
"Don&039;t what?" I ainstup overprecious and fragile No er We lost ourselves, fire and water dissolving into each other in a perfect union of opposites, and when I cried out, it was into his ic didn&039;t keep hi me
At the very second that I was coht, I felt the De aroundback to reality with a jolt like electrocution, and the sensation of being violated, being ripped away from him, was so real that I panicked Lost control Lostlike soth keptout, and all the fire in the world couldn&039;t es and for into
"No!" I heard him say, and there was helpless pain and fury in it Not just flesh, not just fire-passion "Stay withdown, all ainst the invader Was this how it had been for Bad Bob? Had it really hurt this o back to that waro back to David&039;s arms
David put his hand flat abovethe black tendrils of the Deained It was bigger now Darker Full of cool, malevolent life Tapped deep into the roots of where I lived
When the pain receded and I could breathe again, I realized David was holdingaimless patterns on ers touched, I felt stronger Warmer
"Shh," he whispered, when I tried to speak "My fault My fault Let e effort to raise my hand and touch his face, but a rich rehen I saw some of the tension ease out of him "How the hell is this your fault?"
"You asked me if it was forbidden I shouldn&039;t have let ers over his mouth to shut him up His lips moved, not ords, but with silent kisses
"Don&039;t ever say that," I said "Don&039;t ever"
We stayed like that, hie, me cradled in his arms, for more than an hour No words, no impulse for more; he stroked ed," I finally said, and raisedon raisin skinned"
I caught the edge of his smile
"You&039;re the mistress of air and water," he said "I can&039;t believe you couldn&039;t fix a thing like that"
"True But I&039;m too tired Can&039;t you just-blink us back up to the room?"
"No," he said "I canyou is a bit h the earth with th," he said gravely "I assume you want me fully restored"
"Bet your ass"
The Deain, almost invisible; still, it was hard to ain David understood He letain
"It&039;s quiet," he said
"What if it gets noisy again?"
"It won&039;t Not tonight" He didn&039;tout of the habit of thinking about toot out of the water, weak-kneed, my bits of Lycra back in place for the trip upstairs David surged out of the hot tub next I found led in his hair, flecked his entire body with light God, he was beautiful I couldn&039;t quite believe that I&039;d drawn passion out of that perfection, because he looked so controlled and untouchable now
"Put soht off the desk clerks to hang on to you"
He reached for my towel and wrapped it around his waist That did not
"Upstairs," he reminded me I took his arm, and alked out of the pool area onto the deep pile carpet past the front desk One of the clerks looked up, frowned slightly, then realized what she was doing and gave us a brilliant smile
"I&039;m sorry, I didn&039;t see you in there The pool area&039;s closed for the night," she said David-just huuy-nodded and apologized We strolled back up the hall to the elevators, where aited politely until one dinged open for us
I shivered in the air-conditioning as the doors ruesture, and instantly I arm and dry
"Wow," I said, surprised He raised his eyebrows
"Nothing you couldn&039;t do yourself"
I moved closer to him and found him dry, too; warm as if he wore summer under his skin He put his arms around me, but he did it carefully Too carefully
"David"
"Yes?"
"I&039;ile"
He didn&039;t smile, didn&039;t look away froold-stone "Coile than you But don&039;t treat , I&039; until I don&039;t" David still didn&039;t look away "Prome like my life depended on it"
It was a short ride to the third floor, too short for the kind of reassurance I wanted, but he did e to make me feel better And warmer
In the room, with towels and swimsuits discarded, he proceeded to raise my body temperature considerably This ti, slow, delicious heat that kept building and building until I burned
I fell asleep curled against hi it still
I woke up alone in a well-mussed bed, felt the cold hollow in the pillohere David had lain, and I felt that cold certainty sweep overto open one as if he&039;d never been
But when I looked, he was standing at the , looking out He was already dressed in a gold flannel shirt and blue jeans, feet bare, and he had his glasses on again Huuise firmly in place
I stretched and let the sheet slip down David didn&039;t take the bait He looked unco, especially after a night that had left ?" I asked "What&039;s so fascinating? Cheerleaders practicing naked in the parking lot?"