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She arched her spine off the tree, closing her eyes as shards of pleasure-pain spiked through her

His breath fired against her throat She opened her eyes to his gleah lit fro at her feet She felt his hands on the heown, then at her ankles, then her calves Up they slid, ski the slit of her drawers

He stood then, his fingers teasing the inside of her thighs until she instinctively parted her legs wider

"That’s it," heher before one finger pushed inside her, easing in with tor slowness until she nearly wept fro it over that little nub in fast circles

"Ah, you feel so hot So sweet"

She er you taste sweet, too," he breathed thickly in her ear

Overcoht her then, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around his hips She had barely recovered her breath froe and insistent, pushing at her entrance

Their eyes locked, his burning brightly in the dark He stopped, held himself there His shoulders tensed beneath her hands, restraint huh the corded muscles under his jacket

"Please," she choked, her voice not her own, but soht, where drea everything she thought she knew about herself, about hi hi her in a way that was roaned, the sound reverberating from his body and into hers With one hand on her bottoh, he ain His fingers dug into her thigh, pulling her leg higher for a deeper penetration, for pleasure so intense it bordered pain The incredible friction drove her mad She writhed between his hard body and the tree, desperate, searching for so that seeo," he breathed in her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth and biting down, hard, sending a bolt of need bursting through her

The ache that had started fro every nerve in her body until she felt on the verge of snapping, exploding into pieces His thrusts grew harder, faster, stoking the fire within her until--at last--she exploded, bursting froh the wind

Her internal quivering gradually ebbed and she fell li on one broad shoulder He joined her, shuddering against her, grinding her to the tree

She felt hihtest movement in the still and sudden aftermath

She remained just so for several moments, pinned between him and the tree until he re and stepped back Her chest rose and fell with deep breaths Still, she did not ive out beneath her, that she would blink and wake in her small bed Alone The same

Cool air crawled over her A chill chased over her skin, puckering her nipples, returning her to herself, re less exposed, she lifted one foot, prepared to step fros quivered Deciding it best not to collapse in an undignified pile, she leaned back against the tree, giving herself further tiers grazed her cheek They brushed the stiff edge of her do painfully Despite the dark, her hand darted to her face to uise was still in place

"Don’t you think it’s time you showedover her "And perhaps we can even exchange na of his voice, she detected a deterarden Against a tree He would want to see her face, know her name Curiosity alone demanded it And damn if a part of her didn’t want to reveal herself, didn’t want to see the expression on his face when he saas she--Jane But the other part of herself, the voice of logic--the realist--knew his reaction would likely be one she did not want to see

"Perhaps," she returned, her heart beating harder at that total iue response for playfulness, she ran her hand over his ar thelooht elsewhere" With a hand on her elbow, he pulled her along, back to the diers burned her flesh, a brand that she would forever bear One she never wanted to be rid

Unbelievably, the fire in her blood flickered to life again at his words A part of her longed to go with hiht somewhere comfortable and private, where they could devote time and attention to one another, where he could stoke her newfound passions to life again But that could never be Her chest constricted and the backs of her eyes burned This would be all she would ever have froarden She could expect no more Could risk no more

She allowed hi feverishly, wondering how she ht escape him before he discovered that it was she who hid behind theher back into the crowd of revelers with his hand at the sh the crowd, drawing upon the batons Dancers in flowing garments whirled around the Jane as they swarhtened his hold on her Nevertheless, one tug and she knew she could be free

Pressing herself to hi kiss For a moment, the noise vanished, the crowd disappeared and it was only herBefore she became too lost in the moment, in the kiss, in hi to his, she stared into his eyes and whispered, "Thank you"

"For what?" His eyes sht with you"

Dragging in a deep breath, she wrenched herself free and dove into the crowd

"Aurora," he called after her, his voice clawing the air, terrible in its anger

She plunged deeper into the ain called that na ahead, she forbade herself to look over her shoulder, to see if he followed, too afraid that if she saw his face she would freeze, give in and run back to his ar with the noise of Vauxhall--the laughing crowd, the cries of the perfor of the orchestra

She pushed ahead, down the wide lane croith both oncos threatened to burst