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Benteen stared at her, his eyes narrowing “My God, Lorna,” he muttered thickly “Why don’t you just callyou to sub so meekly dutiful?”

“Because I knohat you said is true” She had the intelligence to understand that, even if she wasn’t sure she was enize it’s ayou enjoy” She couldn’t look at him while she explained the reasons behind her acquiescence

“And you?” Benteen challenged quietly

“I’m not sure I ithout …” Lorna had intended to say, “… without re when you tookBenteen would read in the rest

He walked to within a foot of her and stopped All expression was kept froer under her chin and raised it There was a panicked acceleration of her heartbeat, but Lorna quelled it and tried to return his steady gaze

“We’d better find out if you can,” Benteen said

With calculated deliberation, he slowly bent his head toward her, watching closely for any adverse reaction fro, but she was able to keep it froainst her lips, Lorna didn’t resist His ently over them, mindful of their chapped soreness The kiss arentle pressure and find a s warmth

His body did not touch hers, but she could feel its heat radiating from him If it could stay like this, she could handle it His handcurve to the hollow of her throat She started to feel the tension threading through her nerves When his mouth tried to coax her lips apart, her mind flashed back to the last time when no such persuasion had been used She tried very hard to block out the degrading id under his touch She didn’t want it to be like this She wanted to feel that raw passion of all the other times before the last

Although she let her lips part in an attes, Benteen sensed the difference The kiss was stopped cold as he slowly dreay to look at her Her gaze wavered under the deliberately aloof inspection of his

“You aren’t any good at faking it, Lorna” He knew if he let her go through with this charade of desire and made love to her, as he desperately wanted to do, she would ulties she said he had She would despise him more than she already did

“Benteen, I’—”

“If it can’t cohly “Be honest about what you’re feeling, even if it’s hatred”

“I don’t hate you,” Lorna said, but didn’t enlighten him about what she did feel

“I’ll stay away from you for a while You tell me when you want me to be your husband” And he hoped to God he’d have the strength to wait for that day—and that it wouldn’t be too far into the future He turned from her and walked to theto look onto the street below Without looking, Benteen was conscious that Lorna was still standing in the sah now You’d better put your dress on”

“Yes” Her head was bent She realized she had been foolish to think she could pretend to feel pleasure But accepting his advances had appeared to be a way to assuage her guilt for goading hiht about the rape She couldn’t plead ignorance, because she’d kno violently angry Benteen had becouessed he would be overly sensitive to any hint that she ht repeat what his mother had done