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Clare's recklessness ers went to the pearl buttons on the loose blouse and she undid the, as though afraid that any overt response would send her fleeing back to common sense His restraint was justified Clare couldn't really believe that it was her behaving so wantonly, so out of character, actually teasing a man with her body The fact that he had said they couldn't make love only increased her excitement, made it safe to be wanton…

What she wore tonight had rather shocked her when she had first seen it, but since Miles had presented it to her she had seen siarments appear on the racks of even chain

store lingerie departh of much inferior quality And the fact that it was plain white had made her feel less wicked It was a basque, with a row of tiny hooks up the back that it had taken a while toin the way that it scooped her breasts and followed the sweep of her waist to a saucy little frill on the hips Clare didn't take her blouse off completely, she wasn't that bold, and when she had pulled the tail of her blouse out of her jeans and unbuttoned the last pearl she stopped Her hands were beginning to shake too much anyway, from the sweet, hot darkness of David's eyes

She moistened her dry lips, unnerved by his silence, and was bewildered when David suddenly rolled aith a groan, presenting her with a broad dark back

'David? What's the ht that he was ill She scooted over to kneel in front of him uncertainly 'David?' She bent to try and see his face, al a hand on the curve of his waist He juain when he rolled on to his back and saw her bent over hiainst the fragile barrier of French lace

'Oh, Clare, you're killing ainst his will, to cup her shoulders under the loose sleeves of her blouse, thued her doards hi to touch you Why didn't you refuse me?' he demanded thickly

Clare's breasts pinkened under his agonised adlance over his body, and she had tingled with the knowledge of how much he wanted her Now desire threatened to overwhelm his self-conscious nobility, and she didn't knohether to be scared or glad

'I wanted it, too,' she admitted breathlessly

'You shouldn't,' he told her, watching helplessly as his handsthe lucky freckles that kissed her creae Her breasts see them in their shadowed valley 'You knohat I am, what my life is like Are you prepared to letthat I can't possibly be comfortably slotted into your secure little world?' His eyes rose to hers, narrowing 'Or is that precisely why you're inviting me to make love to you? Because you knoon't be here in a week? Are you just looking for a passing prince to reawaken your sexuality, someone on't cause complications afterwards?'

Oh, if only he knew! She wanted to say, I' this because I love you and I want you to love h his egophase in her life, it was better than hi the truth The worldly, sophisticated reat love of his life, now i woman could everHe would run aTo tell soe that that love wasn't returned was little short of blackmail Clare must bear that burden herself It was no fault of David's His had been seduction, pure and siue hints of a possible future together

'Clare?' David's face had darkened as he watched her htly encompass her waist 'I won't be used just to satisfy your sexual curiosity I don't want to be compared to your sainted Lee…'

Clare tossed her head, the htly boned waist 'And I don't want to be compared with your Nina…'

'I would never do that I told you, one I've had other wo the therily over her captive body suddenly contained an eleer pleased him 'You haven't repast either physically or mentally You've preserved yourself, held back all the passion in your nature except where it's safely channelled into the living shrine of your son, afraid of any real flesh and blood …'

Clare tugged at the tensile strength of his hands, herdarts so near the truth She had changed since the tragedy, had been afraid of new places and experiences after the upheaval of h its doors were ht up in the adventure of the place, in their own luxurious lives, to press to enter hers David had changed that, had changed herand that he had such power frightened her

'I suppose you would have preferreda lot and achieving little except a heightening awareness of the solid thigh flexing against her hip 'I suppose if I'd racked up all the experience with casual sex that you've had, you'd consider that the key to re-entering the land of the living Well, I'm sorry to be so provincial and middle class about it But I loved Lee and I'm proud of it! And I never will look on sex as the only path to happiness and fulfilhtly or casually—and take your da by the ti as he watched the rivetingsensuousness to doubt, to spitting fury He had never seen her so uninhibited, and wondered what she would look like utterly so Her eyes drilled into hi about her head, her cheeks rosy and the lush little bow of herripe to bite hi flex of her diaphrag her lower ribs How in the hell could mortal man resist her? Why should he resist her? Even as he teiven her earlier were still valid He wanted their lovee of discovery, not a quick, heated coupling that would cause a woonies of conscience afterwards… the first ti-block, whatever happened He had known froetting it, albeit with a little more difficulty than he had anticipated But that would make the victory that much the sweeter…