Free Legacy by Jayne Ann Krentz Page A

"Unless you really want to scare me for some reason."
    She had the oddest feeling that he was forced to stop and think about the answer to that question. There was a tension in the room that wasn't doing much to dry her already damp palms. This evening was turning into a full-scale disaster.
    "You have a point, Honor," Conn said finally. "I don't have any right to dictate how you spend your nights, do I?"
    "No," she got out in a thin whisper.
    "The problem is that I'd like that right," he continued.
    "Conn, please…"
    "I'd like you to know that I'll be there when things turn nasty the way they did with Granger and the way they did tonight when that truck followed you. I'd like you to trust me, Honor. I want you to know you don't have to get nervous and make up excuses for not seeing me."
    His words poured over her in a rough, sensual cascade that caught at Honor's senses. But they weren't simply smooth lover's lies. There was an underlying urgency in them that forced her to accept their sincerity. In that moment she wasn't even sure Conn himself realized the intensity with which he was speaking.
    Honor watched him as he moved toward her, aware of the swirl of male hunger in his gaze. She remembered the reassuring feeling of his arms going around her earlier out on the street and realized she wanted to know that sensation again.
    "Conn, there's so much we don't know about each other," she tried with a touch of desperation.
    He set down the brandy glass and touched the base of her throat with a remarkably sensitive fingertip.
    The desire in his eyes was an endless gray sea.
    "I agree. There is much we don't know about each other. But I think tonight would be a good time to discover some basic truths."
    Whatever her answer would have been, it was swallowed up in the depths of his kiss.

FOUR
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    It came as a shock to Conn to discover that he didn't want her to be afraid of him, that, instead, he wanted her to trust him. It was a further surprise to find out just how protective he now felt toward her.
    The image of himself wearing a suit of polished armor should have made him laugh but it didn't. He was beginning to experience a possessiveness that should have made him uneasy.
    When he'd found himself sitting in the car out in front of her apartment, waiting to see who would bring her home, Conn had finally acknowledged that he had a problem, one he hadn't counted on having to handle.
    He'd planned on being the one who spun the web; he hadn't anticipated the danger of getting tangled up in the delicate, sticky strands himself. He would never remain objective enough to sort out the truth if he lost control of himself and the situation.
    Now, tonight, it seemed very important that he regain control over events and in the process satisfy this dangerous desire that was threatening to undermine his original goals.

    Yes, Conn told himself as he felt the trembling response on Honor's lips, that's what he was doing tonight. He was simply regaining control.
    Her mouth was soft and warm. He wanted to crush it beneath his own, just as he wanted to crush her body into the embroidered quilt on her bed. The uncertainty in her was turning rapidly into passion. He was holding a woman who wanted him, even if she wasn't sure she ought to want him. Sensing her desire, his own soared.
    "It's all right, sweetheart," he breathed as he freed her mouth to taste the warm sweetness of her throat.
    "Just let go. Just let it happen. I'll be right there with you and I'll take care of everything."
    "Conn," she whispered shakily, "I wanted time. I'm not sure of anything right now."
    He wrapped his fingers lightly around the nape of her neck and used his thumbs to lift her chin so that she had to meet his eyes. Her gaze was half-drugged with a combination of desire and wariness.
    "I'm the man who's there when you need him, remember?" he reminded her softly. "And you need me tonight. We need each other. I don't make a habit of sitting in front of a