Free Rital of Proof by Dara Joy Page A

anything—
    Again, she felt him tremble.
    Jorlan tried to stiffen himself against the sensual assault but could not. Against his will, he felt himself give over to the awareness. Felt his body come alive as the tremors shivered down his length and throughout his body.
    Green felt his initial resistance followed by the reaction he could not contain. Somehow, the fact that he had lost a bit of his rigid control in the essence of the moment pleased her.
    She was going to love awakening this man. Teaching him of the passion within himself. Watching it rise slowly until it overtook him. And her
    A picture of him sprawled across her sheets came into her mind. His golden skin warmed by flamelight, flushed with a slight sheen of moisture, dry and hot to the touch as he waited for her to come to him. For her to ignite him. His eyes were illuminated with his heat. Jorlan jolted suddenly, breaking off the pure kiss to stare into her eyes. Shielded, his expression became inscrutable.
    "Wh-what is it?" She tried to control the pace of her breaths, which had sped up with the press of his mouth and her unaccountable thoughts. It was a mystery to her how this untried veil had managed to get to her like this.
    A muscle ticked in his jaw. "Nothing, Marquelle." He pulled back from her abruptly.
    She regained her composure with his distance. "Do you not like the taste of me?"
    "I like the taste of you just fine."
    "Then what is it?"
    "As I said, nothing." He snapped a boomerang leaf from the branches of an overhanging Dreamtree, setting it in flight. The small V-shaped leaf spun back and forth through the air, riding the currents as it gently cascaded to the ground.
    Had he somehow picked up a glimmer of her impetuous fantasy? She glanced up at him through the fringe of her lashes. It was possible. Who knew what he was capable of? The boy had been a mystery; the man was an enigma. And yet, he had spoken the truth. He could not hide his reaction to her. The slight warm flush of his golden skin, the husky tone of his voice told their own tale.
    "How long have you known that you are a Sensitive?"
    His shoulders stiffened. He looked back at her. "What do you mean?"
    "There is no sense trying to hide it, Jorlan. You might have gotten away with it with another woman, had you chosen someone else to experiment with. I, however, know better. I am too experienced not to. You knew that as well, which makes me wonder why you chose me to explore with."
    He looked up at the tallest branches of the Dreamtree where a Ramagi was spinning its matrix. "Yes, I know of your experience. And you're right, I am curious where perhaps I shouldn't be. I have never had such a curiosity with anyone before—" He stopped, unwilling to say more.
    Green watched him carefully. What was he weaving? He wanted her. Only her.
    It was not simple experimentation. Not with this man. She stored this incident away for later contemplation. "And what of being a Sensitive?"
    His brow furrowed. "I do not know what you are saying."
    "You... " She hesitated. Perhaps he did not know. Perhaps he had no idea that he was very different from most, men. That he experienced the senses on a completely different level. Being brought up in a proper way in a proper household, he would not have been exposed to the term "Sensitive."
    "Why did you break away, Jorlan?" she said carefully. He rubbed the back of his neck as if he were releasing a building tension. "I'd rather not delve into it, Marquelle, if you do not mind."
    "I do mind." She approached him once again, placing a hand on his forearm. "Tell me what it was. And my name is Green."
    "Very well... Green. I cannot put a name to it. I had this—this vision, you might say... " He glanced up at the bank of clouds on the horizon. "It sounds strange, I know."
    "No, no it doesn't. What did you see?"
    He looked her way; a muscle beat in his jaw, and then he stared at the clouds again.
    "Yes?"
    "It was a rather erotic image."
    "Go on." She was sure now