Free Come Back to Me by Josie Litton Page A

shudder that ran through him. His hands were big and hard on her back, drawing her closer. He deepened the kiss, parting her lips, his tongue penetrating swift and sure. Had she breath, she would have cried out in sheer, exultant delight. That the world held such marvels and she all unknowing all these years!
    She raised her arms, sliding her palms up his chest to stroke the breadth of his shoulders before twining around his neck. His hair was pulled back at the nape; it brushed over her fingers like thick silk. Beneath the boy's tunic, her nipples ached. Helpless, she yielded to the need to move her hips against his.
    He held a column of fire in his arms, Dragon thought dazedly. Pure, incandescent flame leaping from her body to his. He was an ardent man well schooled in the amorous arts but never had he felt such raw hunger as overtook him now. His warrior woman, for so he had come to think of her, had a sensual nature to match his own.
    Yet was she an innocent, of that he was certain in the way of a man who knows women. It was the realization of that piercing the haze of desire that finally made him draw back. Even so, he could bring himself only to break off the kiss, not to let her go. He pressed her head to his chest, stroking her hair gently, as he struggled to control the near-overwhelming urge to lay her down on the soft grass and give them both what they so obviously wished.
    He had compelled her to come with him. He wanted her to trust him. Two stone-hard truths that stood as sentinels to buttress his wavering conscience. No matter that they were both willing participants, honor demanded he do that which was right.
    "I should not have done this," he said softly.
    She looked up at him in bewilderment until the meaning of his words sank in. Instantly, she stiffened and pushed against his chest. He had to force himself to release her. Even so, he reached out a hand as she moved quickly away. She eluded him, cheeks flaming, but she could not elude his words.
    "Listen to me," he said urgently. "You are a girl, young and untried. I am a man. I have pledged to keep you safe. Therefore, I should not have done this, but in truth you tempt me as I have never—" He caught himself. Best not to frighten her too much. "You tempt me deeply. Yet do I pledge you have nothing to fear from me. I swear this to you."
    Truth.
    Rycca stopped, turned, looked at him. She saw a man indeed, one of breathtaking beauty and virility who had held her gently through the night to keep her terror at bay, put aside his own feelings to take her riding, set them aside yet again to keep her safe even from her own turbulent desires. The hero of this strange world. Truly, there was no better way to think of him.
    Softly, she said, "You went over the cliff."
    Indeed, he did feel as though he had fallen a great distance, but somehow he didn't think that was what she meant. She saw the question in his eyes and smiled a little. "You hate heights, yet you followed me right to the edge of the cliff and over it. You climbed all the way down to get me."
    His mouth quirked. The weight was coming off his chest. She was not angry. "I climbed up it, too, to get you."
    Her smile broadened. "A determined man."
    "Yes," he said, and went for the horses.
     
    THEY RETURNED TO THE LODGE AT MIDDAY. Rycca claimed to feel fine yet offered no protest when Dragon insisted that she lie down and rest for a while. Intending to do no more than close her eyes, she slept until close on to evening.
    She woke to find no sign of him. Romulus and Remus were in their stalls, happy as ever to see her. If he had left, it was not on horseback, but then he preferred his own two feet. Not that she truly believed he had left, she was merely being foolish. Yet was her foolishness relieved when she saw the fish left gutted and scaled, ready to be put on green branches over the fire. Where was he then? The river? She was turning in that direction when she noticed smoke rising from the side of a