Free Season of Shadows by Yvonne Whittal Page B

except the thudding of her heart and an
exquisite feeling of well-feeing, then Anton spoiled it all by raising
himself up on one elbow to say tauntingly, 'I promised you a glimpse of
heaven, didn't I?'
    His mocking reference to the intimacy they had shared
seemed to belittle an experience which she had considered almost
sacred, and as she came down to earth with a thud, she heard herself
ask coldly, 'Do you usually gloat over your triumphs in this manner?'
    His faintly cynical smile deepened. 'If I'm gloating, then
it's because I've made an intriguing discovery about you.'
    'Have you?' she asked warily, drawing the sheets up higher
in order to hide her nakedness from his invading eyes, but her action
merely evoked his mocking laughter, and made her cheeks flare hotly
with embarrassment.
    'I've discovered that beneath that cool exterior of yours
there lurks a passionate woman,' he told her, lowering his lips to her
exposed throat where a pulse leapt in response to his touch. 'I think
I'm going to enjoy being married to you, and teaching you all there is
to know about the art of making love.'
    Her body stiffened with distaste. 'Your experience is
vast, no doubt?'
    'I'm thirty-nine, Laura,' he stated calmly as he raised
his head, and his mocking glance seared through her like a heated blade
as he added, 'Had I been an inexperienced youth you wouldn't have found
my lovemaking so enjoyable.'
    Her cheeks grew hot with renewed humiliation and anger.
'Last night you—'
    'Last night was different. You were tense and frightened,
and hurting you was unavoidable.'
    Laura stared up at him contemplatively. His dark hair, so
liberally flecked with grey, lay in an unruly fashion across his broad
forehead, the deep-set grey eyes were razor-sharp and intent, and the
lips which had kissed her with such practised sensuality were now drawn
into a familiar hard line. She was seeing again the stranger she had
married, instead of the man who had, moments ago, advanced beyond the
barriers of her natural restraint to initiate her into a new and
exciting world. Which was the real man? she wondered confusedly. The
passionate lover, or this ruthless, mocking stranger?
    She stirred eventually and sighed. 'I think I'd like to
get up and get dressed, if you don't mind.'
    'Certainly.'
    He removed his arm from about her waist and leaned back
against the pillows with his hands locked behind his head. Laura sat
up, realised to her horror that she had nothing on, and realised, too,
that she had to cross almost the entire length of the room to reach her
nightdress where it had fallen on the floor the night before.
    A quick glance over her shoulder told her that Anton was
observing her with amused interest, and her anger erupted. 'You could
at least have the decency to look the other way!'
    'Why?' he demanded with an infuriating smile that fanned
her anger. 'You're my wife, and after what we shared last night and
this morning there's no part of your body that's not known to me.'
    'You're detestable!' she flung at him across her shoulder.
    'And you're beautiful when aroused in anger… or
passion.'
    A choked cry escaped her as she darted across the room to
retrieve her nightgown, but her mortification increased as she fled to
the bathroom with the sound of his mocking laughter ringing in her ears.
    He was a devil! she decided furiously as she ran her
bathwater. A devil with no thought and no consideration for anyone but
himself.
    When she returned to the bedroom Anton had gone, but she
found a note propped up against the mirror of the dresser, and it was
addressed to her in his firm handwriting.
    'When your temper has cooled sufficiently, join
me on the beach for a swim before breakfast.'
    'When my temper has cooled, indeed!' Laura muttered to
herself indignantly and, with an agitated movement, she pulled the band
from her hair to let it fall to her shoulders.
    Typically, his note had been an order, not a request, and
she would have been tempted to ignore it if she