Free Intent to Seduce & a Glimpse of Fire by Debbi Rawlins, Cara Summers Page B

fantasy.
    Turning, she headed toward the door of the cabin. She saw him even before she stepped out on the porch. He was hurrying up the path. In her mind, she pictured running to him across the sand. He would sweep her up into his arms and carry her down to a secluded section of the beach.
    It was the water bottle she’d left on the top step that shattered the image forming in her mind. Her foot snagged on it, and she made a grab for the post. It kept her from falling, but it also swayed ominously, rattling more loose shingles on the roof. Three of them showered to the ground and one landed on Lucas’s shoulder as he reached her.
    “Are you all right?” he asked, brushing it off.
    “Are you?” It was his quick grin that made her smile, and suddenly they were both laughing. When she reached for the post again to steady herself, he grabbed her hand.
    “Please. I don’t want to be hit by any more falling debris.”
    She felt a fresh wave of laughter bubbling up.
    When it finally subsided, she found she was standing on the bottom step, his hands were at her waist, steadying her, and her eyes were level with his. Laughter had lightened the color, but the blue was already deepening, and his gaze had become intent. Her body reacted instantly, every nerve ending snapping to attention the way they always seemed to when he was close.
    Her gaze dropped to his mouth. His lips were wide, not thin…not too full either. It was hard to tell if they would be hard or soft, and she had a sudden, compelling need to find out. In her dream, he’d touched her—everywhere. But he hadn’t kissed her. She leaned closer.
    “Doc…” Lucas cleared his throat as he tightened his grip on her waist, once more steadying her. “I came back to the cabin to tell you that I don’t need twenty-four hours. I’ve reached a decision.”
    A quick skip of panic moved through her. He was going to say no. To forestall him, she pressed her fingers against his mouth. “I’ve reached a decision too.”
    “Go ahead.”
    The movement of his lips against her fingers sent a wave of heat through her. “I was coming down to the beach to…”
    “Yes?”
    Another wave of heat shot through her. “I wanted to…that is, I wondered if you…” It was hard to keep her mind on the fantasy, hard to think of anything but the pressure, the heat of his mouth on her fingers. What would his lips feel like on hers? What would they taste like? At the same time that she struggled to keep her focus, she couldn’t seem to prevent herself from moving closer. “I have a fantasy in mind…”
    “Yes.”
    In the fantasy that filled her mind, he gripped her wrist to pull her hand away. Then his mouth crushed hers, strong arms lifted her, carrying her into the cabin, and then the full weight of his body pressed her into the mattress of that narrow cot. Even as a sharp spear of pleasure streaked through her, she struggled to rid her mind of the image. She was supposed to be creating his fantasy, not hers.
    Struggling to concentrate, she said, “My name is Lania. You’re shipwrecked on my island. And every day I’ve come from the village to nurse you. To bring you food. There isn’t a part of your body I haven’t seen.” She pictured it in her mind. “There isn’t a part of you I haven’t touched.” She could feel the smooth skin stretched taut over long bones, solid muscles. “You’ve been growing stronger every day. You haven’t noticed, but I’ve been watching you work on your boat. I know that you’ll leave soon. But before you do…I want to—I need to—”
    She wasn’t sure what it was—the fantasy that her words were conjuring up in her mind or the heat that seemed to be steadily drawing her closer to him. But the need she felt to kiss him had twisted into something sharp andcompelling inside her. She dragged her fingers away from his mouth, rubbing them over his bottom lip as she did.
    “I just have to kiss you. I’ve been dreaming of doing this