Free A Breath of Scandal by Connie Mason

away before their bodies actually touched.
    Never had Julian seen anyone dance like Lara. He knew instinctively that the Gypsy spitfire was dancing for him, and his loins swelled with desire for her. Deliberately she enticed him with her eyes and undulating body, then spun away so fast that his hands clutched empty air when he reached for her. Damnation! She was Mother Earth and Eve. Delilah and Cleopatra. She was every seductress known to mankind, blended together in a tempting body that oozed sexuality.
    She was … Lara.
    When Lara’s hips swayed forward, brushing against his loins, Julian gritted his teeth and swore beneath his breath. Did she think he was made of stone? Beads of sweat dripped down into his eyes. Was there no end to the torture Lara was inflicting on him? When she wound a scarf around his neck and gently drew him forward, Julian couldn’t help thinking that she was very good at this game, and he wondered how many men she had lured into her web of seduction. His patience shattered just as she pirouetted away from him, but this time he was too fast for her.
    His arm snaked out, finding purchase around her waist. His body taut with determination, he pulled her roughly against him. Her face was flushed, her dark eyes glowing, her tinkling laughter an aphrodisiac. It was too much. She had gone too far. His body was brittle, ready to explode. He had to have her.
    Ignoring the pain from his healing wounds, Julian swung Lara into his arms and carried her away from the campfire. An opening appeared in the approving crowd, and he charged through, dimly aware of the laughter and rousing cheers following him.
    “Drago, we can’t leave yet.”
    “The hell we can’t,” Julian growled, tightening his hold on her. “A man can take so much. But you knew that, didn’t you? You’ve been begging for this, and I’m going to give you exactly what you want.”
    “Drago! I didn’t mean … You don’t understand … I have no control when I dance. It’s like someone else inhabits my body. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m doing.”
    “I knew what you were doing,” Julian rasped harshly as he kicked open the door and carried her inside their wagon. “So did every man watching you tonight. How many men have been lured into your bed by your wanton behavior?”
    “Put me down!” Lara raged. “How dare you judge me and find me lacking!”
    “I’m not judging you,” Julian said, letting her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor. He grinned when she gave him a startled look and backed away. His erection was so hard he knew she had felt it prodding her.
    “Feel how hard I am for you, Lara,” he said, grasping her wrist and placing her hand on the front of his trousers. “I’m fully capable now of giving you what you’ve been asking for since the first night you crawled into bed with me.”
    She tried to pull away but he held her captive in his arms, refusing to release the hand still clasped around his staff.
    “This is our wedding night,” he reminded her. Just thinking about what he was going to do to her made his mouth dry as dust.
    “We’re not really married. You said so yourself.”
    He searched her face. “Do
you
think we’re married?”
    “Gypsies follow their own laws. My people consider our marriage a valid commitment.”
    “That’s not what I asked,” Julian growled. “Do
you
believe we’re married?”
    Silence.
    “Lara, answer my question.”
    “Aye!” Lara whispered.
    “Even though you know I must leave soon? That there can be nothing lasting between us?”
    “Aye, dammit! You have your answer, now let me go.”
    “No. I’m going to love you, my wanton Gypsy spitfire. If your passion for the dance extends to the bed, I have a long rewarding night to look forward to.”
    Lara stared into Drago’s determined features and knew she hadn’t the will to stop him. His darkly handsome face gave hint of the dangerous man lurking inside him. She was all too aware