Free The Lady and the Lion by Kay Hooper Page A

stirred her blood, they also made her heart ache. And perhaps Keith did want only her, but not forever, only for now.
    How could she love a man who—
    Erin caught her breath, everything inside her hanging suspended for an endless moment. Then, before she could blurt out something he certainly wouldn't want to hear, she turned abruptly and hurried back toward the hotel, almost running.
    He didn't call after her. Or follow her.
    Julia looked up from her comfortable chair in the corner of the lobby and watched an elegantly dressed and astonishingly beautiful young woman hurry across the marble floor barefoot, her shoes and purse clutched in one hand, her bright red hair windblown, and her face unnaturally pale. After watching the young woman disappear into one of the elevators, Julia returned her gaze to the very large man sitting beside her, and said, "That doesn't look promising."
    Cyrus Fortune, who had also keenly observed Erin's entrance, shook his head a little. "They aren't having an easy time of it. He doesn't dare tell her why he's here, and she's left with nothing to hold onto. Not even a promise."
    "Why not a promise, Cy ? Every woman needs that, even if it's an empty one."
    "It isn't in him to make empty promises, my sweet." Cyrus smiled at his own delicate and lovely lady, his wise dark eyes unshuttered for her. Only for her. "He believes it would hurt her less if he prevents her from caring about him."
    "He's wrong," Julia said.
    "Yes. But he'll have to discover it for himself. And he'll have to discover he can't hide from her, not for long. She's too close."
    "And he's afraid of closeness?"
    His smile dying, Cyrus said, "He has reason. The sword over his head can endanger them both. If he makes a single mistake, speaks one wrong word, the men he's after will kill him. He doesn't want that part of his life to touch her, doesn't want that peril threatening her."
    A bit hesitantly, Julia said, "Perhaps this isn't the right time for them."
    Cyrus was smiling again, and his rich, powerful voice was tranquil. "It's the perfect time, sweet. Destiny commands. They are both at crossroads in their lives, where it was intended they should meet. All their experiences, particularly in the last year, have shaped them to face each other now."
    "Can't we help?"
    "We have. The connecting doors between their suites are unlocked."
    Julia thought about that. "Such a little thing."
    "No, sweet. An important thing. He must open the door from his side; she- must open the door from her side."
    She smiled slowly. "Fortune. A hypothetical guiding force, Did you know you were hypothetical, Cy?"
    The white-haired, snowy-bearded, very old man looked so innocent that he would have deceived anyone. Except her. "Why, no, love, I didn't. I just like to meddle in other people's business, that's all."
    During those girlhood daydreams when she had imagined falling in love, Erin had never considered doing so with the wrong man. He had always been a prince, naturally, untitled but the genuine article. And, of course, had adored her in return. Beyond that, he had laid claim to all the virtues a girl could want in her man, presenting her with an unscarred heart, a personality without complexities, and an unshadowed smile.
    Only distantly aware of salt spray clinging to her and sand on her bare feet, Erin undressed and showered, then donned a silk nightgown and negligee. She sat on the edge of her bed and used her travel dryer on her wet hair, letting it dry wild because that was how she felt. She tried not to think, almost numb from the emotional battering of the day, but she couldn't stop the disjointed thoughts and feelings.
    Keith was no bloodless fairy-tale prince born in a girl's uncomplicated heart. No innocent girl could ever have created him, or would have known what to do with him if she had. He was no man for a naive girl; there was too much of him, too much force, too much pain and anger, too many secrets.
    But Erin wasn't naive or innocent,