Free The Elusive Flame by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

declared, rising to his feet. He caught her hand, bidding her to stand as he stepped close behind her. Much to her astonishment, he slipped his arms about her slender waist. “Now bend over as far as you can go, and try to relax and cough it out.”
    Hanging her upper torso downward over his forearms as he squeezed her ribcage with sharp, quick jerks was the most undignified position that she could have ever been in as far as Cerynise was concerned. She felt very much like an awkward goose of a girl, which some boys had been wont to call her years ago. The long robe only made her more clumsy, for in her attempt to keep her backside a respectable distance from her host, her foot got tangled in the dragging hem and she stumbled backward, falling literally into Beau’s lap as he dipped his knees to catch her. For a moment his arm clasped her tightly tohim, and she felt secure, but as she pulled away from his stabling grasp and tried to stand, her foot slipped once more on the robe and she went flying, this time in a lateral direction. Beau flung an arm outward to catch her, but while drawing her back he lost his balance. In the next moment they both sprawled backward, he to the floor and she on top of him.
    Cerynise’s breath rushed forcefully outward in surprise as she fell, and whatever small particle had hitherto been lodged in her throat came free. Although relieved, she didn’t think anything could assuage her embarrassment over her own awkwardness. She could feel her face flaming hotly as she struggled to sit up. Her every thought was on making good her escape, for she was sure by now that Beau was mentally questioning her propensity for calamity, and she didn’t want to lend further weight to any suspicion of that sort. Too late she realized that in her effort to get up, she was now straddling his loins, albeit from a rearward perspective. The swiftly growing firmness beneath her buttocks made her eyes widen. Hot coals might have had the same effect. Scrambling to her feet, she kept her back deliberately presented to the man upon whom she had landed and made a pretense of straightening the wayward robe as she waited for her hot cheeks to cool.
    Beau pushed himself to his feet. He had known well enough that he was in dire need of a woman in his bed, but he hadn’t realized to what extent until Cerynise Kendall had come aboard his ship. Her womanly softness pressing down upon his loins had ignited a fuse that had proven far too explosive for a display of coolheaded logic. The fact that he greatly desired to have his way with her this very moment was reason enough to hasten her departure to the Mirage . It didn’t matter that she had always been the little girl following at his heels. She was very much a woman now, too beautiful for his peace of mind. He couldn’t trust himself around her, no matter how much he had respected her parents.
    Beau collected his aplomb by gritted-teeth tenacity and,after a moment, was able to gain control of his goading lusts. Returning to the table, he seated himself once more, but he noticed that a deeper blush had invaded his companion’s cheeks and could well assume the reason. He had no idea what Cerynise had learned about men while living in an aging widow’s staid and sterile house, but he could imagine that her knowledge was sorely lacking in that area. If she stayed around him very long, however, that was bound to change. She’d soon come to realize that he wasn’t made of stone. Indeed, he could foresee their relationship coming down to a simple test of endurance, with one of them definitely being pressed to the limit.
    Silence prevailed between them as they finished the meal. Beau’s appetite for food had waned with the blunt realization of his own craving for carnal appeasement. He couldn’t very well take his guest to bed, as much as he might have reveled in the experience with such a fresh subject. Neither could he throw her out of his hungering sight without decent