Free Forbidden Love by Karen Robards Page B

both hands to ward her off. She stopped to stare at him.
    “Before you make any more nefarious attempts at murder, I think I should tell you that you no longer have a motive: I’ve decided not to send you back to school, so you see, you really have no reason to get rid of me.”
    Justin grinned broadly as he watched her eyes widen with incredulous delight.
    “Oh, Justin!” she cried. Before Justin could ponder the wisdom of permitting this familiar form of address, she effectively distracted his attention by flinging herself at him in an excess of joy. Her skirtsbrushed the splinted leg, which was thrust out stiffly before him, and then her arms closed about his neck in an impassioned embrace.
    “Careful,” he warned, still laughing as his hands came up to her waist. And the laughter died in his throat and he felt her soft lips brush his cheek. With a stunning rush of desire, he realized that he would only have to move his head a fraction to touch her lips with his.

CHAPTER 5
    Justin’s jaw felt bristly against her lips; although he had shaved that morning, his beard grew fast, and it was now late afternoon. Megan tasted the rough saltiness of his skin with lips that were slightly parted. The now familiar smell of him—a combination of good cigars, soap, and sweat—enveloped her as she kissed his cheek with impulsive fervor. Her arms were wrapped around the strong column of his throat, squeezing tightly in an effort to communicate her joy; her fingers touched the thick hair at the nape of his neck, vaguely registering the alien texture. Her kiss was as innocent as a young child’s, and when her lips brushed his, she did not even consider drawing away.
    Megan felt his hands go hard on her waist, digging into her flesh with a force that should have hurt but didn’t. Then he kissed her mouth, very gently; a soft, butterfly kiss. At first Megan was a little surprised at his action; she was not used to being touched, much less kissed, having never been around anyone who cared enough about her to physically demonstratetheir affection. Her eyes opened instinctively, and she found him looking at her with a strange hot gleam in his golden eyes that she had never seen there before. Hesitantly, she smiled at him, deciding that she liked his kiss very much. The gleam intensified so that it seemed as if it would burn her, and he made a sound that was midway between a laugh and a groan. Then he was pulling her down so that she was sitting on his good leg, nestled against his shoulder; his arms slid all the way around her waist. Her head was tilted back across the hard muscles of his upper arm; against her ear she could hear the heavy thud of his heart. Her smile quivered and died as she stared up at him, mesmerized by that unreadable something in his dark face.
    “Am I frightening you?” he asked with a husky note in his voice that made it sound as if he was having trouble speaking at all. Megan’s eyes widened as she looked at him, then she slowly shook her head. Whatever this feeling that he was arousing in her was, it certainly wasn’t fear.
    “I won’t hurt you,” he promised as he bent over her. Megan believed him. Her fingers curled trustingly against the soft brocade covering his chest as he kissed her lightly. He dropped soft little kisses on her cheeks, temples, forehead, nose, and chin. She lay quietly in his arms, perfectly still except for her hands, which curled and uncurled against his chest, feeling a delicate warm glow start in the pit of her stomach and then pulse outward along her veins. His hands movedto stroke the loosened tendrils of her hair. She looked at him gravely, her eyes deep purple pools in the pale oval of her face. Justin smiled the ghost of a smile as he looked down at her; his golden eyes still held that hot, excited glow, but the curve of his long mouth was tender.
    “Close your eyes, darling,” he instructed softly, touching her eyelids with a gentle forefinger. Megan obeyed without