Free The Charm Stone by Donna Kauffman Page B

marveled at the way a single kiss brought her entire being singing to life.
    When he lifted his head, she wavered slightly as her eyes blinked open again. She hadn't even been aware of closing them. “Pretty good for a dead guy,” she managed. But her raw attempt at humor didn't negate what had just happened to her. Or the fact that, if she were honest with herself, she wanted it to happen again.
    He smiled and pulled her fully into his arms. “ Tisonly the beginning.” And with that he bent her head back, dove his fingers into her hair, and kissed her so thoroughly and with such passion that she gave up trying to remain passive. In fact, it was almost gleeful the way she joined the melee that was the tangle of their mouths and bodies.
    It was only when his hand slid down over her shoulder and closed around her neoprene-covered breast that she swam back to the surface of reality. She yanked away, or tried to, but the movement was enough to break their kiss.
    He didn't force his attentions further, but neither did he let her go. Which was just as well as she was fairly certain she'd drop to a limp heap on the sand if he did.
    “I-we-um…”She lifted a shaky hand to her mouth. “We shouldn't… I can't… really. It's not-I don't—”
    “Does kissin’ always leave yer tongue tied so?”
    She tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a croak. “Not usually.”
Just the way you do it,
she thought.
    His arm was still about her waist and he tugged her a bit closer. No amount of neoprene could prevent her from feeling the extent of his arousal. “Do ye still question my ability to have ye the way a man has a woman?”
    She gulped. “No.” It was a rasp. She cleared her throat. “No,” she said more clearly, “but I—”
    He silenced her by pressing a finger to her mouth. She felt a distinct dip in the knees. What was wrong with her? It was as if she was in heat.
    “I know yer no’ prepared for what I'm offering you,” he said. “I've waited this long, I can wait a bit longer.” He slid the finger from her lips down along her jaw, then over her chin to her throat… and lower. “But I willna wait forever.”
    She opened her mouth to speak, but he just shook his head. “We're fated, Josie, you and I. It will happen.”
    Before she could absorb the impact that hearing her name on his lips had on her… he'd vanished.
    She stumbled backward and almost landed in a heap on her surfboard. Deciding that might not be a bad idea, she slowly lowered herself on shaky legs until she sat firmly on the sand. Solid ground. How was it that it had felt more like quicksand a moment ago?
    She couldn't begin to make sense of anything that had just happened to her, the least of which was the almost overwhelming urge she'd had to fling herself into his arms.
    “I have got to get a grip,” she muttered. She looked up to the tower. Mercifully, the tower windows remained empty. “But on what?”

Chapter 6
    J
osie banged over the ruts on Gregor's old bike, thinking that if there was ever a way to kill the ol’ libido, this was it. She'd be walking funny for a week by the time she got to town.
    And yet, though her body had moved well beyond that torrid moment she'd shared with Connal on the beach, her mind wasn't past it. Not in the least. What on earth had possessed her to allow him such liberties? She snorted. Liberties. God, she was sounding like some maiden from a Gothic romance novel. It was as if, from the moment she'd taken the ferry to Glenmuir, she'd stopped living in the real world.
    Her legs felt like jelly as she climbed yet another interminable hill.
Shortcut, my ass.
The people on this island must be part sheep if they thought going this way was easier. Next time she'd stick to the road, even if it took her twice as long. But as she crested the hill, she stopped and gasped in awe.
    The view was nothing less than stunning. The small village of Ruirisay lay nestled below, framed by the tumble of rocks that lined the