Free Moonlight Rebel by Marie Ferrarella

soft, silky planes of her breasts. The way they had looked, gleaming white in the moonlight when he had first laid eyes on her, vividly came back to him.
    Gently, he stroked her hair, fighting an internal battle he was doomed to lose. He had saved her from near rape that very night, he reminded himself. How could she ever trust another man again if he were to try to take her now? But in all of his life, he had never encountered such a captivating, fiery-looking woman. Desire shimmered through him, warm and demanding. If he were to take her, it would not be the way that other man had tried. He would use kindness and tenderness, keeping his own desire in check until he had her willing to surrender to him. There will be no force, he swore to himself, the ache growing until he could hardly bear it.
    Krystyna wiped her face with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath of air to still the trembling she felt within. Jason slowly brushed the hair from her face, his fingertips lightly
    gliding along her cheeks. Her heart began to hammer within her breast as another sensation, one she did not quite understand began to grow inside her. It was a yearning that filled her. She felt incredibly warm, and the warmth was spreading as she allowed herself to be held by this bearded man.
    She tried to pull away, but found that she had no strength in her arms. She couldn't free herself of the need she felt to be held by Jason despite her mounting horror of the compromising situation she was in. She was clinging to him even as she told herself to push him away.
    Placing his fingers beneath her chin, Jason turned her face up toward his, and liquid blue eyes suddenly held him captive, mesmerizing him as surely as if she had cast a spell over him. Yet, in them he saw a frightened child, a beautiful, sensuous, but frightened child.
    "You're far too beautiful to cry." Jason took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. And then, because he couldn't help himself, his lips moved to hers very slowly. He saw her eyes opened wide in mute astonishment.
    The kiss was gentle, but the passion beneath it unfurled in waves, taking Jason by surprise. Taking his very breath away. He had not known that such a hunger existed just under the surface.
    What stunned him even more was the passion he had uncovered within her.
    Krystyna did not fully understand what was happening to her. She could not comprehend why her senses were reeling in this fashion. When that beast in the alley had tried to force himself on her, all she had felt was revulsion and disgust. A sense of horror and outrage brought home every movement to her in crystal-clear detail. Yet, now she was engulfed in a swirling fire, a fire that she willingly endured.
    As Jason's kisses deepened, becoming more arduous, her response heightened, matching his passion. His body pressed against hers, and she was aware of the sharp, thrilling outline of a man who wanted a woman. She had only a vague idea of what happened between men and women during those dark, secret times no one would speak of. That was the only topic she had never been able to find anyone willing to talk to her about. Maruska only muttered that it was something she would have to endure for the good of the lineage. There had never been any mention of pleasure, of lights that winked in and out through her head like wild fireflies during a summer night. There had never been any talk of overwhelming heat, or of taking leave of one's senses.
    What little Krystyna did know about physical mergings came from pieces of overheard conversations and from seeing farm animals mate. But the mating of animals was accompanied by groans and shrieks. It had been repellent.
    Now this, this was different. This felt frighteningly wonderful.
    She tasted of honey, of all things sweet and good, and he would never have enough of her. She was like a madness for him; he wanted to lose himself in her, never to surface again. The power she had over him, though she hardly