Free Dangerous Magic by Alix Rickloff Page B

him.
    But he held back, teasing one breast until, leaving it swollen and aching, he moved to the other. Each grazing brush of his teeth, every kiss of hot breath across her flesh pushing her nearer the edge.
    She strained beneath him, needing him closer, the sensual rush of arousal sending her spiraling up and up. She curled her fingers into his back, feeling the sweat of his body even in the cool night air.
    He ducked his head lower, lapping, nipping and sucking as he went, his hands brushing over, then cupping her hot, wet woman’s place, before moving to caress her inner thighs and then…Gwenyth gasped, her eyes widening in surprise at the new explosion of sensation that radiated from his talented fingers.
    He lifted his head, his eyes boldly meeting her stare as he played her like an instrument, the rhythm steady, relentless. This whirling pull of desire grew to a dizzying swoop of emotions and sensations, his and hers, joined as one within her mind. Before she lost herself completely, she fastened her gaze upon the spinning heavens and the diamond-hard points of light glittering like tears. And then his fingers were gone, and he pushed into her, the tight ache filled by him, reaching deep into her and then retreating just when she felt she couldn’t take anymore.
    He thrust again, deeper and more urgently. She arched, willing him on, every movement of their joined bodies, every rocking of their hips adding fuel to the inferno. Her body vibrated as he fed her passion, stoking it until she could stand it no longer and she must explode. She gave in with a cry as Rafe crushed her to him, a shudder running through his body as he found his own release.
    She curled her hand against his chest, the drum of his heart pounding beneath her fingertips. What would it be like if Rafe was truly hers? If they came here as husband and wife? The fantasy spun out before her, and she smiled.
    He pressed a kiss upon her damp brow. “It was right to come here. There’s something magical about this place.”
    Above them, the bare limbs of the trees scraped in the wind. A sad, lonely sound. Reality smashed through her with the force of winter surf. “Goninan means hedge of ash trees,” she murmured. “They say magic runs thick as sap within the heart of the ash.”
    Rafe’s hand brushed up her side, sending a shiver of lingering passion teasing through her. “A fitting bower, then, for the Witch of Kerrow.”
    Ahh, yes. The extraordinary Witch of Kerrow. That was who she was.
    But right now, she would give anything to be anyone else.

Chapter 7
     
    Gwenyth opened her eyes. Through a lattice of tangled branches, the sky grew gray and purple in the growing light. Birds called to each other in the trees and bushes of Goninan’s gardens. Rafe lay beside her, his hands cradling his head, lips lifted in the smallest of smiles.
    Her hands stole across the flat planes of her stomach. She knew without doubt that her time with him had failed to yield the child she desired. No flutter of nascent life stirred her womb. Her body remained her own. She’d not even managed to do that right.
    Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She’d been so convinced he could give her what she needed that she’d left no room for failure. He would leave today, and she must begin her search anew. But could she? Could she put aside the vision she’d created for herself of this dream child, this mingling of blood and bone and spirit between Rafe Fleming and herself that seemed now as real as the man asleep next to her?
    Her shoulders shook with quiet sobs as if the child she loved had died or wandered away to be lost in the fog. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Only her nightmare ever affected her so. The unborn child became like her lover’s death upon the rocks, a sorrow to be held close to the heart.
    “You weep.” Rafe’s eyes were upon her. His hand reached out to take her by the shoulder and gather her closer to him.
    His warmth and the