Free Setting Him Free by Alexandra Marell Page B

her
nipple and she let out a shivering moan.
    "Do that again," he said. There was laughter in his
voice.
    "Only if you do."
    "Oh, I can do better than that, love. Give me that
condom and let me show you."
    It was sinful, what he could do with his mouth.
Danielle abandoned herself to the rasp of his tongue and moved in
time with his gentle suckling, almost unaware of the moment he
slipped inside her. She abandoned herself to the feel of him and
let the wave take her. And this time they found the real passion
that had been simmering under the surface since that first,
meaningful glance. Now she knew who he was, and she still wanted
him. Gone was the desperation of earlier and there were no tears.
Just two people lost in pleasure, wanting and giving. Lost in the
incredible feeling of a perfect moment.
    Danielle was on that beach with him, and she could hear the sea, and feel the sun on her back. Somehow,
one day, it would happen. She pressed her face into the curve of
his shoulder and knew no-one else would ever come close. How could
they, after this?

Chapter 8
     
    Taylor woke early and lay still, watching Danielle
sleep. Today should have been his first day in hell. The first day
of an eternity of paying for his unspeakable crimes. Yet he was
alive, and lying next to this beautiful woman. As he contemplated
her, he realised that he was looking at the face of his salvation.
Redemption, but with a sting in the tail, a price. Hell, there
always was. Even if she saved him, they could never be
together.
    This little bit of heaven had set him on the right
path, but Danielle was too vibrant and full of life for him to
expect her to follow. She was willing, no doubt of that. Trouble
was that he could never ask it of her. Redeemed or not, he didn't
have much of a life to look forward to. If he could do what he
needed to get the file – and it was a big if – the best he could
hope for was a new identity. An obscure life hidden in some quiet
corner of the world, always with the risk that someone with a
grudge would find him. Governments, the criminal underworld,
organised crime neither forgave nor forgot, and they'd get him. One
day when he wasn't looking. Not the life for her.
    He brushed the hair from Danielle's face and traced a
finger down her nose, across her mouth, her chin, hoping she'd wake
up. This time together was definitely too precious to waste
sleeping.
    She stirred and stretched out her arms, arching her
bare breasts enticingly towards him. In the soft morning light,
half-naked and with the crazy tangle of hair forming a golden pool
around her head, she looked like something other-worldly. A divine
gift sent to sooth his shattered soul. Only a madman would refuse
this.
    Catching one of her hands, he placed a lingering kiss
on the palm and watched her mouth curve into a lazy smile as she
moved from the world of dreams to waking. He turned his attention
to her wrist and kissed it slowly, thoughtfully, learning how she
tasted first thing in the morning.
    Without realising, she gave him the greatest gift of
all. Her trust in him. Her belief that something could be salvaged
from his shipwrecked life. With her eyes still closed, Danielle
moulded herself to him, pushing him on to his side so he wouldn't
have to lean on his broken arm. Her calf slid sensuously around his
thigh. She pulled him down for a soul-searching kiss and her lips
were warm and sweet and made him forget who he was.
    Just for a few moments he could imagine he was Mr
Ordinary, with the wife, the house, the kids and the dog. And a job
that didn't involve spilling people's brains with a high-powered
rifle, or watching their lives drain away when he cut their
throats. A life that didn't involve hiding in the shadows, so
ashamed of what he'd become he no longer recognised himself.
    As he slipped inside her welcoming heat and abandoned
himself to the incredible feel of her surrounding him, he
desperately wanted to be that man. And just for a short while, as
the