Free Heart of Ice by Diana Palmer Page A

go right through the ceiling. She couldn’t even blame him; she should never have let him touch her.
    But oddly enough, he didn’t say a word. He loosened his grip on her hips, allowing her to move away, and drew her gently into his arms. He held her, his head bending over her, his heartbeat shaking both of them, until his breathing was normal again.
    Her hands felt the warm strength of his back even through his shirt, and she loved the protected feeling she got from being close like this. Her eyes closed and, just for a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of giving in completely, of pretending that he loved her.
    “I could make you,” he whispered at her ear. “I could take the choice away.”
    “Yes, I know,” she agreed softly. Her cheek nuzzled against his chest.
    “This kind of passion is a gift,” he said quietly. “I could give you pleasure in ways you’ve never had it with another man. Not because I’m any damned prize in bed, but because we react to each other like dynamite going up.”
    “I can’t,” she replied softly. “I want to, but I can’t.”
    His hand smoothed her long hair gently. “Because of him?”
    She drew in a steadying breath. She was going to have to tell him, and it wasn’t going to be easy.
    The door opened, thank God, and Ada walked in, stopping dead when she saw the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms.
    “Wrestling match?” she guessed. “Who’s winning?”
    “Mistletoe,” Egan murmured, nodding upward. “Damned potent stuff. She’s got me on my knees.”
    “That’ll be the day,” Ada grinned.
    Kati pulled away, and he let her go with obvious reluctance. “And I didn’t poison you, either,” she murmured, trying to keep it light.
    “Didn’t you?” he returned, but there was a difference in him now, a strangeness.
    “No fighting,” Ada said. “It’s Christmas day.”
    “So it is,” Egan said. “Where’s my present?”
    “Not until morning,” Ada returned.
    “Damn.” He looked down at Kati. “I like presents. What did you get me?”
    “Not until morning,” she echoed Ada.
    He lifted an eyebrow. “I hate waiting,” he murmured, and only Kati knew what he meant.
    “All good things come to him who waits, though,” Ada interrupted; and then wondered why Kati blushed and Egan laughed.
    The girls went in to bed, but Kati didn’t sleep. She wanted Egan. And there was more to it thanthat. She was beginning to feel something she’d never expected. She thought ahead to the next day, when he’d leave for Wyoming, and the world went black. She couldn’t imagine a day going by without the sight of him. Just the sight of him.
    She sat straight up in bed and stared at the wall. She hadn’t known that it could happen so quickly. Of course, it could be just physical attraction. She did want him very much, and it was the first time she’d wanted any man. She knew nothing about him really, except bits and pieces. So how, she asked herself, could she be in love with him?
    “Love,” she whispered out loud. She licked her dry lips and put it into words. “I…love…Egan.” The sound of it made tingles all the way to her toes, and when she closed her eyes she could feel his mouth on hers; she could taste the minty warmth of his lips. Shivers went all over her like silvery caresses, and she caught her breath.
    You have to forget all that, she told herself. Because what Egan wanted was the limited use of her body, to sate his own hunger. And once he’d had it, he’d be off to new conquests. Like Jennie. Her eyes clouded with bridled fury. Jennie! She’d like to rip the girl’s hair out.
    She lay back down and closed her eyes. Well, that was his kind of woman, anyway. All she had to do was grit her teeth and bear it until he left. Then shecould pull her stupid self together and forget him. Her eyes opened. It was over an hour before she could close them in sleep.

Chapter Seven
    T he thought of the condominium bothered Kati. She couldn’t help