Free The Courtship of Dani by Ginna Gray Page A

traces of fear and something else he couldn't quite define lingering in her eyes. "Okay now?" he asked in a gravelly whisper.
    Dani bit her lower lip and nodded then looked down quickly. "I.. .I'm sorry. I'm fine, really. He didn't hurt me."
    The quiet stretched out like a tightly strung wire. Jason studied Dani's face, marveling at the delicate translucent quality of her eyelids, the long silkiness of the lashes fanned out on her cheeks. She looked so fragile, so lovely. And dear God, it felt wonderful to hold her in his arms.
    Slowly Dani opened her eyes again, and their gazes met and locked. Jason's thumb stroked back and forth along her jaw, then ever so slightly feathered over her lips, and he felt the air rush by as she sucked in her breath. Her pupils widened until her irises were only a thin circle of blue.
    Something vibrated in the air between them. Something exciting. Mesmerizing. Irresistible. They stared at one another in the quivering silence, hearts thudding with painful, sweet awareness, constricted lungs laboring for each wisp of breath. Then slowly, inexorably, Jason's head lowered and Dani's tilted up. Lids drifted shut. Lips parted and met.
    It was exquisitely beautiful, soft and warm, a tender melding that sent a flood tide of emotion shuddering through them. Jason held her tenderly, the muscles in his arms quivering under the fierce restraint. Slowly, ever so slowly, their lips locked together, savoring the moment, drawing it out. But soon it was simply not enough. The smoldering passion kindled, caught, then burst into flame.
    With a groan Jason deepened the kiss, taking it into shattering intimacy with stunning swiftness. There was no holding back. His arms tightened around her like steel bands. One large hand roamed her back and hips, stroking, kneading her flesh through the fragile batiste blouse. The other hand tunneled into her hair and cupped the back of her head, pulling her against his mouth, the callused skin snagging the silky strands as they slid through his fingers.
    Dani responded with a low moan of her own and clamped her arms around his waist, pressing closer. She melted against him, her soft curves flowing against his taut frame. The kiss grew reckless. Dani clung to him in feverish desperation, her hands clutching at his back while her tongue matched his, stroke for stroke, touch for touch.
    Jason slid his hand up her rib cage, halting just beneath her arm, the heel of his palm against the side of her breast. Slowly, pressing slightly inward, he moved his hand in tiny circles, massaging the soft, yielding flesh with a sensuous rhythm. Dani's shiver of ecstasy produced an answering one in Jason.
    Unable to stand the torment any longer, Jason abandoned the sensual caress and clutched her to him tightly, making a rough, hungry sound deep in his throat. Tracing with his thumb the shallow trench that marked her spine, Jason's hand drifted slowly downward, coming to rest finally at its base. His fingers flexed on the enticingly rounded flesh. Once. Twice. Then he pressed her against his gently undulating hips.
    Desire shot through both of them, hot and insistent, making their hearts pound, their pulses throb.
    They were gasping for breath when Jason tore his mouth from hers and pressed his face into the side of her neck. The sweet scent of her perfume filled his nostrils, and he inhaled deeply as his lips nibbled her tender flesh.
    I can take her now, he thought, as he felt the heat and the need in her. In a few minutes I could have her naked in my arms on that sofa, willing and wanting.
    But even as the words formed in his mind, even as his gaze lit on the cream leather couch, he knew that he wouldn't. That he couldn't. Dammit, St. Clair! What the hell's the matter with you? You caught her at a vulnerable moment, you insensitive clod. She's just had the hell scared out of her, and she's reacting in a perfectly normal way—by seeking comfort. Sure, you can take her, but if you do you won't be