Free Nicole Jordan by Master of Temptation Page A

defiance. “I happily settled down to live out my days as a spinster. And I’ve made a very fulfilling life for myself.”
    She had indeed, Caro added silently. Going on missions for the Guardians whenever a woman or a medic was needed. Assisting the aging island doctor…although at first she’d had to fight the prejudice of the male islanders especially.
    Yet once more Max was looking at her with that odd expression in his eyes, as if he couldn’t quite make up his mind what to believe about her.
    “And you have willingly remained unwed all this time?” he asked.
    “Yes.” There were numerous reasons she had refused to wed. Her strongest was her concern that a husband would demand she give up both her unusual vocations.
    She gazed up at Max, her mouth curving with dry humor. “In my experience, few respectable gentlemen want a wife who deals daily with blood and gore and naked bodies.”
    “You have a point,” Max acknowledged, his eyes glinting in response. “But surely not all men would object to your medical pursuits.”
    Perhaps not, Caro thought, but they would hardly countenance her dangerous career as a Guardian. Nor would she risk exposing the order to an outsider by indulging in a normal courtship. She had long ago accepted that she would never lead an ordinary life.
    “Most of the eligible bachelors on our island are not quite so open-minded,” she said, striving for a light tone. “And I would never want to leave Cyrene to live in England.”
    There were other reasons as well for her remaining single, beyond the fact that most gentlemen wanted a proper wife. The men themselves.
    Rising restlessly to her feet, Caro looked out over the railing at the gray waters of the Atlantic. All the men she admired and respected enough to marry were other Guardians: men she thought of as brothers rather than prospective bridegrooms. And idealistically, she had always envied the deep, abiding love her parents had known. If she couldn’t have love, then she had no desire to marry.
    Furthermore, she was now no longer a virgin, and gentlemen usually preferred innocence in their brides.
    Feeling herself flush, Caro focused her gaze on the choppy sea below. In the past few days, she’d been reminded of yet another reason she intended to remain single. Max himself.
    He’d given her an incredible night of enchantment, and more…a tantalizing, compelling glimpse of something profound and powerful between a man and a woman.
    The truth was that ever since she had experienced this man’s passion, she hadn’t wanted to settle for anything less.
    She stole a glance at him, her gaze lingering on the beautiful, sculpted features of his face. The fierce tenderness of his lovemaking had changed her. Since their night together, she’d found it much harder to feel content with her life. Max had awakened instincts in her that had lain dormant. Intensified feminine desires she had striven to deny. She’d even found herself wondering what it would be like to have a husband, perhaps a family…children.
    Her solution had been to throw herself into her duties, but sometimes she wasn’t entirely successful.
    Nor was she able to dismiss Max now. When he rose to stand beside her at the rail, she could feel the heat of his powerful magnetism. His very nearness brought all her senses alive, made her blood sing. Filled her with need, with a wild yearning she had known only once before…
    She fought the sudden rush of feeling that assailed her, yet his next casual comment still caught her off guard.
    “I find it hard to believe no man ever tried to claim you as his lover. Are all the men on Cyrene blind?”
    Somehow Caro managed a calm reply. “Not in the least. They simply find me intimidating. Moreover, most men prefer a certain kind of beauty in a woman. I hardly fill their ideal. I’m not pale or fragile or helpless, nor am I statuesque or voluptuous. Many gentlemen prefer ample bosoms, I’ve found.”
    “I think your