Free Tread Softly by Ann Cristy

same granite look she had often seen before the accident, when he
took the floor of the Senate and argued for a cause that he deemed just, an
argument that brooked no rebuttal. The twist to his lips could be construed as
a smile, but there was no softening there, no hint of compromise.
    Cady's
momentum carried her forward two more steps, then she stopped, clutching the
bath towel like a shield. "You'd better go to bed. You need the
rest," she told him, her tone crisp, belying the jellylike condition of
her insides.
    "You're
not my doctor," Rafe answered in measured tones, swinging his legs to the
floor.
    Cady lifted her
chin, gearing herself for battle. She had no idea which failed her first, her
resolve or her knees. Panic filled her and she turned to run back to the
bathroom. She had taken two steps when Rafe hooked her around the waist.
"No, damn you, let me go," Cady squealed, a mixture of anger and
sensual trepidation coming through her pores. "I'm not your concubine.
I'm not your slave," she spit out through clenched teeth as she struggled
to free herself.
    "No,
you're none of those things, but you are my wife, and I want my wife this
evening," Rafe hissed, clamping her arms to her sides and pulling her back
to the bed. "Behave yourself."
    "No,
I won't behave your way, damn it. If you need a woman, buy yourself one."
Cady thrashed on the bed, his arm holding her while he divested himself of his
robe. She stopped writhing when she saw the pinched look around his mouth, the
strain sharpening the planes of his face. "You should go to bed. You've
had a big day," Cady whispered as he lowered himself next to her.
    "Isn't
that what I've been saying?" Rafe let his head rest on her outspread hair,
his hand coming up to globe one breast, his eyes closing. "Don't say you
don't want me tonight, Cady. I'm dead tired, but I have to have you. It's been
so long." His eyes fluttered open. "Even if I have to spend hours
convincing you, I'm going to make you want me tonight."
    Cady
heard the little voice that told her he was just stringing her along, that he
would dump her as soon as he could. She also heard the voice that told her he
needed her tonight. Shutting her mind to everything but that, she lifted her
arms to let her fingers touch the faint blue shadows under his even bluer eyes,
smoothing the lines that pain had drawn down his cheeks. "Oh, I don't
think it will take hours." She sighed and met his eyes.
    "Cady?"
Rafe growled softly, his hand going in tentative search at her breast as he
pulled the towel free of her body. His hands rocked her close to him as he released
a pent-up breath.
    He leaned over
her, his mouth opening on hers, his tongue running across her lips like a
velvet letter opener. She welcomed the probe of his tongue like a hot knife on
her senses. His body felt like an extended throb of her own, and it didn't seem
like months since they had made love. It felt as though yesterday the same
sensations had flowed through her. His mouth left hers to course down her body
like a brand. "God, I have no control," Rafe said hoarsely. "I
don't know how long... Oh, Cady, Cady..."
    Her
own body took fire at once, shocking her by the need that consumed her. She
sensed his struggle to hold back so that she would be pleasured, and she became
impatient with him. Didn't he know that she was burning for him? She let her
hands feather over his body, provoking the heat in him. She became the
aggressor as she heard him groan.
    "Cady!
Cady, I can't.. .Darling." He lifted himself over her, sensing her
eagerness, surprised and pleased by her response. He played with her body as
though she were a rare violin, his touch sure and arousing. Their coming
together was blinding, their gasps loud in the stillness.
    Rafe mumbled
into her neck, but Cady couldn't understand the words. She was just sure that
he didn't want her to move away from him. He was asleep almost at once.
    Tired
as she was, Cady couldn't sleep. There was much to think about, a