Free Kissed by Moonlight by Dorothy Vernon Page B

away, she held steady under the violence of his stare. She was not being brave; she was held mesmerised in his grip. Even in anger, his eyes lusted for her and his spell was frightening, forcing her, as it did, to respond.
    Her head tilted back; her hands moved up to wind around his neck, and her fingers linked to make a ring. She heard his agonized groan. His hands followed the course hers had taken, finding her tightly clasped fingers. His hands briefly covered hers, then separated, and a finger trailed down the length of each uplifted arm, scalding her senses, trailing fire down her skin with their light touch.
    â€œYou put your arms up around my neck like this once before,” he said. His voice was throaty with emotion. “Do you remember?”
    â€œI remember,” she said.
    She remembered all too vividly. She had been only eighteen and she had not yet had a chance to learn the wiles of womanhood, and in her youth and ignorance she had declared her love for him. It had broken her heart when he rejected her because she was a child. It was three years ago, but it might have been yesterday. She had tried to forget, but twice within a week the memory had been forced back upon her, and still it hurt. The tangy fresh smell of his after-shave, that distinctive blend of sage, laurel, and oak moss, was still in her nose.
    She said shakily, “I think you’re wearing the same after-shave.”
    He slanted her an odd look. His voice was grave and rueful. “I probably am. I’m faithful that way. When I find something I like, I stick to it. Do you remember what I called it when you made a ring of your arms round my neck?”
    â€œYou called it the ring of seduction,” she said huskily.
    â€œI resisted it then because you were too young. You’re not a child any longer; furthermore, you’re my wife. I’m not about to resist it now.”
    His fingers had stilled on her shoulderblades; now they separated again to continue their journey. One hand traveled down her back to hold her close; the other curved around to anchor her chin. “Be warned – you’re not going to make rings around me now and get away with it.”
    â€œI don’t want to get away with anything,” she said hoarsely. “Were you really worried about me because I was late in returning to the hotel?”
    â€œOf course I was worried, you little fool.”
    â€œWhat could have happened to me?” she scoffed, delighting in his caring, the preliminary love play of words, and the disturbing nearness of his body.
    His eyes were dark with meaning. “Do you want it in lurid detail? There are places on this island where it isn’t safe for a woman to be alone after dark.”
    â€œYou’re saying that I could have slipped on the rough ground and hurt my ankle? Or I could have fallen down a ravine and not been able to get up again and I would have had to wait until you came to find me?” she teased pertly.
    â€œI should have found you, wherever you were. But don’t treat it as a joke because such a thing is possible. You could have been lying in a gully somewhere, seriously injured and in great pain, and it might have been hours – or days – before I discovered you. But you know perfectly well that’s not what I meant.”
    â€œI don’t know anything of the sort.” She looked at him from under her lashes. “Do you mean someone, a man, might have come across me while I was wandering in the dark, helpless and alone, and taken advantage of me? Tell me, I’m curious to know.”
    â€œI know you’re curious. And if I’d been that man and found you wandering in some dark and lonely place, you’d be curious no more.” He smiled slowly and his eyes turned smoky blue. “I can promise you that more than your curiosity would have been satisfied.”
    She frowned. “You want to satisfy my curiosity, don’t you,