Free Silver Master by Jayne Castle Page B

him. Take it easy; you don’t want to scare her off. But she didn’t look scared.
    He managed to wait, just barely, until they left the main street and walked a short distance into the shadowy lane where the Phantom was parked. He stopped in front of the vestibule of a darkened doorway, turned Celinda toward him, and pulled her into his arms. She did not resist. Her hands went to his shoulders.
    In the faint, green glow that emanated from the towering quartz wall at the far end of the lane, he could see that her eyes were deep and mysterious, and her lips were slightly parted. Definitely not scared.
    He wrapped her close and kissed her hard, letting her feel the rush that was heating his blood.
    She made a soft, urgent little sound. Her hands slid from his shoulders, moving up around his neck. She opened her lips just a little and gave him a taste of the sultry heat that awaited him.
    Kissing her was a little like going down into the catacombs and getting a dose of alien psi, only better. This high swept through him with the force of an oncoming summer storm. It was sexual and highly physical, but it was something more, something that caught him by surprise. There was a sense of mind-bending rightness about kissing Celinda. She was just what he’d been needing for longer than he could remember.
    She whispered something he did not quite catch against his mouth. Her fingers tightened in his hair. He could feel her soft breasts crushed against his chest.
    He felt his control start to slip. That hadn’t happened in longer than he could remember either. Instead of making him uneasy, he suddenly felt free in a way he hadn’t for years.
    The hunger inside him grew more intense. He dragged Celinda deeper into the vestibule and pushed her up against the stone wall, bracing her. She nibbled on his left earlobe. He almost climaxed then and there. He couldn’t believe she was using her teeth on him.
    He moved his hands downward on either side of her body, savoring the contours of breast, waist, and thigh. She did not try to stop him. In fact, he could feel one of her elegantly curved calves gliding up the side of his trousers. She shuddered a little in his arms.
    He found the hem of her dress and shoved it up to her waist. Then he gripped her buttocks and started to lift her off her feet so that she would have no choice but to wrap her legs around him and squeeze tightly just to hold on.
    She gasped and pulled her mouth away from his.
    â€œWait,” she managed breathlessly. “Hold on a minute. I think things are getting a little out of control here.”
    He groaned. “Celinda—”
    â€œWe should both cool down a bit,” she said, taking several deep breaths. “I mean, this isn’t even a real date, is it? More like a business dinner.”
    He came back to his senses with a disorienting jolt.
    What the hell was he doing? He’d only met her this afternoon, and he’d been about to take her up against a grimy wall. He’d never taken a woman against a wall in his life. He caught her face between his hands and rested his forehead against hers.
    â€œDon’t know how it is in your line,” he said, “but I gotta tell you my business dinners don’t usually end like this.”
    She gave him a tremulous smile. “Neither do mine.”
    He opened his mouth to apologize. The sound of footsteps stopped him cold. There were plenty of other people out on the streets of the Old Quarter enjoying the warm summer night, but until now he and Celinda had been alone in the tiny lane. He listened closely.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Celinda whispered, going very still.
    â€œProbably nothing.” He spoke directly into her ear.
    â€œOh, jeez. First date I’ve been on in four months, and I’m going to get mugged, right?”
    Very gently he put his hand over her mouth to silence her. He turned her slightly so that he could watch the mouth of the lane from