Mountain Moonlight - By Jane Toombs Page 0,18

were pretty hard to miss," she said dryly.

"Always in trouble, you mean."

"That, too. Even though I never used the stuff, I happened to be pretty good at spotting the druggies but I never figured you for being high on anything. Which was remarkable given the drugs available."

"If you realized that, you must have noticed me a damn sight more than I ever knew."

"Come on, Bram, you were a bigger than life rebel. Everyone in the entire school paid attention to what you did, students and staff alike. Plus you were the star of our winning baseball team."

"I figure that's the only reason those in power put up with me. Us rebels got to have at least one in, you know."

Vala smiled at him. She'd always found Bram sexy but she'd never dreamed he'd turn out to be fun. "I didn't know you'd won that scholarship, though."

"Got it when the university recruited me. I decided to accept it--what did I have to lose?

"So you wound up with a law degree you don't use."

"Not a total loss. I still use a lot of what I learned getting it. And who can predict the future? That degree may come in handy some day."

"At least you had the courage to know what you really wanted."

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Maybe, maybe not. In some areas, though, I think maybe I always knew what I wanted. Trouble was, I didn't know how to get it. Figure that's how the idea of law school came in to begin with."

Vala sighed. "I don't think I ever knew what I really wanted. If I had, I wouldn't have married Neal. But then, of course, I wouldn't have Davis. He's the prize I never expected."

The tent seemed to have gotten smaller, she thought. Which was impossible. Yet Bram's nearness was overwhelming her. She struggled to find words to throw up as a barrier between them.

"Surely at one time you must have thought of marrying," she said.

"Nope. No reason to."

"How about being in love?"

"Who knows what love is?"

"I'm the last person to ask," she said tartly.

"You brought it up. Weren't you ever in love with misguided Neal?"

She shook her head, ashamed to admit it aloud. You ought to love the man you married, shouldn't you?

Time to shift the focus back to him. "You could have had your pick of any girl in high school, so I imagine--"

He cut her off. "You're wrong."

Vala stared at him. "I don't think so. Remember, I was in that school, watching and listening. What I was trying to say, though, is if you've never fallen in love or married, it surely hasn't been for lack of opportunity."

"Rebels don't make good marital partners."

"If by that you mean women don't understand them--"

His tone was so bitter that she began to understand he must be speaking of someone other than himself.

"Been there, done that," he added. "Not again."

It occurred to her that in high school he'd lived alone with his mother. Was he talking about his absent father? Whatever it was, she decided Bram had been hurt as a child. Without thinking, she reached out and placed her hand over his in a gesture of sympathy.

Though she hadn't seen him move, suddenly he seemed a lot closer, making her lick her lips nervously.

"Invitation?" he asked, watching her.

"I--um--" She couldn't find words to tell him no.

And then it was too late.

His mouth brushed against hers in a feather kiss, which shouldn't have been the slightest bit erotic. Or at least that's what she tried to tell herself as she leaned into the kiss, helpless to deny the very real invitation she was now offering.

His arms came around her, pulling her close, his lips urging surrender as he deepened the kiss. No man, certainly not Neal, had ever aroused her so completely by one kiss.

She wanted to melt against him, melt into him, to possess and be possessed. The feeling was completely foreign to her, making her realize there'd been a pitiful lack in her life up until now.

If this was a prelude, she wasn't sure she'd live through the main performance. She was so consumed with longing she could hardly think straight.

Wrapped in his arms, his male scent drugging her senses, the taste of his mouth branding her, she had no desire to try to free herself because it felt as though she belonged exactly where she was.

She couldn't tell herself the reason for her eager response was that she hadn't let any man kiss her for a