Run Wild (Escape with a Scoundrel) - By Shelly Thacker Page 0,71
then welcoming him with a sigh of surprise and wonder in the back of her throat, a sound as soft as the wind in the trees.
And something that had been knotted tight in his chest unraveled. Something that he couldn’t explain, couldn’t understand, could only feel. The night, the glade, all the world fell away and he knew nothing but her. Samantha. He slid his hand along her cheek until his fingers tangled in her wet hair, urging her closer. She tasted of strawberries and summer, of night itself, of feminine mystery, fresh and sweet and more satisfying to his body and soul than any food or drink he’d ever known. He deepened the kiss and her palms came up to his chest, but she didn’t push him away.
Instead, she clung to him, trembling as if she would shatter if he released her now.
And her touch shattered him instead.
She was an innocent. God help him, he had never suspected how innocent until now. She had perhaps never even been kissed before. Certainly not like this. Yet she accepted him... wanted him.
Overpowering desire sank white-hot claws into his body, but he fought it. For her, he had to go slowly. Had to give her time to discover the passionate rhythms of her need for herself, even as they set him ablaze.
But it was too difficult to think of how very vulnerable and fragile she was. Too difficult to think at all. Especially when she yielded to him so completely, leaning into him as if her legs would not hold her. His arm slid around her waist and he drew her in tight. Angling his head, he urged her lips to part... and to his astonishment she opened to him.
All his hunger and longing poured forth, met and blended with hers. She was as brash and impetuous in her newfound desire as she was in every other way, holding nothing back. His tongue stroked along hers in a deft glide, exploring, claiming her satiny heat, and a moan came from deep in her throat, a sound of discovery. Of unmistakable pleasure.
It was the sound he had heard in his fantasies. A groan tore from his chest. Need exploded through him, hot and sharp like fragments from the stars overhead. As the dark water swirled around them, he could feel her shivering with need, with passion. His hand slid down her back, pressing her closer. Through the wet fabric of her gown he could feel every curve of her body—the way her nipples hardened to pearls against his chest, the softness of her belly against his rigid arousal.
Suddenly she flinched as if struck by a lash and broke the kiss. She blinked up at him, dazedly. For one instant she remained in his embrace.
Then her lips parted on a wordless sound of denial and she pulled away.
He didn’t let her go. “Samantha—”
“No,” she cried, struggling in earnest now. “No!”
He released her and she stumbled away a step, shaking. “I don’t... I...” One trembling hand came up to touch her mouth. “No.”
“Samantha.” He stepped toward her, unable to understand how she could change so quickly from sweet fire to cold fear in his arms.
“Stay away from me!” She rushed backward, almost falling in the water. The chain stopped her flight and she went still.
Unnaturally still.
Like a fawn facing a hunter, eyes wide.
Nicholas froze, confused by her reactions. “It’s all right.” He raised his hands in a gesture of reassurance. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She had gone pale. “I’ve heard that before!”
“I’m not forcing anything on you,” he retorted, stung by her words. “You were melting in my arms, lady. You wanted that kiss as much as I did. You wanted—”
“No! I didn’t! I don’t want anything from you. I certainly don’t want you to... to...”
He struggled to gain control of his desire, his frustration, his temper. “Samantha, you don’t have to be afraid,” he said more gently, “I know this is new for you—”
“But it’s not.” Her voice had gone cold as ice. “It’s not new at all!”
Her words struck him like a fist in the gut. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t guessed the truth before—the way she pulled away every time he came near her, her fear at his slightest touch. “Someone hurt you, didn’t he?” Inexplicable anger poured through him. “Someone made you afraid. When you said, ‘I’ve heard that before,’ you didn’t mean from me—you meant from someone else. Who, Samantha? What happened to you?”