sovereignty. Of a sudden, their proximity was stunning. A terrible longing flooded through her. She knew she shuddered, but such excitement was flashing through her, it was rocking her entire body. Their immediate world grew dim. It was so quiet, she could listen in to her own heart beat.
“Talk?” she heard herself murmur like a release. A little rivulet of heat-induced perspiration ran down between her breasts. The light perfume she was wearing rose like a fine mist around them.
It was too much, even for Damon. The lawyer in him knew he was risking much. He even had the feeling this could not possibly be happening. Not now. But he was pitched headlong into an intense sexual hunger that had been simmering from the moment he had laid eyes on her. From her expression, she was all but handing herself to him. It was an incitement too powerful to override.
He gathered her up more strongly into his arms. Her face was upturned to him. Her eyes had closed, but her lovely mouth was parted, open to his. He could not find the strength to resist.
She’s your responsibility.
Again the voice of command. Only she was allowing this, caught in the grip of the same overwhelming excitement. The two of them might have been inhabitants of an alternate world. He closed his own eyes as he lowered his mouth onto hers, his lips closing around hers, the suppleness of them intoxicating him. Her cheeks radiated heat. They were damp with tears. He tasted salt on his tongue. She didn’t deny him. This was what they so burningly wanted.
He was taking the weight of her, revelling in the softness and delicacy of her body, alive and so responsive under his hands. One of his hands came up to cradle her nape. Her skin was as smooth as satin....
It was an agony and a ravishing pleasure. Both feelings co-existed. Both of them were wordless under the assault of the senses. He knew he should pull back, but all restraints were off. His desire for her had out-powered reason. They were kissing open-mouthed. Their tongues met in that inner space, a love dance as old as time. His free hand had slipped down of its own volition to cup one small perfect breast. He could feel the hardness of the nipple against his palm. The act of caressing her breast raised his level of desire.
All was heat, fragrance, the driving need to come together on a deeper more dangerous level. Soft little moans that issued from her mouth acted on him like a mating call. He was aware of his powerful erection, a man’s compelling need to enter the body of the woman he desired. His blood was pumping madly. At that moment all he wanted in life was to take this beautiful young woman and make her his. Not for a day or a night but forever.
So strong were his feelings, no outside influence could make itself heard. Her body was so slight against the male strength and sheer weight of his. He couldn’t get enough of her. His fingers slipped under the waist band of her cropped navy trousers.
I’d stop now, if I were you.
This time the voice inside his head compelled attention.
Stop.
His eyes flew open. God knew, in kissing her he was complicating not only her existence but his. These weren’t kisses born of compassion. They were kisses born of sexual hunger that had its own irresistible line of attack.
He had to tear his mouth from hers, but he still kept her held to his heart. It seemed to him his whole life had been moving towards this point.
Carol too was suspended in sensation. She lifted her head. “Did you just kiss me?” She was so aquiver with sensation, it was almost a torture.
“I surely did.”
“Do you think it might happen again?” she whispered.
He tilted her chin. “At least it drove the tears away.” He was astonished his voice sounded normal, when what he felt was an incredible exhilaration. “I hope I didn’t startle you?”
“Only to the point where everything counted for nothing.” She didn’t care if the admission betrayed her. She was too far gone. “I’ve never in my life been kissed like that.”
He kept his eyes on her lovely face. Her expression appeared overwrought. He wanted to kiss her again. He hadn’t found the extra strength to free her, but he knew he had to call a stop. “Would you want to change anything?” He brushed back a few springy