He stepped closer. Her br**sts were pressed against his warm bare chest, and the heat of his erection scorched her stomach. "Or the night of destiny."
The air seemed to stir around them. Or was it merely his breath stroking her mouth with warmth?
"You are my heart, my soul." And knew even as she said the words that she shouldn't have started this. Couldn't pretend, because she did care, as much as she'd tried not to admit it.
"I can't do this," she added. "Let's just dance."
He didn't hear her. Or maybe he chose not to hear her. "Kneel with me."
"We can't do this." Because she didn't want to pretend when part of her ached so fiercely for it to be real.
His eyes were black fires of determination that burned through her soul. "Kneel with me," he repeated and tugged her down in front of him.
"Duncan — "
He stopped her with a kiss that was both ferocious and passionate. One that left her mind reeling and her body aching.
"Dance with me," he said, voice so husky, so damn sexy, chills ran across her skin. "This night and the rest of our nights, for as long as the divine light shines in the evening skies. For as long as we live beneath it."
The air seemed to thrum, to burn, at his words. Magic, or her imagination?
"No," she choked, trying to pull away.
His touch slid past her hip to cup her rear, holding her in place, his grip gentle but firm. "Pretense," he whispered, brushing a kiss across her lips. "That's all it is."
This was more than pretense. Something was happening. Surely he could feel it. Surely the tingle in the air wasn't just her imagination.
He caught her chin, raising her gaze to his. His eyes were ebony pools she wanted to lose herself in forever.
"I feel nothing more than desire. Want nothing more than to love you as you should be loved. Pretend with me."
She closed her eyes and shifted her stance. "Under her light, I offer you my body."
Desire and something else, something more ethereal, shimmered between them, warming the night. Warming her. His rigid heat slid deep inside, until it felt as if he was claiming every inch of her. He began to rock. It felt so good, so right, a moan escaped her lips.
"Under the divine light of the moon," he said, "I offer you my heart."
It felt like her own heart was snapping tight, ready to shatter. "Under her light, I offer you mine."
The sting in the air was becoming stronger. Sweat skated across her skin. Pretense, she told herself fiercely. Nothing more.
His grip on her rump grew stronger, holding her steady as the tempo of his thrusts increased. "Under the divine light, I offer you my soul."
Deep down the tremors were beginning, spreading through her body like a wave. She gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his flesh, fighting the sensations rippling through her, fearing the burning in the air. Fearing the fact she could not stop the words flowing from her lips.
"By her light, I offer you mine."
He was thrusting deep and hard. The world seemed to be spinning, and every fiber of her being was tingling with magic. Burning with the need for release.
"Then let our souls become one as our bodies have become one."
"Let the moon bless and rejoice in this union," she somehow gasped.
"Do you accept the gift of my seed?" he growled. "Do you accept the promises of the night and the moon?"
"Yes," she cried. "Yes."
He went rigid against her, the force of his release tearing her name from his throat. Heat seemed to explode around them, through them, and her cl**ax came in a rush of power that stole her breath, stole all thought, and swept her into a world that was sheer, unadulterated bliss.