his strong arm circled her. She jerked and twisted, but he didn’t let go. Her breast filled his hand. His grip was strong, almost hurting her, but he didn’t turn loose or let her free.
When she pulled her mouth from his, he let her turn and gulp air. His fingers spread out, pressing her breast against her pounding heart. She saw fire in his eyes, but she felt no fear of him, only of herself and what he might awaken in her.
She tried to turn away, but he didn’t move. They both knew she could stop him with a word. She was fighting years of closing herself off from any tenderness, any loving touch, any passion. This cold, hard man seemed to understand her when no one else had even tried.
“Kiss me, Anna,” he whispered, almost angry. “Kiss me.”
She turned toward him, seeing the need in his eyes, and then the surprise as she raised her chin and moved her mouth to his. After a moment of hesitation, he took her offering fully.
When she finally calmed and stilled in his arms, he kissed a tear from her cheek and loosened his grip around her. “There now, that wasn’t so bad, was it, darlin’. You’re more afraid of something new than of me.”
It crossed her mind that he was mad. She was with a madman. Who bossed her around. Who saved her life. Who kissed her with a passion that would probably set them both on fire any minute. He thought he could kiss her and handle her just because he wanted to. He treated her like a treasure. Like a woman. Like a passion too deep for either of them to understand.
His hand gently brushed over the thin layer of material covering her shoulder.
When he leaned down to take a first taste of her throat, she pushed away and moved into her tent.
He followed, knowing that he’d be welcomed as he moved up behind her, circling her waist and pulling her back against him. He wasn’t imprisoning her now—she could have stepped away, but she leaned into him and sighed at the whirlwind of feelings circling through her body.
He kissed her ear and she heard his breathing, fast and heavy like her own. “Unbutton your gown.” He spread his hands out wide at her sides.
“No,” she whispered.
“Unbutton your gown.” His order was muffled as his mouth moved down her throat.
“Only a few,” she whispered back in compromise.
Her fingers fumbled, opening the buttons as he kissed his way to the hollow of her throat. There was something raw and hungry in his touch, as though he’d waited a lifetime to hold her.
She was beyond thought and full into pleasure. Slowly, hesitantly, she began unbuttoning more tiny buttons. He rewarded her with kisses along her neck and his fingers moving over her body.
When she reached the buttons between her breasts, he whispered again, “Now, pull the gown down off your shoulders.”
He watched her slow progress. First one shoulder, then the other. The robe dropped to the floor but the soft gown hung at the tips of her breasts.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
She wondered if he was aware that he said the words aloud.
His hands moved to her shoulders and began to slowly slide down. He played with the material hiding her from him. He hadn’t pushed her in this, he hadn’t forced her. He’d simply asked and she’d done what he wanted. He could not possibly be as surprised as she was.
She closed her eyes, expecting him to shove the cotton down and stare at her, but he didn’t. He turned her slowly in his arms and drew her against him and held her for a while. She’d never felt so treasured.
Anna cried softly against his shoulder without knowing why. All her life she’d discouraged men with a turn of her head or a frown. She’d been in mourning, or too busy, or thought herself too old. But there was nothing hesitant in this man’s advance. Nothing shy.
She shook, aware of just how close he stood and how unbelievably natural it felt to press her body so close to his she could feel his heart pounding.
When his mouth found hers once more, he was giving, not taking. The kiss was long and pure. Her bruised lips took the pleasure of it like cool water.
Finally, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. “We have to talk. I haven’t got much time even for this heaven.”