Words of Love - By Hazel Hunter Page 0,5

muttered. The lightning strike had been close enough to burn her. He blinked at the pink skin. “You’ve got a burn.” The first aid stuff–there’d be something for a burn. “I’m going to get the medical kit,” he said.

But she turned and tried to throw her arms around him, hampered by the white shirt hanging at her elbows and draped around her waist. She gripped the shirt at his waist.

“Don’t go,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave me alone.”

Lightning flashed and, even within the tent, the burst of light was visible. She flinched as the thunder peal echoed through the cavern. Her eyes were wide and the fear in them was undeniable.

He quickly put his arms around her, careful not to press on the burn, keeping his embrace low. As she pressed into him, he felt her breath on his throat. It came in small puffs and her hands gripped him tighter.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said lowly.

He felt her nod and realized she was still trembling.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

“Don’t say that,” he said, quietly.

But she didn’t seem able to stop herself.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

He pulled back from her, though she didn’t let go, and he took her face in his hands. Tears were still glittering there.

“Please don’t say you’re sorry,” he said, his voice louder than he’d intended. “This is my fault.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips parted as though she were going to say something but she didn’t and then she started to let go.

But that was not what he had meant to happen. He wasn’t mad at her. He was mad at himself.

Lightning flashed again and she closed her eyes. The tears that had been brimming there started to fall–down her cheeks and then to her glistening lips. He stared at her mouth, pink and full, still quivering. Lightly, his thumb brushed across them. Though he’d intended to quell the small trembles, he only succeeded in making them worse. Suddenly he was struck by the silky feel of them under his touch. His eyes quickly swept down her chin, over her bare shoulders, and then moved down her slim torso. As his thumb slowly stroked her lower lip, he stared down at the lacy, red bra she wore and the plump swell of her breasts.

Out of nowhere, a wild thought suddenly gripped him.

We are alive.

His head swam with flashing images of their narrow escape. His heart hammered at the blistering memory of it. Thunder rumbled and echoed in the cavern all around them as adrenalin surged into his veins yet again. Only the warmth of her skin against his hands drew his gaze back to her face. To his surprise, her eyes were open now, searching his, and still uncertain.

“We’re alive,” he ground out through a tight jaw.

And it felt good. His eyes bored into hers, willing her to understand. The two of them were alive and the sensation was incredible!

He could have tossed his head back and laughed but the renewed grip of her hands at his waist stopped him. He smiled down at her and suddenly he knew how to stop the quaking of those perfect lips.

“We’re alive,” he murmured as he bent to her and quickly covered her mouth with his.

As though the energy of the storm poured through him, he kissed her fiercely, unable to hold back. One hand flew to the nape of her neck and the other to her lower back. He pulled her close, craving the feel of her next to him, needing to know how alive she was. His lips kneaded into hers, devouring every silky bit, but she hadn’t moved.

In the back of his mind, a small alarm rang. Stop, it warned. She doesn’t want this, it insisted. She’s a student, it said. But Jessica was so much more than that. She was vital, and beautiful, and in his arms, as though only the two of them existed in all the universe.

Then, to his surprise, she kissed him back. Whether he’d actually paused or maybe just slowed down, he didn’t know. But as her mouth opened to him, he didn’t care.

Her lips moved urgently, if awkwardly, responding to him. Her mouth was warm and throbbing as though it pulsed with blood, with life. His tongue delved into its seductive sweetness, trying to absorb her and own her all at once. As Jessica struggled for a breath, their lips momentarily parted and he wasted no time ducking his mouth under her jaw and onto her throat.

It’d been nearly a