Seger, Maura Read Online Free PDF Page B

sensation—half fear, half longing —shot through her. Her lips parted on a soundless gasp.
    That was all the invitation he needed. A rueful laugh escaped him, as though in acknowledgment of his own susceptibility, before his tall head swooped and his mouth claimed hers with completeness that drove the breath from her.
    If she had allowed herself to wonder what it would be like to kiss him again, she would have expected roughness and complete disregard for her feelings in place of the erotic skill that had once so confused her. But Storm's touch was not at all like that. Even as he burned with long-denied hunger, he seemed determined she would acknowledge that her need was no less than his.
    One big hand cupped the back of her head as the other slipped tantalizingly along the curve of her waist upward toward the swelling fullness of her breast. When he felt the tremor that ran through her, his mouth gentled. Light, teasing kisses nibbled at her lips, making her yearn for more.
    No thought of resistance remained in her as his tongue coaxingly traced the sensitive inner flesh of her mouth before plunging with rapierlike swiftness past the barrier of her small white teeth to fully possess the moist cavern within.
    A purely female moan sounded deep inside her as he provoked her to join in an erotic duel that made her limp with yearning. When his mouth left hers to trail feather-light kisses down the silken column of her throat, she could not resist the need to return the pleasure he was giving her.
    Her hands stroked the wide, hard sweep of his shoulders, relishing how his powerful muscles tensed beneath her gentle touch. Gaining courage, she let her fingers caress the nape of his neck, where chestnut curls brushed the crisp collar of his shirt.
    The essentially male scent of shaving soap, fine wool and tobacco filled her breath. She savored the faintly salty taste of his skin as her tongue darted out along the slight roughness of his jaw.
    Years before when he kissed her, she had always sensed he was holding something back, as though understanding that she was not ready to know the full force of his masculinity. Now he felt no such restraint. His mouth left off its enticing torment of her throat and returned to close on hers with captivating ferocity.
    Again his tongue plunged deeply, licking at the roof of her mouth and the delicate inner flesh of her cheeks until she writhed against him. A guttural sound of satisfaction rippled from him.
    "You're like fire . . . sweet, entrancing fire____"
    The blaze threatened to consume them both. Only the steely strength of Storm's arms enabled her to stand upright. She was turning to shimmering light inside, all form and substance dissolving in the heat of desire more intense than she had ever imagined could exist.
    Not until his hands slipped below her waist to urge her even closer did the impossibility of the situation reach them. The metal hoops blocked the contact they both so ardently wanted, while forcing them to recall their surroundings.
    At any moment one of the other guests might stroll into the garden, or the houseman might come to announce dinner. Erin flushed as she thought how her reputation would be shredded if she was found in such compromising circumstances.
    For herself, she did not particularly care. She had long since stopped living her life according to the dictates of others. But she was not about to subject Elizabeth and Ned to such embarrassment.
    "Let me go, Storm." The breathless pleading of her voice made her sound as though she was asking for something quite different. But she could not help that. At all cost, she had to put some distance between them.
    When he did not comply immediately, she raised her fists, pushing against the wall of his chest. The gesture was singularly futile. Though her active life and excellent health made her unusually strong for a woman, she could no more force him to move than she could shift a mountain.
    Seizing both her hands in