Diana Palmer Men of the Hour 01 Night of Love

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could see his heartbeat increase.
"That would be...very exciting," she whispered huskily. "Wouldn't it?"
He drew her hand slowly to his body and let her feel the sudden, violent effect of the words. His
breath stilled in his throat.
"Damn your brother," he said unsteadily. "I want to strip off my clothes and pull you under me, right
here, right now!"
She reached up, tugging his face down. He kissed her with slow anguish, a rough moan echoing into
her mouth. His hand explored her, touched and tested her body until he made it tremble. She
whimpered and he clenched his teeth while he tried to fight it.
"We can't." She wept.
"I know. Oh, God, I know!" He brought her up to him and held her roughly, crushing her against him
so that the silky fabric of his suit made a faint abrasion against her softness. "Meg, I need you so!
"I need you, too," she murmured, shaken by the violence of her hunger for him. "So much!"
"Do you want to risk it?" he whispered at her ear. "It would have to be quick, Meg. No long loving, no
tenderness." Then he groaned and cursed under his breath as he realized what he was offering her.
"No!" he said violently. "Oh, God, no, not like that. Not ever again!"
He forced himself to let go of her. His grip on her arms was bruising as he lifted away from her and
then suddenly let her go and turned away. He was shaking, Meg saw, astonished.
"I'm going to get out of here and let you dress," he said with his back to her. "I'm sorry, Meg" He
turned around, slowly, and looked down at her. "I want lovemaking," he said quietly, "not raw sex.
And we need to think about this. If you're not already pregnant, we need to think very carefully about
making you that way."
She smiled gently. He sounded different. He even looked different. "I don't need to think about it," she
said softly. "But if you do, you can have all the time in the world."
Color ran along his cheekbones. He looked at her with eyes that made a meal of her. Finally he closed
them, shivering, and turned away from her.
"I'll see you downstairs," he said in a faintly choked tone. He went out without looking back and
closed the door firmly.
Meg saw something in his face before he left the room. It was enough to erase every terror the night
had held and give her the first real hope she'd had of a happy future with him.
10
But if Meg had expected that look in Steve's eyes to change anything, she was mistaken. He'd had time
to get himself together again, and he was distant while he drank coffee with Meg and David
downstairs. She walked him to the door when he insisted scant minutes later that he had to leave.
David discreetly took the coffee things into the kitchen, to give them a little privacy.
"When this is over," he told Meg, "you're going to marry me, as quickly as I can arrange a
ceremony."
"All right, Steven," she replied.
He toyed with a strand of her blond hair, not meeting her eyes. "Daphne isn't who you think," he said.
"I can't say more than that. But a lot of people aren't what you think they are." He lifted his eyes to
hers. "I'll tell you all of it, as soon as I can."
It was an erasing of doubts and fears. A masquerade, and almost time to whip off the masks. She
searched his silver eyes quietly. "I care for you very much," she said simply. "I'm tired of fighting it,
Steven. I'll be happy with what you can give me."
His jaw clenched. "I don't deserve that."
She smiled impishly. "Probably not, but it's true, just the same." She moved closer and reached up to
kiss him very tenderyv. "I'm sorry David wouldn't go away so that we could make love," she
whispered. "Because I want to, very, very much."
"So do I, little one," he said tautly. "It gets harder and harder to stay awav from you."
"But not hard enough to make you give up Daphne?" she probed delicately, and watched him close up.
"Give it time."
She shrugged. "What else can I do?" she asked miserably. She sighed and leaned closer, so that his
mouth was against her forehead. "I love you," she said.
He held her with mixed emotions. She didn't quite trust him, but he hoped she was telling the truth
about her feelings. He was in too deep to back out now. "I'll see you tomorrow. Lang had better be on
his way to the moon," he added irritably.
"Don't hurt him," she said softly. "He really did save me."
"I know what he did," he muttered, and it was in his eyes when he lifted his head. "Maybe they'll give
him to Ahmed as a going-away gift." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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