Shanna tried to quell the trepidation that had arisen, and she fought the flooding tides of coldness that surged within her. When she had met Ruark’s eyes, the shock was sharp, for she had suddenly realized the moment rapidly approached for which she had made this tryst. Would he seek his vengeance cruelly or with grace? Would she find pleasure or pain in his arms? It was too late to withdraw from this madness. How could she have believed a bondslave, a colonial who had already proven himself no gentleman, would respect her womanhood? How could she have cast herself in his grasp so recklessly?
A splash sounded behind her, and Shanna glanced around to see him rising from the tub. It was too late! Too late!
Ruark had heaved himself up and seized a towel, catching Shanna’s stare and glimpsing the full naked fear within her eyes before she managed to hide it. A betrayal now, he wondered? Would she flee? Or summon a heavy escort? Ruark waited. He was absolutely vulnerable.
Nervous now, Shanna turned her gaze away from the rather frightening sight of the naked man and went to wait beside the bed. Ruark watched her warily, toweling himself dry, then moved toward her. Her eyes wavered beneath his direct stare, and her shaking fingers entwined. She was suddenly like a small girl in a fully bloomed woman’s body.
Shanna summoned all her determination to speak, but her voice still came thin and weak.
“Ruark, ‘tis my will that this be out. ’Tis my will that the bargain be met. I know you have cause to hate me, but, Ruark,”—her lower lip quivered, and as she stared up at him, tears welled within her eyes—“please don’t hurt me.”
Ruark lifted a finger and wiped away a tear that traced slowly down her cheek, then murmured wonderingly, “You’re trembling.”
He turned and hurled the towel in a corner. Shanna flinched and braced herself for his attack, but instead of being assaulted, she heard a chuckle coming from deep inside his chest.
“Do you really think me a beast, madam, some dragon come to rend you upon your pallet? Ah, poor Shanna, dream-struck girl. This time of love is not a time for taking, but a time of giving and for sharing. You give me this night as I gave you my name, freely, of your own accord. But I warn you now you may find something here that will bind you more eternally than anything else in your life.”
Did he mean a child? Shanna frowned and turned her back to him. It was a consideration she had scarce let herself dwell upon. What if—
Ruark’s arms slipped with infinite care about her, and she forgot all. His face brushed against her hair, stirring from it the sweet fragrance of the red jasmine, frangipani, until his mind reeled with the heady scent of it. Ruark knew he must be gentle lest her fear destroy the moment, but it took an extreme exercise of will to court her with care. Shanna stilled her doubt and overcame the tension and resistance of her body by reminding herself repeatedly that he was, at least for the night, her husband and that come the dawn it would all be over, and she would be free of him.
Lifting her heavy golden hair aside, she offered him her shoulder, and his long fingers nimbly worked the silken frogs until the gown was free and slid to her feet. Her skin contrasted against the darkness of his like a translucent pearl upon a bed of warm earth. Once more his embrace enfolded her, bringing her back in close contact with his lean frame. Shanna felt the hard, manly boldness of him, and she closed her eyes as his searing lips slowly traced along her throat and shoulder. His hands caressed her, leisurely arousing her, stroking her breasts, and moving downward over her belly. A warm tide of tingling excitement flooded her. She was cold and hot and shaky. Her mind whirled giddily, and she forgot to repeat her reminder. The whisper of a sigh escaped her as she leaned her head back upon his shoulder, spilling her hair over his arm. She lifted her face to meet his, her trembling lips slackened and parted as his mouth possessed hers. He turned her to him, and they came together like the forging of irons, their kisses now savage and fierce, devouring as tongues met and their mouths slanted across each other’s with hungry impatience. His hand wandered down her back, pressing her hips tighter against him. His passions raged voraciously within him, and the fire in his loins was raging out of control.
Ruark bent a knee upon the bed, pulling her with him, and they were tumbling on the sheets. His open mouth, hot and wet, seared her breasts, and his white teeth lightly nibbled her curving waist and the smooth silken skin of her belly. Shanna closed her eyes, panting and breathless, pliable beneath his caresses. His eyes aflame and lusting, Ruark lowered his weight upon her, parting her thighs, and pressed deep with her. Shanna moved to welcome the hard thrust, her woman’s body reacting instinctively to this new, indescribable, budding, splintering feeling that built with pulsing leaps and bounds deep with her. The pleasure mounted so intensely she wondered wildly if she could bear it.