Shanna took the glass with both hands and sipped from it while her green eyes softly searched his face. The goblet was lowered, and Shanna’s gaze followed as confusion filled her mind. She could find no word to break the spell. Ruark’s hand came up and gently swept the kerchief from her head, loosening the long, thick tresses, spilling them downward over her soft, white shoulders. He set the glass on the corner of the table then blew out the oil lamp. Shanna’s lips parted in a low, wordless moan as his arms went about her, folding her into his embrace and bringing her against his hard muscled chest. His mouth touched hers and tested the softness of her lips, playing, warming, rousing until her arms crept about his neck. He bent slightly, and his arm went behind her knees, lifting her from the floor. A soft sigh escaped Shanna as she laid her head upon his shoulder. Ruark strode swiftly through the rooms until he gained the softly illuminated bedchamber where without pause he turned and fell on his back across the bed, still holding her clasped in his arms. Shanna gasped at the fall then braced up on an elbow to stare down in wonder at his face. Folding an arm about her, Ruark pressed a kiss upon her lips and traced a molten path downward to her neck and finally to her bare shoulder. In her mind, Shanna wanted to pull away from his touch, but her mind stumbled and fell before his persistent caresses. Shanna rose above him slightly, shaking her head until her hair formed a shimmering canopy about their faces. Staring into those hungry golden eyes, she lowered again to kiss him long and ardently, moving slowly, the hot peaks of her breasts teasing his chest. His hands moved to her waist, and the skirt fell loose. A tug at the tie of her blouse and it was off her shoulders. Like a savage cat Shanna crouched on her knees above him, tempting him with a kiss, an intimate touch, until Ruark rolled, pulling her beneath him. Then with fierce, naked abandon he possessed her, sweeping her with him to breathless, spiraling heights.
Climbing up from the depths of sleep, Ruark woke as if from a trance, for a brief haunting moment fearing that he had dreamed it all. But then he felt the soft, warm body entwined with his, and he relaxed upon the pillow. The memory of Shanna’s passion fanned the fires in his mind. She had teased him like a vixen, tempted him with her softness, made love with him as openly as if she were a cherished wife. Her effect on him was total and complete—devastating when wanting her only led him to frustration and agony of mind and body, beautiful when they joined in love and she was his, for a time, for a space. The fragrance of her perfume filled his brain, and her lovely curving form nestled close against him, a warm, soft thigh resting casually between his, her arm flung out across his chest. She moved against him, and her breath was a warm tickling at the base of his neck. Her lips touched there, and as he looked down, she drew back, her eyes smiling into his. Their lips met and met again as if each kiss were sweeter than the one before. His arm beneath her curled about her shoulders, and his other hand caressed downward along her spine to press her hips close to his. They moved apart then came together with a heat that melted them into one, each oblivious of everything but the other. All that had gone before was dimmed in the brilliance of the union .
Jagged lightning cracked the ebony sky, and raindrops pattered on the leaves of the poinciana trees close outside the window. Errant breezes brought the fresh smell of the storm to fill the room. Both of them were awake, but they were silent and somewhat awed by the bliss they had found together. Shanna lay nestled in his arms. Her finger traced the outline of his ear, and she brushed the tousled hair back from it.
“I am to bid you go before my father learns of us,” she said quietly. “Hergus fears what will happen.”
Ruark chuckled softly. “And I am to go, just like that? Upon my word, the woman is blind, else she would see how you have bewitched me.”
Shanna rolled her head to watch the play of flashing bolts across the broad expanse of velvet blackness. It was strange the strong sense of security she felt here with Ruark as the storm enveloped the world beyond the windows. She had always slept alone, and as a child she had been frightened of the thunderous winds and the blinding flashes that lent an eeriness to her bedroom long after the storms passed. On more than one occasion she had fled in terror to the safety of her parents’ chamber, only a few doors away from her own. Now with the raging winds outside, the comforting arms within, she could not find it in her to leave them.
Ruark’s fingers brushed the softly tangled curls from her soft nape, and his kisses ventured unhindered along the creamy whiteness. Shanna closed her eyes, bathing in the peace of her contentment.