“Oh no,” Storm said adamantly. “I’d never love with the strength that I loved Daniel.”
“Then you aren’t being fair to Daniel.”
Storm looked affronted. “Why do you say that?”
“If your husband loved you, truly loved you, then he wouldn’t want to see you alone. He’d want you to love again, and with the same if not more courage and strength than you did him. Would you not want that for Daniel, if it were you who had died?”
Storm didn’t hesitate. “I would want Daniel to be happy.”
“Then what makes you think he wouldn’t want the same for you?”
Storm placed her napkin on the table. “It doesn’t really matter what Daniel would want for me. My fate was sealed the day I rescued him from the Earl of Balford’s prison. The man is determined to see me caught and paid to suffer for the humiliation I caused him. I’ve stayed several steps ahead of him but he will catch up sooner or later. It is inevitable.”
Burke stood, walked around the table to her, and yanked her out of her seat by her arms. “There is no way in hell I would let you be captured and imprisoned.”
“You will not decide my fate, Mr. Longton.”
He pulled her up against his chest. “I am your fate, Mrs. Longton.”
He claimed her mouth with a feverish kiss that had their passion soaring in seconds.
He held her close, running his hand up to her hair and freeing it of the combs that held it in place so that he could run his fingers through the silky black strands. He wrapped his hand in the long waves and tugged her head back to expose her neck to his lips, and he feasted on her smooth flesh.
She moaned her pleasure and it stirred his own. With quick fingers he opened her blouse and moved his lips to her hard nipples and continued to feast. She tasted exquisite, and he couldn’t get enough of her, nor she him, since her hand cupped the back of his head.
He took a moment to free her completely of her blouse and himself of his shirt and once again pulled her up against him.
She gasped as their naked bodies made contact, and he swallowed the staggering moan that rose in his throat.
Lord, but she felt good against him. She was warm and soft and fit perfectly to his chest, as if they were made for each other. Her hard nipples dug into him and the full mounds of her breasts snuggled against him as if they had come home and were content.
She belonged there, melded with him as if they were one, and the thought startled and excited him as he leaned down and took her lips once again.
He kept his arms firmly around her as he walked her over to the bed and lowered them down on it, continuing to kiss her as they descended into the soft bedding.
He near shivered when her hand explored his chest, her fingers playing with his nipples before they slipped down to rub the hard length of him through his trousers.
He wanted to feast his eyes over every inch of her, become familiar with every little detail until he knew her as no one had ever known her before him.
He whispered in her ear, “I want to kiss every part of you, claim every nook and cranny and make you mine.”
He moved his lips to her mouth, and the palm of her hand greeted him.
He didn’t like the sadness he saw in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought I made it clear that I could never be yours. This is but a brief interlude, no more.”
Why did the idea disturb him? He had had interludes before, and it had never bothered him to say good-bye to the women. Why did the thought of bidding Storm farewell weigh so heavily on his mind?
He could tell her he had meant just for this night, for this time they would spend together, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“I can’t give you more, Burke.”
He thought, or perhaps he imagined it because he wanted to, that she sounded regretful, almost as if she were on the verge of tears. Did she want more herself but know it wasn’t possible? Did it hurt her to believe so?
“Nothing has to be decided tonight,” he assured her, leaving possibilities open to them both.
“Yes, yes it does,” she said, pushing him gently off her.
He reluctantly moved away and she reached for a pillow to shield her naked breasts as she sat up.
“Why?” he demanded a bit more forcefully than he had intended.
“Because it is the way of things, and nothing will change that. You will return to America and I will remain in Scotland.”
“What if we fell in love?”
Storm’s blue eyes widened considerably. “We cannot.”
“What if we did?” he asked, the force of his query remaining adamant.
“It’s not a possibility. We barely know each other.”
“If I remember correctly, you and Daniel hadn’t known each other long before you fell in love.”