The Buccaneer(81)

Her eyes fluttered. She could barely gather a cohesive thought much less manage a sensible response. The warm sand burned into her back, his touch fired her body beyond reality, beyond any emotion she had ever experienced. He dominated, he controlled, and he brought her unspeakable pleasure. The devil himself possessed her very soul.

She shook her head, for a brief moment fearing where he might take her.

He laughed, slipped his arms beneath her legs and drew her up against him, his hardened shaft bidding entrance to her. "Liar," he said, and plunged into her.

She arched her back and cried out from his thrusting impact. Her hands clawed the sand, her breath locked in her throat and she thought she would surely die if he ceased his forceful invasion.

He didn't stop. He delivered exactly what he had promised; he took them into the depths of insanity.

His movements were wild, full of savage need, and she responded with equal abandonment. Nothing existed but their unholy desire to be consumed by each other, to touch the very core of their beings, to unite and become one. To love as they had never loved before.

They splintered together like a thousand shards of glass bursting beneath the hot sun. Painfully satisfying and emotionally frightening.

Lucian collapsed on Catherine, his breathing heavy, his heart beating out of control. Catherine fared no better. Her heart beat erratically as though searching for a steady rhythm, but too crazed to fine one.

Several silent minutes drifted by before Lucian regained control and rolled off Catherine. He lay on his back, his eyes squinting up at the sun. "Are you all right?"

Catherine still hadn't regained control. Her breathing was labored, her heart pounded, and her body felt ravaged with pleasure.

"Catherine?" he questioned, his strength returning.

She still was unable to answer him.

He sat up and looked down at her. "Catherine?"

Her eyes resembled large round coins and she gasped for breath.

Lucian had her in his arms in seconds. "Easy, angel, easy," he soothed, and stroked her back. "Take slow breaths. Slow."

His reassuring voice calmed her, his powerful arms protected her. She belonged here with him as surely as night turned to day. They were part of a whole and could never be completely one unless together. She loved him. Loved him beyond reason, beyond reality, beyond madness. She loved the devil himself.

She signed heavily, her breathing finally normal, her heart pierced by the truth. What in heaven's name was she to do?

"Feeling better?" His hand caressed her arm.

She spoke honestly. "I feel like I've never felt before."

He lifted her chin. "And shall never feel again — unless it is with me." His words dripped with icy warning.

She let him know his caution wasn't necessary. "I want no other man." Her finger traced a slow path down his cheek to his mouth. Her words came simply and were spoken from her heart. "I love you."

Lucian stared in disbelief at Catherine. Words escaped him, rational thought disappeared. His heart urged him to respond in kind, declare the love he had tried so hard to ignore and kept buried in his heart.

But old hurts and wounds surfaced to oppose and prevented him from admitting just how very much he loved Catherine Abelard.

Catherine grew uncomfortable with his silence. She had foolishly acknowledged her feelings. Would she ever learn to think wisely before she spoke? What now? Did she expect the infamous Lucifer to admit his love for her? Did she think they would or could live happily ever after?

Words rushed to her mouth though this time she attempted to save herself from further embarrassment. "The sand is irritating my skin. I must rinse it off."

She squirmed out of his arms and hurried off into the gentle rolling surf.

Lucian watched her retreat and cursed himself. Why? Why couldn't he forget the past, bury the hurt, and go on with his life?

But he knew the answers to his questions. He had suffered and he wanted desperately to learn why — why Abelard had lied and condemned him to hell.

Catherine's actions caught his attention and he watched as she stooped to grab at something in the water.

He stood and walked to the water's edge. "What buried treasures do you look for?"

She almost cried out "Your love," but caught herself and held up a grooved seashell.

"Would you like me to help you collect more?" he asked, already entering the water.

I want to collect more, so much more from you. She nodded, smiling briefly before she returned to her hunt.

The silence hovered heavily over them. The sun seemed to grow hotter, the air thicker. Catherine edged away from him, distancing herself, fighting to ease the ache in her heart and the emptiness in her soul.

Lucian noticed her retreat and grew angry. He didn't like her attempting to detach from him. They had grown closer since their arrival on the island, much closer, and he refused to lose that strong emotional bond they had forged.