by Conn, Phoebe
While Brendan's embrace was a confining one, his kiss was feather-light. He longed to take her swiftly, to give free rein to the savage passion she always aroused within him, but he fought that impulse in hopes of wiiming a far more valuable surrender. He longed to tame the wildness of her spirit, to make her admit that accepting his affection would be worth risking any danger, even death. That was his goal, but Dana's heart was not a prize so easily won. Wise enough to realize this, Brendan finally had to admit defeat and bring his lingering kiss to an end.
Keeping her cradled in his arms, he kissed her delicately arched brows, her flushed cheeks, and then brushed her lips softly with his own. "The choice has always been yours, Dana. I cannot force you to take me for your lover. You must want me as badly as I want you."
Snuggled against his bare chest, Dana was certain she already did, but that was not something she dared admit. "You regard me with contempt one day, and then attempt to seduce me the next. You are the one who has no idea what he wants."
As Brendan looked down at her, reveling in the uniqueness of her rare beauty, he wanted to laugh again at the absurdity of her words, for he knew precisely what he wanted from her. The attraction that existed between them was too powerful a force to mistake for anything other than the obsession it was rapidly becoming.
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''I know what I want," he vowed confidently as he regarded the lush curves of her figure with a boldly appreciative glance.
No stranger to the lustful admiration of young men, Dana rebelled as she had so often in the past. "It is not a lover I want,'' she explained with the same cool disdain she had frequently received from him, "but merely an obedient thrall."
For the first time Brendan began to suspect Dana might be more her father's daughter than her mother's. A woman with such fierce pride would never accept the domination of any man unless it was by her own choice. In her case, he thought only a king would possess the strength of will necessary to subdue her wildly independent nature. That thought brought a slow smile to his lips, for a king was exactly what he had been raised to be.
Despite her defiant words, Dana had made no eflFort to move off his lap, and he was pleased that even after he began to stroke her bright red curls she remained nestled contentedly in his arms. Like her concern for his welfare, her behavior now told him her feelings for him were far warmer than she would admit. The challenge was to fan that warmth into flames, however, and he was not a patient man.
"Jarald must be a clumsy brute," he whispered seductively, "if he has made you afraid of making love."
Dana risked peering up at him, then wished that she hadn't, for his expression was one of sympathetic concern rather than sarcasm. "Do you really expect me to reply to such a ridiculous comment?"
"Why not? Women often confide secrets to a lover that they would never share with a husband."
Dana sighed softly, then closed her eyes for a moment. "You are neither my lover nor my husband, so I'll share no secrets of any kind with you."
Brendan wound his fingers in her curls, and when his palm brushed her cheek he forced her to look up at him. "What am I then, Dana? What am I to you?"
Her gaze again captured by the stirring intensity of his, Dana stared up at the man who continually provoked an emotional turmoil the likes of which she had never known. What was he to her? What, indeed, for there seemed to be
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no word to describe the longing that filled her heart each time they were together.
"Why would you care what a pagan bitch thinks?" she finally asked, her taunt a deliberately hostile one.
That she would recall an insult he had hurled during a heated argument gave him a moment's pause, but Brendan was far too determined to possess her to give up his quest now. After releasing her hair, he reached for her hand, and bringing it to his lips, he kissed each of her fingertips tenderly before tickling her palm with the tip of his tongue.
"I thought you had taken me into the woods to make love. Surely you can understand how disappointed I was to discover what you truly wanted. I had every right to be furious then, for Moira is no substitute for you. You have both beauty and spirit, while, sadly, she has neither." The timbre of his voice deepened as he grew more bold. "It was you I wanted that day, and I want you even more desperately now."
His lips parted slightly as he lowered his head, and Dana knew she should flee as though her very life were in danger, but his arms encircled her with such a tender embrace she wanted only to stay. Such a desire was impossible, of course, for more reasons than she could count, but as his mouth covered hers she could recall none of them. She raised her hand to his shoulder, tiien wove her fingers in the tawny curls at his nape to hold him close as she welcomed his kiss with a graceful abandon. His response was a low moan fi'om the back of his throat, and without ending the kiss he pulled her down onto the lush grass that blanketed the soil at the edge of the stream.
Brendan drew her so close his right hip and leg w^ie resting on hers. Dana was dimly aware that he was cleverly blocking her access to her knife, but such a precaution was unnecessary, for the last thing she would ever do was harm him. His kisses were slow and deep, flavored with an adoring sweetness she readily returned. She would have been content to float forever on the cloud of desire that surrounded them, but Brendan had made it plain that he wanted far more.
The Celt's touch was light as he began to trace the luscious swells of Dana's figure. He soon slid his hand beneath her woolen tunic but swiftly grew impatient that her
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silk chemise and linen shift separated them still. He knew her flesh would be as smooth and flavorful as rich cream, and he longed to strip her bare so he could taste as well as feel her beauty. Moving away for an instant, he succeeded in lifting her tunic ofi" over her head. The ribbon securing the neckline of her chemise came untied easily, and when he pushed the silken garment ofiF her shoulder, the linen shift slipped out of his way to expose one perfectly formed breast.
Just as he had imagined, the tip was a delicate pink that flushed with a hint of rose as his fingertips teased it into a firm bud. Eager to deepen the thrill of his discovery, he bent down to draw that tantalizing^ morsel into his mouth, where his tongue could encircle the silken flesh with sensuous rings of praise. His joy increased as he felt Dana respond with a shudder of delight. Her hands moved over his shoulders, then down his back, gently tracing the raised patterns left by the whip before moving through the coarse curls covering his chest.
Brendan had never wanted any woman as badly as he wanted Dana. It was no longer the challenge to possess the fiery beauty that drove him, but a desire so deep it bordered upon madness. He clung to her, his lips returning to hers again and again before he peeled her chemise clear down to her waist. Discovering the cut of her shift was too narrow to allow the access to her breasts he craved, he simply ripped it open and buried his face between the kiss-swollen mounds.
The wildness of Brendan*s passion inflamed her own, and had he been wearing a kirtle, Dana would have ripped it from him. With each kiss he gave, she wanted more. Never passive, she lured him on with breathless sighs and caresses that grew increasingly more bold until finally she slid her hands beneath the waistband of his breeches to ease them down over his hips.
Brendan scarcely needed such enthusiastic encouragement to make love to her, but he was grateful for it, all the same. He raised himself up on his elbows to look down at her, wanting to memorize the glow that passion gave her gaze, but as he leaned down to kiss her they heard Berit calling her name, followed by a sparkling burst of giggles that sounded much too close.
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When Brendan gave a harsh cry of disappointment, Dana clamped her hand over his mouth to silence him. She had to struggle to catch her breath, but succeeded in doing so before he did. '*Hush," she ordered in a frantic whisper. When he got up and pulled his breeches back into place, she looked down at her torn and di
sheveled garments and feared she must look as though she had been raped. Although her hands shook badly, she managed to pull her torn shift together and wiggle back into her chemise. She yanked her tunic over her head, then stood up and brushed oflF the blades of grass that clung to the deep rose fabric.
Brendan looked no better than she felt, and while diey could still hear Berit calling her name, Dana couldn't bring herself to reply. "I am so sorry," she began.
'*Don't wait for Berit to come back to see Erik. Meet me here tonight."
"Oh, no, I couldn't."
*'You must!"
Dana ran her fingers through her curls and winced at the tangles. "No, that's impossible." What had happened to her mind? she groaned inwardly. She was bright. How could she have thrown herself at Brendan as she had? The man's touch had an indescribable magic and his kiss was divine, but that did not change the fact he was a thrall, and the pleasure they had shared was too dangerous to repeat.
Correctly reading the fear in her expression, Brendan reached out to grab her arms and pulled her close. "Tell Berit you fell asleep. That will explain how you look. Meet me back here tonight, or I will go to Grena and tell her exactly how her daughter spent the afternoon. You know what will happen to Erik's plans to wed her then."
"You wouldn't!"
Cleverly Brendan had not threatened Dana directly when he knew her love for her half brother would make a far better weapon. "Oh, yes, I would, and you know it too."
Dana's eyes filled with tears, but her terror failed to move Brendan. His expression remained fierce as he awaited her reply. She swallowed hard, trying to think of some way to change his mind. "It is too far," she finally argued. "You can't expect me to come all this way in the dark."
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Brendan increased the pressure on her arms until pain filled her glance with dread, but still she would not agree to his demand. "All right. Meet me at the edge of the woods where we talked last week, but you must be there before midnight or I will make my way to Grena's. I want what you ofiFered me so willingly this afternoon too badly to wait past tonight to have it."
Too late Dana realized her impulse to run had been the one she should have heeded rather than allowing her weakness for him to overrule her reason. She still had a choice, however. She could tell Erik what Brendan intended to do. She knew Erik would help her, but as she heard Berit calling her name again, that seemed like a terribly selfish way out of her dilemma, for Erik had more than enough problems of his own without her creating new ones for him. This was a mess she had gotten into on her own, and she would have to get out of it the same way.
*'ril meet you at the edge of the woods. You have my word on it."
Brendan bid her farewell with a bruising kiss. '*ril have far more than that, Dana. Don't be late."
When he released her, Dana walked away with all the dignity she could summon, but she had never expected the joy she had found in his arms to so quickly turn to dread.
CHAPTER XII
As they returned to Grena's farm, Dana and Berit provided a study in stark contrasts. Berit was relaxed, smiling radiantly as she talked about the home she soon hoped to share with Erik. Dana's features were etched with tension, however, for she was filled with a dreadful sense of foreboding that
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made attending to her ebullient companion's comments nearly impossible. When they reached Grena's, she again stayed to have refreshments with her aunt, but the effort to converse with the woman gave her a headache so severe that by the time she left she feared she might actually topple from her mare's back before reaching home.
Dana knew she had to meet Brendan that night. She simply could not risk jeopardizing Erik and Berit's future by defying him. She had absolutely no intention of submitting to his demand that they become lovers, though. TTiey had not had sufficient time to talk after Berit had interrupted them, a happenstance for which she was supremely grateftil, but talk was all she intended to do later.
While it was plain Brendan wanted her, and badly, she was positive he would want his freedom more. She would offer him that prize, with the two conditions that he make no further demands on her and that he also keep his silence about Erik and Berit's romance. To her it seemed like an excellent exchange, and one Brendan could not possibly refuse. How she would arrange the details of setting him free she was not certain, but she was confident she could accomplish it without revealing to either her mother or aunt the reason why it was imperative that she do so.
The day had taken on a seemingly interminable length by the time the distraught redhead retired for bed. To make matters worse, Thora was in a playful mood. Dana had hoped her sister would fall asleep as quickly as she usually did, but that night the ten-year-old giggled and talked far later than she ever had. When finally she did close her eyes, Dana was so reUeved she did not immediately rise and prepare to leave, but instead remained in the bed they shared to silently rehearse what she wished to say to Brendan. By the time she was certain she had found the perfect manner in which to propose her bargain, the strain of the day had left her exhausted.
Thinking she would be wise to take a brief nap before meeting the wily Celt, Dana gave in to the irresistible urge to close her eyes and rest. Her bed was warm, and snuggled in the thick quilts, she felt the pain of her dilemma swiftly replaced with thoughts of Brendan that were both compelling and sweet.
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The landscape of her dream was a moonlit shore. She was standing at the water's edge, watching Brendan swim toward her from far out in the shinmiering sea. When he reached shallow water, he stood and began to walk toward her. The water streaming oflF his broad shoulders reflected the moon's radiant light, creating a glittering cape that hurled droplets of fiery brilliance with every step. He was nude, and the perfection of his powerful build gave him tfie mystical aura of a god, but it was his eyes that captured her heart with a gaze so piercing it burned clear through her, igniting an unquenchable flame of desire.
She stood transfixed, unable to greet him with more than a low moan before he reached her. He did not speak either, but merely inclined his head to brush her lips witii a gentle kiss. The cool seawater dripping from his curls rolled down her cheek, leaving the salty trail of a tear. His lips were warm, enticing, inviting sumenicier, but when she reached out to enfold him in her arms his sea-bathed body was as cold as death.
Instantly reacting to the shock of that unexpected chill, Dana awoke with a start. Her heart was pounding wildly, and she knew that had she not awakened when she did she would have given herself to Brendan with the same mindless abandon she had displayed that afternoon. She was horrified that her desires betrayed her even in her sleep, but she soon shoved that disgrace aside when she realized she had no idea how long she had slept. What if it was past midnight and Brendan had already left for Grena's?
After leaping from her bed, Dana dared not waste any time changing out of her nightgown, but she donned her cloak and hoped the ample folds of the long woolen gamaent provided a modest enough covering. Barefoot, she tiptoed out of the house, then broke into a run as she crossed the yard. The moon was high overhead, feeding her fears that she would be too late to stop Brendan, but just as she reached the stable he tore around the comer astride Sky Dancer and nearly ran her down.
Brendan had waited at the edge of the woods long past the hour he had sworn to depart. Infuriated that Dana had not kept her promise to meet him, he had decided to insult her in return by riding Haakon's prize stallion to Grena's.
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That he had come so close to trampling the stunning redhead horrified him, but he reached down to pluck her oflF her feet, and holding her tightly in front of him, he carried her back to the spot where they had agreed to meet.
The breath forced from her lungs by Brendan's confining grasp, Dana laced her fingers in Sky Dancer's flowing mane and tried to hang on rather than give in to the weakness that threatened to leave her in a helple
ss faint. To again be in Brendan's arms was terrible, and to be on Sky Dancer's back made that outrage all the worse. The magnificent horse seemed to find two people as easy to carry as one, for his stride was long and swift, but she could not ignore the fact that Brendan had again defied her wishes by choosing her father's stallion as his mount.
As they neared the secluded spot where Brendan had expected to find Dana waiting earlier, he loosened his hold on her waist and began to nuzzle the elegant line of her throat with light kisses. She was the most perverse of females, but her flowing cloak convinced him she had been on her way to meet him, and he would not waste the few remaining hours of darkness in criticizing her tardiness. He had spent the time they had been apart in nearly breathless anticipation, and he intended to claim the prize that had eluded him earlier without further delay.
That Brendan's mood would be so loving surprised Dana, but knowing she dared not accept any of his affection, she hastened to esc2^ his embrace the instant he brought Sky Dancer to a halt. In the dark she misjudged the distance to the ground, stumbled, and lost her footing. Before she could scramble to her feet and back away, Brendan had slid from the white stallion's back, given him a whack on the rump to send him out of their way, and joined her on the grass.
Pulling her into a fervent embrace, he silenced her protests before she could voice them. The hours they had been apart dissolved in his mind, and they were again at the edge of the stream, allowing their passions ft-ee rein. Bathed in sunlight, Dana's perfume had teased his senses. Now veiled in a sensuous web of darkness, the exotic fragrance spurred his desire, driving him to put an end to the physical torment his need for her had made him endure all day. He paused to
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yank oflF his kirtle, then again captured her lips in a searing kiss that took her breath away.