Tender Persuasion

by Sara Wood

  'I know, but… I don't want—'

  'You want me,' he growled. 'If I know anything, it's that.'

  'Yes, I do,' she wailed. 'But I don't want to want you, and I'm not letting you make love to me!'

  The moving fingers took on a fiercer rhythm, and pulses in her body vibrated to fever-pitch.

  'We've gone too far to stop now,' he husked. 'You're close to the edge, aren't you?' he crooned seductively. 'You are as hungry as I am, as starved as I am. It's a long, long time since I made love to a woman, Jade, and I need you badly. You've encouraged me to this point.' His mouth brushed hers tenderly and his eyes kindled as her head started to thrash from side to side at the primitive beat of her body. 'Jade!'

  One hand moved to undo the tie on her wrapover skirt. Jagged breath caught in Jade's breast at the look on his face, and she knew she couldn't fight her own body any longer. She loved him, whatever his morals, whatever his lies; at this very moment she wanted him to take her and satisfy the raging pagan need that dominated every cell of her body.

  She lifted her hips so he could slip her skirt away and remove her briefs, gasping at the exultant light in his face and the heavy pounding of his heart beneath her splayed hand.

  For a moment he was still, devouring her body with his eyes, and then his wondering hands touched, trailed in a glorious torment and she refused to delay her satisfaction any longer. With an abandoned gesture, she parted her legs in invitation, thrilling to the shudders which ran through his body as she did so.

  Watching her all the while, he unbuckled his belt and she closed her eyes tightly, unable to bear the wait. Then his naked body lay on hers, hot, beating with restrained energy as he enjoyed the experience of being skin to skin with her, drinking up the sensation.

  Jade wriggled a little.

  'So, Jade,' he whispered thickly, 'do you want me?'

  'Oh, God!' she moaned. 'Don't torture me! Yes! Please, Dane…'

  With a guttural grunt of satisfaction, he raised his hips and Jade's eyes flew open at the unbearably gentle thrust of heat within her.

  And then, for a long time, Jade was powerless in his arms as he plunged deeper and deeper, sending her wild with the way he moved and teased till she was beside herself with violent hunger and was matching him with thrusting hips, trying to make him lose control, writhing, acting like a wanton and revelling in the wickedness of her seductive movements.

  Distractedly, he struggled to stay under control, slowly, gloriously losing the battle.

  'Jade!' he said in a choking voice.

  To her, it was a call from within, a call which reached the deepest part of her, a call from a man who needed her with a greater and more powerful intensity than anything she could ever have imagined. It echoed what she felt in her heart, and that was the moment she gave everything. Everything.

  He sensed she had reached the final point, as he had done, and released the reserve of energy in his body, so that the shock made her head spin and the spiralling crescendo swept through her body in wave upon wave. She began to shudder, running her hands down his back which was bathed in a film of sweat. As she touched his thighs, he trembled and then moved again, and Jade could barely breath as the sensations began again, their gasps of pleasure turning to groans as the savagery of his long-starved virility took over and demanded seemingly endless satisfaction.

  Finally, after Jade had found herself moving sinuously to extend her own pleasure and revive his, and he had laughed and called her a seductress, they sank back in utter exhaustion, totally sated.

  Dane struggled to get more comfortable, covering her face with small kisses, his mouth slow and drowsy. Tremors still rippled in her feet, making them tingle, and she made little sounds in her throat at each one. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at her. Neither of them spoke, but gazed solemnly into each other's eyes. 'That was no hell,' he said softly. 'That was paradise.' 'Mmmm.' Jade was drifting off to sleep, and could hardly stop her lids from dropping. Dane smiled tenderly and kissed her forehead, her nose, and then shut her eyes with light kisses.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  When she began to stir after a heavy, dreamless sleep, Jade couldn't think where she was for a moment. Dimly her brain registered that she was in her studio and someone was moving behind her head.

  It had happened like that before. She'd been in Sebastian's study and woken from lovemaking—or rather he had made love to her—and he had come up to her as she'd struggled awake and hit her repeatedly, calling her all the names under the sun for not wanting him, for fighting him to the bitter end. The nightmare had returned.

  Terror confused her brain. 'Not again,' she moaned. 'Not again, Sebas…' There was an indrawn breath, harsh and rasping; she sat up, clutching her skirt which had been draped over her. Slowly her head swivelled around, to see Dane, intense anguish on his face.

  'You'd better get dressed,' he said shakily. 'If you want to shower, go ahead. You know there's one off the studio.' He made to walk away.

  'Dane!'

  'Don't bother to explain,' he said, his face drawn into harsh lines. 'I thought… I think I've been the fool.'

  'No—'

  'Oh, yes,' he growled. 'A fool to think you had forgotten your husband. One of these days, Jade Kendall, you'll get arm-ache, carrying that damn torch for him!'

  'Oh, he always comes between us…' she moaned in misery.

  'He does, doesn't he? Even when we… oh, hell! I suppose a woman can get as sex-starved as a man. I must confess, I didn't think you were using me. That make us quits, I suppose.'

  'Quits?' she whispered, dreading his next words.

  'Of course,' he said, looking her up and down. 'We did each other a favour. We were both in need of relief, after all.'

  'R-r-relief?' Jade was appalled.

  'Look,' he said, chewing his lip, 'this has taken up rather a lot of time. Do you mind if we skip sorting out the children's craft items? Perhaps another evening.'

  She was open-mouthed in outrage and quite unable to answer for several seconds.

  'I'm sorry!' she spluttered eventually. 'I would have been a little quicker if I'd realised you were so busy!'

  'I think we both needed every second we took, don't you?' he said, lifting his head proudly. 'Still, now you've solved your little problem for a while, you can return to your memories, can't you? One thing: don't call on my… er… services again. I prefer to know where I stand before I make love to a woman, not after. Excuse me. I need a thorough shower.'

  Jade was horrified at the misunderstanding. He had been deeply hurt and that hurt her, too, despite his cruel words. She almost prevented him from leaving, almost explaining why she'd begun to say Sebastian's name, and then it dawned on her that maybe it was for the best if Dane thought she pined for her late husband.

  It meant that he wouldn't flirt with her, touch her, kiss her, seduce… Knives twisted in her chest. Dane's lovemaking had been the most incredibly erotic and satisfying experience in the whole of her life. Every part of her body had felt at peace, complete, content. He now had her heart and soul; he possessed her completely. She loved him, but it was a painful kind of love.

  For there was that nagging doubt in her mind. A man like Dane King could have his pick of women—and probably did. She couldn't see him being satisfied with her, and she certainly didn't intend being one of his casual flings. Far too many women had gone in and out of his life recently, and she'd been a fool to put herself on the list.

  But he was such a seducer!

  Jade groaned at the memories and the burning of her body. She swung her legs to the floor and staggered to the small bathroom which had been built on to the studio for her use. Every drop of water that beat on her body seemed to throb to the same pitch as her molten loins. Oh, Dane, she whispered, soaping her body carefully, trying not to handle her sensitised breasts too much—Dane, I wish I didn't feel this way about you!

  For Jade knew that if he walked in right at that moment, she would be powerless to
deny him, despite the almost total exhaustion of her body. She wanted to drown in him, to give herself again, to share his nights.

  Trembling from weakness, she dried herself and dressed, blushing when she saw how far he had tossed her skimpy top in his abandon. And she slowly made her way home across the lawn, taking the short-cut, tumbling awkwardly over the low flint wall into back garden and crawling up the stairs to bed, even though it was only early evening.

  She wasn't even able to sleep out her exhaustion. Loud squawks woke her. Lurching from the blackness of sleep to find that it was now late at night, it took many shaky moments before her mind focused and she began to recognise the clucking of her hens.

  Fear clutched at her stomach. It was either a poacher or a fox. And if Polly wasn't barking, then it was a poacher and he had drugged her dog! Jade's fertile imagination began to race ahead, till she shook herself impatiently.

  There were several things she could do: ringing the police being the first option. But it would take them a long time to come from Lewes. Then she could ring someone else, like Charlie.

  The squawking grew more frantic. Naked in the moonlight, she ran to her wardrobe and drew on a flying suit. The fox—or poacher—would be clean away by the time any neighbours arrived. There was nothing for it but to cope alone. She zipped up the jumpsuit and half tumbled down the stairs.

  Cursing Dane for the exhaustion of her body, she forced her trembling hands to lift out the heavy stick she kept by the back door and crept down the path. The noise was terrible and she began to think it must be a fox, after all.

  At that moment, Polly came bounding over the wall; she'd been rabbiting, or something, thought Jade crossly, grabbing her collar and gripping her muzzle. Together they advanced towards the enclosure. Feathers were flying everywhere and she smelt a musky scent. She let Polly loose, there was a yelp and a small, skinny red shape flashed past, streaking through a gap in the wire-mesh fence around the chicken pen and over the fields, with Polly in hot pursuit.

  Jade sat down on the earth in a crumpled, defeated heap. Torn and mangled bodies lay around with a covering of feathers. A few terrified hens clucked hysterically, rushing up and down like maniacs. Wearily she struggled to her feet and shut them in the hen-house, where they calmed down in the darkness.

  She ignored the mess and went to bed. Some time she would have to clear up, but not now. She had to sleep.

  In fact she slept late, past ten o'clock. Her body was stiff as she dressed, and it felt tender from Dane's lovemaking. In a daze, refusing to think about anything, she made breakfast, and only then did she try to concentrate on her next actions. One thing at a time. Chickens first.

  She'd have to sort out the chaos. Dreading the idea, she walked slowly down the garden. Her weariness lifted at the sight of Dane, waiting for her.

  'I didn't like to wake you,' he said expressionlessly. 'But I thought you might need help.'

  Dejectedly she stared at the enclosure. Right at that moment she had no stomach for doing anything about it.

  'Fox, was it?' he asked, studying her carefully.

  She nodded wordlessly.

  'I didn't hear anything,' he said.

  'You must be a heavy sleeper.'

  'Sleep?' He gave a mirthless laugh. 'I spent the night driving. I came here to apologise for the things I said to you. I was very angry and my pride had taken a bashing. So perhaps I can do something to make up for my unkind words. What happened? Did you see it?'

  'There must be a hole in the enclosure. Polly set off after the fox but failed to catch it. From the look of her when she returned, she'd tried to squeeze into its earth, but she must have been too big.'

  'I'm surprised no one in the village heard.'

  'You forget, the church and the school are between me and the next row of cottages. Anyway, it was late. Most people with any sense would be deeply asleep,' she said gloomily, wishing she hadn't woken.

  'You sound very tired,' he said quietly.

  Her scathing glance flashed briefly at him, and then dropped. She was too bone-weary even to get angry.

  'What can I do to help?' he asked.

  'You could finish cleaning up the chicken run, go and buy me some more pullets from a reliable source and settle them in,' she said sardonically. 'Other than that, not a lot.'

  'All right.'

  'Wait a minute!' she cried. 'I didn't mean…'

  'I know. But you should be careful, saying things you don't mean, Jade. As it happens, I can do all those things for you. Let me take care of this.'

  'But…'

  'Lean on me. Rely on me. Trust me, Jade,' he said quietly, and began to work.

  Uncertain what to do, but utterly relieved that he had taken over, she went indoors, sat down to think and fell asleep. She woke very much refreshed, and was horrified to see that she'd slept the morning away.

  When she went down to the coop, she couldn't believe her eyes. Everything she had asked for so mockingly had been done. It was impossible!

  'Where—Dane, where did you get… they are layers, aren't they, I mean…'

  'You forget, it's Lewes market day. I rang a friend of my father's and he brought them over. Remember, Father was a farmer. You will keep forgetting that I know your kind of life. I know how to look after animals, Jade and how to buy and sell livestock.'

  'I—Dane, I didn't expect…'

  'No. It doesn't fit in with your preconceptions of me, does it, to find me crawling in the dirt, checking for holes in your fence?' he said bitterly.

  'No, it doesn't,' she admitted, noticing how filthy he had become. There was a streak of dirt across his forehead, and she longed to dampen her hanky and wipe it clean. His eyes softened and she felt her lips part as another longing swept through her.

  'Oh, God!' she muttered, turning blindly away.

  His arms were around her, though, holding her as if he'd never let her go. She leaned her head back into his shoulder and he stroked her hair.

  'I wish I didn't like you,' she whispered.

  He chuckled and bent down to kiss her ear affectionately. 'Why shouldn't you? I'm a very likeable man.'

  'That's what I'm afraid,' of she muttered.

  He turned her around in his arms and gazed at her very seriously. 'You're afraid? But, Jade, why aren't you glad? Isn't it enjoyable to discover you like someone—especially if that person wants to build a solid relationship with you.'

  Jade wanted to believe in him; she longed to think that he was going to put aside his old life and settle down with her. But inside she knew that was all 'pie in the sky'. He tipped up her chin to see her expression better, and her body quivered. Involuntarily, her lips parted at the stab of desire and love within her, and she knew to her dismay that this had been reflected in her eyes.

  'You still think of the past?' he murmured.

  Jade closed her eyes tightly, refusing to let herself respond as his hand cupped her face and his fingers lightly feathered her cheekbones.

  'Damn you, Jade,' he growled softly.

  Her breasts began to rise with her erratic breathing. He could destroy all her resolutions just by standing near, and all she wanted was to have him for always, to be there whenever she needed him, to laugh and share amusing incidents with him, to comfort her when she was feeling low, to be involved in village life together, to love.

  'Oh, Dane,' she said brokenly. 'I need you, but you must realise that it's no use…'

  'Damn him to hell!' he seethed. 'I won't let him take you away from me! I want you; I know you're using me, but I want you!'

  His hands were roaming with none of their first hesitation, boldly claiming her body as his right, and she didn't stop him. He looked furiously angry and out of control, and Jade surrendered, telling herself that she couldn't prevent him from doing whatever he wanted, knowing that she was crazy but incapable of denying herself the pleasure of his touch. Fiercely his mouth bruised her lips as she tried to sweep Sebastian from her mind. Then, without a word, he drew her ind
oors.

  'Where's your bathroom?' he asked hoarsely, his eyes avid for her.

  'I—there!' she quavered.

  He scooped his arm around her waist and half lifted her in there with him, locking the door. Jade looked at him nervously. He was already shedding his clothes. Her hand reached out to the bolt to undo it and she was whirled into his arms, kissed till she could hardly stand and then slowly, very tantalisingly, undressed. All the time her heart pounded against her ribs in excitement and her head tried to make her reject him. But he was too determined, too quick, and so utterly desirable that she found herself stepping under the shower with him and watching in trembling delight as the water ran in fascinating paths over his powerful body.

  He handed her the soap with a meaningful look. Jade gulped and he kissed her under the full jet so that she felt she was swimming and floating in a dream. Her dazed mind followed the way her hands cupped and curved over his muscles, as they stood a few tantalising inches apart. When she stroked his hips, he began to breathe heavily, his eyes begging her to touch him.

  She hesitated and then reached out, but he only allowed her to trail her finger delicately for a few brief seconds before he snapped off the shower and lifted her hastily on to the thick white carpet and covered her with his body. His teeth bit into her lower lip gently, but there was nothing gentle about the way he looked at her. Jade despaired—both at her own weakness and that he was treating her like all his women, as a convenient vessel for his pleasure.

  Angrily she began to fight him, and they rolled on the carpet in a tangle of golden-tanned limbs. Dane easily pinned her to the ground, and glared at her with glittering eyes. His head bent and Jade gasped in shock as she felt the moist warmth of his mouth and the indescribable delicacy of his tongue flickering intimately.

  'Oh, no! N-n-no!' she cried helplessly.

  He reared above her, darkly angry. 'If it's the last thing I make you do,' he seethed, 'you'll cry out for me. Me, Jade!'

  Under his taunting lips, she writhed and moaned, till she no longer fought against him but was trying to lift her hips and make him take her. She was at the point of no return, grazing his shoulder with her teeth, clinging to his broad back and urging him on with every inch of her body.