Racing across the pasture, hair flying behind her, Elena remembered who she’d once been. A tomboy, even a bit of a daredevil—where had that girl gone? The girl who’d once loved the feel of wind flowing through her hair, who’d relished the sounds and smells of the land as she and Daisy had covered mile after mile? She’d been so fearless. How had she given up so much of herself to a man who cared nothing for her?
She despised herself for giving the best of her away.
That girl would have taken Josh Marshall on a merry chase. She would have snapped up the time he offered and sucked the juice out of the marrow. She wouldn’t have thought about tomorrow—she would be too busy treasuring every minute of today.
Josh would have liked that girl, and the woman she would have grown to be. Was that woman still inside her?
Elena admired the figure he cut as he rode alongside her. Like his brother, Josh was at home on horseback, at one with his mount.
He stole the breath right out of her body.
When he shot her one of those million-dollar smiles, Elena decided to take a chance on finding that lost woman. She nodded toward the huge old tree up ahead. “Race you! Winner gets a kiss,” she challenged.
His eyebrows rose. His grin widened. He leaned forward, murmuring to his mount. The two exploded into action.
Elena focused completely on winning this race, heart flying from the sheer joy of feeling so free.
Josh reached the tree first and slid from his mount, quick-tying the reins to a branch. Grinning broadly, he strode to her and lifted her from her saddle with astonishing ease.
But he didn’t lower her immediately.
“You cheated,” she accused.
His eyebrows rose. “How?”
“You distracted me.”
His smile widened. “Sweetheart, if anyone was distracted, it was me. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.” He finally began to lower her, sliding her slowly down the front of his body. “Do you know you’re even more beautiful when you’re happy?”
This time, she didn’t look away. Meeting his gaze like the woman she could have been, Elena answered his unspoken invitation. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore, Josh,” she whispered, sliding her arms around his neck. “Show me how to be free.” She brought his head down and, for the first time, she initiated the kiss.
Desire incinerated Josh’s ability to reason. Crushing her against him, he poured the long night’s craving into his embrace. Threading his fingers roughly through her hair, the light-hearted Josh disappeared, eclipsed by a man driven by need.
Need for this one woman.
As he stroked her tongue with his, then broke away to nuzzle his way down the tender flesh of her throat, Josh sensed that this time could be different, that maybe he didn’t have to so ruthlessly restrain himself with her. Still, he kept his grip on her loose as his touch skimmed over her delicate collarbone, sliding beneath the fabric of her shirt, teasing and tantalizing the soft swell of one breast.
When Elena moaned, Josh clenched his fingers in the back of her shirt. Fierce longing gripped him. He wanted desperately to take her to the ground. Never in his life had he wanted to…ravish.
A hitch in her breathing yanked him back. Easy, Josh, easy. Relaxing his fingers to slide them gently through the chestnut silk of her hair, he battled his way back to control.
Then he looked at her, expecting fear.
But Elena’s eyes held only warmth…and wanting. Her lips parted, swollen from his kisses, and she looked slightly stunned…but not afraid.
In fact, her gaze seemed to challenge him.
Show me, she’d said.
Damned if he wouldn’t try.
Clasping her hand, he drew her around the mare and retrieved a blanket from the back of his saddle. He raised her hand to his lips and opened it, placing a slow, wet kiss to her palm, delighting in the small gasp she uttered.
“Stay right there,” he ordered. He started toward her horse, but whirled back to Elena, tugging her to him for one quick, scorching kiss.
Then he made himself take care of the horses.
While he made promises with his eyes.
God. He was dying.
But watching her eyes widen, her lips curve…it was a sweet torment.
At last he returned to the dappled shade of the tree where she had spread the blanket on the ground. He admired the picture she made, sitting there in a caramel knit top that hugged her curves closely and hovered just shy of the waistband of matching jeans he’d bought for her. “You look like a river of honey,” he murmured. “Long, slow, and sweet.”
Her cheeks colored, and she shifted nervously.
Josh sank to his knees before her. Tracing one finger over the planes of her face, he had to clear his throat before he could speak. “I do want to show you, Elena—so many, many things. I want to know all your secret spots, all the touch points that bring you pleasure. I want to cherish every one of them and maybe discover a few of my own. Do you trust me?”
Her eyes, as wide open and mysterious as the future, never left his. Then she nodded.
“Good. Lie with me, Elena. Let me adore you while you just relax and…feel.” He scooped her up and cradled her to his chest, holding her close as they both settled.
Then he lowered her to the blanket, and with soft, feathering strokes, he began to woo her. “Close your eyes, sweetheart, and let me make it good for you.” His touch never left her face, tracing her eyebrows, drifting over dark, thick lashes, trailing the contours of her mouth. Again and again his gaze followed his fingers over the beautiful planes of her face, until he heard her sigh and saw her body soften.
“That’s right, sweetheart, just trust me and let yourself go.” His fingers trailed the shell of her ears, then down her throat, tracing once again the fine line of her collarbone. When her nipples tightened in response, Josh’s body tightened as well.
It was torture…but it was heaven.
His fingertips danced over the soft swell of her breasts, and her back arched toward him. Josh bit back a groan and moved away, dancing light strokes down her arms, then across the backs of her hands. She sighed gently, eyelids fluttering.
“Unh-uh. No peeking.” Her slight smile brought one of his own.
Using every ounce of self-discipline he could muster, Josh reined in the urge to devour her. Instead he used the backs of his fingers to feather along the sides of her breasts and down to her waist, then slid them softly across her midriff. Carefully, with aching slowness, he bent and placed a slow, hot, open-mouthed kiss just above her navel.
She gasped. Bowed her back.
Oh, sweet mercy, she was so very sensual.
With aching slowness, he eased her shirt up just past the lower swell of her breasts and followed the path with his mouth. Then he ran his tongue along the crease beneath each sweet, plump curve.
Her moan savaged him.
Clinging to ragged threads of discipline and praying for strength, Josh paused. Then when he thought he could manage, he began again, gliding his thumbs over the lace covering her beautiful breasts. He drew off her shirt and tossed it aside, leaving only a simple, sweet white bra between him and the breasts arching toward his touch.
Josh had made love many times in his life.
But never before had he been so close to losing control.
With so far yet to go.
He swallowed hard, then decided to leave well enough alone for a moment. He moved to her feet, slipping off her shoes and socks. He ran a finger down the arch of her slender foot—and chuckled when she gasped and yanked it away.
“Ticklish, are we?” Josh made quick work of the other shoe and sock, then kneaded her feet, limiting his feathering touches to the tops of her feet and her ankles, rewarded by seeing her toes curl.
Running his hands up her legs, Josh made his way to her waistband and slid one finger beneath the edge as her breath escaped. Cupping her hips in his hands, he kissed her navel again. Licked a swirl inside.
&n
bsp; Then he tugged at the snap of her jeans. Drew the zipper down slowly…slowly.
Following its path with warm breath. And slick tongue.
Elena gasped. Undulated restlessly, fists clenching at her sides.
Josh’s chuckle melted into a groan as his mouth hovered over the vee of the opening. He inhaled the rich fragrance of her desire and clenched his own fists as he fought the urge to yank off her jeans. He settled for placing his mouth over her mound and brushing his lips against the soft denim while his hands kneaded her hips.
After a moment, he dared to begin again. His fingers traveled to the flesh revealed in the zipper opening, tracing a path to the scrap of pale fabric riding low on her hips. He brushed one finger inside her panties.
And heard Elena’s quick inhalation, followed by a small moan of longing.
He smiled in satisfaction. At least he wasn’t the only one suffering.
Settling back on his heels, Josh went still. Elena’s hips rocked toward him, uttering a small sound of protest. Her eyes opened and seemed to stare into his soul.
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Then Elena’s lips curved in a smile filled with hunger and temptation. And Josh answered with one of joy and promise.
“You are one incredible woman, Elena Navarro. Now close your eyes and stop cheating,” he grinned.
She complied, but very slowly.
This seductress was not going back into hiding if he had anything to say about it, Josh vowed.
Slowly, with great care for maximum torment, Josh drew her jeans down her legs, stopping at intervals to feather strokes and trail kisses along her thighs, always stopping just short of where her squirming told him she wanted him to be. At last, the jeans were thrown aside, and her body exposed to his view, save for two small scraps of fabric.
Before he could give in to the raging need rapidly overcoming his sense, Josh turned her over quickly.
“Josh, no—I want…”
“Sh-h. Not yet, sweetheart.” And though his own body was straining for the same thing, he started all over again, beginning with her nape, pushing her long hair aside and letting his fingers dance over the fine hairs, the soft, soft skin, observing with satisfaction as gooseflesh rose on her body. His touch drifted down her sides, gliding over the outer swell of her breasts, then back where he unhooked her bra and feasted on the sight of her bare back. Slow, drugging strokes along her spine made her hips arch upward in entreaty.
Josh caressed her beautifully rounded ass, sliding his fingers beneath the rim of her panties. He pulled them down with aching slowness, pausing to place fevered kisses all along her spine. To trail his tongue over the sweet globes.
“Josh!”
He smiled against her skin, wondering if she had a clue what she did to him.
Soon he had her naked beneath him.
He could have her now. She was all but writhing.
But she’d let him lead. Turned her body over to him, which had to be the ultimate act of trust for someone who’d been abused.
So he rolled her over to face him and simply waited. Drank in the picture she made, sunlight playing over honeyed skin, nipples puckered by the breeze.
But he waited too long, and she began to tense. “I don’t want you to look.” A single tear squeezed from beneath her lashes.
Quickly he laid down beside her. Cradled her close. “Why not?” he asked, honestly baffled. When she didn’t answer, he licked away her tears, then trailed a path to her ear. Whispering softly into the shell of her ear, Josh soothed. “You’re so beautiful to me, Elena. Don’t hide yourself from me, sweet love.”
She curled her face into his neck and spoke so softly he almost didn’t hear her. “He said I wasn’t—No one’s ever been tender with me. I don’t know what to do.”
Josh squeezed his eyes shut at the injustice. Rage fired in him, but he had to control his anger. He already felt her tensing in fear.
“All you have to do—” he cleared his throat of the lump that threatened to silence him “—is to trust me. Believe me, I know it’s not easy, but I swear to God I won’t hurt you, Elena. Please, just let me love you.”
Just let me love you. Did he realize there was nothing on this earth she wanted more? Elena knew his loving would ultimately hurt her more than Richard’s abuse ever had. When he went away, she was only too aware that he’d leave a hole in her heart no other man could ever fill.
More desperately than she’d uttered the words before, Elena repeated her earlier plea. “Show me how to be free, Josh.” She’d survive his leaving…somehow. But she wanted this time with him—desperately.
And so he showed her, returning to the feather-light strokes that shot sparks through her body, drugging her with desire beyond anything she’d ever dreamed. Each stroke, every touch seemed to be connected to the very core of her. Slick with wanting, aching with need, Elena became fierce in her demands of him.
And her ferocity seemed to fire his. As she struggled to make him naked, too, Josh’s demands of her redoubled. He nipped at her skin, suckled her flesh, fingers flexing with barely-restrained urgency. His hot mouth was everywhere, his wicked tongue teasing her into painful longing. As he fastened his mouth on her breasts at last, she cried out with the need to hold him there forever.
But soon he had her gripping his hair in her fingers, rocking her hips toward the mouth that drew from her core a savagery she’d never dreamed she possessed—
Until she met Josh Marshall.
She wanted to own him, wanted to control him, wanted him to be her love slave forever. His humming growl taunted the tender, swollen flesh to merciless need…the tip of his tongue slowly tormenting her most sensitive spot and sending her spiraling to the skies. Her climax was nearly agonizing in its glory. Her thighs quivered against his shoulders as ecstasy wracked her body.
Elena sagged to the blanket, chest heaving as she gasped for air, only to be taken up once more by his greed, his need, his murderously beautiful touch, until she craved him beyond all reason yet again. Her thighs softened, and she held out her arms in welcome.
“Oh, God, Josh…now. Please now.” She craved to be one with him beyond any thought of future pain. As he lowered himself to her, catching her mouth in a scorching kiss, he drove within her in one powerful lunge.
And for a moment, they both stilled in wonder.
“You’re mine.” His voice went guttural. “Mine, Elena.”
Elena wished so badly it could be true. With no answer for all that stood between them, she cast away such fantasies and wrapped her legs around his hips, feeling the power in his muscular thighs as he began to move within her.
“Take me, Josh. I’m all yours.” And she knew it was true. No matter how much stood in their way, she would never hold back from this man again. He was all she would ever dream of having—the real Josh, not the star.
As he tortured her with slow, killing strokes, Elena licked at his throat, tasting the drops of salty moisture, gasping and sighing each time he pulled out, then holding her breath until he slid back home.
For home was how it felt. Like two halves of one whole, coming together at last.
Rocking together toward forever…exploding as two celestial bodies burst into a new star. White light surrounded them. Shudders rocked them.
Fire streaked across the heavens.
And they were one.
Helen descended the stairway, gripping her hands together to maintain her courage. Her maid had left without locking her door, and she could not waste this one chance to look for a way out, however terrified she might be.
Where was her father? She swallowed heavily. Still in the grips of her most recent vision, her stomach roiled with nausea.
She’d seen Sir Richard meet an ugly end, but that thought brought her savage joy. What chilled her blood and bared her emotions to the bone were the repeated visions of Iain being tortured for her sake.
She could not let that happen. It mattered not what she must
do to prevent it. For some reason she could not fathom, his survival mattered inordinately to her. She had to prevent something she had not yet seen.
For a man she barely knew, yet knew to her deepest being.
As she paused in the alcove outside the great hall, she paused, one hand on her stomach, willing herself to calm. It was then that she heard his voice.
“Lady Helen,” he spoke in that low, musical voice.
She turned to seek out the source.
When his hand brushed her arm gently, her breath caught in her throat at the surge of feeling.
One simple touch, and she felt it to her toes. Had she gone mad?
Carefully, he drew her into the shadows. With barely enough light to make out his form, one single bar of brightness crossed his countenance, illuminating the man who had figured so prominently in her dreams.
Green eyes. Those damnably beautiful green eyes.
“Lady Helen, I fear for your life,” he rumbled softly. “Sir Richard means to have you, regardless of cost.”
Fear chilled her very blood. “Surely not if my father—”
He placed one finger on her lips, burning her with his touch. “Sh-h…” He lowered his mouth near her ear. “It matters not to Sir Richard if your laird brings ransom or nay. He means to have you, by means fair or foul.”
She turned her head to gaze full into his face. “He cannot.”
“Milady, he will. I have witnessed many things in my time here. Sir Richard has the morals of a serpent. He cares not for any conventions, unless they further his ambitions. And milady, he will have you at his mercy, comes your noble father or nae.”
She closed her eyes, willing her courage to hold fast. “I must escape.” She sucked in a breath, unable to believe she had voiced such a sentiment to a virtual stranger.
He placed one finger gently beneath her chin, lifting her gaze to his own. “Aye, Lady Helen, I agree. I will help you.”
“You cannot. He is your liege lord. If he finds out, your family honor will be forfeit.” She pleaded with her eyes. “And if he so wishes, thus will your life also be. None can gainsay him.” Terror coursed through her. She had to convince him, yet the prohibition against anyone gaining knowledge of her possession of the Sight ran deep.
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