Man of Fire

by Margaret Rome

  When the last word had been jerked out, she felt a hot wave of shame and waited in suspense for her impudence to be met with a violent reaction. But he confused her by answering so mildly that the sting in his words did not register for at least a couple of seconds.

  'The señora, I must certainly agree,' he inclined his dark head towards her, 'is not a child masquerading as a woman ...'

  Tina's spirits slumped. The showdown was upon her, and the heartache she felt was reflected in the words she trailed into the darkness. 'I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen...'

  He clipped back, 'You could have tried sooner! In the forest, for instance, when I did all I could to make the telling easy for you.'

  She was shocked into exclaiming, 'So you were telling Inez the truth, you did know then! But how

  'I do not lie, señorita,' he cut in with rising anger. 'That I can leave to you, who are an expert!'

  Half tearfully, she contradicted, 'But you did lie. You told Inez that I told you myself of the deception, and you know that isn't the truth, señor!'

  With a quick stride, he bridged the gap between them and clasped her tightly by the shoulders. 'Have you no recollection of the nightmares that haunt your sleep?' he confounded her by asking savagely. He waited in silence for her answer, but when she returned his look with obvious puzzlement his storm of anger abated slightly, although danger signals still showed deep down in his blue puma's eyes when he enlightened her.

  'The night we were together in the hut in the Guaharibo's village you had a nightmare. You woke me, crying out for your father, and when I tried to soothe you you began to babble about your childhood and your fears of the jungle. You told me everything, your reasons for taking this trip and your reason for deceiving me.'

  She stood quite still, remembering the comfort she had received that night from a tender voice and quietening hands. She had thought it no more than a dream when the memory of his goodnight kiss had lingered in her memory, but now she understood. It had been his lips that had caressed her brow.

  When she registered no sign of emotion, he continued, 'Because of those reasons, I decided to overlook your deception, but, more than anything, I wanted you to tell me of your own free will what you had told me subconsciously. I wanted to talk it out with you, to help you through the ordeal you must have been suffering, but instead, you shut me out and even,' he concluded with proud hauteur, 'dared to accuse me of trying to poach on another man's preserves!'

  She looked up then, unexpectedly, and surprised a terrible look of hurt clouding his blue eyes. Involuntarily, and quite without thought, she breathed a startled, 'Oh, no, Ramon ...!' and lifted her hand to gently smooth away the line of pain that edged his compressed lips. For a startled second he did not move, but when, aghast by her own temerity, she blushed hotly and jerked her hand away, he reacted by pulling her forward into his arms with the smothered groan of a man who has reached the end of his endurance. As their bodies touched, searing passion broke its bounds, sweeping her up on a wave of feeling that made mockery of her futile attempts to subdue the longing she felt for him. Incredibly, in between kisses, she heard sweet, loving Spanish phrases whispered against her lips and against the soft curve of her cheek; phrases which more than compensated for the lashing condemnation she had suffered only minutes before. Then all coherent thought was drowned by the sweet pain of yearning that his impassioned kisses awakened and she surrendered unconditionally to his demand for her complete and utter capitulation.

  She should have resisted, but her will was completely conquered. In the depths of her mind a small warning echo tried to penetrate the vibrant storm of feeling with the cautionary reminder that he was going to marry Doña Inez and that the only part she would be allowed to play in his life would be a secondary one. But the warning was not heeded. Although it broke her heart to dwell upon it, tonight was to be their last together and she intended to savour to the full the delights of the moment. So she clung to him, returning his kisses with an unstinting ardour that affected him deeply. She longed for time to stand still, for the world to end before they had to part, but after a very short time he put her away from him and stared down at her, white and shaken.

  'Ramon?' she murmured, questioning his right to deprive her of his kisses, but he fought for control and refused to satisfy her unspoken plea.

  'We must talk,' he jerked imperatively. 'I refuse to be punished any longer! I must know,' he shook her, 'where I stand. We have played games long enough, and I now demand that you tell me how much Branston means to you. Tell me truthfully, Tina, because although I love you desperately I refuse absolutely to compete with him for your favours!'

  'You love me?' The whispered words could hardly be heard.

  His hands dropped to his sides as he answered simply, 'Why else do you suppose I allowed you to take part in the expedition? I have never believed in love at first sight, but on that first day when I saw through your attempt to hide your nervous timidity by making yourself appear tough and self-reliant; when I heard you try to speak with authority on a subject you obviously knew nothing about, and when you even had the gall to challenge my reputation, I was captivated by your courage and by your valiant spirit. I called myself every kind of an idiot, but I had to get to know you better, so I let you think I was fooled in order to keep you near me. But,' his voice grated, 'the trip turned out to be hell! You made no secret of your preference for Branston's company; even on the last day of our stay with the herb doctor, when I felt that at last I was beginning to win a little of your confidence, you accused me of trespassing on Branston's territory!' He drew himself up with an hauteur that spelled out his distaste and his resentment of having been measured against Theo and found wanting. All the arrogance and pride of his race showed in his proud face as he reminded her of their last bitter quarrel.

  With a cry of pain, Tina denied this. 'Oh, no, Ramon, it was Doña Inez I was reminding you of!'

  'Inez? What has she to do with us?' he questioned sharply.

  'Theo told me you two were going to be married,' she choked.

  There was silence while they both began to recognize the enormity of the misunderstanding that had lain between them. As Ramon stared hard into Tina's small, earnest face a light began to smoulder behind the cloud of hurt resentment that darkened his eyes. Her heart leapt violently when he told her gravely, 'I intend to marry no one but you ... if you will have me.'

  She did not hesitate. With the grace and instinct of a bird she flew into his waiting arms and sobbed,

  'I hate Theo! I've always hated him because he threatened to expose me and I couldn't bear the thought of your contempt. I love you so, Ramon my darling, I'll always love you!'

  He whispered what sounded like a soft prayer and swiftly gathered her up into his arms. For a second he hugged her slim form close, savouring the joy of her nearness, then with a gentle reverence that betrayed the depth of his love, he stilled her trembling mouth with a long, tender kiss. Then gradually restraint was forgotten, consumed in the flame of passion that flared between them, fusing them together as one. All doubts were swept away by the tide of feeling released as the key was turned on the store of emotion imprisoned inside of him. His lovemaking was volcanic in its eruption and she was carried to tempestuous heights by his fiery, demanding kisses.

  After a long while, he lifted his head to look down into her enraptured face, and she answered his mute query with a whispered: 'Caramuru, I adore you, darling Garamuru!'

  Completely assured, he lowered his dark head again and claimed the lips she offered with all the supplication she felt was due to the man who had ignited within her desolate heart the steady, everlasting flame of his love.

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