Elusive Dawn (14 page)

And then the scene changed, and her most recent nightmare began, hurting her as nothing had before. Now it was Shane's broken, charred body they were pulling from the blackened metal deathtrap.

Tears rolled down Robyn's cheeks, hot and silent, and she tasted the coppery blood from her bitten lip. That cruel, heartbreaking vision would remain with her, she knew, as long as Shane raced.
Eating away at her strength, her courage.
Destroying her.

Once committed, she would cling to him as she had never clung to
Brian,
try in a hundred small ways to keep him by her side. Cut off his freedom. Smother him.

No. No, she couldn't do that. She had to find out if she was strong enough to watch him leave her side and climb heedlessly into a cage of death.
Because if she couldn't-if she didn't face and conquer that fear-she would always be afraid of something.
Weak and helpless in the grip of uncontrollable terror.

It was right, she knew, to fear for Shane when he raced. That fear was rational and understandable. But the terror she felt went far beyond anything rational. And it didn't stop at racing. She was terrified of losing Shane... in
any
way.

It wasn't possible to chain him to her side for fear of losing him. It was the quickest, surest way she knew of to destroy
love,
and two lives as well. And asking him to give up racing would be-if he agreed to-the first link in that deadly chain.

If only she weren't so afraid. If only the vision of Brian's death didn't keep haunting her. And her father's death in yet another twisted wreck only three years ago...

Robyn rested her head on her folded arms, letting the tears flow freely at last. She felt as if she
were
at the end of her rope, and she wasn't even sure she possessed the courage to face Shane.

When she finally raised her head, the eastern sky had lightened to slate gray and her knees were numb from kneeling on the hard deck. She gazed around absently, then frowned and reached underneath the bench, finding the storage locker and the sleeping bag Shane kept there. She got to her feet stiffly, automatically unrolling and unzipping the bag and spreading it out on the deck.

Stepping to the middle of the quilted softness, she sank back down to her knees. Feet beneath her, she folded her hands limply on her bare thighs and faced east. Like some brooding Buddha, she waited patiently for the sun.

It had been a long time since Robyn had watched a sunrise. It had been a favorite pastime of her childhood, but the wonder of those precious moments had somehow gotten lost during her adult years of change and turmoil.

Now a peculiar sense of peace stole over her, bestowed by the peace all around her. No sound disturbed the new day; even the sea was still. Only the gentle lapping of water against the side of the boat was audible, and the soft steady sound was as comforting as a heartbeat. Robyn thought dimly that the problems of the world disappeared in the beauty of a new dawn, and she felt her own fears and worries gradually fade away.

The horizon had lightened to a deep blue, the last stars had gently winked out overhead, and Robyn was acutely aware that she was no longer alone. As though he were an extension of
herself
, she felt Shane kneel behind her on the sleeping bag. Her mind curiously suspended, she wondered if he had come because she had wanted him here, because the moment needed him to be complete.

He slipped his arms around her silently, fitting her within the warm hollow of his thighs, his hands covering hers. Robyn leaned her head back against his shoulder, barely breathing as she watched the new day being born. That Shane shared her fascination, she knew; his body was utterly still, his eyes fixed on the horizon, his breath gently stirring her hair. And she could feel his heart beating steadily, keeping time with the lapping water.

Blue lightened to violet and then to pink as the sun announced its coming-hesitating now, teasing them with the delay. Then the first crescent of orange topped the horizon, and shafts of light began to coat the sea in silver. It seemed to hesitate yet again, and Robyn held her breath, almost certain that Shane did the same.

The huge orange ball rose slowly, majestically, like a king rising before an audience of rapt subjects. Robyn felt her lips curving into a smile, certain that this birth was more beautiful than yesterday's.

"So beautiful," she whispered.
"So perfect."

Shane's arms tightened around her, and his voice was as hushed as hers when he murmured, "The touch of dawn washes everything clean and new."

Watching the sun rising, its orange brightening to yellow, Robyn felt Shane's statement sinking into her mind, taking hold, giving her the new perspective she had needed so badly.

She half turned in his embrace, still resting between his warm thighs as she stared up at him. "A new beginning," she whispered, her voice filling with wonder.
"A fresh start."

Shane smiled down at her, his emerald eyes shining with the love he had admitted last night. One large hand lifted to cup her cheek. With the perception that astonished and exhilarated her, he murmured softly, "A new beginning for the world... or for us?"

Speaking as much to herself as to him, she whispered, "I've been afraid to take that first step-to move forward or back. But every day begins new. You said it yourself. The touch of dawn washes everything clean. Every
day
is a fresh start."

Shane's thumb brushed her bottom lip, and then his smile faded and his eyes dropped to the tiny wound he had found. "You've hurt yourself," he murmured, frowning.

"Not anymore." A smile trembled on her lips. "I'm not going to hurt myself anymore."

His gaze lifted swiftly to meet hers, the emerald eyes immediately darkening,
becoming
bottomless pools. "Robyn
... ?
" he breathed questioningly.

"I'm asking, Shane," she whispered, her hands moving to touch his bare, hair-roughened chest. "Will you make love with me?"

His eyes flared suddenly, and if Robyn had possessed any doubts about his love for her, they were erased.
Because she recognized that look.
From the very beginning, his vivid eyes had flared with that half savage, half tender emotion, and she knew now that it was love. The fierce yet gentle love she had wanted for so long...

And Robyn was taking her first step by dawn's light.

Shane pulled her abruptly closer, nearly crushing her against his broad chest, his mouth finding hers in desperate need. Robyn locked her arms around him, her desire rising in a flaming fury to meet and clash with his.

She had never been
so
sure of anything in her life as she was that this moment was right. The sun was rising on a new day and... Yes. Yes!

Robyn felt his tongue exploring, possessing, and her own tongue joined the passionate game. Her nails lightly scratched the rippling muscles of his back, and she felt him shudder and draw her impossibly closer.

Shane's mouth left hers, dropping tender, burning kisses over her eyes, her nose, the hollows beneath her ears, her throat.

"What if the Coast Guard sails by?" she questioned throatily, only mildly interested.

"We'll wave at them," he answered hoarsely, intent on exploring the warm flesh of her throat.

Robyn laughed and then gasped as one of his hands slipped up beneath her shirt and closed over a breast. When he suddenly began pulling her shirt off, she helped, anxious to do away with the barriers separating them. Shane quickly removed his shorts, tossing them aside.

He drew her down to lie beside him on the quilted softness of the sleeping bag, emerald fires raking her slender, golden body. "God, but you're beautiful!" he groaned softly.

Her eyes, in their turn, were taking in the lean strength of his body. "So are you," she told him huskily, feeling the same wonder she had felt in a
lamplit
hotel room a lifetime ago.

The lion's growl rumbled from the depths of Shane's chest as he bent his head, his mouth hotly capturing the hardened tip of one aching breast. His tongue swirled maddeningly around the taut bud, seemingly insatiable in its hunger. His hands explored, fondled.

Robyn bit her lip with a moan when his fingers gently probed the quivering center of her, her body instinctively arching against his. His mouth transferred its attentions from one breast to the other, his fingers continuing their erotic caress.

Tension splintered through Robyn, and her nails dug into his shoulders as Shane's lips moved in a burning trail over the sensitive skin beneath her breasts, settling for a moment on her navel where his tongue dipped hotly, then moved lower.

Through half-opened eyes, Robyn watched the mast soaring above her head begin to spin drunkenly, feeling that she was in the middle of some wild cosmic storm. Dizzily closing her eyes, she felt the heat of the sun and of her desire, and she didn't know or care which was stronger.

"Shane!" It was half a protest, half a plea to continue his spellbinding touches.

"You're beautiful," he rasped, the feel of his words against her flesh nearly driving her crazy.

Robyn felt the excitement spiraling crazily, becoming a primitive, driving rush toward release. She was carried along helplessly on the wave, moaning raggedly, the hands she held him with going white with nearly unbearable tension. And then the world dissolved.

She floated for timeless moments, drained almost to the very depths of her soul.

She opened her eyes slowly as Shane came up to rest beside her, his body taut, his emerald fires blazing down at her. When he bent his head to kiss her gently, blotting out the sunlight, Robyn felt the fires within herself kindling to new life.

Pushing almost fiercely against his chest, she rolled with him, coming to rest on top of him as the kiss ended. She felt a sudden yearning to know him as he knew her, to explore every inch of his body until it was as familiar as her own.

She pressed teasing kisses against his throat, his shoulders,
her
lips finding and capturing the flat male nipples. Concentrating only on pleasing him, she was barely aware of his hands unsteadily stroking her hair, her back. She slid her lips over his flat, hard belly and then lifted her head.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, she rested one hand on his chest while she explored with the other, feeling his heart hammering wildly. He jerked slightly as she touched him, held him, and his breath caught with a rasping sound in his throat.

Robyn caressed him gently, tentatively. And then she bent her head once again, her long hair forming a curtain around her face as she tasted every inch of his flesh she could reach. She felt no shame, no hesitation now. With a need beyond reason, she had to know him.

"Robyn!" he groaned hoarsely, and then she was being lifted and turned as easily as a child. She felt the softness of the sleeping bag beneath her back. Shane rose above her, the emerald fires now burning almost out of control.

She felt his weight, welcomed him eagerly, and as they became as close as separate beings could ever be, looked deeply into his eyes. There she saw undisguised love burning even brighter than desire.

In that timeless moment, Robyn became acutely aware of his stark vulnerability, and his willingness to show her that. That realization crumbled her last defense. Locking her arms around his neck, she cried huskily, "I love you, Shane! I love you."

Shane went still for a moment, something very fierce and male flashing in his eyes. He lowered his head, kissing her with that tender, savage passion she loved. "Robyn... beautiful Robyn... I love you so much!"

They began to move together with the grace of trained dancers, each of them giving and taking until they were drained and filled and drained again. Like helpless voyagers adrift in the heart of a raging sea, they clung to one another as the only stable things in a universe gone mad.

And then even that crazy universe turned inside out, and they crashed to shore like shooting stars.

Robyn was the first to stir from the limp, exhausted tangle of arms and legs, and then it was only because she felt the sun beating down on her and was suddenly worried about being sunburned in uncomfortable places.

"Do you always seduce your women on the high seas?" she asked in a muffled voice, trying to move and finding very little energy for it.

"Never," Shane responded in a lazy voice. "You did the seducing."

"I did not," she objected, managing at last to raise her head and stare down at him. "I was a total washout as a vamp. You told me so."

"Not a
total
washout." Shane didn't bother to open his eyes. "With a little practice, you'll be topnotch. I'll let you practice on me.
S'matter
of fact, I won't mind a bit."

"That's big of you." With an effort, Robyn disentangled herself and sat up. She found herself staring at a little island off their port side, and she suddenly had a horrible thought. "Shane, does anybody live on that island?"

"Key.
And I wouldn't be a bit surprised." He opened one eye and peered at her. "Why? Worried about your modesty?"

She transferred her gaze to him, not greatly surprised to find that she felt no shyness. Not with him. From the very beginning, she'd been without modesty with him. "Well, it's a little late for that," she pointed out wryly. "But shouldn't we shove off before somebody calls the police?"

With startling energy, Shane rose to his feet and lifted her easily in his arms. "No. First, we're going for a swim. Then we'll have breakfast. We'll get around to shoving off later." He smiled down at her, apparently not the least bit concerned that if there was a watcher on the Key,
he
was getting an eyeful.

In the same calm voice, he demanded, "Now tell me, beautiful witch-did I really hear what I thought I heard in that dream I just had?"

Robyn stared at him for a moment,
then
smiled slowly. "I hope you heard it. A woman likes to be heard when she tells a man she loves him."