Running From Fate (51 page)

“Are you
awake
love
?”
a
deep voice whispered
.  She felt his breath and a soft kiss landed on her ear
.
Mira had never imagined that her ears were so sensitive.
She shivered again as
a warm tongue caressed her
lobe.  T
he motion
shifted
her backward
,
bringing her in full contact with a fully aroused male body
.
She knew that there was some reason why she should move away, but her
muscles
seemed to have gone limp.
Instead, she moaned
involuntarily
, the telling sound not quite drowned out by the thunder that rumbled outside.

James gritted his teeth and tried to hold onto his sanity as her sensuous movements stimulated his already sensitized body.
He had to go slowly
, he
reminded himself desperately, and ease her out of sleep.
By the time she woke up she had to be so steeped in passion that she would
give no thought to
stopping.
Carefully, he kissed her shoulder and eased a hand onto her breast.

Suddenly, the enormity of what she was doing hit her and Mira struggled against the passionate bonds that
chained
her.
“James,” she gaspe
d desperately as his mouth shifted
and he delicately bit her neck.
“Nothing is fixed. 
I don’t even know i
f we trust each other anymore.” 
An
other
moan escaped her as he
slowly
ran his tongue over the mark his teeth had made.
“We’ve…barely started over.”

“
But
I like what we already have, A
Ghrà
,” James murmured against her throat.
When she stiffened and tried to move away from him he propped himself up on
his elbow and turned her over.  The tension
he saw reflected
in her eyes
disturbed him in some way, so instead of
convincing her to forget her worries, h
e lay
on his back and pulled her into his arms, urging her to
lay her head on
his chest
.

“What’s really wrong,” he asked as he gently stroked her back
and tried to rein in his demanding need
.
“I thought things were going well.”

“They are,” she murmured
against his chest, “but I’m worried.
What happens if
I say or do something you don’t like and
you
blow up
at me
again?
”

“Wh
at are you talking about?” he
asked in confusion.
“We fight all the time and, frankly, I like the fact that you feel comfortable enough to stand up to me.”

“You know that’s not what
I mean
.”
She
pulled out of his arms, wondering if he was being deliberately obtuse, and sat back on her heels, looking down on him.
The sight of his lean muscles lightly sprinkled with curling black hair momentarily sidetracked her and she struggled against an
overwhelming urge
to run her hands over his chest and explore the intriguing shadows created by the watery moonlight.
She cleared her throat and dragged her eyes away.

“When you found out who I was,” she continued.
“You weren’t just mad, you were in a rage.
I wasn’t sure that you’d even speak to me again.”

“I am
sorry,” James said distractedly as he stared at her legs.
The t-shirt had ridden up so high that he could see most of her silky t
highs and
from
the sultry shadow between them
he could tell that she wore nothing underneath.
His hand twitched spasmodically and, with an effort that he hadn’t had to employ since he was a randy teenager, he fought back his desire and tried to concentrate.
“I overreacted,” he finally admitted.
“And it wasn’t all due to you.
Th
ere were other factors involved, things that had been festering for a long time.  I regretted my reaction from almost the moment it happened, but I didn’t have the courage to come after you.
”

“Wait a second.
” 
Mira slapped at James’ hand as it crept up her leg and toward the hem of her shirt.
“Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“I thought I had,” he
said as he thought back to his drunken apology.
“Anyway, I assumed it was obvious.”

“Well, it wasn’t,” she fumed.
“I mean, what
was I
supposed to think.  T
he whole time that I’ve been
staying
here, you’ve treated me
like I
have The Plague.
Anytime we spent more than ten minutes together, you bolted. 
You couldn’t get away fast enough.”

“
What was I supposed to do
,” he
exploded in frustration.
“
I couldn’t control myself and y
ou damn well nearly ordered me to stay away.”

“What!?”
The admission stunned her
and loose
ned a knot inside
that she hadn’t even been aware of.
“Can you be a little
clearer
?”
s
he asked carefully.

“Damn
it!
What do you want to hear?
I couldn’t be in the same room and not want to touch you.”

“Why tonight?”
She
whispered hoarsely as emotion clogged her throat.
Her back refused to hold her up and she slid down to sprawl across his chest.

“Because.”
He
lifted his hands to cradle her face.
“Life is too short and I could have lost you today
.
I couldn’t
face
another night without you.”
He pulled her face down, intending to kiss her gently, but the taste of her was like fine brandy, smooth and potent at the same time.
What was meant to be a light touch became a deeper
merging as passion exploded.  H
is
tongue
plunged in and out, imitating th
e full joining that his body desperately craved
.

Wh
en they finally came up for air
Mira was on her back with the heat of James’ arousal
pushing between her thighs.
H
er shirt
was
bunched above her waist.
She clutched eagerly at his
back and raised her hips as sensation pooled between her legs and her body turned moist and heavy.

He ignor
ed her grasping hands and lifted
her arms above her head
so he could
slip her shirt off.
When her body was fully bare he propped himself up
and carefully examined her breasts. 
The sight of the faint bruises lashed at him. 
He couldn’t stand the thought that he hadn’t been there to protect her.  Very carefully,
he bent down, placing light kisses on each of the purplish marks.

Her heart
soared
and her body
melted
as he lowered his head
and pulled
a swollen n
ipple into his mouth, tugging
gently.
She cried out and sank her fingers into his hair
, holding him
to her
.  He laughed darkly, pulling out of her grasp
as he moved to the other nipple and gave it the same loving treatment.

Just when she thought she could take no more h
e pulled away and slid his mouth down
her body
, leaving a trail of heat in his wake.
Mira moaned
as her flesh quivered and caught
fire.  She reached out
, looking for an anchor
and
fisted her hands i
n the sheets
as his warm breath fluttered against her stomach.

Just watching her
movements
aroused James so much that h
e felt ready to explode, but
he wanted the same.  H
is body cried out to feel the
sensation
of her hands and
mouth
running over him
.
“Please,” he begged hoarsely.
“Touch me.”
He held h
is breath as she urged him onto his back
and bent her head to pull a small, pebb
led nipple into her soft mouth and groaned in pleasure, grabbing
desperately for his slipping control
,
as she reached a hand down and curled her fingers around his aching length.

He jerked as is shocked by a live wire and Mira pulled her hand away, almost afraid she had hurt him.

“Just give me a minute,”
he
said as he sucked in air and tried to
bre
athe and attempted to calm down.  I
t was no good
.
He didn’t want to
rush
her, but if he
didn’t get into her soon he
felt like he
going to die.
With a trembling hand he reached between their bodies and slipped a finger between the silky folds of her womanhood.

Mira’s breath broke on a sob as her
body clenched and strained, desperate for a deeper possession.

James felt the moisture drenching his hand and
was lost.
With a swift move, he flipped her over and sank into her welcoming heat.