Arcadian Nights by Marie Medina Page B

even though you both
find that emotion a challenge. Don’t you trust his judgment and his
desire to never hurt you? Why would he tell me that if it were not
true or if you didn’t want me?”
    “ So he knows me better
than I know myself?” She looked like she might cry, and he wanted
nothing more than to hold her close.
    “ I’m upsetting you. I’m
sorry.”
    Her expression hardened, briefly. “I’m
not a child you need to placate.”
    He sighed. “I’m not trying to do
anything of the kind. I’m trying to understand.”
    “ It’s easy. I’m the
helpless one.”
    “ Why?” He held her to his
chest and tilted her chin up so he could look into her dark eyes.
“Tell me.”
    “ Because this is the first
time I’ve been in love.”
    “ I don’t want to force you
to say it.” He almost couldn’t believe it. He hoped he hadn’t
pushed her, hoped she wouldn’t regret the words
tomorrow.
    “ You are forcing me to,
but not in a bad way.” She snuggled against him. “You’re very like
my brother. He knows how to make me face things too.”
    “ And how do you feel?” He
wanted to see her face, but he held her because she seemed to need
it so much.
    “ A little angry, a little
scared, and very confused.”
    “ Sounds like love to
me.”
    “ Yeah, aren’t we
cute?”
    He tried to lighten the mood. “I think
we are, actually. Both dark-haired and amazingly sexy. Great bodies
and forbidding stares that make everyone think we’re judging their
every move and finding them severely lacking.”
    “ You’re trying to make me
laugh again.”
    “ Is it
working?”
    “ Maybe. I don’t think
anyone ever thought I was judgmental. They thought I was a
bitch.”
    “ You are, just a bit, but
I prefer to think of it as a very appealing fire in your
blood.”
    “ So is this what you
planned?”
    “ What do you
mean?”
    She sat up and looked at him. “For
tonight. Did you want to have this conversation?”
    Being honest had served him fairly
well so far, so he decided to continue with it. “Sort of. I want to
have this conversation every time we’re together. But it’s not
quite what I planned.”
    “ Really?”
    He shook his head. “I may have gotten
the results I wanted though.”
    “ Is that all you’ve
wanted? To hear me say I love you?”
    “ It’s the most important
thing.”
    “ So you’re happy
now?”
    “ Are you?”
    She ran her hand up his chest, over
his cheek, and then through his hair. “Still waiting for it to sink
in really. Scared about how things are going to change.”
    “ They don’t have
to.”
    “ But they will. Don’t
expect too much too quickly.”
    “ I already have what I
want. I wish you’d stop thinking you’re going to somehow disappoint
me.” He pulled her to him for a long kiss. When he released her, he
said, “I can take you home. We don’t have to stay together tonight
if you need time to think.”
    She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“What I need more than anything is to be in your arms. I need to
feel you close.” She began unbuttoning his shirt.
    “ Are you sure?”
    She nodded. “You told me you have
fantasies about holding me, telling me how you feel about
me.”
    He shrugged his shirt off. “Yes.” He
knew how husky his voice sounded and felt a thrill when she smiled
at hearing it.
    “ Then show me what you’ve
been fantasizing about. See what happens.”
    He didn’t wait for her to say more. He
pulled her close and kissed her gently, his hands pulling her skirt
up so he could run his hands over her thighs. She sighed, and he
pressed her closer as he moved his fingers in slow circles over her
soft skin. With a thought, he made her dress disappear.
    “ You didn’t like pink
anyway, right?” he whispered in her ear.
    She ran her hands through his hair.
“Hate it. Always have.” She spread her legs as his questing hand
moved up. “Please touch me.”
    He ran one finger over her wet slit,
and then up to circle her clit. “Please tell