tumbled down with him through the mists of the aftermath of their flight that she finally came to her senses enough to realize why Jake had moved to cut off her final cry and his own. Their balcony provided sufficient privacy from curious eyes, but it was only one in a bng row and there were similar rows of balconies above and below them. It was a safe bet that nearly all the other guests would be sleeping with their balcony windows open to the evening breezes, and in the darkness there would be plenty of ears to hear what eyes could not see.
Sabrina knew a sense of shock at the knowledge that she had been far past caring about the nearby presence of others. Then she drifted into a nebulous haze, curling instinctively into the warmth of the man who still lay half-sprawled across her.
Jake lifted his head from the curve of her shoulder as the deliriously lazy satisfaction spread through his body. He looked down at the love-gentled face of the woman in his arms, aware of everything about her, from the way her lashes lay along her cheek to the slick feel of her perspiration-damp stomach.
It came to him then that this was the real reason he'd waged the fierce war for mental survival in that Southeast Asian prison. He stared wonderingiy down at his compassionate, sensual butterfly and knew that she was going to make the struggle worthwhile. Somehow a part of him must have sensed that this woman was waiting for him.
He shook his head, half-indulgent at his fanciful thoughts, and then he gently shifted his weight to one side, cradling her pliant form close. His hand moved along the curve of her hip in slow, remembered delight. It had been like capturing a butterfly.
A very passionate, exotic little butterfly who, he realized in pleased amusement, had been quite startled at the depths of her own sensual response.
From now on, Jake told himself, he would be the only man to provide her that elemental pleasure, just as he would be the only man with the right to protect her.
She was his, had given herself completely into his keeping even if she didn't fully realize the fact yet.
Jake lay back against the pillow beside her, aware that she was falling asleep. For a time he simply looked at the delicate shape of her in the moonlight, the small, high curve of her breast and the flare of her hip. Her body was made for his hands.
Deliberately he covered one nipple with his palm and smiled at the way it reacted, even though Sabrina was nearly fast asleep.
What would she say when she awoke? That thought wiped the trace of a smile from his mouth. There was no sense in fooling himself tonight. She wasn't going to open her eyes in the morning with the realization that her fate was sealed, even though he'd already tried to warn her. There was too much going on in that lively brain of hers, memories of men who couldn't be trusted to abide by lasting commitments, and fears of letting a man get as close as he had gotten tonight. She was a spirited, independent woman and she wasn't likely to appreciate the fact that he had rushed the relationship to this conclusion. She would have preferred a slow, safe courtship if she wanted any courtship at all and she had made it clear that she would be more likely to welcome such a courtship from a nonthreatening male like Dryden.
Jake let out a long, thoughtful sigh as he raised his eyes to stare up into the starry night. No, she wasn't going to be pleased with what had happened tonight, not after she'd had a chance to realize the full extent of the claim he had staked.
He'd worry about it in the morning. Right now he was sleepy. Satiated, satisfied and content. Damn! But it was good to be so drowsy and to know you were going to fall asleep beside a woman who knew how to lead you through the panic to safety.
***
It was a very different kind of panic that woke Sabrina at dawn the next morning. A wave of very feminine, very ancient panic which combined with the fears that were uniquely hers.
She opened
Sabrina knew a sense of shock at the knowledge that she had been far past caring about the nearby presence of others. Then she drifted into a nebulous haze, curling instinctively into the warmth of the man who still lay half-sprawled across her.
Jake lifted his head from the curve of her shoulder as the deliriously lazy satisfaction spread through his body. He looked down at the love-gentled face of the woman in his arms, aware of everything about her, from the way her lashes lay along her cheek to the slick feel of her perspiration-damp stomach.
It came to him then that this was the real reason he'd waged the fierce war for mental survival in that Southeast Asian prison. He stared wonderingiy down at his compassionate, sensual butterfly and knew that she was going to make the struggle worthwhile. Somehow a part of him must have sensed that this woman was waiting for him.
He shook his head, half-indulgent at his fanciful thoughts, and then he gently shifted his weight to one side, cradling her pliant form close. His hand moved along the curve of her hip in slow, remembered delight. It had been like capturing a butterfly.
A very passionate, exotic little butterfly who, he realized in pleased amusement, had been quite startled at the depths of her own sensual response.
From now on, Jake told himself, he would be the only man to provide her that elemental pleasure, just as he would be the only man with the right to protect her.
She was his, had given herself completely into his keeping even if she didn't fully realize the fact yet.
Jake lay back against the pillow beside her, aware that she was falling asleep. For a time he simply looked at the delicate shape of her in the moonlight, the small, high curve of her breast and the flare of her hip. Her body was made for his hands.
Deliberately he covered one nipple with his palm and smiled at the way it reacted, even though Sabrina was nearly fast asleep.
What would she say when she awoke? That thought wiped the trace of a smile from his mouth. There was no sense in fooling himself tonight. She wasn't going to open her eyes in the morning with the realization that her fate was sealed, even though he'd already tried to warn her. There was too much going on in that lively brain of hers, memories of men who couldn't be trusted to abide by lasting commitments, and fears of letting a man get as close as he had gotten tonight. She was a spirited, independent woman and she wasn't likely to appreciate the fact that he had rushed the relationship to this conclusion. She would have preferred a slow, safe courtship if she wanted any courtship at all and she had made it clear that she would be more likely to welcome such a courtship from a nonthreatening male like Dryden.
Jake let out a long, thoughtful sigh as he raised his eyes to stare up into the starry night. No, she wasn't going to be pleased with what had happened tonight, not after she'd had a chance to realize the full extent of the claim he had staked.
He'd worry about it in the morning. Right now he was sleepy. Satiated, satisfied and content. Damn! But it was good to be so drowsy and to know you were going to fall asleep beside a woman who knew how to lead you through the panic to safety.
***
It was a very different kind of panic that woke Sabrina at dawn the next morning. A wave of very feminine, very ancient panic which combined with the fears that were uniquely hers.
She opened
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