without some woman happily in his bed—
Shannon felt a stab of pain so sharp then that she caught her breath and braced one hand on the sink, staring at her white face in the mirror. Automatically, she rubbed her hip with her free hand, even though she knew the pain hadn’t come from that old injury. Her mind went blank, walled-off, refusing even to consider the possibility. She waited until that face in the mirror had lost its look of shock, until the eyes were calm again. Then she left the bathroom.
F IVE
S HE WAS SERENE , tranquil. Outwardly and inwardly. The utter stillness inside her seemed a good thing to her, a welcome thing, and Shannon had no way of knowing it was like the hushed silence before an earthquake. She had no way of knowing, unaccustomed as she was to emotional highs and lows, that her kind of composure was a terribly fragile layer of calm over emotions that were seething.
And the shock, when it came, was so sudden that she could only respond with equal suddenness,completely out of instinct. She was standing on the bottom step going down into the softly lit living area, looking at Derek as he stood to stretch cramped muscles and frowned down at the diagram and notes littering the coffee table.
Shannon opened her mouth to ask some unformed question, and that was when they both heard the sharp, echoing report from outside, chillingly loud and stark in the silence of the night.
Derek turned toward her instantly, but even then he barely had time to realize she had moved before she was in his arms, shaking violently. Her reaction came from nothing rational, but from the primitive fear of loud noises that any hunted animal would have shared.
“Shannon …” He held her tightly, aware of nothing in those first seconds but the desire to reassure and comfort her. “It was just a car, honey, backfiring. It’s all right.” He smoothed her thick hair and murmured wordlessly, but hertrembling body wouldn’t stop shaking. And when she lifted her face from his chest and looked up at him, he realized that something had changed, something irrevocable. He thought he even knew what it was, and tried to save them both from what was happening by explaining to her.
“Shannon, sometimes a primitive emotion like fear will trigger another one.” He heard his voice hoarsening, felt his belly knot hard in a rush of heated desire, and tried to fight his spiraling senses even as his arms unconsciously tightened around her slender, trembling body. “It’s natural.”
“Is it?” She was staring up at him, her voice slow and wondering, dazed. She thought she’d fallen over the brink of something, was still falling wildly, and for some reason she couldn’t do a thing to save herself. “I’ve never felt this way before.”
Derek knew what he should have done. He should have gently released her, pulled her armsfrom around his waist and stepped away from her. He should have made some light comment and turned both their minds from the unexpected physical encounter, managing somehow not to hurt her needlessly by making her feel rejected.
That was what he should have done.
He knew even as his head lowered toward hers that this was a mistake, and a faint despairing voice in his mind told him he’d pay dearly for it later. But he had to kiss her, the way a starving man has to take sustenance, or a thirsting man has to drink. The demand of his clamoring body wouldn’t be denied. His need for her was as primitive as the need for security she had shown when she’d instinctively leapt into his arms.
At the first touch of her cool, trembling lips, what might have been a tentative first kiss, what should have been just that, exploded between them violently with a force that jarred them both. Shannon stiffened for an instant, almost crying out, and then her arms tightened fiercelyaround his lean waist and her fingers dug into the rippling muscles of his back as she melted completely, bonelessly against him. The
Shannon felt a stab of pain so sharp then that she caught her breath and braced one hand on the sink, staring at her white face in the mirror. Automatically, she rubbed her hip with her free hand, even though she knew the pain hadn’t come from that old injury. Her mind went blank, walled-off, refusing even to consider the possibility. She waited until that face in the mirror had lost its look of shock, until the eyes were calm again. Then she left the bathroom.
F IVE
S HE WAS SERENE , tranquil. Outwardly and inwardly. The utter stillness inside her seemed a good thing to her, a welcome thing, and Shannon had no way of knowing it was like the hushed silence before an earthquake. She had no way of knowing, unaccustomed as she was to emotional highs and lows, that her kind of composure was a terribly fragile layer of calm over emotions that were seething.
And the shock, when it came, was so sudden that she could only respond with equal suddenness,completely out of instinct. She was standing on the bottom step going down into the softly lit living area, looking at Derek as he stood to stretch cramped muscles and frowned down at the diagram and notes littering the coffee table.
Shannon opened her mouth to ask some unformed question, and that was when they both heard the sharp, echoing report from outside, chillingly loud and stark in the silence of the night.
Derek turned toward her instantly, but even then he barely had time to realize she had moved before she was in his arms, shaking violently. Her reaction came from nothing rational, but from the primitive fear of loud noises that any hunted animal would have shared.
“Shannon …” He held her tightly, aware of nothing in those first seconds but the desire to reassure and comfort her. “It was just a car, honey, backfiring. It’s all right.” He smoothed her thick hair and murmured wordlessly, but hertrembling body wouldn’t stop shaking. And when she lifted her face from his chest and looked up at him, he realized that something had changed, something irrevocable. He thought he even knew what it was, and tried to save them both from what was happening by explaining to her.
“Shannon, sometimes a primitive emotion like fear will trigger another one.” He heard his voice hoarsening, felt his belly knot hard in a rush of heated desire, and tried to fight his spiraling senses even as his arms unconsciously tightened around her slender, trembling body. “It’s natural.”
“Is it?” She was staring up at him, her voice slow and wondering, dazed. She thought she’d fallen over the brink of something, was still falling wildly, and for some reason she couldn’t do a thing to save herself. “I’ve never felt this way before.”
Derek knew what he should have done. He should have gently released her, pulled her armsfrom around his waist and stepped away from her. He should have made some light comment and turned both their minds from the unexpected physical encounter, managing somehow not to hurt her needlessly by making her feel rejected.
That was what he should have done.
He knew even as his head lowered toward hers that this was a mistake, and a faint despairing voice in his mind told him he’d pay dearly for it later. But he had to kiss her, the way a starving man has to take sustenance, or a thirsting man has to drink. The demand of his clamoring body wouldn’t be denied. His need for her was as primitive as the need for security she had shown when she’d instinctively leapt into his arms.
At the first touch of her cool, trembling lips, what might have been a tentative first kiss, what should have been just that, exploded between them violently with a force that jarred them both. Shannon stiffened for an instant, almost crying out, and then her arms tightened fiercelyaround his lean waist and her fingers dug into the rippling muscles of his back as she melted completely, bonelessly against him. The
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