Stolen Dreams by Marilyn Campbell Page B

her nearness?
     
He was an opponent, not a
lover.            
 
     
Her heart should not have been racing. The pulse
between her
legs should not have been awakened. In spite of her mental insistence
that she would not succumb to her weakness, her body had acknowledged
his touch and began readying itself for him.
     
"Are you
frightened?" he whispered in her ear.
     
His warm breath sent a
shiver down her spine. "Yes, a little."
     
"I
can feel your heart pounding," he murmured. His hand slid up and
pressed between her breasts as if to slow the heavy beating. "Is it the
situation . . . or is it me?"
     
She opened her mouth to answer,
but
his palm brushed over one tightened nipple, then the other. Her soft
moan encouraged him to cup that breast while his thumb continued to
tease its peak through the thin layer of cloth. She felt him getting
harder and bigger as he moved against her bottom, and she sighed with
the frustration of wanting and not wanting.
     
His warm lips
planted a
trail of teasing kisses along her jaw, luring her mouth closer and
closer to his, as his hand crept down her stomach in search of an even
more sensitive area. Her mind was rapidly losing the battle of
willpower against her body, and she knew if she could not withstand his
advances this time, it would be easier for her body to win the next
time, and the next, until her mind had no say in the matter at all.
Until he and his delicious mouth controlled her every thought and deed
... as long as he needed her.
     
And when his need of her was
ended, he'd be gone, and she'd have nothing and no one. Again.
     
"No!"
she said, pushing his hand away and sitting up to face him. "I said I
don't wish to couple with you,
and I mean it. I intend to find the Noronian rebels and stop one of
them from getting to Earth and none of your sly tricks is going to stop
me."
     
Gabriel raised his brows in surprise. 'Tricks?" He sat up
beside her. "What are you raving about now?"
     
"I
am not raving," she said, purposely lowering her voice to prove her
point. "I am simply warning you that I know what you're trying to do.
Perhaps someone more naive would have fallen for your little seduction
act, but—"
     
"Stop it!" Grasping her shoulders, he gave her a
light
shake. "What you're accusing me of is not only untrue but insulting.
You're a beautiful woman, and I'm physically drawn to you. Period. Your
self-appointed mission was the last thing on my mind a moment ago. If
anything, you're the one who could end up influencing my judgment with
your sexuality."
     
Shara shook her head and looked
away. "I don't need any false flattery. I'm fully aware of just how
resistible I am to men."
     
He
started to argue with her, but held back. There was no sense in
convincing her that she might have some power that she didn't know
about, especially since he hadn't yet figured it out for himself. He
stopped her from leaving the pouch. "Wait. I'm not going to pretend I
understand you when I don't, but I won't try to seduce you again. Lie
back down, Shara. I've never forced myself on a female before. I'm not
going to start with you."
     
With a frown, she inched her way
back into
the pouch. This time, however, their backs were turned to each other.
Sheer exhaustion overcame Shara's nervous condition, and she eventually
fell asleep.
     
A very vivid dream awakened her just as dawn was breaking.
Her name was being called, but she couldn't tell where the voice was
coming from. A frantic search through a house of doors, then a snowy
forest, led her to the foot of an erupting volcano. The ground was
shaking violently and fiery lava threatened to burn her alive, yet she
couldn't make herself run away. Whoever was calling her was inside the
volcano and she had no choice but to go to the caller.
     
The
flowing
lava parted and made a path for her to climb the mountain. As she
reached the top, the shape of a man formed amid an explosion of
volcanic ash. The burning figure held out his arms