The Knight and the Seer by Ruth Langan Page B

killed.”
    “Aye. And then you’d have been rid of me, my lord.”
    “Don’t say such things. Don’t even think…”
    The very air between them seemed to shimmer and stir, as though charged by some unseen force.
    With a savage oath he covered her mouth with his.
    The kiss caught them both by surprise. All fire and flash and need, it pulsed between them with the shattering force of a summer storm. A strike by lightning would have been less shocking. Their heartbeats thundered in their chests, causing them to struggle for breath.
    Andrew drank her in deeply before lifting his head and drawing back, stunned by the depth of feeling that had welled up, unbidden, at the first touch of her. His eyes narrowed on hers, and he could read the fear and confusion. And something more. The awakening of a deep, slumbering desire. It touched him deeply.
    He framed her face with his hands. His voice lowered to a moan. “I was so afraid for you.”
    There was such passion in his voice. The depth of his feelings startled her.
    Before she could reply he plunged his hands into the tangles of her hair, drawing it back as he covered her mouth in a kiss so searing, so hungry, he nearly devoured her.
    He felt her stiffen for just a moment. Then her body seemed to go pliant. Her mouth softened, opening to him. Her hands reached out blindly, clutching his waist, as she returned his kisses with a hunger, a passion that matched his.
    “You were afraid, too, my lord?”
    “Aye.” He ran hot, nibbling kisses over her upturned face. Her eyes, her cheeks, the tip of her nose.
    Gwenellen wondered at the way her heartbeat began racing, as though she’d just been running across a meadow at breakneck speed. Her mind filled with images so erotic she could feel her cheeks burning. There were so many strange needs tumbling about inside her.
    His voice was a growl of frustration as he trailed his lips down the smooth column of her throat. “You must promise never to frighten me like that again.”
    “I…” She couldn’t get the words out. Her throat was so constricted, she feared she might embarrass herself by bursting into tears.
    “Promise me, my lady. For I couldn’t bear to see you harmed.”
    “I’ll do my best.” She stood very still, loving the feel of his arms around her. Of that warm, clever mouth brushing kisses over her face. And those hands. So big and strong, moving along her back, setting fires wherever they touched.
    She had the most overpowering need to be loved by this man. To be cherished. For the first time in her life it didn’t matter that she couldn’t control her powers. What mattered was that Andrew had worried over her. Not out of annoyance, but out of… something deeper.
    Oh, what was the matter with her? Hadn’t she vowed never to lose her heart to a mortal as her sisters had done? And yet here she was, not only permitting this mortal to kiss her, to hold her, but wanting him to. And wanting more. Wanting all those things that Allegra and Kylia had found with their mortals.
    She knew she ought to demand that he stop, but instead she held on tightly as he took her on a wild ride of emotions that left her even more confused and dizzy than when she’d been hanging by her fingertips in midair.
    Andrew reminded himself that the woman in his arms was an innocent. He had no right to these liberties. But how could he stop, when she tasted like heaven? When the touch of her aroused him as no woman’s touch ever had?
    He’d thought, for one brief moment, that she was lost to him. And then she’d landed like an angel in his arms, and the joy he’d felt was beyond belief. It was more than joy. It was pure jubilation. His heart was close to bursting with it.
    He took the kiss deeper, loving the feel of her lips on his. There was a taste about her, a sweetness, that had him thinking about lush, exotic lands and forbidden fruit. He savored the feel of her body against his. All soft curves that melted into him as though made