day he took her from the island. Did he intend to use her in some way she didn’t yet understand?
Then he destroyed such thoughts by leaning forward and stroking his hand over her hair. “You ‘unroll and fluff’ fantastically, as Mr. Rex would say.”
She dampened her lips and intoned with great drama, “When I’m good, I’m very, very good, andwhen I’m bad,… I frizz.” He choked on laughter, and suddenly Elena realized that his laughter meant more to her than anyone else’s in her entire life. She
wanted
to please this man, and it was different from wanting to please other people. Wanting to please in the past always had been based on fear … or at least the knowledge that she needed someone’s goodwill. Wanting to please Audubon was based on the simple, pure need to see him smile.
“When you’re good,… you’re puzzling.” He gently brushed the end of her nose with one dusty fingertip. “Where does a Russian find Mae West films?”
“I watched one today,” she explained shakily, wondering how the tip of her nose could be such an erotic area. “Bernard and Elgiva and I. But Clarice watched soap musicals.”
“Soap musicals?” His eyes squinted, deep lines fanning from the corners as amusement reached them. “You mean soap operas!”
“Whatever.”
Leaning his head against the wall, he shut his eyes and smiled, but there was still such anguish in him that it seeped from the edges of his smile like water from a dangerously full dam. Elena caught a soft sound of distress in her throat and slid next to him, her lifelong need to heal anyone who needed her mingling with devotion for him alone.
Murmuring soft words in Russian he didn’t need to translate to understand, she unbuttoned his shirt then slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, nuzzling her cheek against the downy mat of dark hair on his chest.
He put his arms around her convulsively, then caressed her back with long, quick strokes of his hands. Each time his fingers moved from the bare skin of her shoulders to the silk-covered region beneath, the change in texture exploded in her nerve endings. She felt dazed with what he was doing to her and loved the hard, masculine textures she absorbed with her own hands as she rubbed slow circles on his spine. “I give comfort, but I also takecomfort,” she whispered. “Perhaps we can make each other feel better.”
“I must have been very, very good to deserve this,” he said against her hair. “A whole lifetime of good.”
“Some moments are worth a whole lifetime. I have not had many of those, but I’m hoping for more.”
“Maybe I can give you one right now.” His fingers lingered at the top of her shoulders, then slid under the gown’s straps and eased them aside. Her breath shattered as the silk bodice cascaded down her chest, pooling where her breasts pressed hard against his stomach.
Audubon’s hands roamed over her neck and shoulders, then trailed down her arms. She tilted her head back and met his kiss, then traded her muted cry of pleasure for the husky purr of his appreciation. Elena knew the slightest shifting of her body would send the gown to her waist. She reveled in the anticipation for a moment, caught in the delicious exploration that her hands were now enjoying along his outer thighs. Then she flexed her torso just enough to let the inevitable follow through.
He broke away from the kiss as their bodies touched again. His tired, worried mood gentled the urgency, but not the deeper bond between them. “You have choices now,” he reminded her, drawing his fingertips down her neck, then letting them rest lightly over the pulse point at its base. “And privacy. Your body is your own.”
“I know. It’s wonderful to share it with you.”
With a sigh of satisfaction he pulled her onto his lap and bent his head to her breasts. Elena burned with pleasure as he draped her backward over the sweet, harsh vise of his arm. Every pleasurable sensation in
Then he destroyed such thoughts by leaning forward and stroking his hand over her hair. “You ‘unroll and fluff’ fantastically, as Mr. Rex would say.”
She dampened her lips and intoned with great drama, “When I’m good, I’m very, very good, andwhen I’m bad,… I frizz.” He choked on laughter, and suddenly Elena realized that his laughter meant more to her than anyone else’s in her entire life. She
wanted
to please this man, and it was different from wanting to please other people. Wanting to please in the past always had been based on fear … or at least the knowledge that she needed someone’s goodwill. Wanting to please Audubon was based on the simple, pure need to see him smile.
“When you’re good,… you’re puzzling.” He gently brushed the end of her nose with one dusty fingertip. “Where does a Russian find Mae West films?”
“I watched one today,” she explained shakily, wondering how the tip of her nose could be such an erotic area. “Bernard and Elgiva and I. But Clarice watched soap musicals.”
“Soap musicals?” His eyes squinted, deep lines fanning from the corners as amusement reached them. “You mean soap operas!”
“Whatever.”
Leaning his head against the wall, he shut his eyes and smiled, but there was still such anguish in him that it seeped from the edges of his smile like water from a dangerously full dam. Elena caught a soft sound of distress in her throat and slid next to him, her lifelong need to heal anyone who needed her mingling with devotion for him alone.
Murmuring soft words in Russian he didn’t need to translate to understand, she unbuttoned his shirt then slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, nuzzling her cheek against the downy mat of dark hair on his chest.
He put his arms around her convulsively, then caressed her back with long, quick strokes of his hands. Each time his fingers moved from the bare skin of her shoulders to the silk-covered region beneath, the change in texture exploded in her nerve endings. She felt dazed with what he was doing to her and loved the hard, masculine textures she absorbed with her own hands as she rubbed slow circles on his spine. “I give comfort, but I also takecomfort,” she whispered. “Perhaps we can make each other feel better.”
“I must have been very, very good to deserve this,” he said against her hair. “A whole lifetime of good.”
“Some moments are worth a whole lifetime. I have not had many of those, but I’m hoping for more.”
“Maybe I can give you one right now.” His fingers lingered at the top of her shoulders, then slid under the gown’s straps and eased them aside. Her breath shattered as the silk bodice cascaded down her chest, pooling where her breasts pressed hard against his stomach.
Audubon’s hands roamed over her neck and shoulders, then trailed down her arms. She tilted her head back and met his kiss, then traded her muted cry of pleasure for the husky purr of his appreciation. Elena knew the slightest shifting of her body would send the gown to her waist. She reveled in the anticipation for a moment, caught in the delicious exploration that her hands were now enjoying along his outer thighs. Then she flexed her torso just enough to let the inevitable follow through.
He broke away from the kiss as their bodies touched again. His tired, worried mood gentled the urgency, but not the deeper bond between them. “You have choices now,” he reminded her, drawing his fingertips down her neck, then letting them rest lightly over the pulse point at its base. “And privacy. Your body is your own.”
“I know. It’s wonderful to share it with you.”
With a sigh of satisfaction he pulled her onto his lap and bent his head to her breasts. Elena burned with pleasure as he draped her backward over the sweet, harsh vise of his arm. Every pleasurable sensation in
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