" Her gaze flew to his, and he knew in that moment that she had neverundressed a man before. But before he could berate himself for pushingher, he saw interest light her eyes. She was intrigued by theprospect. He lay back on the towel and watched her. As fascinating ashis invitation had been, Raine didn"t quite know how to go aboutcarrying it out. Her fingers went to the waistband of his trunks andthen faltered. She glanced at his face uncertainly, What she saw therewas encouraging. His eyes were hooded, his nostrils flared. He was finding pleasure in just watching her undress him. The knowledge gave her courage. Her hands again pulled at his trunks, and this time helifted his hips to aid her. The action put the long, hard lengthstraining inside the suit just inches from her mouth. Her lips parted,and she hesitated. Then slowly, she released his throbbing manhoodfrom the material encasing him and pulled the trunks down his muscledlegs.
He kicked free of them. Raine stayed where she was, half bent overhim, unable to move. There was something particularly s.e.xy about a manwho would lay back and let a woman enjoy his body. He had neatlyreversed their positions, and despite her unfamiliarity with the role,she wasn"t going to waste the opportunity.
She caressed his muscled thighs, skirted his straining manhood andstroked his belly. Then her fingers trailed downward again, closerthis time, but still avoiding his hard length shyly. He withstood the teasing trail of her fingers for long minutes, feeling himself growthicker and harder with each pa.s.s. Finally he groaned, " Raine.
" Her eyes met his. " Touch me," he begged huskily. " C"mon, baby,you"re driving me crazy.
Or don"t you want to?
" " Oh, yes," she breathed, allowing her fingers to close around hishardness at last. " I do want to.
" A strangled moan was her only answer as she gave in to the temptationof his body and explored him as intimately as he had her the nightbefore. Then she bent her head and whispered her lips against thevelvety tip of his manhood in a kiss a~ light as b.u.t.terfly wings. Againand again she returned there, until Mac"s flagging control demanded anend to her play, He snaked an arm around her waist, tumbling her on topof him. Then he captured her mouth in a deep, wet kiss that spoke ofhis eroding patience. One hand went to her bottom, pressing her morefirmly against him, and she squirmed beneath his touch, wanting to beeven closer. He stroked a finger between her legs, finding the proofof her, readiness in the moist dew at her entrance. She bucked againsthim at the touch, and his last thought of leisurely lovemaking went upin smoke. He pulled his mouth away from hers and reached for her beachbag. Dumping the contents, he found one of the foil-wrapped packageshe"d tossed in there. She took it from his hand. Their eyes meeting,she opened the packet and moved so that she could put it on him. The action spoke of-bone-shattering intimacy, and she knew she wastrembling. He pulled her astride him when she finished, and sheblinked at the unfamiliar position. " This time you control it," herasped. " I don"t want to hurt you.
" " You haven"t," she whispered, even as she experimented with theposition.
She fitted him to her carefully. " I could.
It doesn"t take much with you to make me lose my head, and I don"t wantto be rough with you.
" His breath hissed out when he felt her ease down on him slowly. He could feel sweat pop out on his forehead. She absorbed another inch of him and then another. He could feel her delicate inner muscles pulsein adjustment.
When she"d accepted all of him, he heard her gasp at the sensation, andhis hands went to her hips. He held her steady as he surged upward,and her gasp became a cry. The rhythm of his thrusts was wildlyintoxicating, driving him deeper and deeper ~vithin her. Raine gaveherself up to the abandoned energy. Her knees clasped his hips tighterand tighter, until the ultimate explosion wrung a cry from her lips.She fell forward, and he lifted within her one more time. Then the tiny convulsions inside her triggered his own climax, and his handsgripped her hips. as he drove upward one last time. They lay depletedof energy in the aftermath, Raine still sprawled above him. The rush of the surf on the sand and the balmy breeze from the ocean combinedwith the privacy afforded by the rocks and dunes to create an intimate,private coc.o.o.n. Mac finally stirred, turning on his side and slippingout of Raine"s softness. Nothing would have given him more pleasurethan to remain buried inside her, sinking into sleep even as they werestill joined. But the protection was fast losing its effectiveness,and there was no way he was going to allow himself to put her at riskagain. She made a murmur of protest, but he pulled her close to himand she contented herself by laying her head against his chest. " Are you all right?
"" he asked in a low voice. She raised her head slightly to look intothose ice blue eyes. They hadn"t changed color, but they weren"t coldnow, and they weren"t expressionless. They were filled with concernfor her, and a faint glimmer of regret. " You could never hurt me,"she whispered, brushing her lips across his. " Never.
" He remained unconvinced. His eyes held hers and he saiddeliberately, " I"m afraid I"m going to be too rough, and thatyou"ll.
" He swallowed hard and said thickly, " I don"t want anything to remindyou of that night.
I"d never forgive myself.
if anything we did triggered those memories for you.
" " The rape was a long time ago," she said, softly but firmly. " And I"ve come a long way since then.
But nothing you could do would ever remind me, Macauley.
Nothing.
" His concern for her brought an aching tenderness, and she somehowknew that he had given her what he had no other. She wanted to givehim something in return. So she gave him the truth. " In mynightmares, I always saw the outline of his shape looming over me.
Shadows blending into shadows.
But now if I wake from one, I remember the way you looked that firstnight, bending over me, Your shoulders were broad enough to block outthe moonlight, but I wasn"t afraid.
Not of you, Macauley.
Never of you.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly at the words. She gave him suchgifts so sweetly, without reservations. She left herself vulnerable with such offerings. Most people kept a little something of themselvesin reserve, so as not to risk too much. She apparently had neverlearned that lesson. Her words seeped into him, seeming to fill thehuge void that had become his life in recent years. The knowledge wa.s.scary, but too d.a.m.n tantalizing to resist. And even then she wasn"t done. Her hand stroked his jaw tenderly. " I love you, MacauleyO"Neill.
Nothing will ever change that.
" She pressed her mouth to his when he would have spoken. Kissing himslowly, she drew his bottom lip into her mouth and ran her tongueacross it.
" I don"t expect anything in return.
My love is a gift, freely given.
" He spoke anyway, around the huge knot her words had caused to form inhis throat. " You don"t have one ounce of self-preservation, do you?
You picked a h.e.l.l of a guy to give your love to, Raine.
A broken-down ex-soldier who"s lost his soul.
" " I did pick a h.e.l.l of a man to give my love to.
" Her inflection changed the meaning of his words. " Don"t you worryabout me.
I think I can survive one Macauley O"Neill.
" Her words made a mockery of his concern, even as they highlighted
it.Maybe she was right. Maybe he should stop worrying about keeping hersafe from him. Maybe it was time to start worrying about how he wasgoing to survive without her. Chapter 14 ~ ~ Wow, that"s someremodeling project going on out there."
Sarah prowled to the front window.
"The fence is sure going up fast. And what in heaven"s name happenedto your porch? It looks like you let a barbecue get out of hand."Raine joined her friend at the window."The fence is ugly, isn"t it?"Her voice was flat.There would be an intercom system, Mac had informed her, linking visitors at the gate to the house.
No car could gain access to the drive unless someone in the house pressed the appropriate b.u.t.ton.
"I feel ridiculous. It"s going to look like something from Lifestyles
of the Rich and Infamous. But after the fire last week, Mac didn"t leave me much choice."
Sarah frowned.
"You had a fire on the porch?"
Raine nodded.
"Luckily for me, Mac was here. He helped put it out before too much damage was done."
Sarah"s concern was momentarily waylaid by her insatiable curiosity.
"-"Mac was here?
What was he doing here at night?
Or need I ask?
" Turning away from her friend"s inquisitive gaze, Raine crossed to the
sectional and dropped down on it. " I had no car, remember?
And never will have that particular car," she added in an aside. " Theinsurance adjuster called yesterday, and it"s been totaled out.So on top of everything else, I have to go car shopping." " And?" Sarah prompted. Raine sighed. " Mac offered me a ride to Andr~"s dinner that evening.
We hadn"t been home long when a car roared up the driveway.
The occupants threw some sort of bottle torches up on the porch and took off again.
" " Someone did this on purpose?
" Sarah seemed to sway a little before sinking weakly into a chair. "
Did you at least get a good look, so you can identify them?
" Shaking her head, Raine explained, " They worn ski masks.
" " Raine, this is getting scary.
" Sarah"s pretty face was full of worry. " I don"t know how you can
stand this.
First the letters, then the accident and now a fire.
I would be a gibbering idiot by now if I was in your place.
How do you bear staying here alone?
Especially at night?
" Hoping her cheeks reflected none of the heat she felt in them, Raine
simply murmured, " I"ll be all right.
" Darn it, she wasn"t good at lying, especially to her best friend.
Aside from Mac"s instructions to keep his role here secret from her friends, she now had her own reasons for keeping the information to herself. Her relationship with Mac was too new and much too tenuous to share with anyone else, even someone as close to her as Sarah was,~ Especially since Raine was so uncertain just what the relationship
entailed. Dubiously, her friend peered at her. " You don"t look all right.
You"re flushed.
And how come you"re not painting today?
Has all this affected your work?
I would be a nervous wreck with all that"s been going on.
" " Actually," Raine said brightly, glad for the subject change, " I
happen to be finished.
Andr~ was thrilled when I called and told him.
As a matter of fact, I"m expecting him to come by today so we can
discuss how we"re going to transport my paintings to the gallery next week.
" Sarah looked stunned. " I don"t believe you." She shook her head wryly. " You manage to complete all the paintingsin spite of being terrorized for months, and I can"t work if I so" muchas get a hangnail.
Sometime you"ll have to let me in on your secret.