Garden of Lies(71)

Usually he never noticed the time once he started the journey. The ritual was so familiar and his mind was so in tune with the technique required to navigate the path that he was able to forget the factor of time. But tonight, walking behind Ursula, the dragon claws of impatience tore ragged holes in his control. Indeed, he wondered if he might go a little mad before they arrived at the center of the labyrinth.

With one last step, she entered the circle of knowing. She closed her eyes and went very still. He waited, centering himself as he did before starting the martial arts exercises that were the physical extension of the mental exercises.

She opened her eyes. He could not abide the suspense.

“Will you tell me your question now?” he asked.

She glanced briefly back at the entrance to the labyrinth and then she fixed her attention on him once more.

“I’m afraid my question was not particularly philosophical or intellectual in nature,” she said. “It was, in fact, a rather simple, mundane question.”

“Did you find the answer?”

The secretive smile danced in her eyes. “As to that, I’m still waiting.”

He moved into the circle and caught her chin on the edge of his hand. “Is this your way of informing me that I can answer your question?”

“How very perceptive of you, sir. At the start of the journey—which, for me, began upstairs when I heard you pass my bedroom door, not here in this chamber—my question was, will you kiss me tonight?”

The smoldering fires of sexual anticipation that had been burning deep inside him exploded in a conflagration that incinerated his plans to carry her upstairs to bed. He could see the sultry heat in her eyes. The knowledge that she wanted him was all it took to erase most of what was left of his self-control.

“Before I answer your question, you must answer mine,” he said. “Do you want me to kiss you tonight?”

She put her hands on his shoulders and tightened her fingers. “Yes, Slater. I want you to kiss me. I want that very, very much.”

With a husky groan, he pulled her hard against him and covered her mouth with his own. When he felt her arms go around his waist his blood roared in his veins. This was what he needed. Now. Tonight.

He could feel the shivery excitement coursing through her sweetly rounded frame. Her mouth softened under his in both surrender and seduction and he was lost.

He lowered his hands to her waist, found the sash of the wrapper and fumbled with the knot. By the time he got it undone, he was desperate and feverish.

He pulled the garment off her shoulders, freeing her arms. The wrapper slipped to the floor at her feet, leaving her clad in a prim cotton nightgown. For a few heartbeats the exquisite intimacy of the experience dazzled him. And then he realized that she was loosening the sash of his dressing gown with trembling fingers.

He took a step back, stripped off the garment and unfurled it across the floor like a battle flag. The heavy black silk covered the heart of the labyrinth where all the answers waited.

When he turned back to Ursula he saw that she was watching him with a strangely intent expression. He was suddenly very conscious of his erection beneath the fabric of his trousers. A new and different kind of heat scalded him. He was rushing her, just as he had the first time. He had promised himself that if he got another chance he would show her that he could be a thoughtful, considerate lover—the kind who could take his time.

He willed himself to woo and seduce. Wrapping one hand around the back of her neck, he drew her gently to him. He brushed his mouth lightly across hers and then he kissed the curve of her neck. Her scent clouded his mind and tightened every fiber of his being. It was a wonder he did not shatter, he thought.

“I will do whatever it takes to make you remember this night,” he vowed. “To remember me.”

She trailed her fingertips across his bare shoulder. “As if I could ever forget you, Slater.”

When he stripped off his trousers he heard her sharp, indrawn breath. He saw that she was gazing at his erection, transfixed. “I promise you that I will not do anything you don’t want me to do,” he said. He threaded his fingers through her flowing hair. “I would never hurt you, Ursula. Please believe me.”

She raised her eyes to meet his. “I know that. I trust you. It is why I am here with you tonight.” Her mouth curved in a quick, mischievous smile. She braced her hands on his shoulders. “Well, that and the fact that I find you very attractive, sir.”

Waves of excitement swept through him. He drew her down onto the makeshift blanket and leaned over her, bracing his hands on the black silk beneath her.

Deliberately he began to kiss her, working his way down her body. When the nightgown got in his way, he opened the garment, unwrapping her as he would a precious gift.

She drew a sharp breath when he took her breast into his mouth. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders.

He moved lower, glorying in the sweet, hot intimacy of the moment. The scent of her arousal stormed his senses.

He found the hot, damp place between her thighs. She froze when she belatedly realized his intention. Her fingers locked in his hair.

“Slater.”

He gripped her thighs and anchored her.

“What are you—?” She broke off, torn between shock and desire. The combination effectively immobilized her.

He kissed her deeply, drinking of her essence. She was wet and she tasted of tropical seas and sunshine and moonlight. No drug could ever come close to intoxicating him the way Ursula did. He would never be able to get enough of her.