Honor Bound(66)

"No. I'm not hungry. Drink your chocolate."

He removed his hands and soundlessly crossed the floor toward the window. "The storm is moving away." Rain was still falling, but the wind had died down considerably. The thunder sounded like low drumrolls coming from far away and the lightning was less sinister.

Aislinn raised the mug of chocolate to her lips and swallowed several sips. She tried to drink all of it, but the knot in her throat kept getting in the way. She couldn't take her eyes off Lucas. His profile was sharply outlined against the gray window. She thought he was a beautiful man.

The trauma of the day caught up with her. Emotions assailed her. She began to tremble, so drastically that the chocolate sloshed out of the mug onto her hand, burning it. She set the mug on the table. She was unable to stifle the whimper that escaped her trembling lips.

"Aislinn?"

She didn't answer because she knew her voice would only be a croak if she tried to speak. Cramming her fingers hard against her lips, she tried to contain the emotion that seemed determined to erupt.

"Aislinn?" Lucas repeated.

The concern in his voice was her undoing. Tears burst through the dam of her pride and false courage. Her shoulders shook. She buried her face in her hands.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?" Lucas knelt in front of her chair. He ran his hands up and down her arms, across her quaking shoulders, as though searching for injuries.

She lowered her hands from her face, but tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "No, no. I'm not hurt. I … I don't know why I'm doing this," she stammered. "Delayed reaction I guess. I was so scared." She dissolved into another bout of tears.

He reached up, touched her hair. "Don't," he whispered. "Don't. It's all over."

One side of his face was obscured by darkness, but the candle lit the other side. Aislinn extended both hands toward him. Reaching. Beseeching. She touched his face with feather-light fingertips. "I was afraid I'd never see you again. I didn't know how I would survive if anything happened to you."

"Aislinn—"

"More than fear for my safety, or even Tony's, I was frightened for yours." She ran her hands over his head and down his bare biceps before touching his face again.

"I was safe."

"But I didn't know that," she said with desperation.

He pressed three of his fingers against her lips to still their trembling. "I was frantic to get back to you, too."

"You were?"

"I was worried." His fingers moved over the delicate features of her face, exploring it even as she was exploring his.

"Lucas?"

"What?"

He leaned forward and kissed her, briefly, softly. She made a tremulous, catchy sound in her throat and rested her hands on his shoulders. Reflexively her fingers clenched and unclenched. "I don't ever want to be alone and without you again."

"No."

"Don't ever leave me."

"I won't."

"I depend on you to protect Tony and me."

"I always will."

"Am I a fool? A coward?"

"You're very brave. I'm proud of you."

"You are?"

"Very."

"I love you, Lucas. I love you."

The declaration acted as a lever on a floodgate. Words came pouring out of her mouth, professions of love that had been fermenting inside her for weeks. Now they came frothing out of her like the bubbles in a bottle of uncorked champagne, undisciplined and uncontainable and beyond capture or control. And in between the rushing words, their lips met in brief little exchanges of breath.

But soon that wasn't nearly enough. His arms swept around her swiftly. He angled his head to one side, claiming her mouth in a searing kiss. His lips were hungry; hers were the feast. With a low groan, he pressed his tongue inside her mouth. He rubbed it against hers. The kiss was purely carnal.

His hands slid from her back to her front. He untied the belt of her robe and thrust his hands inside. She was warm and soft and womanly. Her breasts filled his hands and he massaged them.

He trailed kisses down her neck. She watched with wonder and love as he touched the tip of one breast with his tongue, flicking it softly. A small cry of joy escaped her. His mouth gave her even more reason to rejoice. Moving from side to side, it performed acts of love on her flesh.

From over his shoulders, Aislinn could see the smooth expanse of his back. The muscles beneath the sleek skin rippled with each movement he made. She smoothed her hands over his naked skin as though spreading on lotion.

Still kneeling in front of her, his hair brushed her belly. He touched it with his mouth. He kissed her navel. When he pressed his face into her lap, she threw her head back in a spasm of delight. She sobbed his name as he drew her hips forward.

Slowly, he parted her thighs and kissed her.

Aislinn was drawn into a maelstrom of passion. It welled up over her and she seemed to drown in it. She was barely conscious when he lifted her in his arms and carried her through the house.

Only when he gently deposited her on the bed did she become aware of her surroundings again. She heard the whispering sound of cloth as he unfastened his jeans. Her eyes opened in time to see him stepping out of them. As though for her benefit, lightning lit up the sky and provided her with enough light to see him, naked and splendid.