San Antonio Rose (Historical Romance) (16 page)

He was drawing all her strength and stirring
wild emotions she had never before experienced.

His mouth moved from hers to her cheek,
and he whispered harshly in her ear, "If only
you knew the restraint I have been keeping on
myself. If only..."

He grabbed her to him and just held her for a
moment. Then he lowered his mouth to hers
and whispered against them, "I want you more
than I have ever wanted a woman."

With joy singing in her heart, she wound her
arms around his neck. "Then make love to me,
Ian. I want you to."

With an unsuppressed groan, he eased her
backward, his body moving against her. "God help me," he murmured, "because I can't help
myself." He held her for a moment, breathing
deeply. "I can't think or reason when you look
at me with those soft brown eyes. Whenever
I'm near you, I want you so damned bad it feels
like my body's on fire. You feel it, too-this attraction between us." He pulled back and
looked into her eyes. "Don't deny it."

"Si," she admitted. "I feel it, too."

She tilted her head back and offered him her
lips. "I feel it now."

His mouth plundered hers, and she felt a
thrill of satisfaction when he groaned and
whispered her name.

"Emerada, what are you doing to me?" He
shoved her away roughly. "I won't do to a
woman what my father did to my mother."

Her eyes were wide with confusion. "You
have never been with a woman?"

He stood up and moved away from the firelight, trying to think how to answer her. "I am a
man with a...healthy appetite. But I have
never been with a woman who wasn't.. .experienced. It isn't my habit to deflower virgins.
Even I have a code of honor."

"What makes you think I am a virgin?"

"Because I know now that you have been
keeping Santa Anna's lust under control."

"I have up until now," she admitted. She
glanced at him. "Did you mean that you have
bedded only women who-"

He turned back to her, shaking his head. "We shouldn't be having this conversation. It's late,
and you should get some rest."

Emerada's heart was pounding so hard that
it seemed louder than the rain that pattered on
the roof. He wanted her; he'd admitted it. She
stood up and walked over to him, dropping the
blanket.

"Look at me and tell me you do not want me."

He dropped his gaze, refusing to look at her.
"Go to sleep, Emerada."

"I will if you tell me you do not want me."

Ian's gaze lifted, and he stared at the most
beautiful sight he'd ever seen. The shadows of
the flickering firelight seemed like fingers caressing every curve. Her breasts were uplifted,
her head thrown back, defying him to touch her.

With a strangled cry, he pulled her to him.
"My lips can't deny what my body craves more
than life."

Ian's hands moved over Emerada's skin, and
she trembled against him. He had never been
so aware of a woman as he was of her. Her fingers slid into his hair, and she brought his
mouth closer to hers. He heard every sigh, felt
every tremor that shook her body, and knew
that she was treading new ground and was confused by it. He also knew that he had awakened
feelings that she had never before experienced.

With each practiced touch, he knew how to
make her want him more. She was his for the
taking, and yet he hesitated, drawing back and
gazing into her misty eyes. "Are you sure?"

Her voice was barely audible. "Si. I am very
sure."

His groin ached and throbbed. He wanted her so badly he could hardly hold himself back.
"Emerada, you will regret this later."

"No. I will not"

He took the blanket and led her to one of the
stalls, where he gently laid her down. He still
had the feeling that he shouldn't do this to her.
Emerada was not the kind of woman he could
make love to and then walk away. Kneeling
down beside her, he touched her cheek, and
she turned her head to kiss his hand.

"Emerada, Emerada, there is so much inside
of me, so much I want to say, and yet..."

She unbuttoned the top button of his shirt,
then the second, and slipped her hand inside to
touch the mat of black hair on his chest. "The
time for talking is over, Ian."

He tightened his lips to keep from gasping
when she moved his hand to her bare breast.
"Emerada..."

She suddenly laughed, and it was like music
to his ears. "It would seem I am seducing you,
Ian."

Moving back, he ripped his shirt off and
tossed it aside. She could feel the tension in
him as he stripped off his wet trousers and
came back to her.

The fire had died down, throwing only flickering light across Ian's body. Emerada had
never seen a naked man before, and she had
never imagined that Ian was so strong and
muscled or possessed such raw power. His
body was hard and lean, his waist narrow, his shoulders wide, and he was beautiful to look
upon.

Gently he took her in his arms, holding her
away from contact with his body. "You should
never look at me like that," he said, nuzzling
her ear. "It drives me out of my mind."

Emerada pressed her body against his, and
when their flesh touched, she was breathless
from the contact. The intensity of her feelings
made her quake inside, and she wondered if
Ian could feel it, too. Warmth and pleasure
spread through her, and she never wanted to
lose the essence of those feelings.

He spoke to her softly as he glided his hand
through her hair. He put his lips to a strand
that curled around his finger. "I have always
been fascinated by your hair. It's beyond description. Did you know that?"

Their faces were so close she could see dark
blue flecks in his light blue eyes. "How is that?"

"Tonight your hair is like a cloud of black
silk. But in the sunlight it sparkles with red. I
have never seen a more beautiful sight, except
when you dance."

She was so swept away by his praise that she
could almost have purred. So this was what it
felt like to have a man make love with words.

Emerada was having a difficult time concentrating on what Ian was saying because his virile body was issuing its own command, and her
body was answering. "My black hair comes from my Mexican father. The red is from my
French mother."

He smiled and lifted her chin. "Oh, that explains it." He traced the outline of her face with
his thumb. "Emerada, do you know what is
going to happen between us?"

She nodded. "I can imagine it."

"You do understand that when I make love to
you, you will no longer be considered a
maiden?"

"I know." Her voice was breathless, because
his head dipped and his lips touched the pulse
at her throat. When he raised his head, a lock
of dark hair fell across his forehead, and she
pushed it aside.

"And still you want me to make love to you?"

She tossed her head back, and her breasts
brushed against his cheek. She watched passion flame in his eyes, and when he groaned in
pleasure, she knew he was feeling the same intensity of passion as she. Why, then, did he
hesitate?

"But..." She was confused. "Do you not
want me?" she asked, aching for him to master
her body, to satisfy the yearning she felt deep
inside.

His answer was breathed against her breast
just before he kissed the rosy nipple. Then he
ran his mouth hotly across her other breast.
"Yes, my sweet-yes, I do."

Emerada was taken on a passionate journey that left her quaking. He was an expert on
where to touch her and what would bring her
the most pleasure. Already her insides were a
quivering mass, her head was spinning, and he
had only touched and kissed her. How much
more wonderful it would be when he entered
her body. She felt heat rush through her veins
at the thought. She knew he was going slowly
because of her inexperience. She remembered
once overhearing two of her aunt's French
maids discussing how much it hurt the first
time a man made love to a woman. Pain? Yes,
the feel of his hands on her bare breasts, his
mouth on hers, his whispered words in her ear,
they were all beautifully painful. Now his
mouth started a downward trail, and she
arched her back to get closer to him.

Finally, when she thought she could stand it
no longer, he placed his hands on both sides of
her face.

"Emerada."

She saw the veins standing out in his neck
from the tight control he was keeping over his
emotions.

"I can't stop now."

"I do not want you to stop." She wanted desperately to know what it felt like to be one with
him, even if it was only for this one night. Her
arms slid around his shoulders, and she gloried
in the feel of his muscled back. Her eyes welcomed him, her lips invited him, and she
opened her heart and body to him.

Ian's wonderful hands seemed to worship
her with each touch. So slowly did he part her
legs and move into position that she didn't realize what was happening until she felt his velvet
hardness glide into her. He did not penetrate
far, not at first.

Hot wave after hot wave rocked her body,
and she arched forward to receive him.

His hand went to her back to still her. "Easy,
sweetheart," he warned. "There is no hurry. I
don't want to hurt you."

She turned her head from side to side, trying
not to cry out in ecstasy when he eased farther
inside her. Whoever said it would hurt had not
known Ian's lovemaking. He was so gentle,
pulling back slowly, and then with the same
slowness sliding forward. Oh, so sweetly did
she respond to him. For a while it was enough
for her. Ian's lovemaking was like nothing she
could have imagined. She wanted to be with
him, like this, forever.

Then it changed!

Ian's lips covered hers, and he pushed deeper
inside her. Her fingers slid into his hair, and
she pressed her lips tightly against his. She
was shocked when his tongue slid into her
mouth, making her tingle all the way to her
toes.

His hands guided her forward to meet his
thrust, and he slowly drew her back, instructing her with gentleness that soon turned to raw
passion.

Emerada moved her hips of her own accord,
meeting him, then releasing him, only to take
him deeper inside her again. She could hardly
breathe for the beating of her heart. He was
her, and she was him-there was no beginning
and no end. Like earth meeting sky, their flesh
was joined and they became one.

Emerada knew that no matter what happened after tonight, she was no longer the
same. Her body would forever belong to Ian.

As for her heart, that was another matter.
She had something she must do, and she could
not think about love-she just couldn't.

But what were these powerful feelings she
had for him?

"Sweet, sweet Emerada," he murmured
against her mouth. "I never knew I could feel
like this."

"I know," she said, catching her breath just
as he slid deeper into her. Now she had all of
him-she possessed him as no other woman
ever would-she knew that in the deepest recesses of her mind.

A gasp caught in her throat, and she was
amazed to hear her own voice begging him not
to stop.

He was giving her a gift; she knew that, too.
He was giving her more than he'd ever given
another woman. She whimpered and her body
tightened, trembled, and seemed to unleash an
explosion of ecstasy that they shared.

She felt Ian tremble; then they both lay qui etly, saying nothing, only feeling, experiencing
the calmness that came with finding the perfect
mate.

Ian's touch conveyed more than words ever
could. He kissed her lips, ran his hand over her
breast, and then pulled her tightly against him,
almost possessively.

Emerada's hand glided up his back, and she
buried her lips against his neck and pressed
tighter against him. She didn't know how long
this strange and wonderful ritual went on, but
she soon became aware of the rain hitting the
roof. A horse whinnied from one of the stalls.

He took her face and turned her head to him.
"Are you all right?"

She looked deeply into his eyes, feeling as if
she could drown in them. "I have never been so
all right."

His hand went to her stomach. "You felt no
pain?"

"Not the kind you mean." She bit her lip,
suddenly feeling shy. "I am glad it happened."

He rested his chin on the top of her head. "So
am I.Something wonderful happened between
us, Emerada. I don't know if you realize that,
since you have not had a man touch you before
me. I suspected it would be so for us, but now I
know for sure."

"I..." She could not meet his gaze. "Even
though I have never been with a man before, I
know what happened to me surpassed any feeling I have ever had."

He hugged her to him, pressing her head
against his heart. "I will want you for the rest
of my life."

She smiled and glanced up at him. "That
long?"