A Perfect Hero (15 page)

he last faint rays of evening trickled in through the high windows when Julianna awoke. She lay there for a long time, aware that she was alone. She dimly recalled Dane leaving the bed sometime earlier.

Pushing aside the blanket—she didn’t remem
ber his covering her—she swung her feet to the floor. The sight of her naked breasts was jarring. She started to tug the gown up over her shoul
ders, then abruptly changed her mind when she spied the mongrel’s blood spattered on the side of the skirt. Her stomach started to churn, but she willed it away.

Shucking the gown, she stood before the washbasin in her linen chemise. Her eyes were puffy and swollen and gritty from tears; she
soaked a cloth and pressed it to her eyes. The cold felt wonderfully refreshing, and she laid it aside reluctantly.

The reminder was inevitable, perhaps. She winced as she recalled her outburst. Uncertainty and regret whirled in her chest, a veritable tem
pest. She was reminded of all she’d told Dane. Such frailty was unlike her. She prided herself on her independence. She was most assuredly
not
a namby-pamby miss.

But no doubt Dane was convinced otherwise. She’d come completely undone. What had he thought of her? Did he think her weak? Childish?

Yet he’d been remarkably understanding. Comforting, even. And...God, but it felt so good to lie against his length. To absorb his heat and feel safe and secure in a way she’d never felt before.

A burning ache seared her heart. What would it be like, she wondered wistfully, to lie beside a man night after night—to feel the strength of a man’s arms tight about her back and know it meant forever? To know his warmth. His tender
ness. Pain crowded her breast, for that was some
thing she would never experience.

And she felt the loss to the marrow of her bones!

For Dane’s arms had been warm. Strong and tender, his embrace a haven of shelter and safety.

And when he’d kissed her... ah, when he’d
kissed her! Thomas’s cool lips had been nothing compared to what Dane had done. Nothing that resounded in the fiber of her soul, in the depths of her heart. And when his fingers skimmed her bare skin. Her bare breast . . .

Heaven help her, but that was something she could not regret.

Nor would she soon forget. Indeed, she could not banish the terrifying feeling she might
never
forget . . .

She was still standing before the washbasin when the door swung open. There was dirt on his shirt; she knew what it signified.

Her gaze didn’t waver from his. “It’s done?”

He nodded.

She swallowed. “Thank you.”

His gaze flickered over her, and she flushed. Her gown lay over the back of the chair. Modesty compelled that she reach for it. Clutching it against her chest, she turned back to him.

She could not move.

Caught in the last fading light of the day, the very sight of him made her throat constrict. He was so handsome he stole her breath. His shirt was open at the throat, revealing a masculine tan
gle of hair. She could almost feel his skin beneath her fingertips once more, sleek and smooth. She jerked her gaze upward to his features, but that was no better. His mouth was unsmiling, but not
severe. She recalled that hot, molten way he’d kissed her, the hot, moist cave of his mouth on her nipples. Her face began to heat. And now he was staring at her, hard, at the color high and bright upon her cheekbones.

Disconcerted, she turned toward the fire. Her heart began to pound as she felt him walk up be
hind her. Oh, but he was close. So very close . . .

She started when he pulled her back against his chest. His forearm pressed snug against the sides of her breast.

“You don’t have to hide yourself from me, Ju
lianna.”

Julianna caught her lower lip between her teeth. Rarely was she at a loss for words, but this was one of those rare situations when she was.

She could feel the rush of his breath against her ear.

“You’re angry,” he said after a moment.

“No,” she managed, with a shake of her head.

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

Within his tone lay a soft rebuke. Lean hands cupped her shoulders. He turned her around, re
taining possession of her shoulders.

Julianna licked her lips and summoned her courage. “I am not angry,” she emphasized. “Why would I be angry?”

To that he merely raised a brow. His gaze drifted down to her breasts.

She chose her words carefully. “This is a situa
tion that is not familiar to me. Frankly, I’m not sure precisely how to act.”

Something lit in his eyes. “Love,” he remarked, “I think that is a certainty.”

His amusement pricked her temper. “Do not make light of me!”

Dane sighed. “For pity’s sake, would you stop clutching your gown to yourself that way? Con
trary to what you appear to believe, I am still ca
pable of a modicum of restraint.”

“Yes, I do believe that is quite apparent!”

His eyes narrowed. “What the devil is that sup
posed to mean?”

Too late, Julianna regretted her outburst.

He stared at her. “Wait,” he said slowly. “Surely you cannot think I don’t want you.”

Her mind was churning so that she could scarcely think. “I told you,” she admitted, her voice very low. “I don’t know what to think.”

His regard sharpened. Something flickered across his features. To her surprise, he tugged her gown from her grasp and tossed it aside. Then he proceeded to look the length of her, his regard unhurried. Standing before him clad only in the frail thinness of her chemise, she blushed, but didn’t hide herself.

He weaved his fingers through her hair. “Do you know what I want?” he asked softly.

Julianna stared up at him. His eyes were beau
tiful, like crystal in his bronzed face, a shimmer of gold. They reflected the light and shadow... and the flaming heat of desire.

Caught fast in the hold of those beautiful golden eyes, her heart knocked wildly. She shook her head.

“You’ve slept beside me all these nights, Ju
lianna. And I’ve lain awake wondering what you would look like naked. I’ve wondered what it would be like to feel your thighs warm against mine.
Between
mine.Iwanttolay youdown. Here. Now. I want to touch you. Feel you warm and damp against my fingers. Kiss you. Taste you with my tongue. Everywhere, Julianna.
Everywhere
.”

A little shock went through her. Her mind went hazy. The words were hot. Molten. She could almost believe he meant ...But no. Surely he didn’t. Surely he
couldn’t
.

He gazed directly into her eyes, as if he sought to see clear inside her. “Does that shock you, sweet?”

Her throat closed. For the span of a moment, speech was impossible. Oh, sweet Lord, he
did
...

Her tongue came out to wet her lips. “You meant it to, didn’t you?” she asked faintly.

“Perhaps.” He caught her hand. “I burn in
side,” he whispered. “All over. But especially here.” His fingers trapped hers. He brought them
down ...down...until they rested on the swelling ridge of his erection. “I burn for you, Ju
lianna. My body burns. My
heart
burns.”

Julianna stared. He was solemnly intent. And now it seemed her heart surely ceased to beat. She could feel him, the thickening swell of his rod against her fingertips, the measure of a need that made her eyes widen and her heart throb. “So does mine,” she said faintly.

Dane exhaled, a sharp expulsion of breath. Her eyes were brilliant and blue and unfaltering. He squeezed his own shut. Pulling her hand away, he swore, a long, vividly explicit curse. It was damned difficult seeing her like this, half-naked, the sheen of her body clearly visible through the thin cloth.

“God, Julianna, you shouldn’t say that.”

Her heart gave a little thump. “Why not?” she whispered.

His laugh was rather brittle. “You are not mak
ing this easy for me. I am trying to do the honor
able thing.”

A hot ache crowded her throat.

“Only an honorable man would have lain be
side me these many nights and not . . .” Her voice trailed away. Her gaze conveyed the words that she could not.

His gaze bored into hers. “Julianna,” he said, gritting. “Oh, Christ.”

His mouth came down on hers, dark and ur
gent and ravenous. When he kissed her the very earth crumpled beneath her feet. It made no sense that he should know her as he did, the way that he did. Yet this man understood her as no one else ever had. And yes, he seemed to know precisely what she wanted. What she needed. To be held and sheltered. To be
wanted
.

Who she was didn’t seem to matter. Who
he
was, she cared not.

All that mattered was the hungry need she tasted in his kiss, in the fierce way he held her riv
eted against him. With effortless ease he swung her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, she clung to him. There was no thought of denial. In that moment, she wanted to be needed. She needed for him to need her.

Impatiently he peeled off his own clothing, kicked aside his breeches, and stretched out be
side her. The width of his shoulders blotted out the light from the fire. Divested of clothing, he seemed even bigger.

Unable to stop herself, Julianna reached for him. Then her hands were on his chest. His
naked
chest. She registered heat and strength. His skin was hot. Fiery hot, reminding her of what he’d said...

I burn for you. My body burns. My heart burns.

An odd dryness filled her throat. Their lips touched. Clinging. His mouth opened wider, and
he took from her a deep, urgent kiss that branded her insides. Her heart was knocking so hard she could scarcely breathe. A lean brown hand slipped beneath her chemise, his fingers closing one by one around her buttocks. Her heart stood still as he pulled her tight against his thighs . . . into them. One mind-stealing glimpse of his erec
tion sent her eyes skidding to his face. She was afraid to look at him, yet she could feel him. Held full and tight against him by the muscled arm around her back, she was achingly aware of all that lay beneath the steely strength of his thighs
.. . .
Especially there. Hard and thick and so supremely male.

A tiny little gasp escaped her throat.

Dane’s head came up. His fingers threaded in her hair, cleaving her eyes to his. “Are you afraid?” His voice was low and taut.

She shook her head, her eyes liquid. “Not of you,” she confided.

Something flashed in his eyes, some hint of sat
isfaction. He barely brushed her lips. “I want to see you,” he whispered against the corner of her mouth. “All of you, sweet.
All of you
.”

She knew what he was doing. This was her journey—this sojourn into the world of passion—and he would lead her down the path. But this first step must belong to her.