No Quarter Given (SSE 667) (27 page)

Griff gave her an appreciative look. Dana wore a two-piece rose-colored bathing suit that lovingly outlined the firm contours of her body. "Want to swim before we settle in for the night?"

The cay, little more than an oval of coral-and-white sand the size of a parking lot, beckoned to Dana. "Sounds wonderful!"

The evening was drawing to a close, the horizon a flaming apricot color, while the sky above darkened. Griff placed the aluminum ladder over the side. "I'll join you."

"And then we'll eat?"

He grinned. "Yeah. I'll make noise in the galley tonight and see what I can scare up for dinner."

With a laugh, Dana moved down the ladder and into the warm, inviting water. "Maybe we ought to look for fish, huh? As I recall, you said your cooking ability was limited."

Griff joined her in the gulf, noticing how the water lapped at her skin. He wanted to skim his fingers across her sculptured collarbones. He capped his torrid thoughts. "I exaggerated my cooking inabilities," he informed her, starting to swim lazily toward the cay. "I can make more than beans and wieners."

Joining him, Dana grinned. "Exaggerated how much?"

"I cook a pretty mean T-bone steak."

Dana closed her eyes, rolled onto her back and began a freestyle stroke. "Mmm, that sounds better than beans and wieners."

On the cay, Dana walked around discovering and picking up small seashells that had washed up on the sand. Griff found a few more and gave them to her. They stopped, looking west toward the sunset. The cay was bathed in dying orange light. She leaned against Griff, feeling his arms go around her.

"You're happy," he whispered, leaning down and kissing the tip of her nose, tasting the brine on it.

"Very." Dana slipped her arms around his waist, closed her eyes and allowed him to take her full weight. She was aware of the coiled tension in his body. "This all seems like a dream to me."

"What does?" Griff kissed her slowly on the nape of her neck, then created a languid pattern around her earlobe.

"Mmm..."

Griff felt her press shyly against him and he found her parted lips. Her mouth blossomed with warm welcome beneath his. Heat, like a tidal wave, consumed him. The shells dropped one by one to the sand at Dana's feet as her arms slowly came up and around his shoulders. The eagerness of her mouth against his burned away at his control. Easing from her lips, Griff held her entranced azure gaze.

"Keep that up," he warned huskily, "and we'll have dessert before our meal, sweetheart."

Awed by what they shared, Dana thought a moment before Griff's meaning finally registered on her dazed senses. He wasn't made of stone. No, not by far. She was aware of his strength, his need of her. It wasn't fair to. Griff for her to do what she wanted and not expect him to respond. Easing away from him, Dana whispered, "You're right." Crouching down, she picked up the shells she had dropped, embarrassed.

Griff joined her and captured one of her hands. He looked into her eyes. "What we have is good," he told her in a low voice. "It's just that you're such a hot, fiery lady that sometimes, I want to take you with me and love the hell out of you. Making love isn't wrong. It can be the most right thing in the world between two people." His fingers tightened around her hand. "I know you're afraid, and I know why. If only... if only I could convince you it doesn't have to be one-sided or painful, Dana. But you can't know that, and it's a bridge we're going to have to cross—together, someday." Griff managed a crooked grin. "You're worth waiting for, sweetheart, and I don't ever want you to stop kissing me or touching me when it feels right to you. I like it, too."

Touched by his deep, vibrating words, Dana hung her head. "You're being more honest than I am," she whispered. Sitting down on the sand, Dana was glad Griff joined her. His arms came around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. "You don't know how many times I've dreamed of you... us, together. But every time that happens, I see Lombard and everything shatters. I wake up feeling so rotten, Griff," she said, lifting her chin and meeting his hooded gaze. "You've done nothing but make me happy and teach me that things between a man and a woman can be wonderful."

He caressed her sun-warmed arm. The dusk light touched Dana lovingly, accenting her delicate features. "With time, you'll lose that fear, Dana. Someday, your need to love me will outweigh the fear you're carrying."

She caressed Griff's rock-solid jaw and saw his eyes darken. "Will I know when?"

Catching her hand and pressing a kiss to it, Griff rasped, "You will. And when it happens, sweetheart, it's going to be the most beautiful thing that's ever happened to you or me."

Part of her cried out to love Griff now. The tenderness burning in his eyes made her want him in ways Dana had never known possible. The smile on his mouth deepened.

"Come on, let's watch this sunset together, and then we'll swim back to the boat and I'll fix us dinner."

***

The galley was small; almost what Dana would call "intimate." Griff worked at her side, their hips brushing from time to time. Tension was high, and Dana's hands shook as she prepared the salad to go with the steaks now being fried in the skillet on the stove. A huge part of her wanted to dispense with the sham of being hungry, or even preparing a meal. What she wanted—needed—was Griff.

On deck, they sat across from each other, eating their meal, as the darkness fell around them. The gentle rock of the boat took the edge off Dana's taut nerves. Her body wanted another kind of sustenance. The fear in her wary mind was gradually being eroded by her heart, which trusted Griff. Dana picked at her steak, barely touching it. Instead, she forced herself to eat the salad.

Griff didn't miss anything. He finished his meal and put his plate aside. The only light came from the cabin entrance that led back down to the galley. Toying with the idea of discussing Dana's nervousness, he decided not to. They'd already discussed it on the island. Frustrated, because it hadn't been his intention to make her uneasy, he didn't know what to do.

"I'm going to take my mattress and pillow and sleep up here on deck," he told her casually, rising. Picking up his plate and glass, he looked over to gauge Dana's reaction. She looked confused, not relieved. "I'll do the dishes and you can dry," he added.

Dana sat there, digesting his statement. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Such a huge part of her wanted Griff on so many other levels. Yes, it was physical, but the real hunger in her was one she couldn't define. Maggie had, at one time, confided to her that love, real love, according to her mother, was a spiritual need between two people. It transcended physical attraction, and was far more profound. Touching her heart, Dana frowned. Was that what she was feeling—this restlessness to absorb Griff into her body and soul? For the thousandth time, Dana was sorry she had no experience with which to examine her feelings.

With a sigh, she got up and went back down into the galley with Griff to finish the dishes.

***

Dana tossed restlessly in her bed at the bow of the boat, Griff's low, almost tortured words ringing through her head and heart. The door was shut, and the cabin was stuffy. Her watch read fifteen minutes after midnight. Dressed in a long white T-shirt that brushed her thighs, Dana struggled as the sheet became entangled between her legs. With a frustrated sound, she rose and quietly opened the door. Moonlight cascaded down the hatch and spilled like silvery liquid into the passageway between the bunks on either side of the boat. Her entire body screamed for Griff's touch, to have his lips upon hers. It was no longer impossible to ignore, and Dana felt driven beyond her fearful mind. Only her heart's crying need throbbed palpably through her. Every nerve felt stretched and taut. Automatically, she moved forward, each step bringing her closer to where Griff lay sleeping.

Gripping the teakwood rail, she slowly ascended the stairs. At the top, the fresh, salty air welcomed her. Her gaze went immediately to Griff, who lay on the oversize mattress. Moonlight pooled across his shadowy form, outlining his powerful, muscular body. Only a bit of the white sheet lay across his hips. Otherwise he was naked. Her mouth dry, her heart pounding in her throat, Dana slowly walked toward him. When she stopped beside him and lifted her eyes, she saw that he was already awake. In the darkness, his gray eyes were hooded, but filled with smoldering promise. Her throat constricted as she stood awkwardly before him.

"Can't sleep?" Griff asked, reaching out and capturing her hand. Dana barely nodded. He took in her uncertainty, her mussed hair. It was the gold in her eyes that told him what she wanted—needed. Her T-shirt was wrinkled and shapeless, but the curve of her legs flowed from beneath it. He ached to slide his fingers across her thigh and feel its firm silkiness.

"I couldn't sleep, Griff." The rest of her words jammed up in her throat. The mattress was large enough for both of them, and he moved to one side, gently tugging on her hand.

"I haven't been able to sleep, either," he admitted. "Come on. Lie down next to me. I'll just hold you, Dana."

His words were dark with promise. Dana came wordlessly, slipping into the makeshift bed. He gathered her into his arms and brought her gently against him. Only the thin barrier of a sheet separated them. Heat pooled in the area of her belly and hips where his body barely grazed hers. Griff began to stroke her shoulders in slow, light circles, easing her tension. After a few minutes, Dana relaxed, resting her head in the hollow of his shoulder.

"I was so scared to come up here. I didn't know what to do."

"You did the right thing. You followed-your heart."

The gentle rocking of the boat further soothed Dana, and her senses focused on Griff's hand splayed against her back, feeling his fingers caress the length of her spine. She tensed slightly as his hand moved across her hip, but his touch remained light, not demanding, and gradually Dana accepted his intimate exploration. His hand slid along the curve of her thigh, brushing the moist juncture. A small, ragged sigh escaped her.

"That's it," Griff coaxed, resting his mouth against her brow. "Just lie there and enjoy it. If you get frightened, all you have to do is tell me to stop, sweetheart. Just one word. That's all."

Reassurance riffled through Dana, and she shook her head. "I—I want you, Griff. I want to share with you…"

Nestling his head beside hers, he concentrated on her slender neck. After each small kiss, he ran his tongue tenderly over the area. "So do I. I'm as scared as you are, Dana. I'm afraid of hurting you, of doing something wrong."

She gazed in awe up at his shadowed features, his eyes vulnerable with the admission. Whatever fear was left in her dissolved beneath the warmth and concern in his gaze. "You could never do anything wrong," she whispered unsteadily, tears forming in her eyes.

He laughed huskily, and gave her a fierce embrace. "Oh, yes I could. Look what I did the first month we were together." With his hand, he caressed her upturned face. "No, sweetheart, I am capable of hurting you again. I'm human. I want you so damn badly I don't know if I can control myself for your sake. And if that happened—'' He groaned and shook his head.

"I like your human side, faults and all," Dana murmured. "More than anything, I trust you, Griff."

Realizing the gift she'd just given him, he wanted to cry for the sheer joy of her softly spoken words. Some of the fear he was feeling abated. "The night's ours," he promised thickly, feeling her arch against him, a soft sound escaping her as he moved his hand downward and cupped her breast.

The wonderful sensations of his fingers curving around her breast chased away the last of her fear. A soft cry vibrated in her throat as his mouth captured the budding nipple hidden beneath her T-shirt. The moist heat drove her into a wild mindlessness as he worshiped her like some fragile, beautiful vessel. Dampness collected between her thighs, and she sighed as Griff moved the cotton material aside. Sliding his hand beneath the T-shirt, he followed the line of her rib cage.

"You're so beautiful," he rasped, tracing the outline of her small, firm breasts. Dana's eyes were languorous, her lips parted, telling him she was enjoying his sweet assault as much as he was. Griff tried to ignore the spasms creating pain in his loins. He'd wanted Dana for so long that he felt as if he were tied in a white-hot knot. One wrong move on his part could scare Dana and make her cringe away from him. Griff broke out in a sweat, unsure whether it was out of need or fear that he would accidentally hurt her. So much was on the line. Was he capable of walking that fine line with her?

As Griff coaxed the T-shirt off Dana and she lay naked and unguarded before him, he saw the gold of desire in her eyes. With equal deliberateness, he removed the thin sheet from between them. He could feel the heat radiating from their bodies, hear her ragged breathing and see the pleading look in her eyes.

Dana clung to Griff's gaze, not knowing what to do next. She needn't have worried, because Griff leaned over, his strong, hard body warm and stabilizing against hers. It was a pleasant shock to feel his strength pressing and molding to her. He fitted his mouth to her mouth, his tongue caressing hers, making her wild with need of him. Moaning, Dana automatically drew her arms around his tense shoulders, and she pulled him across her.

Griff's weight felt good and right. He plundered her mouth, which was now moist and willing. Sliding his hand along her small but incredibly strong spine, Griff cupped her hips, deliberately bringing her against his hard maleness. Momentarily she tensed, and he leaned down to suckle her nipple. A quiver raced through her, dissolving the tension, and she felt like melting honey between his hands. The firm curve of her thigh met his, and he moved his hand in slow, teasing circles, approaching the juncture between them. Lightly stroking her with his fingers, Griff heard her give a startled little cry, but it was one of surprise and utter pleasure, not of pain or denial.

"You're so wet and hot," he rasped unsteadily against her ear. "Give yourself to me, Dana, just melt into me. Let me give you all the pleasure you can stand. Trust me, just trust me...."