Savage Summer (22 page)

His dark gaze seemed to be drawing her to him. They moved toward each other, and she could feel his breath on her lips.

Her breathing seemed to stop—she waited for him to move the final distance so their lips would touch. As her heart pounded against her chest, she watched his eyes change. Where they had been velvet-soft before, they now sparked with anger.

Before she could reach out to Wolfrunner he was on his feet and moved away quickly. She was stunned by what had just happened between them.

Resting her face against the soft rabbit fur, she tried to regain her composure. This man kept pulling at her, and when she was ready to surrender, he pulled away. She didn’t understand him at all.

Wolfrunner closed his eyes and allowed the night breeze to cool his face. He had almost lost control of himself a moment ago. He knew now that he was going to have to keep his distance from Danielle. He wanted her with every fiber of his being. Tonight he would fight the most bitter battle he had ever had to wage. He would fight his feelings for Danielle.

Skyler moved out of the circle of Morgan’s arms and glanced up at him shyly. “I have offered myself to you. Do you not want me?”

Her hair was streaming across her golden-colored breasts like a black velvet curtain. Her hips were well rounded, and her tiny waist could easily be spanned with a man’s hands. Her legs weren’t long, but they were perfectly shaped. Morgan didn’t pause to wonder why her body was the same golden
color all over. He stared at her in a half-dazed state, wanting her with every fiber of his being. His body trembled and he felt a need to touch her, to hold her against him forever.

“Damn you,” Morgan growled, pulling her back into his arms. “You know I want you, but not this way. Why are you doing this to me…to us?”

Skyler could feel the strength of his arms as he pushed her aside. She could sense there was pain as well as anger in him. He took the cushions from the window seat and angrily tossed them to the floor of the summerhouse.

“If you want me to lie you down, I’ll do it. I hope you know what you are letting yourself in for, Skyler. But I don’t think you do,” he said in a deep voice.

Her body trembled visibly as she watched him strip his shirt off and toss it aside. This wasn’t what she wanted, she thought in a panic. She had wanted to give herself to Morgan with love, not with anger.

When he had cast the last of his clothing aside, he walked toward her slowly. Skyler stepped back a pace. His eyes were burning into her, and she could see that his jaw was set in anger. Her eyes went to the magnificence of his body. She started shaking all over as he drew nearer. Her eyes fastened on the golden mat of hair on his chest that ran further down his body than her eyes were willing to go.

Morgan reached out for her and slammed her against his naked body. His form was lean and hard and the feel of his hardness pressing against her caused Skyler to gasp.

“Damn you for making me love you, and damn you for making me want you,” he growled in her ear.

“Morgan, please, I don’t want it this way.”

“How do you want it, Skyler?” he demanded to know. “I wish to hell I knew.”

“I…wanted to give you this night to remember,” she whispered through trembling lips.

He forced her head up so she would have to meet his gaze. “I don’t need this to keep you in my mind and heart.
Wherever I go and whatever I do, the thought of you will always be with me. How many ways do you want me to say I love you, Skyler? How many times must I prove that I want you for my wife?”

Tears blinded her, and she quickly brushed them away with the back of her hand. “I love you more than my own life, Morgan. Am I not proving that to you tonight?”

His head dipped, and she met his kiss eagerly. His hot body was pressed against her soft curves, and she felt a new awakening from deep within. His tongue parted her lips savagely and his mouth plundered hers. She was vaguely aware that he was lowering her back against the cushions.

“This isn’t what I envisioned for you and me, Skyler. I had thought to take you on our wedding bed,” he whispered hotly in her ear. “Hell, who am I fooling? I’ll take you any way I can have you.”

“Tonight I will be as your wife, Morgan,” she answered. “Take what I would have given you as my husband.”

His lips moved down her throat and across her silken breasts. Skyler gasped for breath as his tongue circled the rosy peaks. A white-hot sensation rushed through her veins, and she felt as if an earthquake shook her body. She experienced the after-shock all the way to her toes.

“Sweet, sweet, Skyler,” he murmured, and his hot breath sent shivers down her spine.

Morgan could feel his pulse beat madly as his hand drifted over her silken skin, down her smooth stomach, to rest against her thigh. He was inches away from paradise, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to touch her forbidden womanhood. He knew she had never been with a man, and he questioned his right to take what she so readily offered.

Skyler could sense his reluctance, so she drew his face up to her lips. “Take the gift I offer you, Morgan. It is all I have to give you.”

He moaned as her lips sought his. He could no longer reason past the wild desire that kept pounding in his brain. Kissing her all the while, he spread her legs and positioned
himself between them. One hand pulled her head closer to receive his burning kiss, while the other wandered slowly and sensuously down to the valley of her womanhood. His hand shook as it moved carefully into the velvety softness of her.

Skyler groaned as her body reacted to his soft touch. She felt something akin to pain yet beyond pain as his hand gently massaged her inner core.

Morgan found the barrier that proved she had never been with a man. Her breath was warm and sweet against his lips, and he felt his body tremble all over.

Yes, he would take what she offered him. Nothing could stop the tide of passion she had awakened within him. Never before had he had this deep craving for a woman. He tried not to think that this night was all they would ever share. He suddenly became obsessed with the need to show Skyler that it was meant that they should be together forever…not just for tonight.

Skyler felt Morgan move forward. When he slowly entered her body, she clamped her lips together tightly to keep from crying out at the beautiful feelings that encased her whole being. There was a slight stinging sensation as he pushed forward, but it didn’t last long. She clutched at his shoulders when he moved slowly up and back in a slow, rhythmic motion.

The night seemed to have a thousand eyes as the stars twinkled down upon the two lovers. Each would give eternal love to the other, and so it had been since the beginning of time when the love is pure and the hearts intertwine. Skyler gave all she had, knowing this night was all she would ever have. Morgan took everything, hoping to bind Skyler to him for the rest of their lives.

Skyler sprinkled kisses across Morgan’s shoulders. Loving the feel of his body united with hers, she wished this night would last forever. She had given to him, but he was giving back to her a hundredfold. His hands were gentle as they caressed her body, and his lips were sweet as they moved across her face to find her lips.

She knew that tomorrow, and a thousand tomorrows afterward, she would weep for what could not be. But now—at this moment, she had Morgan, body and soul.

“It is good between us, Skyler,” he murmured against her ear. “You belong to me. Surely you can feel that.”

His damp hair clung to the side of his head, and she ran her fingers through it. With an instinct that is born of woman, she moved her hips up, inviting him to drive deeper into her softness.

He groaned as his body reached dazzling heights. Never before had he felt this way with a woman. “You are me, and I am you,” he whispered in a raspy voice. “I love you more than life, my dearest love. Say that you love me,” he demanded, needing to hear the words spoken.

“Yes,” she groaned as the tempo inside her body heightened by his softly spoken words. She had always wondered what love would be like between a woman and a man. Now she knew she would remember tonight for the rest of her life.

She gasped with pleasure when he thrust forward, searing the insides of her with his stamp of ownership. Tears ran down her face at what she and Morgan could have had together. Tomorrow she would go away and they would never see each other again. How could she bear to leave him after tonight?

“I love you, Morgan,” she whispered against his ear. “I love you with all my heart.”

His eyes were soft and clearly shone with an answering love. They stared into each other’s eyes at the very moment when their bodies reached the final climax. As both their bodies shook with one tremor after another, they clasped each other to their hearts.

Skyler was never to know how long they lay in each other’s arms, whispering words of eternal love, as they both pledged their love, one to the other. She wasn’t brought back to reality until Morgan raised up on his elbow and looked into her misty violet eyes.

“Now you know that you were meant to be my wife, Skyler.
I can’t let you go after what has happened between us tonight. Say you will marry me.” His voice was almost pleading as his eyes searched her face. “Say yes!” he urged almost frantically. “You know you want to, damn it!”

Skyler wedged her arm between them and sat up. “Do not ask this of me, Morgan. It will be hard enough to leave in the morning. Let us part with this beautiful thing between us. Do not spoil what we had.”

Morgan stood up slowly and drew her up beside him. “What kind of a woman are you? Are you made of stone? Did you not say that you loved me?”

Tears were streaming down her face, but Morgan seemed unmoved by them as he gripped her arms and shook her. “Answer me, Skyler. What in the hell are you made of?”

“Please do not say anymore, Morgan. Let us both walk away without cruel words between us.”

“What am I supposed to do—say thank you for a beautiful evening? Am I supposed to stand calmly by while you walk out of my life forever?”

“I will not ask anything of you, Morgan. You have my heart—I can give you nothing beyond that.”

He grabbed a handful of ebony hair and jerked her head forward. “Why can’t you tell me what is keeping us apart? If you really love me, at least give me that much. Whatever it is, we can work it out together.”

“No, Morgan. What is wrong between us can never be worked out. I could not watch your love turn to contempt, as it surely would if I told you my secret.”

Skyler moved away from him and picked up her gown and robe. While he watched, she slipped them on and then turned back to face him.

His eyes were wild as it began to sink in that she could not be swayed from her convictions. He searched his mind for some way to hold on to her. What could be so bad that she couldn’t tell him?

“Don’t you know you can trust me? Tell me about this
thing that is eating away at you!” he cried, moving to her side and crushing her in his arms. “My God, don’t do this to us. Don’t you know you are killing my soul?”

By now Skyler was crying hysterically. She rested her face against the soft mat of hair on his chest, wishing he could hold her forever. He stroked her gently and spoke soothing words in her ear.

“Do not cry, little love. I shall move mountains if that will make you happy. I will sweep aside anything that stands between us, and I shall walk over anyone who tries to take you away from me.”

Skyler closed her eyes, knowing the pain she was causing him. She raised her head and looked into his eyes. “Kiss me good-bye, Morgan,” she cried softly. “My dearest, dearest love, kiss me one last time.”

His face seemed to freeze. For a long moment he stared at her in disbelief. Suddenly he gave her a shove and turned away to pull on his clothing. Skyler watched through tear-blinded eyes as he pulled on his boots and tucked his shirt into his trousers.

When he turned back to her, his features were stormy. “It will be a hell of a lot better when you are gone from my life, Miss Skyler Dancing. I fared well enough before I met you—I can do so again.”

Morgan moved across the summerhouse and turned to her one last time. Touching his fingers to his forehead in a salute, he then turned on his heels and moved down the path.

Skyler wanted to call after him, but she didn’t dare. She could hear the sound of his boot steps fading into the distance. He was gone! She would never see him again!

Dropping to her knees, broken sobs came from somewhere deep in her throat. She never knew that crying could cause such pain. Agonizing sounds were filling the night air.

She had only borrowed Morgan’s love for a short time—it had never really belonged to her. She had wanted him to
remember her with kindness, but now when he thought of her it would be with contempt.

She cried until she was exhausted, then she stood up and made her way slowly back to the house. In a few hours it would be sun-up, and she and her uncle would be on their way back to her village. Perhaps her mother could help her understand why this had happened between her and Morgan. Yes, if anyone could understand, it would be her mother. Had she not had to face a similar choice when she married Skyler’s father? But then her father had not had the contempt for her mother’s race as Morgan had for Skyler’s. Fate had been cruel to allow her to love a man who was not of her world. Morgan would never have accepted her if he’d known the truth. It was best that he never found out about her Indian blood.

It was barely daylight when the carriage bearing Skyler and her uncle moved out the iron gates of the James estate. Skyler had said a tearful good-bye to her Aunt Alexandria. It had been painful for Skyler to leave her aunt now that she needed her. She sat back, cloaked in her own misery. She was leaving heartbreak behind her in Philadelphia. Each mile the carriage traveled took her farther away from the man she loved.

Skyler knew when she reached her village she would be faced with other heartaches. She would have to come to grips with her grandmother’s death and Danielle’s disappearance. She prayed that by the time they reached her home, her cousin would have been found, unharmed.

Glancing at her uncle, Skyler saw he was sleeping. More than likely he hadn’t slept all night and he must be very exhausted. She was traveling back to her world and to her old way of life. Skyler didn’t know how she would ever be able to put Morgan out of her mind and just pick up her life where she’d left off. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she stared out the window. The sound of the horses’ hooves seemed to be echoing. You love him, you love him!

Morgan stood at his bedroom window, watching the sun come up. Skyler was leaving today. Where was she going? He knew nothing about her life, beyond the fact that she loved him—he knew that for a certainty.

He went over and over in his mind every word she’d ever spoken to him, trying to solve the mystery. Last night he’d held a woman in his arms and had poured out his love to her. Today that woman would walk out of his life forever, and he couldn’t understand the reason for her going. What was this thing that stood between him and the woman he loved?