Seger, Maura (17 page)

Stepping over the wood-slat drain, he poured the water over himself, letting it flow from the thick pelt of his chestnut mane down over his massive length. Shaking his head, he sent a shower of droplets across the room before he slipped easily into the piercingly hot water.

His arms were stretched out along the side -of the tub, his head tilted back and bis eyes closed. More relaxed than he had been in days, he did not notice the sudden rush of cooler air as the door behind him slid open. Nor did he hear Erin's soft intake of breath as she beheld the magnificently naked male before her.

Nothing had prepared her for the sheer beauty of his body. Its impact was overwhelming, filling her with desire so intense as to block out all rational thought. A hot core of inner fire licked at her, making her tremble inwardly. Her eyes darkened to the stormy hue of a thunder-filled sky. The rush of blood to her cheeks gave her a becoming flush.

For long moments she could only stare at him. What she had seen of his body clothed and felt when he held her in his arms did not begin to approach the compelling splendor at last revealed to her. How had she managed to live twenty-four years without being aware that such wonders existed?

Even as she asked herself that, Erin knew the answer. Never before had she been ready to accept a man in all his glory, to delight in his unbridled maleness even as she discovered the full promise of her womanhood.

But she was ready now. There was no doubt of that. Her hardened nipples grew even tauter, straining against the sheer black silk of her robe. Her breasts swelled, threatening to spill out of the deeply low-cut neckline. In the secret place where she longed to receive him, she grew hot and moist.

When he turned suddenly, alerted by her soft moan, she met his stunned gaze unhesitantly.

E-Erin . . . ?

Storm doubted the evidence of his own eyes. He must be dreaming. The glorious vision before him could not be real. Never, even in his wildest fantasies, had he imagined Erin coming to him in this way. She was too reticent, too inexperienced.

Who, then, was the ravishingly beautiful creature clad only in a gossamar-thin robe that hid little of her ripely curved body? She looked like Erin, or at least as he had always fantasized her. But the voluptuous gleam of her indigo eyes, the ripe fullness of her mouth and the unmistakable appreciation of her gaze were hardly in keeping with the woman he thought he knew.

Distracted by the rapid rise and fall of her barely concealed breasts, he did not at once realize that her small hands were sliding the garment from her. He was unable to tear his eyes away as beauty beyond any he had ever envisioned was revealed to him.

Erin swallowed hard in a futile effort to control her nervousness. She was risking everything on a desperate attempt to convince Storm that she loved him enough to overcome whatever problems might lie between them. If he rejected her, or sent her away pityingly, she would be crushed beyond any hope of recovery.

From some hidden well of courage, she found the strength to speak lightly. "I hope you don't mind my sharing your bath? Odetsu told me it's perfectly all right in Japan for men and women to bathe together."

He didn't answer; indeed the very capacity to speak seemed to have deserted him. All his attention was focused on the slender perfection of her alabaster form touched by wisps of sandalwood-scented mist. The fiery intensity of his gaze increased her shyness almost beyond endurance. But Erin was determined to persevere.

Despite the trembling weakness of her limbs, she managed to refill the buckets beside the tub and pick up the discarded bar of soap. The handful of hairpins she had thought to bring with her served to hold up the silken mass of her hair.

Repeating his motions of only a short time before, she lathered herself thoroughly, from the slender curve of her shoulders down across her high-pointed breasts to her tiny waist and slender hips. Propping a small foot up on the bench, she scrubbed each leg in turn before pouring the rinse water over herself.

Storm watched every graceful movement with fascination. Never had he seen anything so overwhelmingly, yet unconsciously sensual. Her poignant innocence enthralled him, as did her vulnerability. What on earth was she thinking of to let him see her like this? Did she truly have no understanding of what a man in the throes of uncontrollable passion might do?

Even as he marveled at her actions, he shifted uncomfortably in the tub. Fragrances tossed into the water gave it a deep blue stain, enough so that by sinking as far down as possible, he could conceal that part of himself believed to be most shocking to innocent maidens. Taking a deep breath, he schooled himself to endure the torment of her nearness.

Erin glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she approached the tub. He was staring at the ceiling, as though the arrangement of wooden slats somehow fascinated him. Deeply chagrined, she dipped a toe into the water, only to jerk it out at once.

"It's hot!"

Storm laughed indulgently, giving up the brief battle to keep his eyes from her. A soft sheen of dampness shone iridescent against her pearly skin. The dusky velvet of her nipples beckoned his touch, and it was all he could do not to thrust himself out of the tub and pull her into his arms.

"It's supposed to be hot."

"Not that much. How can you stand it?"

"You get used to it. You'll see. After the first moment or two, you'll love it." Holding out a hand, he managed to control his surging need enough to gently encourage her. "Come on, now. It's too cold to stand out there."

Erin complied gingerly. The water burned her skin, making every pore throb. She bit her lip to hold back a gasp as slowly, hesitantly, she lowered herself into the tub.

Rather to her surprise, within seconds her body began to relax. Clenched muscles eased. Stiffened tendons and taut nerves slackened. She even forgot to be self-conscious, but only for a moment.

As she became aware of Storm still holding her hand, heat of a very different sort swept over her. It was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms and beg him to relieve the aching need pulsating within her.

If Odetsu was right, that was probably the worst thing she could do. As little as she knew about men, she was still sensible enough to understand that pressure of that sort would only heighten whatever problem might exist. To succeed with her plan, she had to go slowly and convince Storm that she truly cared at least as much for his pleasure as for her own.

That resolve served to take her mind off her own feelings and direct it firmly on him. With daring that would have been unthinkable even the day before, she leaned back against the rim of the tub and smiled enticingly.

"No wonder the Japanese spend so much time in these things. This is marvelous."

"Hmmm," Storm murmured, preoccupied with the ripe swell of her breasts visible above the indigo water. For a slender girl, she could hardly claim not to be well-endowed. He longed to fill his hands with those ivory mounds, to run his thumbs over the erect nipples and let his tongue taste once again her satiny sweetness.

Recollecting himself only through a massive effort of will, he said, "You certainly seem to be adjusting to life here. Or has mixed bathing become the norm in the States?"

Erin laughed softly, gladdened by the teasing gleam in his eye. If he was going to send her away, surely he would have done so by now? "Hardly. The penchant some ladies have developed recently for taking dips in the ocean while copiously swathed in cotton gowns is considered quite scandalous enough. I can't imagine what my Boston neighbors would say if they could see me now."

"The men would undoubtedly approve," Storm muttered. "It cannot have escaped your notice that you are a remarkably beautiful woman."

The tightness of his voice surprised Erin. She glanced at him warily. "You said the first day I arrived here that I was pretty at sixteen, but had changed a great deal. I took that to mean you found me less attractive."

Storm could not suppress a start of surprise. He stared at her for long moments before deciding she was sincere. She actually had no idea of her impact, far beyond what any flirtatious girl could ever achieve.

Grudgingly he said, "You misunderstood. The years have served you well. You are far lovelier now than you ever were."

Erin's eyes lowered, hidden by thick fringes as dark as her midnight-black hair. Relieved though she was to know that he found her attractive, she could not help but think that this only confirmed Odetsu's hints. Surely he would have done something about his desire for her by now, unless he was prevented by physical impairment.

Driven by curiosity she could not contain, she allowed her gaze to wander down along the hard, muscular plane of his chest as far as the dark swirls of hair around his navel. She could make out no sign of injury, but neither could she see any further. The water effectively blocked her view and heightened her frustration.

Storm shifted uneasily beneath her gaze. It was difficult enough to believe that such an incredible encounter was actually happening. When he tried to decide what he should do about it, he ran up against a stone wall of conflicting emotion.

Silently he conceded that he was acting completely out of character. He desperately wanted to touch and hold her, to let nature take its course regardless of the consequences. The strain of holding himself away from her was becoming intolerable. Driven by forces as fundamental as life itself, he reached out to caress the fragile nape of her neck.

Erin quivered under his touch. Her cheek rubbed against his hand, as though she were a small cat in need of petting. The low groan that escaped from him delighted her. She rightly judged it a sign of his weakening control. Confirmation came a moment later when a heavily muscled arm lashed out to close around her slender waist and draw her hard against him.

"My God, Erin," he rasped against the curve of her throat, "I'd have to be made of steel to resist you. You know that, don't you? Tell me that's why you came here."

"It is," she whispered breathlessly, stroking the massive expanse of his torso, her fingers rediscovering each entrancing muscle and sinew. "I can't deny it anymore, Storm. I want to give you everything possible. Please believe me. Let me show you how much I love you."

Hardly daring to credit what he heard, Storm shook his head dazedly. "You don't understand what you're saying. Just touching you like this isn't enough. I want all of you, in the most intimate way a man can have a woman."

"That's what I want, too," she murmured, her lips tracing the hard bulge of muscles along his arm. Beneath the water, their legs entwined, his steely thighs brushing against her softness. Erin moaned helplessly. Flames were raging out of control within her. She could no more deny her need for him than she could stop the beat of her heart.

Storm fought a brief, losing battle with his conscience. Honor demanded that he put her firmly from him. Survival required far different behavior. Growling deep in his throat, he lifted her chin, awed by the soft perfection of her mouth as it parted for him.

Their lips touched gently, tasting each other with delicate strokes until the sudden upsurge of passion beyond even what they had already experienced drove them to cling to each other, their tongues meeting in an erotic duel that sent starlight sparks of desire shimmering through both.

Erin clung as closely as possible to him, compelled by the most primitive hunger to feel him fill her body. Her hands stroked the broad expanse of his back, luxuriating in the discovery of taut muscles reaching from his shoulder blades down to his tapered waist and beyond to his sculptured buttocks.

The touch of his hair-roughened thighs against her softness dazed her. She was engulfed in male strength and power, drowning in desperate need for him, swept up in a raging fire that threatened to burn away her very soul and leave her transformed into a creature she could not yet imagine.

Inflamed by passion as great as her own, Storm could no longer resist his rampaging hunger. Sweeping her high against his chest, he rose from the tub. Water ran off them both in crystalline streams reflecting the flames of stone lanterns set around the small secluded room.

Laying her tenderly on the mats, he came down beside her, his arms cording with latent strength as he held his big body above her far smaller form. Slowly, so as not to frighten her, he let his mouth trail down the silken column of her throat to nestle in the scented hollow between her breasts.

"Erin," he groaned thickly, "if you're going to stop me, it has to be now."

A tiny dart of puzzlement raced through her. That didn't sound like something a man who was concerned about his virility would say. But she could hardly quarrel with it, since his response was beyond anything she had even dared to hope for.

"I don't want you to stop. Please . . . don't leave me. I couldn't bear it."

Erin swallowed hard when she heard her own words. She hadn't meant to say anything that might put pressure on him. Hastily she amended, "Whatever you want, Storm, tell me. I want so much to please you. ... It doesn't matter if everything doesn't happen, if we don't..." She broke off, not at all sure of how to phrase what she meant. Her vocabulary was sorely lacking in certain areas. She could only hope that he would understand without words.

Through the haze of his passion, Storm became aware that something about what she had just said troubled him. What was that about everything not happening? Lifting himself far enough away from her to be able to gaze into her eyes, he said, "Erin, are you absolutely sure you know what you're doing?"

"No," she admitted honestly, "but I want to learn. I'll do anything to make you happy."

Storm swallowed thickly. It was doubtful any man had ever had a more enticing offer. He was not about to turn her down, even if he couldn't quite shake the vague feeling that something was wrong.

Moving over her gently, he gave in to the driving temptation to taste her breasts with his mouth. Erin moaned softly as he tongued first one nipple and then the other before drawing her into him with warm, sucking motions that sent spirals of flame shooting through her.