He near shivered when her hand explored his chest, her fingers playing with his nipples before they slipped down to rub the hard length of him through his trousers.
He wanted to feast his eyes over every inch of her, become familiar with every little detail until he knew her as no one had ever known her before him.
He whispered in her ear, “I want to kiss every part of you, claim every nook and cranny and make you mine.”
He moved his lips to her mouth, and the palm of her hand greeted him.
He didn’t like the sadness he saw in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought I made it clear that I could never be yours. This is but a brief interlude, no more.”
Why did the idea disturb him? He had had interludes before, and it had never bothered him to say good-bye to the women. Why did the thought of bidding Storm farewell weigh so heavily on his mind?
He could tell her he had meant just for this night, for this time they would spend together, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“I can’t give you more, Burke.”
He thought, or perhaps he imagined it because he wanted to, that she sounded regretful, almost as if she were on the verge of tears. Did she want more herself but know it wasn’t possible? Did it hurt her to believe so?
“Nothing has to be decided tonight,” he assured her, leaving possibilities open to them both.
“Yes, yes it does,” she said, pushing him gently off her.
He reluctantly moved away and she reached for a pillow to shield her naked breasts as she sat up.
“Why?” he demanded a bit more forcefully than he had intended.
“Because it is the way of things, and nothing will change that. You will return to America and I will remain in Scotland.”
“What if we fell in love?”
Storm’s blue eyes widened considerably. “We cannot.”
“What if we did?” he asked, the force of his query remaining adamant.
“It’s not a possibility. We barely know each other.”
“If I remember correctly, you and Daniel hadn’t known each other long before you fell in love.”
“That was different,” she said.
“Why?”
She looked puzzled, as if the answer hadn’t come as easily as she had expected.
“No answer, Storm? That’s because there is no answer. Love is love, and it comes in its own good time to unsuspecting people.”
She bounced off the bed holding the pillow to her chest. “Are you claiming to love me?”
“No,” he said, though the thought plagued him. Why fight her on this if he wasn’t in love? “I just feel we should leave fate to deal with it, not throw obstacles in its path.”
“I know my fate and I know my feelings. I will not love again.”
“You are a stubborn one,” he said on a laugh and shook his head.
“Much like you,” Storm said with a toss of her chin.
He folded his arms across his chest. “So where does this leave us?”
