Lizzie had always been the quiet one. The serious, bid dable girl who did what was expected. Well, she was tired of hiding in the shadows and letting life pass her by. Not this time. This time she was going to reach out and take what she wanted, to Hades (the blasphemies were really flowing now!) with the consequences.
She met steel with steel, her gaze every bit as fierce and determined as his. “I'm afraid I don't agree.”
She felt a supreme moment of satisfaction at the slight wariness that appeared in his gaze—wariness that turned to full-blown alarm after she stormed back over to the door, lowered the bar, and turned around to face him.
There was only one way to bend steel, and that was with fire … lots and lots of fire.
“What are you doing?”
She arched a brow. “I would think that is fairly obvious to a man of your perception.” She moved back toward him. “We appear to have a difference of opinion, and I think it is better that we are not disturbed while we sort it out.”
She pulled off the thin beaded shawl she'd draped around her shoulders and dropped it on the pallet where he'd stacked his belongings. It seemed to land with the resounding thud of a gauntlet. To the winner went the spoils. And this was not a battle she intended to lose.
His hot gaze washed over her, soaking up every inch of bare skin—especially the bare skin around her breasts. Her nipples tightened under his scrutiny. His eyes flared. The pulse at his neck twitched dangerously.
This dress really was shameless. But from the way his eyes gorged hungrily on the round swells of flesh and the deep cleft in between, she had to admit that perhaps Alys was right. Lizzie would never be a raving beauty like her cousin Flora, but that didn't mean she couldn't emphasize her attributes.
“And how do you propose we sort this out?” His voice was wonderfully hoarse.
She smiled, a devilish glint in her eyes. “Oh, I'm sure we can figure something out.” Her gaze dropped to the hefty bulge in his pants.
Dear God.
Her mouth suddenly went dry. Her bravado faltered. She wasn't nearly as confident as she pretended.
Unconsciously, she licked her bottom lip. If possible, the prodigious bulge seemed to grow a little bigger. He appeared to be in a great deal of pain, but Elizabeth was discovering that she had a rather ruthless streak when it came to this man.
She approached him slowly, enjoying the way his body tensed as she drew near, his intense, predatory gaze following her every move. She felt a rush of heat. For the first time in her life, she felt the power of being a desirable woman. It gave her just enough courage to go on.
She slid against him, molding her body to his. The sizzle of contact startled them both. She loved the hard press of his body against hers, feeling every bulge, every cord of hard muscle. Her body flushed with heat, concentrating in tingling awareness where they touched.
He made a choking noise in the back of his throat—half groan, half pain. “You don't know what you are doing.”
His voice was tight—very tight. She could feel the pressure reverberating inside him. The powerful muscles in his arms and shoulders tensed.
She tilted her chin. “I know exactly what I'm doing.”
His eyes bored into hers, hot and full of passion. “There will be no going back. Once I make you mine, I will never let you go.”
Her heart clenched at the possessive tone in his voice.
She slid her hands around his neck and rose to her tiptoes—he really was frightfully tall—her body stretched against him. The evidence of their desire rose between them. It was impossible to deny in the hard peak of her nipples driving into his chest and the rigid length of his erection held taut against her stomach. And the heat. So much heat. It seemed to meld them together.
“Good,” she said. “I don't want to go back. I only want you.” She pressed tiny kisses along his jaw, savoring the hint of salt on his skin and the scratch of his jaw against her lips. She wanted to inhale him. Devour him. Lick every inch of his incredible body.
His heart pounded furiously against hers, and she knew he was holding himself on a very tight rein.
She trailed soft kisses along his jaw until she came to the sensitive place below his ear, and then she drew little circles with her tongue.
He started to shake but still would not touch her. His will was formidable, but so was hers—and she'd finally found a weakness in the steely armor of this fierce warrior. She had no intention of relenting now.
She rubbed against him a little more, raking her nipples against his chest, the friction sending delicious little fissures of pleasure down her belly, concentrating between her legs. She closed her eyes, wallowing in the sudden rush of heat and dampness, feeling the insistent clench of desire.
His powerful erection pressed intimately against her, teasing her with possibility. Her mouth was right on his ear, and she spoke her wicked thoughts aloud. “I want you inside me.”
That was it. With a violent growl, he snapped. “Damn you, Elizabeth.”
His mouth fell on hers in a ravaging kiss. A kiss that reached down to her soul, claiming her completely. Not wasting any time, he scooped her up and carried her toward an empty pallet.
