Page 88 of Frankly, My Dear

And Selene pictured James entering her body, his back arched just so, his neck tense with suppressed passion.

Now the male bird became more aggressive, hopping from one branch to another, shaking himself, raising and lowering his crest feathers. Over and over he performed these motions in a graceful dance of seduction. When he finally stopped the rhythmic movements and perched himself next to his chosen mate once again, he leaned over and twined his neck with hers. She did likewise, and they were soon locked in an incredible love knot.

“Oh, James, it’s beautiful.”

“Oui, I knew you would think so,” he commented in a raw voice.

The birds stood, necks entwined, for a long time, periodically unwinding and winding their necks in sensuous embrace.

Selene had seen enough and moved as if to stand.

“The mating ritual of the Louisiana heron,” James commented softly, lifting her bodily by the forearms and turning her so that she knelt before him. “What do you think?”

“I think you are a more powerful opponent than I had thought.”

“Oh?”

“Did you bring me here deliberately to prove that you will win any battle of seduction? Or did you truly want to share a special experience?” Her eyes clung to his, fearing his answer.

“Both,” he admitted. “I cannot deny that, at first, I intended to use this sensuous spectacle to my own advantage. But I think I also wanted you to take this memory back with you to your time.” He shrugged miserably. “There is a memory I would have you give me, too, if you would.”

“Oh, James.” Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that he might finally make love to her. Her senses spun and she blinked with lightheadedness.

“Not that, Selene. I just want to look at you one time. Will you remove your shirt and show me your breasts? Please, chérie?”

Hypnotized, Selene could no more deny the smoldering appeal in his burning eyes than the driving need to please him, and to be pleased. With slow clumsiness, Selene undid one button after another, holding his eyes the entire time. His white-knuckled palms pressed to his knees and his ragged breaths betrayed his soul-drenching arousal.

With blood pounding in her veins and a sweet humming in her ears, Selene removed her shirt and brushed the straps of her camisole down, exposing herself to his hot perusal from neck to waist.

She should have been embarrassed. Instead, she raised her shoulders proudly and stared at him in challenge.

“Lift yourself…for me,” he coaxed with savage persuasion.

Without question, she put her hands under her breasts and raised their heavy weight. Selene looked down, fascinated, as the sun filtering through the trees sparkled on her smooth flesh, and her breasts surged at her own intimate touch.

It was an erotic surrender. But at the same time empowering, Selene realized, as she watched James’s jaw clench with agonizing constraint.

Then, one breathtaking inch at a time, James lowered his head, his hands still anchored on his thighs. Gentle as a summer breeze, he kissed one throbbing nipple, then the other, then drew back.

That was all.

But it was enough.

Selene keened low in her throat and gave herself up to a climax so powerful her lethargic limbs trembled and jerked with increasingly larger spasms until all she was, or had ever been, shattered, replaced with the new Selene. She would never, ever be the same again.

Struck with sudden insight, Selene knew that she could throw herself into James’s arms now and he would be powerless against the raging fire that connected them. But she also saw how he sucked in huge drafts of air, fighting against the completion of the act that would bind them forever, with blinding consequences.

He was leaving it up to her to decide their fate.

Would she surrender to the passion hurtling them past the point of no return, knowing full well that she might have to leave James at any time? Or would she take the higher road and spare him the pain that would undoubtedly beset him when their inevitable parting came?

With tears running down her face, Selene turned away and donned her shirt again. It was the hardest decision she’d ever made in her life.

Chapter Fifteen

The time for sexual games between them was over.

After they emerged from the woods onto the pathway, Selene was as quiet and grim-faced as James. What had passed between them was too special, and there was absolutely no question that it marked an ending, not a beginning.