“My friend.”
“Put your arms around my neck, Jessica,” he commanded in a low voice.
Jessica was too weak to disobey him. She lifted her arms and put them about his neck as he drew her closer to him, no longer needing to pin her to the tree. She could feel his body against hers, so warm and hard. Her breath was coming more quickly.
“You are mine, Jessica,” the Raider whispered. “You are mine.”
She could feel the silk of his mask as it caressed her skin just above her lips. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted his lips on hers, but he was denying her that touch.
“I belong to no man,” she managed to say.
He caught her hair again, pulled her head back, and then took her mouth with his.
Jessica responded in spite of her intentions. This man had no right to touch her, no right to say that she was his, but as his lips touched hers, she didn’t give another thought to right and wrong. Her arms were strong around his neck and when he pulled her to him, she responded in kind, wanting her body closer and closer to his.
“Jessie,” he whispered, pulling her head into his shoulder until she couldn’t breathe. “I can’t bear to see you with other men.”
“Who are you?” she whispered. “Tell me that. I’ll keep your secret.”
“No, my darling, I’ll not risk your life.”
She tried to push him away but he didn’t budge. “You can’t keep appearing in my life, ridiculing me, holding me against trees, mauling me in blackberry patches and expecting me to…to…I don’t know what you expect from me. I don’t know who you are, nor do I want to know. I wish you’d go away and never come back. The English are going to catch you and they’ll hang you on the spot.”
“Would you care?”
Her hands tightened on him, her cheek buried in the silk of his shirt, feeling his heart beat in her ear. “Why should I care?” she lied. “I don’t even know who you are. Choose some other woman for your attentions.”
He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face. “Do you really mean that? I came tonight only to see you. I know you’re being hidden because you helped me and I wanted to thank you for it.”
“You humiliated me before everyone, making all of them laugh at me.”
That mouth of his, with
lips of finely sculptured flesh, slid into a smile, a slow, secret, knowing smile. “A kiss is a humiliation?” He briefly, sweetly, touched his lips to hers. “A kiss isn’t a reward?” His teeth playfully caught her lower lip, the tip of his tongue running over the fullness of it. “I couldn’t resist kissing you that day, in spite of the danger. If I hadn’t stopped to kiss you, I wouldn’t have needed your help.”
“Then you were a fool. To risk hanging merely to kiss a girl…”
He kissed her four times. These short, quick kisses were somehow more intimate than a longer one. “It depends on the girl.”
“Jessica!” they heard Eleanor call.
Involuntarily, Jess clutched at the Raider, and since she was looking toward the house, she didn’t see him smile. “You must go.”
He put his hands on both sides of her face. “Promise me you’ll stay out of what I do. I can’t bear to see you taken again. Don’t risk your pretty neck for me. If I hang, I mean to hang alone.”
Her hands slipped down to touch his neck. She could feel the wariness in him and she guessed that he was alert to the possibility of her trying to remove his mask, but she was only interested in touching his neck, so warm and alive. She truly hated the idea of a rope about that neck.
“Jessica,” Eleanor called again, this time closer.
“Go,” Jess whispered. “Go before someone sees you.”
He smiled at her again, quickly kissed her and then was gone. Jessica stood there for a moment, missing his warmth. Her mind told her she should be glad he was gone, but her body wanted more of him. She straightened the scarf tucked in her dress and was refastening her hair as Eleanor appeared.
“Where have you been?” Eleanor demanded.
“Right here,” Jess said dreamily. “Not far.”
All evening Jessica was only half with her family. How could a man she didn’t even know mean anything to her? How could she mean anything to him? But the Raider talked as if he cared about her.