‘Yes, Kate… Yes!’
He said it harshly, violently almost, her body jerking as her eyes locked with his and saw the febrile topaz glitter of them. He wanted her…he desired her… She had aroused him. It was then that Ricky, and all the inferiority he had made her feel, slipped completely away. Beneath her fingers Dominic’s skin burned and tensed, a thick groan of pleasure stifled in his throat as she stroked her fingernail lightly up and then down that enticing line of hair. His body tensed and then shuddered as he reached for her, pulling her down against him, his mouth hot and hard where it touched her skin. Her hand was wedged flat against his thigh and when she moved it caressingly against him, he shuddered violently and muttered into her throat, ‘Kate… Kate. I’ll teach you to torment me!’
She felt him move, dropping her on to the mattress, his hands sliding from her breasts to her thighs, his mouth… She gasped in shocked tension as she felt his tongue touch her navel. His hands curved over her hips and then slid under her, moving down to cup the soft roundness of her bottom. He was kneeling between her thighs, and the sudden conviction of what he was going to do brought a thick choking gasp of denial to her throat and her body tensed as she struggled wildly to sit up.
She saw him move…felt his mouth on the inside of her thigh, shocked by the swift surge of pleasure rushing through her. Ignoring her frantic struggles to break free, he continued to caress the quivering vulnerability of her inner thighs. Torn between pleasure and shock, Kate felt herself weakening. It was like falling headlong into deep water and then discovering an unsuspected current carrying her swiftly to that high place where it fell in a powerful waterfall. In this case the current was her own fast building desire and the waterfall… She stiffened as she felt Dominic’s tongue slide moistly against her, appalled by the intensity of her pleasure. She wanted to rebuff him and she wanted… Oh, God, she wanted him to go on doing what he was doing now more than she had wanted anything in her life.
Her tensed muscles relaxed, sobs of pleasure rising in her throat, her head thrashing frantically from side to side as she felt his mouth against her, demanding that she abandon herself to him completely, demanding that she give way to the fierce surges of pleasure already exploding inside her.
Afterwards he held her trembling body in his arms, soothing her with soft kisses. She could taste her body on his mouth; the intimacy of what he had done to her still half shocking her. In a way she almost resented the pleasure he had given her. It made her feel too vulnerable. He made her feel vulnerable.
She only realised she had said the last sentence out loud when he said huskily to her, ‘You have exactly the same effect on me, you know, Kate.’ She felt him smile, laughter lightening his voice as he added, ‘Or at least, you could have.’
She still hadn’t touched him, at least not properly, and as though he sensed the direction of her thoughts he asked quietly, ‘What is it about my body that you find so off-putting, Kate?’
‘Nothing.’ It was the truth, and knowing that something more was called for she added, ‘Ricky didn’t like me to…’
‘I don’t give a damn what Ricky did or did not like,’ Dominic interrupted harshly, leaning over her. His voice softened and became faintly hoarse as he muttered, ‘I want you to touch me…I need you to touch me.’ He moved slightly, whether by accident or design she did not know, and she felt the male hardness of him pressing into her skin. His hand touched her breast, cupping it lightly, his mouth moist and pleasurable as it moved over her sensitised skin. His lips nuzzled her breasts, making fresh desire burn up inside her. Her hands clung to his skin, shaping the long muscles of his back, and then suddenly, eagerly, joyously moving over his body.
When her hand closed over the erect maleness of him she felt a tiny thrill of pleasure at his shuddering response. His arms held her hard against his body, his mouth fastening over hers, the guttural sounds of pleasure stifled in his throat, freeing her from her last constraints.
When his mouth left hers, she started to scatter tiny, feverish kisses over his skin, letting her senses guide her, giving in completely to the desire to submerge herself completely in her love.
When her mouth touched his stomach, he tensed and then arched against her, muttering feverish words of praise into the heavy air, his fingers reaching down to curl into her hair, shudder after shudder of pleasure ripping through his body as passion rode her, making her move blindly against his body until her mouth found the rigid hardness of him.
When he dragged her away to roll her on to her back and enter her with swift fierceness, she welcomed each primitive thrust of his body, matching them with a complementary rhythm of her own.
He took her swiftly to a shattering climax, crying out her name as pleasure overwhelmed him.
The last thing Kate could remember before she fell asleep was the comforting pressure of his arm, drawing her back into the warmth of his recumbent body.
* * *
When she woke up Dominic’s arm was still there, and Kate’s skin burned as she remembered the previous night. Fear coiled deep inside her, poised to strike like a venomous serpent. What had she done? What had she betrayed to him with her feverish, frantic lovemaking? She was petrified that he might have guessed the truth; that he might know now that she loved him. She had to escape. She couldn’t endure the humiliation of facing him if he knew.
Frantically she managed to wriggle free of his arm and slide out of the bed. He was still deeply asleep, his face agonisingly youthful, his dark hair ruffled. She had dislodged the duvet as she moved and it had slid down his body, leaving him bare to the hips. Here and there on his skin Kate could see the faint marks of her own teeth, and she shuddered in shocked denial of the intensity of her passion. It did not matter that her own body bore the same marks, or that Dominic’s passion had been as great as her own. He was not vulnerable as she was.… All he had felt was desire, while she…
Why not stay…why not stay and see if she couldn’t change that desire into love? The violence with which she shuddered away from the mere thought brought her up against a truth she had tried desperately to hide away from. She was still frightened of Dominic’s rejection. She tried to dismiss it, but the knowledge would not go away. While Dominic slept she hurried into her own room, grabbing clothes at random and stuffing them into a holdall. She had to get away…she had to…if she stayed here… But where could she go?
Harry and Liz—she had an open invitation to stay with them. No one would know where she was. Dominic could not trace her to them.
After last night she knew that his desire of her was strong enough to make his pursuit of her relentness, at least while that desire lasted. But how long would it last? Not as long as her love. Why not stay…take what he has to offer and worry about it ending when it ends? a traitorous voice whispered, but Kate pushed it away. She couldn’t live like that, every day a torment of wondering if this was going to be the one when he looked at her without desire and then coldly turned his back on her. No…better to make a clean break now.
Right up until she had driven the car on to the main road she had expected Dominic to wake up and come after her. Her chest was aching from holding her breath, her body tight with apprehension and pain.
Liz welcomed her placidly, explaining that Harry had gone out. ‘You’ve been having quite a lot of excitement over your way,’ she commented to Kate as she made her a cup of coffee. ‘Caught them yet, have they?’
Kate shook her head. She had already asked Liz if she might stay with them for a few days, using as an excuse the fact that she needed to consult Harry about her new commission. Liz hadn’t said so, but Kate suspected that the older woman wasn’t deceived, but if so, she was far too placid and compassionate to question her further.
Harry, though, was not so reticent.
He arrived an hour later, and having welcomed Kate with a warm hug asked her what had brought her down to see them. She gave him the same explanation she had given Liz, and his eyebrows rose slightly. ‘I thought you were quite satisfied with the way it’s going,’ he commented, adding shrewdly, ‘I think you’re hiding something, Kate, but if you are, that’s your business. Just remember, you can’t go on running for the rest of your life.’
Liz had left them on their own, and now Kate’s cheeks coloured hotly. ‘Just what makes you think I’m running?’ she demanded crossly. ‘Honestly, Harry…!’ and then to her own consternation she burst into tears.
She had never felt so mortified in her entire life. She was twenty-seven years old, for God’s sake, and here she was bursting into tears like an adolescent.
Twenty-seven or not, it was sheer bliss to put her head on Harry’s shoulder and sob out her misery. Her father had never been a physically affectionate person, alt