Petals in the Storm (FA 2) by Putney Mary Jo

Author:Putney, Mary Jo [Putney, Mary Jo]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780451218759
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2006-05-15T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Maggie felt deeply rested when she awoke, though the angle of the sun showed that it was still early. In the clear light of day, it was hard to believe that she had had the audacity to ask Rafe to make love to her. Yet the warm length of his body lying beside her was irrefutable proof of what had happened.

As a woman of the world, she had thought it likely that he would oblige her, though females needed a reason for intimacy, men usually needed only a place. She had had a reason, and Rafe had supplied the place.... Yet what had passed between them had gone far beyond anything she had been able to imagine, and it would stay etched in her brain forever.

Turning her head slightly, she studied Rafe's sleeping form. His numerous bruises had matured to melodramatic purple-black. God only knew how he had gotten her away from that mob. Take away his title and his wealth and his influence, and he would still be a man among men—strong and brave and heart-stoppingly beautiful, in an utterly male fashion.

Maggie closed her eyes in anguish. She had always known that if they became intimate, she would be helplessly in love with Rafe again, and it had happened. The love had always been there, since she had first met him thirteen years ago. Perhaps that was why she had never been able to love Robin as completely as he deserved.

No, the problem was not how much she loved Robin, but how she loved him. She cared for both men more deeply than words could ever express, yet Rafe she loved with conflict as well as harmony, challenge as well as understanding.

Strange to think that it was the harsher elements between them that gave her feelings for him such depth and intensity. With Robin there was always harmony, and their love was that of friends, almost siblings. Rafe she wanted as a mate, the archetypal male who made her feel most deeply female.

She swallowed hard and slid away from Rafe's arm, careful not to wake him. Though she would like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life in his bed, that was impossible. Conspiracy and death still surrounded them, and there were the charges against Robin.

One way or another, the business would be resolved, and then she would never see Rafe again. Considering the sexual fire between them, he might still want her for a mistress, if his pride wasn't too deeply injured by the way she had used him. But she would never dare accept. The memory of the previous night's passion made it almost impossible to imagine life without him. If they became lovers in truth, she would never survive the end of the affair.

When the end came, Rafe would be perfectly charming, of course, kind and a trifle bored. She could imagine it already.

Laying the back of her hand against his cheek, Maggie said a silent farewell to their brief hours of intimacy, resisting the temptation to kiss him one last time.

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