The Viking's Captive by Julia Byrne

Author:Julia Byrne [Byrne, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-11-28T23:00:00+00:00

She awoke as she’d woken for the past five years. Tense, wary, instantly alert.

It was just as well. The first thing she saw was Rorik, watching her from less than a foot away. They lay facing each other. The early morning light streamed through the window making his eyes glitter like diamonds encrusted in ice. It also illuminated with nerve-tingling clarity, the intent, searching expression with which he studied her.

She stared back at him, hoping he wouldn’t notice the pulse leaping in her throat.

He did, of course. A faint frown drew his brows together. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. ‘Am I such an ogre, Yvaine, that you should wake like that? Braced as though awaiting a blow.’

After the stony silence in which she’d fallen asleep, the regret in his voice shook her immeasurably. ‘No,’ she whispered. ‘It isn’t you. I fell into the habit at Selsey.’

‘Then you don’t fear me?’

‘No. At least…No.’

‘Good.’ A smile dawned. Coming up on one elbow, he captured the strand of hair he’d brushed aside and began to wind it around his fingers.

Yvaine immediately shifted to keep some distance between them, and found herself on her back with Rorik leaning over her. She blinked up at him, wondering how she’d managed to put herself in such a precarious position. She was glad Rorik’s anger had passed, but for someone whose wedding night hadn’t gone according to plan, he was looking far too pleased with himself.

She levelled her brows at him. ‘What do you mean, “good”?’

‘Well, in order to know me better, you’ll have to permit a certain amount of intimacy. That would be difficult if you feared me.’

‘Intimacy?’ she squeaked. ‘But…’ She couldn’t continue; her mouth had gone dry. When had that happened? For that matter, when had she lost the small advantage she’d gained last night? She had the distinct impression Rorik was about to turn the tables on her, but she wasn’t sure how.

‘Stop!’ she ordered as he leaned closer as if to kiss her. She thumped a small hand against his chest and gasped as the heat of his skin struck her. Warmth enveloped her instantly. She wanted to curl closer, to nestle into that seductive heat.

‘You’re not going to seduce me into changing my mind,’ she stated, and wondered who she was trying to convince.

‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ he murmured, a wicked twinkle in his eyes. ‘But even if I did, you can always say no whenever you like.’

She eyed him cautiously. ‘And you’ll stop?’

‘I’ll stop.’ Still holding her captive with nothing more than the fragile shackle of her hair, he bent and closed his mouth over hers.

Oh, the sweetness. The thrilling ripple of pleasure. His kiss was a seduction in itself, a siren call to surrender. Something softened, opened, trembled deep inside her. She wanted to sink deeper into the mattress, to feel the weight of his body over hers, to have him part her lips with his tongue. Not with the fierce

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.