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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] face, but the strands blew softly with her breath. Her bare shoulder peeked above the sheet that mercifully covered the rest of her body. She appeared to be sleeping, but his heart lodged in his throat. He reached out and touched her, but she didn t move. He gently rolled her over and brushed the tangled hair from her face. He leaned down, and her arms wrapped around him, pulling him close, and her mouth fastened on his. Stunned, he let her kiss him. She felt so warm. He let her suck the life from him with her mouth. She kissed him forever. She did not seem to need breathe. She moaned, soft whimpers that puffed into his mouth. He finally tore himself away and caught her face in his hands. Her eyes were closed. Arleigh, look at me. A soft smile settled across her face, and her eyes fluttered open. When she saw him, the smile wavered. Where s Cameron? she whispered. How did you get to the Between Times? He yanked the covers from the bed. The sight of her naked body ripped through him, but he forced himself to look. There were no marks on her. She appeared fine, a tired, satisfied woman after an afternoon of lovemaking. What had Flynn said? Had he touched her yet? The conversation filtered through his head, but he couldn t remember. She rolled and pushed her hands under the pillow, snuggling into it like a child who doesn t want to go to school. Get up! He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off the bed. She hit the floor with a thud and glared up at him. 264 Amber Carlton Leave me be. Her hands clutched at the bedclothes. She tried to claw her way back up. I don t belong to you. You freaking do belong to me, Arleigh. Where are your clothes? She ignored him, and he ignored the green silk lying on the floor. Damned if he d take her home wearing a whore s dress. He tore through the room, ransacking drawers and tossing clothes he didn t recognize into a snowstorm of linen and silk. Finally he found something he knew belonged to her. He took it back to the bed where she sat on the edge. He pushed the chemise down over her head, fumbling to find the neck hole, dragging her arms through the sleeves. She fought him every step of the way, but he managed to get her partially dressed. He decided it was good enough. He grabbed her cloak and threw it over her shoulders. Let s go. She shook her head. We ll do it my way then, he said. He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She was very light, but she kicked at him, her feet hitting his stomach, his hips, his thighs, his groin. He bore the pain and decided it didn t matter, because there were parts of his body he wouldn t need in the next few days. Her fists pounded at his back and pulled at his hair. Her screams echoed in his ears. He would probably be deaf by the time he got her home, but he made it to the foyer. Flynn sprawled on the stone floor, wiping the blood away from his face with his silk sleeve. Staring down at him, Ryder gave him a smile. You look pretty bad for an immortal. I didn t say I couldn t be hurt, Flynn said. I said I couldn t be killed. Maybe I ll have better luck next time, Ryder said. We are having a next time, then? You can count on it, Ryder said. She ll kill you, Kendall. I ll take my chances, Ryder said. Are you a lucky man? Not usually, Ryder said, but things are starting to look up. Be seeing you, Flynn. Ryder rushed through the door. He moved quickly to the dock. The marines hadn t landed, and Buffy was nowhere to be seen, but Jack met him with a smile. Maybe luck was finally on his side. He met Jack s smile with Trinity Magic 265 one of his own, deciding it was the best way to start the first day of the rest of his life. It was the easiest decision he had ever made. He would keep her, and he would stay in this wondrous world of 1639. He d take the rest as it came. He could think of only one thing at a time. Right now, he needed to control the little spitfire in his arms, which would prove an interesting challenge. Ryder smiled again and dumped Arleigh into the boat. * * * * The journey down the river tested his patience and offered a grueling challenge. Arleigh refused to cooperate. He tried to keep her calm by holding her arms at her sides, but he found by doing that, he had no control over her feet and her head. When she knocked against his face with the back of her head, she didn t care that she hurt herself, as long as it inflicted pain on him. Her feet, small and bare, should have been harmless. Instead, he found that a woman in a furious rage could be quite strong and powerful. He paid for it now. His own feet beat a dull rhythm of pain, and his lower legs were numb. To top it off, she had also tried to render him sterile by consistently bouncing against his groin. Her screaming and crying attracted a great deal of attention as the boat traveled along the banks. Although they watched with interest, speculation and possible suspicion, the people who worked on the river did not interfere with the strange scene. They were probably used to the capture of runaways, but he felt like the rapist thug he probably was. Finally, he couldn t take it any longer. He released her long enough to tear strips from the bottom of her chemise. He paid for that little decision, also. When he bent down, she pounded her fists into the top of his skull. When she saw his hands curl into fists, she huffed and puffed, but all the pain finally paid off, because she became mercifully quiet. He wound one strip around her ankles, another around her wrists. The third he stuffed around her mouth. A smile split Jack Kensington s ugly face. The sun dipped near the horizon when the boat finally arrived at the dock on Trinity Island. He carried his little bundle of fury along the river bank until he could see the cottage. Before he took her inside, he wanted to 266 Amber Carlton lay down a few ground rules. He dropped her on the ground, and she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |