Love Song For A Raven

Chapter 7

Janna awoke slowly, dreaming that she was lying out in the sun with heat pouring over her in a golden cascade. She smiled and stirred slowly, arching herself into the warmth.

Raven smoothed his hand down Janna’s body again, enjoying her uninhibited sensuality. When he had discovered that she had never taken a lover, he had felt both fiercely proud – and guilty. He believed that if he hadn’t saved her life, if they hadn’t been locked up together in the inlet’s savage, beautiful Eden, Janna wouldn’t have wanted him any more than she had wanted other men.

Yet he had taken advantage of their isolation and her gratitude anyway, because he had never wanted a woman so much.

It was the same right now. He wanted Janna. Right or wrong, passion or gratitude, Eden or hell. He wanted her. She was the sound of laughter on the wind and a wild silver mist glittering within his soul. She was the mysterious taste of the sea and the hot generosity of life itself. He would have given the blood from his veins to believe that she would have come to him no matter where and how they had met.

But he knew that it wasn’t true. If they had met in a normal way, she would have taken one look at his intimidating size and dark, rough looks, and then she would have smiled politely and walked away from him.

Raven knew that Janna was a gift given to a lonely raven by the old Haida gods, the cruel gods who gave only that they might teach man the agony of loss by taking back the gift. Raven also knew that there was no way to fight the gods, no way to keep the gift and evade the agonizing loss. He could only cherish Janna for the time that she was his, and open his hands when the time was over, freeing her and praying that she would never regret having given herself for a time to a man she didn’t love.

„You look as though someone carved you from stone,“ Janna murmured sleepily. Her fingertips traced the fierce lines on Raven’s face, lines that faded even as he turned to kiss her palm. „What were you thinking about?“

„Eden and the old Haida gods,“ Raven said, smoothing his cheek into the warmth of Janna’s hand. „And Eve.“ He lifted his head and looked at the gift of the gods lying within his arms. „You’re so beautiful,“ he whispered. „All woman, hot and generous. A man could die trying to get enough of you.“ He sank his teeth into her palm with sensual precision. „And I can think of no better way to step into eternity than listening to your sweet cries.“

Janna stared at Raven stretched out on the bed beside her, as naked and rugged as the mountains themselves. Sunlight streamed through the porthole, pure light washing over his powerful body. He was so completely male, so very perfect in her eyes that she couldn’t even speak to tell him how much it moved her to be desired by him. She could only touch him with a hand that trembled. The knowledge that she had pleased him gleamed in her eyes, tears shining in her lashes like distant stars. With a soft sound she went into the arms that opened for her in silent invitation.

„I love you, Raven,“ Janna said, holding him close. „I think I’ve loved you since the moment you pulled me out of the sea.“

Raven closed his eyes as pain twisted through him. He kissed Janna very gently when she would have whispered her love again. Then he sealed Janna’s lips with a long, callused finger.

„Don’t,“ he whispered, looking at her silver-green eyes, wishing that she had never spoken. He had already guessed the source of any emotion she might have for him, the reason that he was set apart from other men in her eyes; he didn’t need to be reminded that it was gratitude, not love, even when the reminder came in such a sweet and gentle way.

Janna stared at Raven, understanding only the pain in his bleak eyes, not the cause. „Raven?“ she asked raggedly. „Don’t you want – “

His lips came down over hers in a kiss that was as warm as sunlight and as powerful as the sea itself. He held her mouth for a long, long time, savoring her, wanting her.

„It’s all right,“ Raven whispered finally against Janna’s lips. „You don’t have to love me. I know that you’re grateful to be alive. I’m grateful, too. Without you I wouldn’t have known what it was like to die inside you and then to live again with you inside me. I wouldn’t have known what it was like to be in Eden, to find myself in a place out of time where no one exists but a single man and a single woman who were created for each other.“

With a swift movement Raven took Janna’s mouth. He felt a fierce elation when she opened willingly for the tender penetration of his tongue. He drank from her deeply and felt himself taken from in return before he lifted his head and looked down into eyes as enigmatic as mist veiling the primeval forest.

„Let’s take this time, this savage Eden, this gift,“ Raven said huskily, kissing Janna between each word. „Take it without labels or promises that will haunt you when Eden is a memory and the rest of your life is very real. I want you to remember me with joy, for that’s how I will remember you.“

Janna closed her eyes and tried very hard not to cry out with the mingled pain and pleasure of being with the man she loved, a man who laughed with her and wept with her – and did not love her. Yet he made love to her as though she were the only woman on earth.

But she was not. There was one other woman for Raven. The woman he loved and could not have. Angel.

Do you still love her?

Of course. And she loves me, too, now.

Janna knew that she couldn’t change that; she could only envy it. And she could take the bittersweet gift that was Raven, take him and understand that love was like Eden – savage, innocent, knowing only its own existence, its own needs, a law unto itself, a primeval island set in an endless sea of time.

„Yes,“ Janna whispered, holding on to Raven until she ached, giving him all of herself that he would allow. „Yes, I want to be remembered with joy. Remember me, love. Remember that I loved you in a place out of time.“

Raven tried to look into the green depths of Janna’s eyes to the soul beneath, but he saw only the darkness of her long eyelashes and the silken swirl of her hair as her mouth caressed his chest. He started to speak but his breath caught. Her tongue was a dark, sweet flame burning over his skin and her cinnamon hair was wildfire caressing his arms.

He tried to slide his hands into her unbound hair. Before he could touch her, his whole body clenched and a hoarse sound was torn from his throat as her hands found his aroused flesh. She was woman and she was fire burning him all the way to his soul. With an inarticulate cry he found her softness, caressed her until she came to him and he could bury himself in her sweet, consuming fire, burning both of them alive.

The second time Janna woke up that morning, she was still locked within Raven’s arms. She nuzzled the resilient chest hair that had been tickling her nose. He tightened his arms around her, silently telling her that he was awake. Smiling, she smoothed her cheek against his warm chest. Soundlessly she whispered I love you and accepted the stab of sadness that came with the knowledge that she wasn’t loved in return. She was cherished, though, and enjoyed as a woman in a very elemental way. Every deliriously sensual ache in her body reminded her of that, as did her breast nestled warmly in Raven’s big hand.

He might not love her, but he had given her a passion that grew greater each time they made love. For that alone, she would have stayed with him. When passion was joined with his gentleness and strength, his laughter and intelligence, Raven was revealed to her as the man she had always dreamed of and never truly believed she would find.

And she could not help hoping deep within her mind that any man who made love to her as Raven did could not be utterly lost to another woman. Surely Janna had a chance to steal his love with each kiss, each caress, each cry of ecstasy torn from him.

Janna nuzzled Raven again, realized that his flat nipple was within reach and touched it dreamily with the tip of her tongue. „Mmm. You taste good. Like an oyster. Salty.“

„Want some lemon juice?“

„Raven on the half shell,“ Janna said, tasting him thoughtfully, then biting him with great care. „Nope. No lemon juice needed. Raw is best, the same way I found you.“

Janna’s stomach growled, reminding both of them that she had eaten nothing last night except a few oysters.

Smiling, Raven ran the ball of his thumb down her spine. „Want to flip to see who makes breakfast?“

„Heads,“ she said, then made a startled sound as she was picked up, turned over and gently placed face down on the bunk.

„Tails it is,“ Raven said, smoothing his palm over the supple curve of Janna’s bottom. „Guess you lose. Unless you want to flip me for it, of course,“ he added innocently.

Janna pushed hair out of her eyes, saw Raven’s wicked smile and realized, „I’ve been had.“

„Several times,“ he agreed, laughing. He lifted Janna, pulled her slowly across his body and set her on her feet in the galley aisle. „And if you don’t start breakfast soon,“ he added in a raspy voice as he nibbled on her thigh, „it’s lunch we’ll be flipping over.“ His tongue flicked out and he smiled as he heard her breath catch. „Or maybe dinner.“

Janna’s fingers threaded into Raven’s black hair. When he caressed her again, she called his name in a husky voice that made him groan.

„What am I going to do with you?“ he whispered. „Each time I have you I want you more.“

She started to say something but all that came out was a tiny, wild sound as Raven’s caresses became hotter, more intimate. „No more oysters for you,“ she said, biting her lip against a broken sound of pleasure.

Raven’s breath washed over Janna’s sensitive skin as he shook his head and nuzzled her at the same time. „If that legend were true,“ he murmured against her, „men would have hunted oysters to extinction long ago.“

„Or women,“ retorted Janna.

He chuckled and nuzzled her soft flesh. „Are you saying that men would have hunted women to extinction, or women would have hunted oysters?“

„Precisely,“ Janna said. „I’m glad you understand. So many people are confused by a little straightforward ambiguity. What’s for breakfast?“

He gave her body a look that made her knees weak.

„Raven,“ she breathed.

He closed his eyes. „I think I’ll take a swim in the inlet while you cook tinned ham, potatoes and powdered eggs. After we eat you can take a shower while I clean up the galley. Then we’ll go for a walk in the village while we still can.“

„Still can?“

„Walk,“ Raven said succinctly. His eyes opened, and they glittered with sensual heat and laughter. „Didn’t you know, small warrior?“ he asked, his voice deep. „We’re going to kill each other in bed.“ His teeth flashed whitely beneath the black mustache as he pulled the torn remains of Janna’s nightshirt from the sheets. „Know something else?“ he asked, dangling the ripped cloth from his fingertip. „I can hardly wait.“

Janna bit her lower lip, caught between laughter and anticipation, self-consciousness and the breathtaking memory of the instant when Raven had first taken her. She knew that her expression must have revealed her thoughts, because Raven’s eyes became heavy lidded and intent as he watched. With a small sound she grabbed the shredded T-shirt and hid her flushed face in it. She wasn’t used to this kind of sensual teasing any more than she was used to making love – or being in love.

„I guess you’re going to insist on wearing another of my T-shirts,“ Raven said gravely.

She nodded without looking up.

He smiled gently. „On one condition.“

Warily, Janna lifted her head. „What’s that?“

„The only thing you wear in bed is me.“

Raven didn’t ask whether the strangled sound Janna made was agreement or disagreement. He simply stood up, kissed her thoroughly, grabbed a bar of soap and vanished over the Black Star’s railing into the chilly inlet.

Somehow Janna had managed not to burn, spill or scatter the ingredients of breakfast when Raven emerged from the inlet after his saltwater bath. Naked, powerful, he looked perfectly at ease in the wild land. He also took Janna’s breath away, made her hands shake and her heart beat violently. She wished that the storm were still churning beyond the inlet, locking them in, locking the world out.

Unfortunately, by the time breakfast was eaten and Janna had taken a shower, it was obvious that the storm was definitely over. She dressed gloomily, wishing that she weren’t going to be kicked out of Eden quite so quickly. She wondered if Raven had business waiting for him, business that couldn’t wait, or if perhaps he wouldn’t mind staying in Eden for a few days longer, giving her a chance to steal just a little bit more of his love.

„Janna, I found it!“

She pulled another one of Raven’s dark, huge T-shirts over her head and called, „What?“

„A real sketchbook for you to use. I knew Angel had left it around here somewhere, but I couldn’t remember where.“

Janna zipped up her jeans and opened the door to the cubicle that was both shower stall and head.

„Sketchbook?“ Janna asked, pushing a curtain of cinnamon hair aside. The thick, silky strands ignored her fingers, falling forward again as soon as she lifted her head. She pushed at the softly curling hair again, trying to ignore the emptiness in the pit of her stomach that came every time Angel’s name was mentioned. „Is Angel an artist?“

„One of the best,“ Raven said, smiling as he remembered the stunning stained glass panel that Angel had done for his home on Vancouver Island. The panel showed the Black Moon, his longline trawler, skimming over a mysterious sea while salmon gathered below in a seething silver storm. „Galleries are lined up begging for her stained glass.“

„Oh.“ Janna would have said more, but the thought of competing for Raven with a woman who was not only courageous, beautiful and blond but an artist, as well, turned Janna’s normally quick mind to glue. „Life really isn’t fair, is it?“ she muttered under her breath.

„What?“

„Stained glass, huh?“ Janna said, rallying her thoughts with an effort, saying the first thing that came to her tongue. „I saw a really gorgeous piece in a Seattle gallery last year. I wanted that panel so much I used to stand in front of it and just ache.“ The memory made Janna smile slightly at her own longing. „The glass reminded me of the Inside Passage at twilight, that magical time when all legends are true. There was rank upon rank of mountains falling away to the horizon in every shade of blue imaginable, and the sea was luminous, alive as only a god could be alive, breathing light and life into everything it touched. I wish to hell I could have afforded even a corner of that panel.“

„Angel put a huge price on it because she couldn’t bear to sell it,“ Raven said, smiling slightly. „It was one of her favorites.“

„That was Angel’s work?“ Janna asked in disbelief.

Raven nodded. „She understands that the sea is the source of all life. She’s a remarkable woman,“ he added, holding out the sketchbook to Janna. „Like you.“

Janna didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or scream at the sheer unfairness of it all. Bad enough to envy Angel Raven’s love, but to admire her artistic skill as well was more than Janna’s uncertain emotions could handle. Wordlessly she took the sketchbook and flipped through it. Only, three of the pages had drawings on them, studies of driftwood on a wide, sandy beach. There was a balance of elements and a subtle elegance of line that tugged at Janna’s senses, telling her of the artist’s understanding of opposites and unity.

„I shouldn’t use this,“ she said. „Angel might – “

„She wouldn’t mind,“ Raven interrupted quickly. „These were just preliminary sketches. The finished piece was a gift to my grandfather.“

Janna closed the sketchbook and looked at Raven with doubt in her silver-green eyes.

„Use it,“ Raven urged. „That way you won’t have to go all the way to Masset and then all the way back here just to sketch the totems at dawn. Now that I’ve found a real sketchbook, you can stay a few days longer, can’t you?“ He stopped abruptly. „Unless you have to get back to Masset right away for some reason?“

Janna smoothed her fingers over the sketchbook while happiness made her eyes as luminous as the sea itself. „No,“ she said huskily, „I don’t have to be anywhere at all. I’d like to spend a few more days in Eden. With you, Raven.“

The pleased yet almost shy smile that Janna gave Raven made him reach for her and wrap her warmly in his arms. He inhaled her clean, womanly scent and closed his eyes, hardly able to believe his luck. A few more days in Eden.

And if his conscience gave him hell for taking advantage of Janna’s gratitude, for keeping her away from the civilization that would take her from his arms as surely as night took the sun from the sky, then he would just point out to his conscience that it was only a few days, just a few, and Janna had so many thousands of days left in her life. Surely even after her feeling of gratitude wore off, she wouldn’t look back and regret having spent those few extra days with a lonely raven.

„I found some pencils, too. Funny-looking ones,“ he said huskily. „Angel left them with the sketchbook. Want to see if they’re the kind you need?“

„Sure,“ Janna said, holding Raven’s big body until her arms ached, then reluctantly letting go.

The „funny looking“ pencils turned out to be everything Janna would need to do finished drawings. She examined the pencils reverently, only to look up and see Raven watching her with an intensity that made her breath stop.

„You touch them as though they were magic,“ he said.

„They are,“ Janna said simply. „With them, I can draw. Without them, I’m a nightingale without a love song.“

„In other words, a raven. Ravens sing love songs only in their dreams.“

Janna hesitated, caught by the regret and acceptance that lay beneath Raven’s words. „Then the raven’s love song must be the most beautiful of all,“ she said softly, „for it’s sung in silence.“

Raven looked at her for a long moment before he smiled sadly. „You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, Janna. Like the forest veiled in mist. Silver and green and radiant with life.“

Not knowing what to say except Ilove you, the very words that Raven didn’t want to hear, Janna smiled as sadly as he had. In silence he took the pencils from her and packed them carefully in a rucksack along with the sketchbook. She followed him to the makeshift dock. She was getting accustomed to the logs, but she still wasn’t nearly as adept as Raven was. She was relieved to feel the rocky shore beneath her feet.

„There used to be paths here,“ Raven said.

He swept his broad hand in an arc across the shoreline. It was overgrown with salt-tolerant plants that crept above the tide line and blended into a mass of cedar, ferns and moss beds deeper than a mattress. After the first few steps Janna understood why the Haidas had depended on canoes rather than their feet for transportation.

Only where the ocean actually washed over the land could rock be seen. The rest of the inlet was covered in a seamless, multihued green blanket of life. If trees didn’t grow in a given place, it was because the earth was too wet to support them. Boggy areas were common. Even in the forest itself it was rare to see bare bark or wood. Moss hung in beards and veils from every surface. Deadfalls were draped in thick blankets of deceptively solid-looking moss, making green traps that waited to be sprung by unwary feet. Often trees grew so close together that nothing could squeeze between. Animal life abounded, but was nearly invisible – and therefore safe from man. It was almost impossible to hunt even something as large as a bear or a deer for the simple reason that the hunter could see only a few feet beyond the barrel of his rifle.

On the other hand, if the land were impenetrable, the sea was not. Steep-sided inlets and deep sounds provided natural shelter from storm and wind. Fish abounded. Shellfish were always within reach. The ancient Haidas had wisely taken the sea’s gifts and used only the narrow margin of land just beyond high tide mark. It was there that they built their cedar lodges and carved totem poles as tall as the tallest cedar trees. The totems stood facing the sea, their weathered faces bathed in the salt-laden wind. Raven identified the highly stylized symbols for Janna, pointing out the killer whale and the frog, the salmon and the eagle and the raven with wings spread on top of the pole.

„What are you going to do while I sketch?“ Janna asked, pencil poised over pad.

„What I came here to do. Think.“

She looked at Raven hastily, feeling guilty for having interrupted him. He cupped his broad palm under her chin and tipped her face up to his.

„I came here because I felt… restless. I don’t feel that way anymore.“ Raven brushed his lips over Janna’s. „If I didn’t want to be here with you, we’d be on our way to Masset right now. Go ahead and sketch all you want. I’ll be nearby if you need me.“ He started to walk away, then turned back. „Don’t go into any of the old lodges. They’re just waiting for an excuse to collapse.“

„I won’t,“ Janna said. She turned to look at the cedar houses slowly dissolving back into the land from which they had come. „The lodges belong to other people. It would be like trespassing.“

„You mean you don’t want to take them apart looking for beads and bones?“ he asked sardonically.

Janna looked at Raven’s impassive face. Slowly she shook her head. „There would be no point. I’m not an archaeologist. I can’t recreate a lost past from a handful of fragments. So I’d rather just sit and sketch and let the ghosts whisper to me across the years.“

Raven looked at Janna for a long moment, a look as consuming as any kiss he had ever given her. Then he touched her mouth with his fingertips, turned away and stepped into the forest.

He vanished.

Janna blinked, unable to believe that a man as big as Raven could disappear so quickly. She took several steps forward and saw the moss springing back into place where Raven’s footsteps had compressed it. She took two more steps and stopped suddenly. Evergreens and moss surrounded her. There was no sky, no sea, no true ground, just the forest primeval enfolding her in a scented embrace. Even as she watched, the last evidence of Raven’s passage vanished, leaving her utterly alone.

For a moment she stood without moving, caught by the elemental stillness of the forest. Then through the trees came the harsh, primitive cry of a raven searching for its mate. In the distance came a sound that could have been an answer. Janna held her breath, listening, but heard no more. The raven called again, farther away now, a shimmering black shadow skimming over endless shades of green.

After a few moments Janna turned and went toward the shore, knowing that if she attempted the forest alone she would be hopelessly lost within a few steps. There were no trails, no piled stones to point the way, no blazes old or new to mark the passage of man. She walked along the margin of land and sea. For a long time she stood wrapped in silence, looking at the massive icons of another time, another race, another culture, another way of looking at the complex mystery of life. She found totems that were canted, on the edge of toppling over, and totems that had fallen long ago. She found totems in which the cedar itself had somehow survived the carving and had taken root once more, sending out fragrant branches. The sight of faces watching her from between the lacy branches made the hair stir on Janna’s neck, as though gods had come and taken root in the Queen Charlottes’ savage Eden.

When Janna knew she could absorb no more of the emotional currents sweeping through and around her, she found a log that was thickly encrusted with moss, sat down and was soon lost in her sketches. Several hours passed before she looked up. Raven was back. She could sense his presence as surely as she had sensed that the Queen Charlottes were islands set apart from time. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. Raven’s black eyes kindled in response.

„How long have you been there?“ she asked.

„Long enough to admire your stillness, your concentration, your elegance,“ he said in a deep, soft voice. „You’re like a doe listening for danger at the edge of the forest.“

Janna’s eyes widened to reveal silver-green depths. She had never thought of herself as elegant or doelike. The realization that Raven saw those qualities in her was an immaterial caress shivering over her.

„Are you ready for a break?“ Raven asked, glancing down at the sketch pad.

„My hand is numb,“ she admitted. „It’s been a long time since I’ve drawn for that many hours. There’s so much here, so many emotions, so little time to capture even the smallest echo of Eden--“

Raven took the pad and pencils from Janna and packed them carefully. „Follow me,“ he said, shouldering the rucksack. „I have something I want to show you.“

She followed without question as he turned back to the forest that knew neither trail nor the possession of man. Within moments the sea was invisible, its sounds and scents lost.

Nothing penetrated the mist-haunted silence but the distant cry of a raven.

„Stay in my footsteps,“ he cautioned. „We have to walk the edge of a small bog.“

Soon the forest in front of them thinned dramatically, giving way to a clearing, where stunted evergreens struggled to maintain a toehold in land too wet to support them. The surface appeared solid, but Raven’s footprints glistened with water squeezed from the humus by his weight. Water stood in small pools stained the color of tea by tannin leached from the surrounding forest. The water trickled away in small rills and rivulets until they came together in a creek. The water was absolutely clean, utterly unique in its amber clarity.

A small cabin stood just beyond the bog. The walls were of weathered cedar and the roof was finished with cedar shingles. Moss grew from every crevice between the shingles and clung to the walls. Yet the cabin was new rather than old; windows gleamed against the darker backdrop of the forest and the front door was finished with metal hinges.

„How did you find it?“ Janna asked softly as she came up to stand beside Raven.

„I built it with my own hands.“

She turned and looked at him. His eyes were very black, yet like the creek they were crystalline in their clarity. He was looking at the tiny cabin but he was seeing something else from his past, something that haunted him. His high cheekbones, straight nose and the powerful line of his jaw had never looked more solid, more elemental, a man carved from the enduring things of the earth.

„Come,“ Raven said quietly, turning to Janna and holding out his hand.

The hard warmth of Raven’s palm sent a tremor through Janna. She laced her fingers deeply with his as he led her to the cabin. There was no lock on the door, no bolt, nothing to keep out intruders. In Eden there were no intruders, just one man and one woman and the land that knew no time.

Raven opened the door, lifted Janna into his arms and carried her into the shelter that he had built years ago. He left the door open, inviting in the fragrance of cedar and the unearthly radiance of mist-filtered light. There was little furniture in the room – a table, a chair, shelves that held shells and glass fishing floats that had drifted across the empty Pacific to be washed up on a distant shore. A fire was laid in a hearth that had been built from water-smoothed beach stones. Blankets had been folded to make a sleeping pallet close to the hearth.

„I would have brought you here sooner,“ Raven said as he kissed Janna’s hair, „but there’s only one room, only one place to sleep, and I was trying very hard to keep my hands off you.“ He smiled almost sadly. „I failed rather spectacularly, didn’t I?“

„I’m glad,“ Janna said, pressing her lips against the corded muscles of his neck. „I love your hands on me, Raven.“

His powerful arms flexed as he whispered her name, shifting her in his grasp until he could capture her mouth. The taste of him swept through her like a wind from the sea. She made a small sound at the back of her throat as she felt herself sliding over his hard body. With one arm he caught her hips against his own and moved slowly. She shivered and clung to his strength, knowing again the elemental pleasure of having him desire her.

Reluctantly Raven let Janna slide the rest of the way down his body until her feet touched the floor. He bit her lips in a series of tiny, hard kisses that made her breath break into a moan. When his tongue thrust slowly into her mouth she moved against him with sensual abandon. He groaned, let his mouth mate with hers for a wild moment, then lifted his head.

„No more,“ he said almost roughly.

„Why not?“ Janna murmured, standing on tiptoe to kiss the pulse beating violently in Raven’s throat.

„Because I promised myself that I would feed you first.“

„What a lovely idea,“ she murmured, kicking out of her tennis shoes and stepping out of her jeans and panties with a few quick motions. „I thought you hadn’t noticed that there were a few paragraphs you overlooked.“

„Help,“ Raven said, but his smile said that the long, curving length of Janna’s body was beautiful to him.

„You know,“ Janna said as she began to unbutton the big shirt that fit her like a dress.

Then she looked up and saw Raven’s smile and decided that the shirt could wait. She would much rather touch him. With fingers that trembled she opened his flannel shirt, discovering the male textures of hair and hard muscle beneath.

„What paragraphs?“ Raven persisted, though his pulse beat visibly, strongly, quickening with every touch of her mouth.

„That shelf of books that I read.“

„Are you trying to tell me that last night I overlooked some paragraphs that intrigued you?“ Raven’s breath hissed in as Janna’s tongue traced the flat disk of his nipple. He groaned when her teeth scraped delicately over him, bringing him to a hard point that she teased with her lips. „Did I miss something?“ he asked hoarsely.

„Only the paragraphs dealing with ways to pleasure a man. An understandable oversight on your part,“ Janna added, smiling as she found and nuzzled Raven’s other nipple into erect sensitivity. „After all,“ she pointed out reasonably, „I’m not a man.“

Raven’s big hand smoothed over her bare, silky hip and then tangled in the warm thatch of hair between her thighs. She was incredibly soft, hot, melting at his touch, and the knowledge that she wanted him as much as he wanted her made him feel heavy and very male.

„You’re right,“ he said deeply, sliding his fingertips into Janna’s utterly feminine heat. „You’re definitely not a man,“ he groaned, loving her soft flesh with slow movements of his hand. „And I thank God for it.“

Janna’s fingers clenched on Raven’s belt as she felt the first shimmering forerunners of ecstasy stream through her. Biting her lip against a moan, she tugged at the belt buckle until it opened. Beneath her fingers the warm metal buttons on Raven’s jeans gave way with soft popping sounds.

„Janna…“

Raven’s breath caught and his hips jerked reflexively against her caressing hands. His fingers closed over hers, preventing her from undressing him.

„Raven?“ she asked softly, kissing the suddenly hot skin of his chest. „Don’t you want me to touch you?“

He made a tearing sound that could have been laughter or a curse. „I’d die to have you touch me,“ he said roughly. „But if you take off my jeans, I’m going to open your legs and…“ The words ended in a groan when Janna’s fingers caressed Raven through the soft cotton of his underwear. „Don’t undress me,“ he growled, dragging his open mouth across her forehead, her cheek, her lips, tasting her, needing her. „There are other ways I want to love you before I slide into you.“

„Whatever you say,“ Janna murmured as she eased her fingers into the front opening of Raven’s briefs.

She felt every muscle in his body tighten when she discovered and freed his erect flesh, bringing it into her caressing hands.

„Janna-“

„You’re still dressed,“ she pointed out, slowly stroking Raven with hands that were both gentle and possessive, smiling at his hot response.

„You can get arrested for being ‘dressed’ like this,“ he retorted, stifling a groan of pure sensual pleasure as she rubbed slowly over him.

„There aren’t any police in paradise,“ Janna said dreamily, absorbed in appreciating the results of her handiwork. When Raven didn’t answer, she glanced up almost guiltily. His face was drawn, and his eyes were narrow black slits. „You don’t mind being – “

„Looked at the way a cat looks at cream?“ offered Raven.

His smile made Janna weak. „Is that how I’m looking at you?“ she whispered.

„Yes,“ he said huskily. „And it makes me feel ten feet tall and as hard as the mountains.“

„You are.“

„Only with you,“ he said, shuddering heavily and thrusting between her palms. „Only with you.“

With a harsh sound Raven buried one hand in Janna’s thick auburn hair, pulling her head back until her body arched into his. With his other hand he began unbuttoning her shirt, but the sweet fire of her fingers kept distracting him.

„You’re hell on my clothes.“ Raven rasped.

His arm flexed and the shirt parted beneath his big hand, sending buttons flying. He rubbed his palm across the hardened tip of Janna’s breast until she called his name on a broken sound of pleasure. He caught the sensitive nipple between his fingers and tugged, smiling fiercely as she moaned.

„Come closer,“ Raven said, his voice so deep it was a growl. „Closer, small warrior. I’ll show you another way to tease me. And you. Oh God, come closer!“

Raven’s fingers shifted, sliding down Janna’s body until he could rub lightly over the softness hidden between her legs. When she opened to invite a deeper touch he smiled and moved his hips suddenly, sliding his hot flesh between her legs. Her eyes widened with surprise and then became heavy-lidded with pleasure as his hips moved again. She held him more tightly against herself and moved her hips in turn, stroking him, watching him, enjoying the frank sensuality of his smile. Her fingers pressed him closer and then closer still, wanting more of him, needing him in a way that shook her.

„Raven, I…“

Janna’s breath caught in a moan as she felt heat spreading out from her body, heat caressing Raven’s male flesh, heat pleading for him to share it as it was meant to be shared…deeply. She opened her eyes and saw his face contorted as though he were in torment. She knew then that he wanted her so much that not taking her was agony for him. Instinctively she shifted, guiding him, pressing him into her softness. But that only increased the sweet agony, reminding them with every breath what it would be like to be completely joined.

Raven’s eyes opened suddenly, utterly black, nearly wild with need. The pallet was across the room. It might as well have been across the world. He had to be inside Janna. He had to have her now. His arms closed around her with sudden, savage strength.

„Wrap your legs around me,“ he said, lifting her without warning. „Put your arms around my neck now and – yes – now!“ he said hoarsely, thrusting into her welcoming body, feeling her close hotly around him.

Raven knew that his hands were probably bruising Janna with their powerful grip, but he couldn’t force himself to let go. She was demanding him, every bit of him, with an abandon he could only fiercely enjoy. He drove into her again and again, watching her eyes haze with silver as she began to come apart in his arms. He felt the tiny ecstatic ripples deep within her body, the spreading satin heat of her response, and he savored her nails pricking him with each sweet cry that was torn from her lips. He fought to control himself but it was impossible, the pleasure he felt was too savage, too deep, pulse after pulse of ecstasy pouring out of him, shaking him to his soul.

Janna closed her eyes and rested her head on Raven’s powerful shoulder as she whispered her love too softly for him to hear.

But he did hear. He spoke her name in the silence of his mind, apologizing for keeping her in his savage Eden, promising to release her in just one more day, giving her back to her own life. Just one more day, one among thousands.

Ithink I’ve loved you since the moment you pulled me out of the sea.

Raven brushed his lips over Janna’s hair and wished bitterly that gratitude were another name for love.