This Fierce Splendor

5

“You should not have come here.”

Elspeth looked away from the swinging doors to see Andre Marzonoff standing before her table. His plump face was sober and his hazel eyes concerned. “You made him very angry. For a moment, when he first saw you, he reminded me of my cousin, Nicholas. It is not safe to make such men angry.”

Elspeth tried to smile and found her lips were trembling. Her heart pounded jerkily with a queer sort of panic. Dominic’s eyes had been so… strange.

“Well, it’s done now.” She rose to her feet. “I can’t turn back the clock. We’ll just have to see what comes of it.” She glanced around the room and suddenly shivered with uneasiness. She couldn’t locate the reassuring face of Ben Travis in the crowd, but the other men in the room were looking at her with curiosity, insolence, even anticipation. There was none of the amusement she had recently encountered on any of the faces surrounding her, and she had a sudden memory of Dominic Delaney’s remark regarding the line no lady could venture to cross. She turned toward the swinging door. “I believe I’ll go back to the hotel. Good night, Andre.”

“I will accompany you. I have no further interest in this place at present, and you should not be on the streets alone.”

She would feel safer outside on those streets than in here, she thought nervously. The atmosphere as well as the attitude of the men gazing at her held a vague element of menace. “Thank you, that would be kind of you.” She knew it was no real sacrifice for Andre to leave the saloon now that the object of his almost boyish hero worship had left the premises, but she appreciated the courtesy. She had no desire to be unescorted at this moment.

The hot stillness of the night hit her with renewed force as she went through the swinging doors. She heard a sudden release of conversation and laughter in the saloon behind her.

“He has been most patient with you,” Andre Marzonoff continued as he helped her from the wooden sidewalk to the dirt of the street. “You must realize a lady has certain limitations she must observe. In St. Petersburg a woman who acted as you have would be ostracized, not only by society but by her own family.”

“Then it’s fortunate that I am not in St. Petersburg, isn’t it?” Elspeth was beginning to be a trifle annoyed by Andre. The incident in the Nugget had been upsetting enough without having to contend with his sermonizing. Over the past few days she had developed a half-impatient fondness for the young Russian. He displayed an almost pathetic eagerness for acceptance from these rough westerners which touched even as it bewildered her. Why didn’t he go home to Russia where he belonged, instead of attempting to be accepted in a society that was so foreign to him? If he stayed a dozen years, he would never be a man of Dominic Delaney’s ilk, no matter how much he strove to emulate him. And it was more than obvious he was trying to emulate him in every possible way. He had discarded his elegant city apparel, and was dressed in the close-fitting trousers, white shirt, and black string tie that Dominic favored. Even his gray waist-length suede jacket was similar to the one she had seen Dominic wear when she first had been introduced to him.

“Why do you not go home?” she asked gently. “You’re a man who is accustomed to a different way of life from the one they live here. Wouldn’t you be more comfortable with people and places and customs that are familiar?”

He shook his head. “I was never… comfortable in St. Petersburg.” He didn’t look at her. “You don’t understand. At home there was always Nicholas. He was everything I could never be. He is a dead shot, a magnificent horseman. He can drink any man under the table and lure any woman into his-” He altered the course of his words to finish lamely, “I mean, he gets along very well with the fair sex.”

“I see.”

“Nicholas was… everything. I thought if I could get away from him, I might have a chance of becoming-” He stopped again. “I heard a man has the opportunity to become whatever he likes out here.”

But Andre could never hope to become the man this Nicholas seemed to be, or what Dominic Delaney was, she thought sadly. How strange that in escaping from one overpowering presence, he would encounter yet another. Indeed, it appeared he had not only encountered but actually sought out a man as formidable as his cousin. How bewildered and unhappy he must be to be attracted to the very qualities in Dominic he had run halfway across the world to escape in Nicholas. “I hope you find what you’re seeking, Andre.”

“Oh, I will,” he assured her quickly. “In no time at all I will be perfectly acclimated. I practice with my pistol every day and listen and watch. I’m learning a great deal.”

“I’m sure you are.”

Why was she worrying about Andre when she had such monumental troubles enough herself? He was wealthy and fortunate enough to be a man, which placed him in a considerably better position than she was in. She had been so sure her venture into the Nugget would bring a positive response. Well, she had most certainly wrung a response from Dominic Delaney, but the nature of it had bewildered as well as frightened her.

The hotel was only a few yards away, and unconsciously her pace quickened. She would face the possible consequences of her actions tomorrow, but now she wanted to escape upstairs to her room and shut-out the fear gnawing away at her confidence.

There was someone in her room!

She could see nothing in the darkness, but as soon as she shut the door she was aware of the light sound of breathing and assailed by the unmistakable aura of presence. Her heart gave a leap and then started pounding wildly. She whirled, her hand searching wildly for the china knob of the door.

There was a low laugh from the rocking chair in the corner of the room. “You mustn’t run away now.” Dominic Delaney’s voice was mocking and slightly amused. “It wouldn’t be polite. I’m merely returning your call. I decided you must have wanted to see me very badly to ignore the warning I gave you at Rina’s.”

She froze with her hand on the knob. Dear heaven, she was frightened. She mustn’t let him terrify her like this. He was here and no longer ignoring her. She should boldly take advantage of the opportunity to speak to him, but she didn’t feel in the least bold. She felt small, nervous, and completely inadequate to meet this sudden challenge. “I did want to see you, Mr. Delaney.” She tried to keep the quaver from her voice. “You must know why I…” She trailed off. The darkness, the knowledge that he was sitting there looking at her, suddenly made it hard to breathe much less speak. “Perhaps we’d better light the candle.”

“I like the darkness. It creates a certain intimacy.” She heard the creak of the rocking chair as he rose to his feet. “Though candlelight has its advantages too. A woman’s skin always has a lovely soft luster in candlelight.” He moved so silently she wasn’t aware he was beside her until he spoke again. “I remember your skin as being very soft, Elspeth. I remember how smooth and warm your throat was beneath my hand that morning. I remember how fast your heart was beating and I remember your eyes looking up at me. What do you remember?”

She could feel the heat emanating from his big body and caught the scent of whiskey and tobacco that surrounded him. She moistened her lips nervously. “Nothing. I don’t remember anything.”

“Then perhaps I’d better refresh your memory. I was naked, Elspeth, and you were fully clothed. You had me at a disadvantage, and I don’t like to be at a disadvantage.” His voice was only a level above a whisper, but every word was spoken with mocking clarity. “This time I think it’s only fair we’re on an even footing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know what I mean. We’re merely going to conclude what you invited that day at Rina’s. Hold out your hands.”

“Why should I- What are you doing?” He hadn’t waited for her to obey but gathered her wrists with a lightning-swift motion, slipped a loop of rope over them, and drew the loop taut. The panic rose as she felt the loops tighten, rendering her helpless. “Let me go!”

“That wouldn’t be reasonable, and I’m usually a very reasonable man. It’s only when I’m pushed that I have a tendency to become impulsive.”

“I’ll scream.”

“I understand it’s the accepted thing to do, but I really wouldn’t if I were you. Then I’d have to knock you unconscious and I’ve been taught never to strike a woman.” His tone became silky with menace. “However, I might learn to enjoy violence in your case, Elspeth. You seem to arouse that emotion in me without the slightest effort. I could gladly have strangled you in the Nugget tonight.”

“Why are you doing this?” She wished she could see his face. Perhaps he was only trying to frighten her. If so, he was certainly succeeding. She was trembling and she couldn’t think of anything but how helpless she felt bound and sightless in the darkness. “Please, untie me.”

“Presently.” He moved away for a brief moment, and when he returned he had her cloak. He draped it around her shoulders and fumbled in the darkness for the button that fastened it at the collar. His fingers brushed her throat and she inhaled sharply. He heard. She could sense him grow still. He paused for a moment, his knuckles pressed against the soft flesh of her neck, letting her feel the hard warmth of his fingers. “I think you lied to me, Elspeth. I think you remember a great deal about that morning.” Then, just when the touch of his fingers was beginning to cause an odd hot sensation, his hands fell away. “This will be a little warm, but it will hide the rope if anyone should see us riding out of town.” He drew the hood up over her head. “You’re taking this very calmly. Are you accustomed to being abducted, Elspeth?”

“No.” She could barely force the word through the tightness of her throat. “I’m not calm. I’m not a very brave person, and I’m frightened.”

For an instant there was a silence, a hesitance. “Was that supposed to disarm me? You gave me your answer at the Nugget tonight. Are you asking for another chance?”

“It would be the same answer,” she said haltingly. “There is no choice. I cannot leave here without you, and I must find Kantalan.”

“I think you’ll decide differently by the end of the week. I’ve left a note on your pillow supposedly signed by you saying that you’ve decided to run away with me. Since you’ve been trailing after me for the better part of a week, I don’t think anyone will have trouble believing you find me irresistible.” His tone was mocking. “And those that have any doubts will think twice about calling me a liar. When we come back to Hell’s Bluff, you won’t find your stay in this town quite so comfortable. You’ll either have to go to Rina’s or accept the hospitality of one of the men you saw in the bar tonight. This hotel accepts only respectable women.”

“Come back? You’re taking me away from Hell’s Bluff?”

“I can hardly take you to Rina’s, as she might object,” he drawled. “And what I have in mind for you can’t be accomplished with the little privacy this room affords. I’m taking you deeper in the mountains to a cabin owned by a friend. He’s off prospecting at the moment, so we should have no one to interfere with-” He broke off and turned away impatiently. “Why am I making explanations? You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s get the hell out of here. I have the horses tied to the hitching rail out back.” His hand was on her elbow, propelling her across the room toward the open window. “I believe we’ll avoid the main stairs. If we happened to run into someone you know, you might be tempted to scream, and I’m not in the mood to shoot anyone this evening.”

The words were said calmly, almost casually, but they sent a shiver to the base of Elspeth’s spine. The idea of violence was anathema to her, and the knowledge that blood might be spilled for her sake made her feel ill. “I wouldn’t scream. Not if I knew it would mean a man’s death.”

“That’s very accommodating of you, but I don’t think we’ll take the chance. This is between the two of us.”

“Yes.” She wished she could stop shaking. He was right, this was between them and no one else. He was terribly angry with her and meant to punish her in some way; nothing could be clearer. Well, she had known that taunting him would be dangerous and she had done it anyway. She mustn’t be a coward now that he temporarily had the upper hand. What could he do to her that would be so terrible? He obviously didn’t want to hurt her physically. Perhaps he was only trying to intimidate her into giving up and leaving Hell’s Bluff. Perhaps being alone with Dominic could be to her advantage. She would be able to talk to him without having to pursue him and-

His big hands were on her waist, lifting her through the window onto the landing of the second floor balcony. The arguments she had been giving herself flew away from her like birds in autumn. His hands were terribly strong as they spanned her slight waist, and his features in the moonlight appeared flint-hard. She was once again acutely conscious of both the helplessness of her position and her femininity. Her breath caught in her throat as she met his gaze.

His pale eyes were searching her face. “You are frightened.” His lips curved in a smile of savage satisfaction. “Good. I want you to be frightened of me. I want your knees to shake and I want your eyes to look at me as if you’re afraid I’m going to eat you. I want to touch you and feel you tremble.”

She drew a deep, quivering breath. “Then you’re certainly getting what you want, aren’t you? But there’s something you should know.”

His lips twisted in a sardonic smile. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you have four fierce brothers who will ride in pursuit and avenge this shocking infamy I’m heaping on their little sister?”

“No, I have no one to defend me.”

Something flickered in the hardness of Dominic’s face and then was gone. “How fortunate for me. Then may I ask what you think I should know?”

“I cannot ride a horse.”

The cabin before which Dominic had finally stopped was located on a plateau that bordered the steep incline of a rockstrewn gorge. It was a good ten miles from Hell’s Bluff, and by the time it had come into view Elspeth had doubted she had an unbruised bone in her body and was positive there was not an inch of her flesh left unscathed. “You didn’t have to make the horse run,” she said tartly as Dominic reined in his black stallion in front of the cabin. “I know you’re a wee bit angry with me but-”

“I’m more than a ‘wee’ bit angry.” Dominic slipped from his saddle and came around to lift her down from the chestnut mare on which she was mounted. “And if I’d wanted the horse to punish you instead of reserving that pleasure for myself, I would have had her trot, not gallop. Its far more painful.”

“It couldn’t be.”

“It is.” He was swiftly untying her wrists and he paused to smile down at her, his blue-gray eyes glittering coldly in the moonlight. “I’ll make sure your next ride is more comfortable… even entertaining.”

His hand encircled her left wrist and he pulled her toward the small log structure that looked to be more of a shack than a cabin. When she drew closer she could see the crude structure had obviously been hurriedly built of logs that were still green and mismatched.

Dominic threw open the door and drew her into the darkness of the cabin before releasing her wrist. “Stay here.” She heard the click of the heels of his boots on the wooden floor as he crossed the room.

As Dominic lit the oil lamp on the table across the room, Elspeth saw the inside of the cabin was just as unattractive as its exterior and consisted of rough pine flooring with a multitude of unfilled knotholes and a flat roof fitted so poorly she could see the glitter of stars through slender spaces between the mismatched logs. The small room contained little furniture. A horsehair mat in the far corner which presumably served as a bed and the pine table beside which Dominic was standing had one leg shorter than the others and sloped drunkenly toward an equally clumsily built companion chair. Instead of glass in the one window beside the door, newspapers, yellowed and made brittle by exposure to the elements, were nailed across the opening.

“Someone lives in this place?” Elspeth asked incredulously.

“Jim isn’t here much. He’s away for weeks at a time prospecting in the hills. It serves his purpose.” Dominic’s white teeth gleamed in the lamplight as he smiled mirthlessly at her from across the small room. “As it will serve ours. Soon you won’t even notice your surroundings.” He turned away from the table and headed for the door. “I’m going to unsaddle and water the horses. I wouldn’t try to run away if I were you. There’s no possible help within five miles of this place and the hills are full of snakes and scorpions. If you don’t fall off the mountain, you’ll have them to contend with.” He paused at the door to look back at her. “And I’d find you anyway. I’ve gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to bring you here, and I have no intention of letting you get away.”

Snakes. Elspeth tried to repress the familiar panic the thought sent streaking through her. She smiled shakily as she pushed her spectacles up to the bridge of her small nose. “I’m not going to try to escape. It would be foolish. I know nothing about mountains and snakes and…” She waved a hand. “I forgot what else you said.”

“Scorpions,” he repeated. He stood there a moment, glowering at her. “Why the hell are you being so meek? Why aren’t you fighting me?”

“Would it help me if I fought you? Would it make you change your mind?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” She crossed the room and sat down on the wooden chair. Her spine was very straight as she laced her fingers together on her lap. “You’re a determined man, but I don’t believe you’re a cruel one. I’ll wait for you here and we’ll discuss this turn of events when you return.”

He gazed at her, a variety of emotions flitting across his face. Then he muttered something violent beneath his breath that expressed both his frustration and exasperation, turned on his heel, and strode out of the cabin.

Elspeth released her breath in a rush and sagged back in the chair. While Dominic had been in the room she had felt as if she were caged with a wild animal. What a foolish comparison, she thought wearily. She had no idea what it would be like to be caged with a beast. She knew nothing about dangerous animals or dangerous men. So what in heaven’s name was she doing here?

The answer came to her at once. Kantalan. She had to find Kantalan. She mustn’t fall apart now. She was actually doing quite well. Except for that hideously jarring ride, she had suffered no real pain or discomfort, and as yet Dominic had done nothing more than threaten her. Perhaps that was all he intended to do. She straightened in the chair and carefully composed her features. There was no shame in admitting to being afraid, no matter what her father had told her. The shame would lie in not facing down her fear.

The door opened and then slammed shut behind Dominic.

She instinctively braced herself, but he ignored her as he strode over to the horsehair mat in the corner and spread a clean tan woolen blanket on the mat’s dusty surface.

He turned to look at her, a crooked smile lifting the corner of his lips. “You see how considerate I am? I wouldn’t want that soft white skin to get dirty.”

“Thank you.”

His smile faded and anger tightened his lips. “God-dammit, fight me!” He reached her in two strides and jerked her out of the chair. His hands cupped her shoulders as his eyes blazed down at her. “I’m not going to discuss this. I’ve brought you here for one purpose and nothing is going to sway me from that purpose. Don’t you understand that, dammit?”

She nodded. “You want to punish me. You needn’t yell at me. You’re making yourself very clear.”

“I’m not yelling!”

“It seemed to me you were, but perhaps I’m so frightened I no longer know the difference.” Her eyes widened behind the thick lenses of her spectacles. “What are you doing?”

He had stepped back and was shrugging out of his suede coat. “I’m undressing. It’s not always customary in these instances, but I hate quick tumbles. I’d undress you first, but I’m not sure I’d be able to wait once I started.” He had removed his shirt and belt and now placed them both on the table beside him. His fingers went to the waistband of his black trousers, his gaze fixed intently on her face. “Because I’ve been wondering ever since that morning at Rina’s if the skin beneath those black draperies is softer than the flesh I touched. Do you know what sort of fires are kindled in a man by that kind of wondering?” He undid the first button of the trousers. “Shall I show you?”

She shook her head. “You’re trying to frighten me. I know you have no intention or ravishing me. Why should you? I’m not the sort of woman men desire. You cannot want me.”

“I cannot?” He smilied faintly. “I must have very peculiar tastes, for I find I most certainly can and do, and you’re most definitely about to be ravished, Elspeth. Why the hell do you think I brought you here?”

Her eyes widened in astonishment. “You want me?” She shook her head dazedly. “I didn’t think you meant to ravish me. It seemed most unlikely. I thought perhaps you meant to shame me, perhaps beat me, but I-” She broke off. “I’ll have to think about this.”

“It’s a little late,” Dominic said dryly. “I suggest you think about it afterward. You’re going to be very busy in a few minutes.” His hands were at the front of her cloak, his fingers undoing the single button that fastened it. He pushed the cloak from her shoulers and it fell to the chair behind her. “I find I’m too impatient to finish undressing. I want to look at you.”

Elspeth couldn’t speak, she could scarcely breathe. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. He was only a few inches away and she could see the tight dark curls feathering his chest and his small nipples almost hidden in that springy thatch. Everything about his body seemed… familiar. She hadn’t realized how vividly every detail of his naked body had been imprinted in her memory, but she could recall every line of the sleek golden musculature of his chest and shoulders.

“Look at me.” His fingers were lifting her chin. “I want to watch your face while I undress you. I want to know what you’re feeling.”

She swallowed. “I could tell you.”

“No, that’s not good enough. I want you to realize how vulnerable you are to me now.”

She closed her eyes. “I think I’ve changed my mind. I believe you can be cruel.”

His fingers left her chin and she suddenly felt a light touch at her left ear. She kept her lids closed, she didn’t want to meet those mocking blue-gray eyes. She felt another touch at her right ear and she suddenly realized what he was doing. He was taking off her spectacles! Her lids flew open. “No! I-”

“Christ!”

She hurriedly lowered her long lashes to veil her eyes. “I’d like my spectacles, please. It’s very difficult for me to-”

“Look up. Do you hear me? Look up, dammit.”

She reluctantly raised her gaze to meet his own.

Dominic once more experienced the same shock he had received before. Her eyes were not brown as he had surmised, but a deep green and were flecked around the pupil with tawny gold. Enormous eyes, tilted up at the corners and framed with long black lashes that both shadowed and enhanced their exotic brilliance.

“May I have my spectacles back now?”

He shook his head. “I’ve always liked green eyes. I think we’ll dispense with these for the time being.” He tossed her spectacles on top of his shirt on the table. “And don’t keep sidling away from me.”

“They’re not green.” Her voice was muffled and she stared straight ahead at a point in the exact center of his chest. “They’re not any color. They’re witch’s eyes, cat’s eyes.”

“An interesting comparison, and judging by your behavior since I’ve made your acquaintance, I can vouch for the fact that you come by it rightly.”

“They’re ugly.” A slight flush was touching her pale cheeks. “Different.”

“Is that why you wear those spectacles?” His fingers were removing the pins that held her bun in place. “So no one can see how ugly they are?”

“Certainly not, I would never be so vain. I need them. I do a great deal of reading in scholarly studies and my eyes become quite strained. Poor vision runs in the MacGregor family. My father purchased my first pair of spectacles when I was seven.”

“I haven’t seen you without them since you arrived in Hell’s Bluff,” Dominic observed as he threw the pins on the table. He watched the heavy coils of light brown hair tumble to the middle of her back. Another surprise. The candlelight revealed threads of pale gold in the shining brown mass. “You’ve clearly been doing a formidable amount of scholarly work of late.”

The flush on her cheeks deepened. “I’ve grown accustomed to wearing spectacles. I feel uncomfortable without… What are you doing now?”

“Just running my fingers through your hair.” He brought two long silky strands forward to nestle against her breasts. God, he realized his fingers were tingling as if they had been frozen and were now being painfully brought to life. The thick silky strands flowed through his fingers like warm honey. He wondered how that silkiness would feel against his naked chest as she bent over to…

“Why? Is it untidy?” She frowned. “It’s entirely your own fault. You shouldn’t have taken it down.”

“Perhaps.” The tingling was spreading from his fingers to his wrists and arms. His loins were aching, the muscles of his belly knotting. He shouldn’t have touched her but he’d had no idea she would ready him so quickly. He was usually in control of his responses, but he found he was trembling now like an inexperienced boy. “But I think we’ll leave it down anyway. Sit down.”

She stared at him in bewilderment, her strange eyes shining like two gold-flecked emeralds in her pale face. He suddenly wanted to touch her hair again, feel the silk wind around his fingers and cling to them. He impulsively reached out and came within an inch of contact before he stopped, and then let his hand drop to his side. There would be time for that later, when his first hunger for her was satisfied. He repeated, more sharply this time, “Sit down!”

She dropped onto the seat of the wooden chair behind her and watched as he knelt before her. He picked up her left foot and pushed the skirt of her black gown, crinoline, and petticoats above her knees. She made a low protest and tried to jerk her skirt down again.

“No!” His hand immediately clamped onto her wrist and his gaze met her own. “Make one move, and I’ll rip this gown off you and then tear it into a hundred pieces. If you don’t want to ride back into Hell’s Bluff in your birthday suit, you’ll believe me, Elspeth.”

She nibbled worriedly at her lower lip. He meant it, she decided. Her hand moved reluctantly from her knee to grip the rough wooden table beside her with nervous tension.

He smiled faintly. “Very sensible.” His fingers went back to her polished black leather and silk ankle-high boot and began unfastening the buttons on the side. His hands were trembling, he noticed with annoyance, and he’d never get these damn buttons undone if he couldn’t manage to keep his eyes on what he was doing. Her legs were slender and shapely in the black cotton stockings, and he could see a plain black garter above her knee. Rina’s garters were usually blue satin, made in New Orleans, and always intriguingly feminine, yet he had never wanted to remove them with this degree of frantic impatience.

He pulled her left boot off and tossed it aside. He braced her right boot against his thigh and began to unbutton it. Lord, he was aching. His chest was so tight he had to open his mouth to force air into his lungs. He caught a glimpse of pale soft thighs above the black garters and a stab of desire twisted like a knife in his belly.

“Are you all right?” Elspeth was looking down at him, her gaze troubled. “You seem to be in pain. Is there something I can do?”

He froze, stunned. Merciful Christ, what kind of woman was she? “You’re about to do it,” he said harshly as he threw the right boot aside. “Hell yes, I’m in pain, and you’re going to stop it. Do you know how?” He roughly pulled the black garter off and jerked the cotton stocking off her right leg in one motion. He did the same with the left stocking and lifted his head to look at her. His blue eyes were blazing as he took her naked left foot and brought it to his throbbing loins. “Like this.” He rubbed the sole of her slender white foot against him in a slow, yearning motion. “You’re going to touch me, and I’m going to touch you. Then I’m going to come into you and you’re going to take me, every inch of me. I’m going to use you to stop this ache and then I’m going to teach you how to make me ache again.”

The hard length of him was burning against the soft arch of her foot and Elspeth could feel the muscles in her calf knot beneath his palm. Intimacy. She had never experienced such shocking intimacy. Waves of heat were washing over her and she was sure even the roots of her hair were hot. Her breath was coming in gasps and she was trembling so badly she thought she would fall off the chair. “Let… let me go.”

He was still. His eyes were blazing into her own and his hand on her ankle kept her foot pressed firmly against him. “Do you understand now? This is not a pleasant outing. You’re going to belong to me tonight.”

“You do mean it.” She was looking at him in wonder. “I wasn’t sure-”

“Well, be sure,” he said. He dropped her foot to the rough floor and stood up. “I bluff only in poker, Elspeth.”

“You’re going to ravish me.” It was said with the same wonder he had seen in her experience. “Will it hurt?”

“Not if you don’t fight me.” Would it hurt her? He had never had a virgin, and the subject had never come up. He had heard that sometimes… He firmly blocked the thought. “If you don’t make it difficult, I’ll be careful to-”

“That means I’ll be a fallen woman, doesn’t it?” Her brow was wrinkled in a pensive frown. “Perhaps even a hetaera.”

“What the devil is a hetaera?” He pulled her to her feet and his fingers began working swiftly at the buttons at the front of her gown.

“They were ladies in ancient Greece who were trained to pleasure men and-” She inhaled sharply as he slipped the gown from her shoulders to her waist and then to the floor, leaving her in only her chemise, crinoline, and petticoats. She looked straight ahead. “They were very accomplished at-” Garments were falling from her like maple leaves after the first frost. She closed her eyes tightly. “The hetaeras became well known for-”

“My God!”

She was perfect. Small and infinitely delicate with the clean symmetry of a young Venus. High taut breasts crowned with pointed pink nipples flowed down to a flat stomach and an impossibly small waist, then widened to pertly rounded buttocks. His gaze moved down to exquisite thighs that invited the touch and then up again to center on the golden-brown curls that shadowed her womanhood. He felt the breath stop in his lungs and the blood pound painfully through his veins.

“Am I… completely unclothed?”

Her eyes were still tightly shut as if her nudity would cease to exist if she could not behold it. He could see the delicate color move beneath the fair skin of her throat and shoulders and, for a moment, he felt a wild surge of tenderness. She was so goddamn vulnerable. Why did the blasted witch have to look vulnerable? She was the epitome of a desirable woman and he was one yearning ache just looking at her; and at the same time her exquisite vulnerability caused him pangs of guilt at the mere thought of touching her. Hell and damnation, he would not let her sway him. She had humiliated and tormented him until he had been driven to this end and he was not going to let her go unscathed. Not that he had any choice, he thought grimly, there was no possible way he could stop himself from taking her now. “You’re as naked as the day you came into this wicked world.”

She moistened her lips with her tongue and he felt a jolt of pure lust strike his groin. “This isn’t too terrible so far. Does it get worse?”

Tenderness flooded him again and with it a desperation born of guilt and frustration. “No, it gets better. Much better.” He picked her up and carried her toward the mat across the room. “As I’m about to demonstrate.”

Flesh against naked flesh. Elspeth could feel the dark curly hair of his chest pressing against the side of her breast, his warm muscular arm across her naked back. Heat again. Why couldn’t she think? She was going to become a hetaera, but would that be such a terrible fate? In ancient times hetaeras had apparently had a greater freedom and independence than their more respectable sisters. There must be some disadvantages, but she was having trouble thinking of them at the moment.

Still, she must think, for this was a very important step in her life. She was merely caught unprepared because she had never thought she would be placed in this position.

“Stop shaking,” Dominic ordered as he placed her carefully on the mat and settled himself beside her. “I told you I’d be careful.” If he could, he thought desperately. The soft pressure of her body against his thighs was driving him insane. Her hair was a fragrant mass of honey silk splayed across his arm, and she was trembling like a bird. “I won’t hurt you.” Tenderness again. The thought of hurting her was becoming intolerable. He had to prepare her, ease her into passion. Damn, she was so tiny and he didn’t know how long he could keep himself from mounting her. Just the thought of sinking into her warm satin tightness caused him to flex with mindless hunger. He drew a deep breath. “I’ll pleasure you, Elspeth. Yield to me.” His lips brushed the delicate skin at her temple. “I’ll find a way to ease you through it.”

Her lids lifted slowly and she looked up at him. “You don’t wish to punish me any longer?”

His throat tightened. “No, not any longer.”

His voice was so strange, she thought hazily, but no stranger than his eyes looking down at her or the heat of his skin against her flesh… It was all strange, all foreign. She couldn’t think.

His hands were golden against her pale skin as they delicately touched her belly.

She inhaled sharply. Heat, heaviness, dizziness.

His face above her was taut, the long planes of his cheeks hollow. His dark hair shone with midnight flickers of fire in the lamplight. Beautiful. She hadn’t realized a man could be this beautiful. Michelangelo’s statues were beautiful, of course, but they were cold. Dominic wasn’t cold, he was blazing. She could feel his fire coiling and sparking, wreathing her in flames. Yet he was scarcely touching her, the tips of his fingers brushing her belly with a touch as light as butterfly wings on the petals of a flower.

Did butterfly wings leave this trail of fire on a blossom’s petals? she wondered hazily. Was this ravishment?

His fingertips had left her stomach and were moving over her, touching lightly on her breasts, the sensitive skin beneath her collarbone, the hollow of her throat. “Elspeth.”

She tensed. “Yes?”

His fingers moved to her lips, his index finger tracing the curve of her lower lip. “I don’t want to frighten you. How much do you know about what I’m going to do to you?”

The hot color stung her cheeks. “I’ve seen… drawings that were made by my father’s students of murals on the walls in Pompeii… women are not permitted to view them… the murals, I mean. And once I saw a statue in a temple in India…”

Dominic felt an enormous surge of relief. At least she wasn’t completely ignorant.

“It looks… uncomfortable,” she whispered.

A faint smile tugged at his lips. “It’s not at all uncomfortable. You’ll see, Elspeth. It feels very right.” His voice was soft, coaxing, as his hand moved down to her belly once more. His fingertips began to stroke the tight golden-brown curls and she felt a sudden hot tingle between her thighs.

He said it would feel right, but how could that be, when everyone said this was a sin? It had to be wrong, didn’t it? She wished she had been taught more about the consequences of being a woman. Her father had never told her anything except to say it was something a plain body like herself would never have to fret about. The housekeepers who had come and gone through the years in their small home in Edinburgh had been hired to tend to the cooking and the cleaning and discouraged from wasting their time with Elspeth.

Except Clara. Clara had been younger than the rest and had a small child of her own. She had been kind and even let Elspeth slip out into the garden to play with Bobby when her father had business at the university.

Bobby.

Elspeth suddenly stiffened as the memory of that day in the garden came back to her. The other children with their faces pressed against the black iron gate and their harsh cruel words. Bastard, they had called Bobby. Taunting words that had caused helpless agony in a small child.

“No!” She pushed against Dominic with all her strength and jumped to her feet.

Elspeth was across the small room before his bemused senses could fully comprehend what she was doing. One moment she had been lying quivering in his arms, letting him fondle her, permitting him to do whatever he wished, and the next she was standing across the room. Her pale, naked body was even more alluring as the candlelight played upon it like a loving, golden hand, her long tawny hair flying about her in a wild shimmering cloud. He frowned. “Come back here, Elspeth.” His voice held a dangerous softness.

She shook her head. “No, you’re a terrible man. How could you do this?” Her voice was shaking and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Ravishing me is wicked enough, but how could you be so cruel to a bairn?”

“Bairn?” he asked blankly.

“If you ravished me, we could have a bairn. Do you deny it?” She plucked her black cloak from the chair and flung it around her shoulders. “I’m not sure I’d mind so much being a hetaera, but what of the bairn? Children can be very cruel to a bairn born on the wrong side of the blanket. They’d taunt him and throw rocks and-” She broke off, the tears suddenly pouring down her cheeks. “You’re a cruel, cruel man and I’ll not be ravished by you.” She whirled and ran toward the door. The next instant the door was thrown open and she was gone.