The Temptress Read online

  “Tynan,” she whispered as he began to hungrily kiss her neck, his hands running up and down her back, his fingers curving over her buttocks.

  He took her head in his hands and looked at her. “Chris,” he murmured, “I’ve never wanted anything as badly as I want you at this moment. This is your last chance to say no because from now on I won’t be able to help myself.”

  Their noses were touching so she turned slightly so she could give him a quick kiss. “Yes,” she said joyously. “Yes and yes and yes.” She punctuated each word with a kiss.

  He began to smile then, a warm, seductive smile that made Chris’s skin tingle. So, she thought, this was the face of Tynan the lover.

  With a broader grin, he ruffled her damp hair, leaned forward and began to use his teeth to nibble at her bottom lip. Chris was taken by surprise. She knew the basics of how humans mate, but this had nothing to do with what she’d heard.

  “Come here, you tempting little imp,” he said, pulling her up higher. She was between his legs, his wet trousers pressed against her ribs, holding her in place while he kissed and nibbled on her ears, her neck, across her shoulder, down her arm.

  Chris’s neck began to weaken. “Oh, my, but I do like that,” she murmured, eyes closed. Tynan’s hands began to rub on her body, warming her. He seemed to be able to reach all of her, from the soles of her feet, up her calves, lingering on her buttocks and then his fingertips massaging up her spine.

  After a moment, she no longer felt his cold clothes, felt, instead, only his hot hands on her skin, felt only his lips moving over her body—a body which had never known a man’s lips before.

  He was as smooth at moving her about as he was at unbuttoning her dresses. She had no idea when he changed her to a prone position—but she was aware when his lips first touched her breasts. Her eyes flew open, startled, and she looked at him.

  The dark room with only the firelight from behind Tynan made him better-looking than usual and Chris suddenly thought that perhaps Apollo, the god of the sun, was making love to her. She put her hand in his dark hair, pulling his head up to hers so she could kiss him. “I love you, Tynan,” she said, putting her arms around him and kissing him. She wasn’t even surprised to find that his shirt was gone. No doubt he was as skillful at removing his own clothing as he was with women’s.

  His hands kept moving up and down her body in a sensual, caressing way, roaming over her stomach, down her thighs, up to her breasts. He felt so good to her, his big, wide shoulders, the way his muscles moved under her hands as he moved, the way his hips were gently undulating against the side of her hips.

  Chris’s heart was rising in her throat, pounding, as his hands began to caress the soft inner flesh of her thigh, kneading on the skin, touching soft, quiescent muscle. Of her own accord, her legs began to open.

  “Ty,” she whispered. “My lovely Tynan.”

  He didn’t say a word, but began to move his lips downward as Chris arched her neck back in anticipation of what was to come. His hot, wet mouth closed on her breast, causing a groan to escape her lips. He continued to make love to her breast as his hands roamed over her legs.

  When he moved on top of her, she clutched him to her, wrapping her legs about him instinctively. Gently, he disengaged her legs and moved them so they were bent, knees up, by his side.

  When he entered her, Chris gasped, opening her eyes to look at him. He lay still on top of her, smiling at her, seeming to be at ease, but there were great drops of sweat on his forehead.

  She had expected pain but there was none, only surprise at how lovemaking actually felt. Blinking a few times, she moved her hips slightly upward, toward his and she saw Ty’s eyes close, his head lean back and he entered her fully.

  Chris thought her heart was going to leap from her breast as he began to move inside her, so gently, so slowly at first—and the sensation was absolutely heavenly. Slowly, deeply, rhythmically, he moved, touching her in a way that seemed to consume her, to make her grow bigger, to expand until she felt as if she might explode.

  “Tynan?” she said and there was some fear in her voice because she didn’t know what was about to happen.

  He caught her legs, moved them back around his waist then lifted her hips upward so that half of her body weight was supported by his hips. He began to move more quickly and, if possible, more deeply. Chris put her hands up to touch the heavy muscles of his chest, clutching at him, digging her fingers into the thick muscles, wanting to claw him. Her head began to turn back and forth and there were little sounds coming from her.

  Tynan’s movements quickened until Chris thought she might explode.

  Afterward, she lay still, clinging to him, not wanting to let him go.

  “You can, can’t you?” she said at last.

  With a chuckle, Ty moved off of her, but held her close, one arm under her head, one thigh across hers.

  “That was lovely,” she said, stretching. “Did I do all right? You weren’t disappointed?”

  “No,” he murmured.

  “You aren’t falling asleep, are you?”

  “Not if you keep jabbering. Chris, we have to get up early tomorrow, this has been one hell of a day, what with you climbing across roofs, so I’d like to get some sleep.”

  “Sleep?” She moved so she could look at him. “But I’m starving and we have so much to discuss. I want to know how you found out about my following Owen and when we’ll be married and what we’ll do about Lionel and Pilar has to go and—”

  “Wait a minute!” His eyes flew open. “Married? Who said anything about marriage?”

  “But I thought…I mean, after what we did…”

  He rolled away from her, pulling on his pants.

  She watched, the blanket clutched to her, as he built up the fire then lifted the cooked rabbits and began to reheat them. At long last, he handed her a big chunk of meat before he went to stand by the door.

  “I never wanted this to happen,” he said, turning to look at her. “I meant to keep my hands off of you, just like your father demanded.”

  “If you’re worried about the pardon,” she said, mouth full, “I’ll see that you get it. My father won’t send you back to jail.”

  “Don’t you have sense enough to understand that it’s deeper than that?” he asked angrily. “Somebody like me can’t marry somebody like you, and besides, I don’t want to get married.”

  Chris paused in eating. “Oh, Tynan, you have such a low opinion of yourself.”

  “So do you when the chips are down.”

  Chris tried to keep the meat from choking in her throat. “I made a mistake and I apologize. It won’t happen again. Especially if you’re my husband.”

  “Well, I’m not going to be!” he said, moving away from the door. “If I married every woman I’ve—”

  “Never mind, thank you!” she said quickly. “But, Tynan, I love you.”

  “You think you’re in love with what you see. Chris, I’m trying to be kind to you. What happened tonight was just what always happens when a man and a woman spend a night in a cabin alone. It was inevitable.”

  Chris threw the bone in the fire, then stood, wrapping the blanket around her. “Maybe in your world it’s inevitable, but not in mine. When I was investigating the Mexican government, I spent three nights alone with a Mexican guard and he never touched me.”

  “How many guns were you holding on him?”

  “One very small pistol,” she said with a smile. “Tynan, I—”

  “There’s no more to be said. I want you to lay down and sleep. It’s best if we forget what happened here tonight.”

  “Forget, but—”

  “What do you want from me? Do you want me to tell you the truth? The truth is that all you are to me is one hot little morsel and I finally took a bite. You’re no more or less to me except a way to get a pardon from prison. You’re more trouble than a corral full of sheriffs and half the time you’re not even as much fun, what with your do-gooder attitu