Romance Novel Reviews

Page 135

There was an instant of silence. Portia saw his eyes narrow, something leap into them, something dangerous and yet it sent a thrill of excitement to jolt the pit of her stomach. The silence seemed to expand until it contained them, suspended, waiting...

Then his hands loosed their encircling grip of her body. He grasped her head between both hands, his fingers twisting in the tangled orange curls around her ears. He shifted his body slightly, his legs scissoring hers, so he was holding her pinned to the ground beneath him. She could feel every line of his powerful frame pressing against her, imprinting himself upon her. She could feel his heat, the warmth of his breath.

"There is such a thing as retribution, Mistress Worth," he murmured, and then he took her mouth with his. This was no light brushing kiss to tease. It was a hard possessive statement.

Page 265

Fingers closed around her ankle. A determined jerk had her tumbling backward, to be caught against him, his body iron hard and distinctly damp at her back. The reek of ale was overpowering.

"Damn you, Rufus! What are you going to do? Don't you dare touch me." She fought desperately but his grip merely tightened, lifting her off her feet so that she was struggling and kicking like a fly caught in a web, her death throes watched by an interested and hungry spider.

Then he was carrying her upstairs, still struggling. He dropped her face-down on the bed and as she wriggled to the edge, be placed a knee in the small of her back pinning her like a butterfly in a display case. "Let me go, you great bully!"

Instead, he swung himself into the bed and straddled her, sitting firmly on her bottom. Catching her wrists, he clipped them in the small of her back and held them there with one hand. She heaved against him, kicking her legs, even though she knew she was as helpless as a baby.

Rufus waited patiently, until she'd exhausted herself against his strength, then he shifted his position and rolled her over onto her back, still straddling her hips.

"Dear God," he said. "If I'd known you enjoyed a little caveman play, I'd have indulged you sooner."

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