From the Heart

and cloud so that the gold in them vanishes.”
    She could feel her pulse start to hammer, her skin flush with heat. “Are you trying to unnerve me, Jordan?”
    “Oh, yes.” He slipped her shirt from her shoulders. Then he took his hands down her breasts to her waist. “Am I?”
    She was trembling. It stunned her. He had barely touched her, and her body was throbbing for him. He had too much power over her, in every aspect—heart, body and mind. She resisted it. She had given him her love but refused to surrender her strength. He had to want her every bit as much as she wanted him. Kasey loosened his last button.
    “You unnerve me, Jordan,” she whispered and ran her hands up, slowly, over his stomach, ribs and chest. She could feel his muscles go taut under her palms. As she drew off his shirt, she pressed her lips to his shoulder. “You make me ache.” She trailed her fingertips back down his sides and took her lips to his throat. “You make me want.” She unhooked his slacks and let her fingers guide them over his hips. As her lips traveled down his throat, she heard his low moan of pleasure. She pulled him to the floor.
    Passion had tastes. His skin was hot and moist from it where she kissed him. She could feel the thud of his heart under her tongue. It was like a dream. Her body was drugged, but her mind was active. She wanted to know all of him—what pleased, what aroused. She followed instinct, letting her hands roam; when she felt a response, she let them linger. His body was well-muscled and lean, and it excited her. His needs excited her. She could feel them pouring out of him. For this one moment of time he was as vulnerable as she.
    She left a slow, lingering trail of kisses as she journeyed back to his throat. His breathing roared in her ears. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he groaned her name and pulled her mouth to his. Passion exploded in the kiss. She felt it whipping at her—an incredible mixture of pain and delight. His teeth dug into her lip, and she moaned. This was no dream, but shattering reality. His hands were suddenly roughand bruising as he pushed her on her back. He entered her swiftly, violently, and plunged her over the edge of reason. She went with him, clinging, helpless, strong. She knew she had stopped breathing. They were fused together by damp skin and desire. They rose and crested, again and again, until there were only drained bodies and empty minds.
    He lay on top of her, his face buried in her hair, unable to move, though he knew she was too slight for his weight. Her body was still trembling lightly under his. Jordan lifted his head. He wanted to see her in the full light of day, after his loving.
    Her face was soft, her eyes still misted. He felt a pain, both unexpected and sharp, slam into his stomach. She smiled, and the pain grew. Could he want her again? So quickly? Surely that would explain the ache he felt by just looking at her. He lowered his mouth to hers, but it was tenderness that greeted him, not passion.
    “Kasey.” He kissed her cheek, not certain what he was about to say. The emotions he felt were utterly new to him. There was a bruise on her shoulder, and he lifted his head again to look at it. It was small and faint and fit the pattern of his finger. It horrified him. To his knowledge, he had never marked a woman before.
    “What’s wrong?” Kasey saw the shock in his eyes and followed their direction. She smiled a little when she noted the bruise. “You have strong hands,” she commented.
    His eyes came to hers. It was difficult for him; his feelings about bruising a woman were very defined. He found no excuse for it. Abruptly, he remembered the look on her face when she had told him he would hurt her. “Kasey.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
    “Jordan.” She recognized the deeper meaning in his words and lifted her hand to his cheek. “I know you don’t.” When he rolled over on his back, she went with him to rest her head against his shoulder. “Don’t think about tomorrow now,” she murmured. “Let’s take today. It’s enough.”
    He pulled her closer, drawing her into the curve of his body. Today, he thought, and closed his eyes. “You’re tired.” He had heard the fatigue in her voice.
    “You did say something about a bed,” she returned, but she was content to stay where she was. Close to him.
    He rose, and before her protest was complete, he lifted her into his arms. “You need to sleep