Medieval 02 - Forbidden

sure of it as I am that you are standing there. The rowan guarded me .”
    Duncan dismounted and strode up the mound toward the rowan. Fear squeezed Amber’s heart. Not wanting to, knowing that she must, she followed him. By the time she caught up, he wasalready standing beneath the tree, fists on his hips, studying the rowan as though it might be either foe or friend.
    “Are you remembering?” Amber asked quietly.
    At first Duncan didn’t answer. Then he slowly uncurled one fist and held his hand out to her.
    “Am I remembering?” Duncan asked.
    The instant Amber’s hand rested in his, the complex emotions, dreams, fears, and hopes that were Duncan of Maxwell poured through the touch. Never had the contact been so vivid.
    Exhilaration after the victorious battle .
    Fear for Amber’s safety in the coming storm .
    Determination to remember the past .
    Rage at whatever had taken his memory .
    And then, when the warmth of her flesh registered on his, there came a wave of desire so great that it all but brought Amber to her knees. She could feel nothing but Duncan’s passion for her, see nothing, sense nothing. He flooded her mind and body with a sensual hunger that was like nothing she had ever felt before.
    Duncan .
    Though Amber hadn’t said the name aloud, he opened his eyes and looked at her with eyes that blazed.
    Duncan’s fingers circled Amber’s wrist like steel bands. He pulled her closer with a force that would have been impossible to resist. Nor did she want to resist. She wanted only to answer the elemental need that cried out to her from every fiber of her dark warrior’s being.
    When Duncan’s arms wrapped around Amber, she made no objection, even though he held her so tightly she became light-headed from lack of breath.
    Though she said nothing, Duncan knew.
    “I’ll breathe for you,” he said in a low voice.
    He brought his mouth to hers in a kiss that wouldhave been harsh had she not been fighting to get even closer to him, to taste him more deeply, to get inside his very skin.
    It was the same for Duncan, fighting to get closer to Amber, to feel yet more of her sweet flesh against his, to slake the savage hunger of his body for her in the only way possible.
    Distantly Duncan realized that he had dragged Amber down to the ground and that her hands were struggling against him.
    “Please,” he said, “ I need you .”
    A sound that was neither aye nor nay came from Amber’s throat. With an effort that left him shaking, Duncan managed to let go of her.
    The instant Amber was free, she cried out as though at a blow. Duncan reached for her to comfort her, then realized he didn’t trust himself.
    “Duncan?” Amber said.
    Her voice trembled, as did the hand she held out to him.
    “You’re a fire in my blood, in my flesh, in my soul,” Duncan said savagely. “If I touch you again, I’ll take you.”
    “Then touch me.”
    “Amber—”
    “Take me.”
    For a long moment Duncan looked at the golden eyes and outstretched hand of the girl he wanted more than he wanted life itself.
    Then he touched her, felt her burning, saw the wildfire of his own need blaze in her eyes.
    Duncan’s torrential male hunger poured over Amber in a river of fire. She was a spark caught in a whirlwind, recklessly burning, helplessly spiraling upward to an unknown destiny. With a woman’s instinct, she sought Duncan’s flesh both as haven and as fuel for an even greater fire.
    Duncan pulled Amber close with a strength he could barely control. The feel and taste of her mouthmade him groan with redoubled need. His body chained hers to the ground as his tongue shot between her teeth, claiming her mouth in urgent, elemental rhythms.
    With a wildness that equaled Duncan’s, Amber fought to get closer to him, to ease the torment of his arousal and her own, a suffering that was also a savage pleasure. Her hands searched over his body, seeking ways through and beneath his clothing.
    The feel of Amber’s hands on his face, his chest, his breeches, was heaven and hell combined for Duncan. When she found the aching source of his need, the pleasure nearly undid him. His hips thrust suddenly against her, once, twice, thrice, and a groan was dragged from the depths of his passion.
    Amber felt both Duncan’s pleasure and his driving, unfulfilled need. However great his enjoyment of her hand caressing him, it wasn’t enough. She could feel the savage heat of him, taste the salt of his passion on his neck, and she