Shield's Lady

tightened fiercely. His fingers dug into her rounded buttocks as he pulled her to him. The hard, searching shaft of his manhood was like sleek iron against her soft stomach. His whole body vibrated with the intensity of his need.
    Sariana realized he was reacting exactly the way she had pictured him doing in the image of the embrace she had projected. In another moment she would be flat on her back and he would be on top of her, surging into her. Frantically she altered the image in her mind.
    “Wait, not so hard,” she gasped, wrenching her head aside. She sank her nails into his shoulders and shoved heavily.
    Gryph didn’t seem to hear her for a moment. When she finally got his attention he slowly raised his head and looked down at her with a confused expression in his glittering eyes.
    “I thought that’s what you wanted.” His voice was a rasping whisper.
    “Not quite.” Sariana realized she was shaking. “Obviously I have to do some fine tuning here.”
    He watched her through dazed narrowed eyes and raked a hand restlessly through his hair. “Sariana, what do you think you’re doing?”
    “I’m not sure yet.” She gave him her most brilliant smile and sallied forth once more into the fray. She caught hold of his hand and put it against her breast. “Kiss me again. Not quite so fiercely. And this time I want you to touch me.”
    He swore softly but his fingers closed around her pert nipple as he lowered his mouth once more to hers. She painted a sensual picture in her head.
    This time the kiss was just right.
    “Exactly what I ordered,” she said against his mouth.
    He ignored that, too wrapped up in the embrace now to pay attention to her self-congratulations. Sariana could feel his vibrating excitement. His desire was a tangible force that reached out to engulf her. When she deliberately projected the sensation of his tongue tangling with hers, she immediately found her mouth invaded. Once again the assault was a little too forceful.
    “Easy,” she mumbled.
    He backed off slightly. His tongue explored her softness while his hands kneaded the resilient flesh of her buttocks.
    An image popped into Sariana’s head. It was similar to the picture of herself she had seen that afternoon on the sled, the view that seemed to linger on her backside. In this image the round cheeks of her buttocks were full and lightly flushed. The dark cleft that separated them was deep and shockingly mysterious. A familiar masculine hand was gliding around to explore the hidden valley.
    Even as she realized what was happening, Sariana felt Gryph’s fingers sliding into that secret place, seeking its mysteries with a boldness that made her tremble.
    Sariana gasped for air and banished the picture with an act of will. This was her fantasy, not Gryph’s. She would control it and control him in the process. He had a lesson coming and she knew now she could teach it.
    Sariana won the battle to control his questing fingers but as she concentrated on that skirmish, she lost control of the kiss. It deepened quickly as his tongue slid between her teeth. Then she felt Gryph’s blunt, hard shaft sliding along her stomach.
    Sariana realized she had to control the sensual battle on all fronts. Gryph was too clever, too knowledgeable about her responses. He was too much the hunter, the one trained to take charge. And he’d figured out what she was trying to do.
    Sariana replaced the graphic image she had just banished with one of her own. This was a much softer, more romantic picture of a woman lying on her back while a faceless man knelt beside her and gently touched her breasts.
    “That’s me, not some faceless fantasy,” Gryph muttered, lowering Sariana to the blanket that had fallen onto the sand. “If you’re going to draw pictures, get them right.”
    The unseen man kneeling beside the woman instantly assumed Gryph’s features. And then Gryph himself was kneeling beside Sariana. He drew small circles around her dusky aureoles. The hard nipples grew even tauter. She arched upward, seeking a firmer touch.
    “Is this what you want, Sariana?” He tugged gently at sensitized flesh.
    “Yes,” she managed. “ Oh, yes, that’s what I want.” She took his hand and raised it to her lips, kissing his rough palm. Then she pushed it slowly, firmly down her body.
    When his fingers threaded through the dark hair between her thighs she moaned and lifted herself against him. She thought of the way he had touched her there