Witchcraft

want to go back to my bed alone ... I have a right to be here with you."
    "Don't talk to me about rights!"
    "Then let's talk about why you're afraid of rushing me," she flung back, goaded. "What are you afraid of rushing me into? Bed? I'm not trying to resist, in case you hadn't noticed!" He set down the brandy glass with a fierce clatter and came up out of the chair with a lethally graceful movement. Nude from the waist up, his face carved in harsh, rigid lines, Cavenaugh was a formidable opponent to face in the dark. Kimberly almost lost her courage.
    Placatingly she held out one hand. " Cavenaugh , how long do you think we can last in separate bedrooms?"
    "Until you trust me enough to let yourself love me again," he told her with barely suppressed violence.
    "I don't want you in my bed until you can say you love me the way you did before I mishandled that business with your grandparents." She stared at him. "I don't think you've been doing your usual hot job of reading my mind lately," she finally said weakly. Her hands were trembling, and she clutched at the tie of the robe in an effort to still them. "Reading your mind has always been a fairly haphazard business," Cavenaugh rasped. "Maybe it's because you've got a rather haphazard way of thinking. A feminine way of thinking," he clarified accusingly. "Is that right? And I suppose your thinking processes are more intelligible? Well, let me tell you something, Cavenaugh , I haven't been able to figure out what's going on in ... that male head of yours for weeks! I've been wondering why on earth you even bothered to marry me, for example."
    "Because I love you!" he exploded. "Why else would I marry you?"
    "Sex, companionship, to acquire someone who can protect you from your oversized sense of responsibility, because you felt grateful to me: all kinds of reasons!" His eyes glittered and his voice was raw.
    "I married you because I love you, Kim." She caught her breath. "Well, that's why I married you. So why are we spending our wedding night in separate bedrooms?" she whispered achingly. Cavenaugh moved then, gliding across the floor to scoop her up into his arms. He swung her around with a fierce exuberance and tossed her down on the bed. Then he was lying heavily on top of her, pinning her to the bedclothes. "Kim, are you sure? Are you very, very sure? I was so afraid that I'd ruined everything." She speared her fingers through his hair, her heart in her eyes. " Cavenaugh , I've never stopped loving you. I was angry and hurt and I was sure you couldn't possibly have loved me or you wouldn't have pulled a stunt like that, but I never stopped loving you."
    "I only did it because I thought it was for the best, Kim. I wanted you to be completely free of the past, free to love me. I needed all of you."
    "I understand, darling."
    "Do you really?" He was studying her with a burning intensity. Kimberly's mouth curved gently. "I didn't say I approved. I said I understood. There's a difference, I've learned."
    "Tell me about it!" he grated hoarsely, and then he kissed her with rough passion. As she began to respond he lifted his head again. "I know I'm not what you thought you wanted in a man. But I love you so very much, sweetheart. That love is going to get us through the communication problems, I swear it."
    "You mean through all the times when you're having trouble comprehending my '' thinking processes?" she teased softly. "Actually, I've been meaning to tell you that I'm thinking of changing the character of Josh Valerian slightly."
    "Is that so?"
    "Umm. I'm going to make him a little more like you. Not quite so comprehensible to the heroine, but maybe a bit more interesting."
    "I love the way your mind works," he assured her deeply, bending his head to nibble provocatively behind her ear. "At the moment I'm having trouble thinking at all," she confided, slipping her hands across his shoulders. "Don't worry about it. I'll do all the thinking for us." He lifted himself slightly away and undid the tie of her robe.
    "You look so damn sexy in a T-shirt."
    "I would have looked even sexier in my new nightgown. But when I realized you weren't going to come to my room tonight or invite me into yours, I decided not to waste it," she told him sadly. "So you just put on your usual T-shirt and this old robe and trotted down the hall to confront me, hmm?" He was toying with the hem of the T-shirt, inching it slowly up to her waist. "Thank God you did. I was going crazy in here