Edge of Time (Langston Brothers Series) (15 page)

“Are you afraid of me?” he whispered against her mouth, bracing his hands on either side of her.

“Yes, I’m afraid, but not of you.” Her lips parted and he answered the invitation.

S
he moaned
and
Craig
swallowed the sweet
sounds.
H
e wanted to devour her. Explore her. Make love to her.

His hands roamed her still clothed form until she writhed beneath him. She responded to his every touch, and his every ki
ss, and it was driving him to madness
. Her movements were incredible, provocative, and every gasp escaping her mouth prompted the next kiss to be more fervent than the last.

Moving down he kissed the notch at the base of her throat and his fingers traced the edge of her bodice where the tantalizing swell of her breasts peeked over the top. Maneuvering the gown away from her breasts he drew back, claiming just one in a cupped palm and prompting yet another throaty moan. “You are so perfect,” he murmured huskily.

At this moment Craig stood at the very precipice of his self-control, ready to topple over the edge and into...
her
. And when she began to unfasten the buttons of his jacket he was done. The edge
not only loomed near but as she leaned up to strip the
garment from his shoulders he hear
d
the wind rush past his ears as he plunged past the point of no return. Her cool fingers dug into his back and a shudder of pure pleasure coursed through him. He couldn’t stop now. This was it.

*
             
*
             
*

Marissa pause
d for the space of a breath,
half sitting,
all but gaping
at the man before
h
er. He wa
s more man that she’d ever seen.
A
god
…
with rock hard
,
sinewy muscle bulging from every inch of his frame. Making love to him would be ecstasy, but she
could
be content just t
o stare at him for hours. Craig, however, obviously had no intention of staring. He moved quickly forward, grasping the back of her neck with his roughened palm, pulling her to him for more mindless kisses. He took her lips hungrily, as though
his very life depended on
it. The kiss was hot, wet, and all-consuming
and she matched him in it stroke for stroke never wanting it to end.

Nothing had ever felt so incredibly good, so right, and so… perfect. A man had never stirred her emotions the way Craig Langston did and now she was positively drowning in passion.
She settled herself back more fully in the grass allowing him to lie completely on top of her. She shivered in ecstasy, relishing the thrill of his bare flesh against hers.
This man need only touch her to awaken desire as she’d never known it could exist.

Is
this love?
L
ust?
B
oth…?

Their fingers worked together to further loosen
their remaining clothes.
“Craig...”
she moaned, unable to form any other coherent words.

“Marissa,” he whispered
breathlessly against her mouth, voice thick with passion. His body poised above her was
clearly
primed with desire of the most primitive fashion.
“I want you,”
he rasped, ravishing her neck with his
mouth.
He moved lower, pressing searing kisses along her collar bone and then to the beginning swell of her right breast. Her exposed nipple ached for his touch.
“Are you ready for this?”

His words jarred her back to reality.

What am I doing?

As much as she wanted him she
was not ready for what a sexual
relationship with a man in this time would ultimately mean. If she committed herself to what he was asking, and what she herself so
wanted
, it was admitting that she would never get home. She wasn’t ready to accept such a fate.

Brian
. The dark face of her former fiancé burned before her eyes, bringing with it thoughts of betrayal and self-doubt. “I--I can’t do this,” she stammered, wriggling out of his suddenly suffocating embrace. “I’m sorry, Craig, I
—
” She grasped the thin chemise to her exposed breasts and stumbled to her feet while
simultaneously attempting to wiggle her arms back into
the bodice of
her
simple dress
.

Craig rolled onto his back with a guttural sound that could have been mistaken for a curse, and
covered his face with an elbow.

Marissa’s face burned with guilt and embarrassment. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated, wanting nothing more than to sink into the earth and disappear.

“
No, Marissa, its fine.
”
He held up a hand, and assumed a kneeling position, the tone of his voice sounding anything but
fine.
“I should never have put you in this position. I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Marissa glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Despite apparent frustration
he was making a valiant effort to be gentlemanly about what had turned into a rather ungentlemanly endeavor.

Turning back away,
Marissa took her time fastening
her gown
, which was missing a couple of crucial buttons, and running fingers through her hair, which in all reality was beyond taming. When at long last her fingers stopped trembling she turned back to him. The sight of his still naked torso set her to trembling all over again. His skin was bronzed and stretched taut over the expanse of his chest. Toned muscles flexed with even the slightest movement and she couldn’t help but liken him to Neptune with the sea glittering in the background. Craig emanated an aura that was, if nothing else, intoxicating
.
And if she didn’t escape his nearness immediately she would no doubt hurl herself back into those incredibly powerful arms, losing herself in him…
forever?

She wasn’t ready for forever.

Breaking into a run she dashed for the grove of trees they’d passed through only a short time before as if the gates of h
ell had opened beneath her feet.

“Damn!” Craig sprang to his feet pulling the white shirt over his broad shoulders and slinging the woolen uniform jacket over his arm. “Marissa! Marissa, please wait!” He called, rapidly closing the distance between them.

With heavy skirts dragging against her legs it wouldn’t matter if hell really had opened its gaping mouth to swallow her because never would she have been able to outdistance the ground eating strides of Craig Langston. Roughly he grasped her upper arm and spun her around to face him
, slipping his other palm around her waist
. “I’m sorry, Marissa.
God
know
s
the last thing I want is to drive you away.
”
He drew a ragged breath, holding firm to her arm.
“May I still walk you home?” The words were
rough
, his breath warm and moist just inches from her lips. The air between them
grew
thick with a sort of electric tension only lovers understand.

In that moment Marissa knew an entirely new meaning to the term ‘weak at the knees.’ His words washed over her in a caress more arousing than any physical touch.
Weak at the knees? Weak in the head.
Every bone in her body threatened to melt like butter, and if not for the steady grasp of his hands she surely would have spilled into a puddle at his feet. “I should think it is the least you could do, Dr.
Langston,
”
she said coolly, pulling away from him.

Suddenly she was standing on her own two feet again and the not so welcome clarity o
f reality crashed back down on her.
With a gentle shake of her head Marissa turned to begin the long trek back to to
wn, allowing him to take her hand
.
“I
didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression
,” she said. “I just need some time to sort a few things out for myself. Another place, another time
—
”
Another time indeed!

Craig
narrowed his
gaze
at her, faint
glints of silver moonbeam
s slid
through tree-branches
, giving his eyes an ethereal shine
. “Now don’t go giving me ideas, Marissa, if another time and place is all you need I have no doubt I can arrange for it.” He studied her for a long moment as if trying to glean some insi
ght to her thoughts, she quickly averted her gaze. She could never explain the obstacles between them
.

*
             
*
             
*

Craig led her back along the trail they’d earlier ascended.
Guarded
. Her expression was guarded.
There was something else going on. He knew it in his gut, but every time he tried to get close
enough to unwrap her secrets she pulled away. This evening s
he
’d gone
from pliant and willing to elusive and withdrawn
in a matter of seconds. T
here
must be
a reason.

Hell, she’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted her a
few minutes ago. Craig was dead sure
of that.

He would never be
certain how long they walked in
uncomfortable silence but at last he broached the subject lying so heavily on his mind. “Is there someone else?”

The pained expression on her face spoke volumes and Craig
deflated as though
physically struck.
T
here
is
another man
.

“No,” she said quietly.

A disturbing degree of relief rushed through him. He wanted her, no doubt about that, but the reaction he’d felt to the thought of anyone else claiming her, looking at her… kissing her… It appalled him how much it had hurt to remember her so wanton in his arms, but it was far, far worse
to consider her belonging to another man.