Virginia Henley (41 page)

“You are so slim, are you sure you are having a child?”

“I’m very sure.”

He kissed her brow. “Rest. I’ll take care of everything else”

As the door closed softly, she knew that this man was all the protection she would ever need.

On a warm night in May, Diana and Mark sat facing each other, submerged in the large porcelain tub.

“The bathing pool will be finished in a couple of days. This old tub can be relegated to the attics.”

“Not in a million years. I’ve become rather fond of it,” she said, inching her toes along the inside of his ironhard thigh. Mark’s feet were imprisoned beneath her buttocks so he couldn’t do wicked things with them.

“How would you like to play master and slave tonight?”

“How would you like to play mistress and slave?”

“Not in a million years!” But he knew in his heart this woman had enslaved him.

“Let’s negotiate,” she suggested playfully, her toes only a fraction away from their goal.

“I’ll let you call me Marcus,” he tempted.

Diana loved to have the last word and knew she was blessed to have a man who would allow her to have it, once in a lifetime. Beneath half-closed eyelids she murmured, “I’ll obey your every command if you wear the gladius sword I bought you.” Then she punctuated her offer with a silken slide of toes.

DELL BOOKS
Published by
Bantam Dell
a division of
Random House, Inc.

Copyright © 1996 by Virginia Henley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

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eISBN: 978-0-307-56747-5

January 1996

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