All Hallow's Eve by Wendi Sotis

blouse over trousers. ”
    He nodded and turned his back to her, instantly tr ying his best to concentrate on the task of freeing the material from the branches to hide his mos t recent reaction to the knowledge that Elizabeth had literally undress ed whil st he had held her skirt in his hands! William sighed—having so little control over his physical response to Elizabeth w ould become mortifying if he was not able to discipline himself !
    The skirt at last came free and the two moved to where the training weapons were stored. William lifted a few logs off the pile that hid them. Elizabeth removed two wasters, and he followed her int o the clearing. After they both had discarded their coats, Elizabeth said, “ Since the way that you learn best seems to be by imitation, I will take you through a number of offensive moves one after the other. I would then like you to try to imitate what I have done. ” Elizabeth further directed him as he readied his stance . S he did not immediately begin , i nstead she lowered her waster and , sheathing it, she moved toward s him.
    “ Since y ou did not behave this way yesterday, sir, I must assume that y ou are overly tired this morning . ” Elizabeth pressed her lips together to hold back a smile. “ Please remember, t his is not fencing, Mr. Darcy ; w h en you hold this type of sword, y our arms must be held in a different po sition in relation to your body. ”
    Elizabeth took hold of his upper arm with both hands, intending to move it into the correct position, but as she touched the powerful muscles though the thin cloth of his lawn shirt, a sudden thrill coursed through her, and she shivered. As their eyes locked, she could not stop a deep blush from spreading over every inch of her skin. Alt hough her first though t was to move away from the man and escape the unexpected and confusing sensations that physical contact with William had created within her, she found that she could not.
    H ad there ever been any question in William’s mind that those from the Otherworld had been correct in saying that Elizabeth was his Soul Mate , he would doubt no longer . N ever before had he felt s o complete as he did when he was with her, even more so at having her so close to him . Since the first moment he had laid eyes upon her, she had been his constant companion — in his thoughts whenever she was not actually present . Even before he had come upon her on All Hallow ’ s Eve, he now recognized that he had had every intention of arranging it so that he would always have her by his side . H e wanted so very much from her , almost as much as he wanted to give to her.
    William knew that i f she continued to look at him in th e way she did at this moment , he might not be able to stop himself from the giving and the taking, even though h e well knew that she had no idea what her look or her touch did to him.
    C los ing his eyes , William made an effort to break the trance that he seemed to slip into whenever she was near him. Her touch had caused his heart to race as it had never done before , and the way she held herself made him feel as if she would welcome any advances that he might make.
    After what he had heard her say the other night, he was certain that he must be see ing only what he wished to see ! K nowing that he had misread her looks many times in the past , h e absolutely refused to do so again. It was imperative that he keep himself from acting on the almost overwhelming desire to take Elizabeth into his arms — f or if he did, he might lose her forever. But he found that by closing his eyes, he only became more aware of her heavenly scent and the gentle pressure of her hands on his arm. It must be his imagination that s he seemed to be caressing him. H e opened his eyes and looked away from her, lest he become lost to these sensations .
    Think, man! Think of something to say! William cleared his throat before asking, “ Are these methods of fighting a T ribal tradition or