Echoes and Embers (Rebel Angels) by Cyndi Friberg Page B

today. Nothing came before this moment and the future is ours to control.”
    “Until the past consumes it.”
    He lifted her against his chest, claiming her mouth with his. Her feet barely grazed the floor. She hung suspended in his embrace. Looping her arms around his neck, she opened her mouth, accepting the bold thrust of his tongue. Hot darts of pleasure shot down her spine and lodged low in her belly. Even the most daring court swain had not kissed her with such fervor.
    Their kiss went on and on. He delved deeply, nibbled and tasted. His hot breath filled her lungs. Her head spun. If his arms hadn’t clutched her to him, she would have crumpled to the floor at his feet. She felt weak and dizzy, giddy with desire.
    Please, let this never end!
    He cupped her bottom, rubbing her feminine heat against his hardened shaft. “We have to stop,” he whispered against her kiss-dampened lips. “I cannot wed you and I will not take what belongs to your husband.”
    “I want this. I want you.”
    With a frantic sweep of his arm, he cleared the wooden table and set Rosalind upon it. She parted her thighs automatically. He pushed her skirts above her knees. Their mouths met and molded as he worked the laces of her gown. She’d won! He would take her, make her a woman. Make her his.
    She would be free.
    His hands moved with remarkable speed. She lifted her arms from her long sleeves and her gown bunched around her waist. He paused to cup her breast through the translucent material of her chemise. Arching into his hand, she absorbed the heat, thrilled at the pressure of his palm against her flesh.
    He angled the wide neckline, revealing one pert nipple. Dragging his mouth from hers, he gazed at the treasure he’d bared. “So beautiful.”
    She took his hand and guided it back to her breast. “Touch me. Don’t stop touching me.”
    He cupped the back of her head with one hand while the other explored her breasts. Tingling pleasure erupted, twisted and shot into the very core of her body. She gasped. His mouth returned to hers, his kiss deep and demanding. He grew bolder , more aggressive. His tongue thrust rhythmically. A pang of fear intruded on Rosalind’s arousal. Would he marry her once he’d taken her virginity?
    His hand slipped beneath her skirt, stroking her thighs. Should she allow him these liberties now or wait until he wed her? She ached for their joining, but she couldn’t afford to play the fool.
    “Relax,” he whispered against her mouth. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
    She wasn’t worried about physical pain. She knew it would sting when he…mounted her, but he had to be willing to follow through with her plan or she would surrender her body for nothing.
    His lips slid along her throat, explored her shoulder and the upper curve of her breasts. He closed his lips around her nipple and eased his fingers between her thighs. Passion coiled within her, deep, aching pulses of desire. She needed him inside her, burned for the culmination to these sensations.
    He sucked upon one breast and then adjusted the chemise so he could taste the other, his fingers absently stroking her damp folds. “Say the word and I’ll stop.” It was more of a taunt than an assurance. The proof of her desire was at his fingertips. He paused, staring deep into her eyes. “We both burn for something we cannot have, but I can give you this at least. I can show you where the sensations lead.”
    “You’re not going to…take me?”
    “Nay.” He stroked her with his middle finger, grazing her feminine slit. “But I’ll touch you and let you touch me.”
    She trembled at the implication. He intended to bare his body and let her explore. “Aye, please.”
    Moving to her side, he kept his hand between her legs, caressing and teasing. “Loosen my hose.” Rosalind licked her lips, her gaze falling to the thick column outlined by his clingy garment. “If you want to touch me, uncover me.”
    Her fingers shook as she tugged on