shereads
Sloganless
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2003
- Posts
- 19,242
There are things a man cannot tell you about himself in any way but one: by the way he holds you when he sleeps.
He cannot express in words or with the gift of his passion, what he tells you when his breathing slows and steadies, and his arms relax their hold, freeing you to go, trusting you to stay. In this way, he offers to shelter your fragile body with his stronger one. And in exchange, you are asked to lay your heart upon the altar of his fate. He may sacrifice your heart to whatever gods he has given his own. Or worse, he might not take it at all.
But having heard the request, spoken in the language of the sleeping lover, you no longer have a choice. You lost your heart to him when you hid your face in the warmth of his chest, and dared to taste his skin with a secret kiss.
There will be nights when you sleep peacefully in the safety of his arms. But on this night, having chosen to love him, you will lie awake, unwilling to miss a moment of these few hours when he is entirely yours.
~ ~ ~
It was hard to let go of her anger. And impossible to hang onto it. Emma slid out of Inago's arms with utmost care, and pulled a chair close to the bed. Close enough to make out the features of his sleeping face in the flickering firelight, as she sat for perhaps an hour, simply watching him. What might she learn from this man in the unguarded moments of sleep? What might he reveal of his true nature - and of hers?
She learned that her first instinct hadn't been wrong, after all. He was an honest man, at his core.
We are as honest as any two thieves in Brittany. A perfect pair.
She realized he had risked everything to bring her here, and the realization was as shattering as if he had struck her.
She began to know she had wanted him from the beginning. She would have lost him, though, if he hadn't taken her.
Rather than violate the code of Ladies and Gentlemen that was all Emma knew about men and women, she would have left him when the Black Bird docked at Calais. She would have lost forever the chance to melt and burn for him. She would have regretted it always, never knowing what she had missed or why its absence left a void...
"You're not going to shoot me again, are you?" The wicked whiteness of his smile cut through the shadows. He pushed the blanket away and stretched lazily, reminding her of a well-fed lion.
"I hadn't thought of it," she answered. "I like you when you are sleeping." On an impulse, she moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, bridging the little barrier she had erected between them. "It is only when you are conscious that you inspire me to murder."
She smiled shyly, and reached out to brush a dark curl back from his forehead. A possessive gesture, she realized, suddenly embarrassed. She pulled her hand away as if burned, thinking he might be offended - or worse, he might be unaffected.
When he took her small hand in his big, warm one, she felt inordinately grateful.
Then he drew it to his mouth, turned it palm-up and pressed his lips there, savoring it for long seconds as if there could be nothing more interesting than the texture of her skin. The last of Emma's resistance vanished like fog in sunshine.
She said the word softly, unsure of her right to it: "Inago."
His eyes met hers, acknowledging that she had said his given name for the first time. The first time that counted; she had called him Inago in an attempt to cajole him before. It sounded different when she said it this time, as if she were tasting the word.
"Inago," she said again, laying claim to the exotic sound. "How did you know about me?"
"About your thieving? You boarded a smuggler's ship, carrying a bag that clattered like the kitchens at Buckingham Palace, and you wonder how I knew?"
He was laughing at her. She half-wanted to slap him, but only because he was right. And because he had misunderstood - or had pretended to, and was going to make her clarify her question.
"That isn't what I mean."
"Isn't it?" He wasn't laughing now.
He sat up, and the sight of his big, hard chest and massive shoulders made Emma's eyes widen and her lips part in a silent "Oh!" She hadn't been prepared to hide the little thrill of fear and pleasurable anticipation that she would always feel when reminded of this man's immeasurable power.
She blushed and bit her lip, in a gesture from childhood that signaled her reluctance to say what must be said.
"What is it, Emma?"
"You said...You knew things about me. You knew that I would respond...that I would not dislike what you did."
He hid a grin the only way he could, by drawing her into his arms. When his hands closed on her shoulders, she gasped and stiffened for an almost imperceptible moment, then went limp, like an animal signalling submission to its Alpha. He positioned her with her back to him, and felt her hesitate for only a moment before she relaxed against him, snuggling like a kitten.
"You did not dislike it? I could have sworn that you disliked it."
"Don't you dare laugh at me, pirate." She bit his shoulder - or more accurately, pretended to, barely grazing him with a teasing nip, which she quickly made better with a quick, baby-soft kiss.
They both grew still and quiet. When Emma spoke again, her voice was a husky whisper. "How did you know that I wanted you to...to take me that way? As if I were not a lady? And why didn't I hate it as a lady ought to?"
He cannot express in words or with the gift of his passion, what he tells you when his breathing slows and steadies, and his arms relax their hold, freeing you to go, trusting you to stay. In this way, he offers to shelter your fragile body with his stronger one. And in exchange, you are asked to lay your heart upon the altar of his fate. He may sacrifice your heart to whatever gods he has given his own. Or worse, he might not take it at all.
But having heard the request, spoken in the language of the sleeping lover, you no longer have a choice. You lost your heart to him when you hid your face in the warmth of his chest, and dared to taste his skin with a secret kiss.
There will be nights when you sleep peacefully in the safety of his arms. But on this night, having chosen to love him, you will lie awake, unwilling to miss a moment of these few hours when he is entirely yours.
~ ~ ~
It was hard to let go of her anger. And impossible to hang onto it. Emma slid out of Inago's arms with utmost care, and pulled a chair close to the bed. Close enough to make out the features of his sleeping face in the flickering firelight, as she sat for perhaps an hour, simply watching him. What might she learn from this man in the unguarded moments of sleep? What might he reveal of his true nature - and of hers?
She learned that her first instinct hadn't been wrong, after all. He was an honest man, at his core.
We are as honest as any two thieves in Brittany. A perfect pair.
She realized he had risked everything to bring her here, and the realization was as shattering as if he had struck her.
She began to know she had wanted him from the beginning. She would have lost him, though, if he hadn't taken her.
Rather than violate the code of Ladies and Gentlemen that was all Emma knew about men and women, she would have left him when the Black Bird docked at Calais. She would have lost forever the chance to melt and burn for him. She would have regretted it always, never knowing what she had missed or why its absence left a void...
"You're not going to shoot me again, are you?" The wicked whiteness of his smile cut through the shadows. He pushed the blanket away and stretched lazily, reminding her of a well-fed lion.
"I hadn't thought of it," she answered. "I like you when you are sleeping." On an impulse, she moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, bridging the little barrier she had erected between them. "It is only when you are conscious that you inspire me to murder."
She smiled shyly, and reached out to brush a dark curl back from his forehead. A possessive gesture, she realized, suddenly embarrassed. She pulled her hand away as if burned, thinking he might be offended - or worse, he might be unaffected.
When he took her small hand in his big, warm one, she felt inordinately grateful.
Then he drew it to his mouth, turned it palm-up and pressed his lips there, savoring it for long seconds as if there could be nothing more interesting than the texture of her skin. The last of Emma's resistance vanished like fog in sunshine.
She said the word softly, unsure of her right to it: "Inago."
His eyes met hers, acknowledging that she had said his given name for the first time. The first time that counted; she had called him Inago in an attempt to cajole him before. It sounded different when she said it this time, as if she were tasting the word.
"Inago," she said again, laying claim to the exotic sound. "How did you know about me?"
"About your thieving? You boarded a smuggler's ship, carrying a bag that clattered like the kitchens at Buckingham Palace, and you wonder how I knew?"
He was laughing at her. She half-wanted to slap him, but only because he was right. And because he had misunderstood - or had pretended to, and was going to make her clarify her question.
"That isn't what I mean."
"Isn't it?" He wasn't laughing now.
He sat up, and the sight of his big, hard chest and massive shoulders made Emma's eyes widen and her lips part in a silent "Oh!" She hadn't been prepared to hide the little thrill of fear and pleasurable anticipation that she would always feel when reminded of this man's immeasurable power.
She blushed and bit her lip, in a gesture from childhood that signaled her reluctance to say what must be said.
"What is it, Emma?"
"You said...You knew things about me. You knew that I would respond...that I would not dislike what you did."
He hid a grin the only way he could, by drawing her into his arms. When his hands closed on her shoulders, she gasped and stiffened for an almost imperceptible moment, then went limp, like an animal signalling submission to its Alpha. He positioned her with her back to him, and felt her hesitate for only a moment before she relaxed against him, snuggling like a kitten.
"You did not dislike it? I could have sworn that you disliked it."
"Don't you dare laugh at me, pirate." She bit his shoulder - or more accurately, pretended to, barely grazing him with a teasing nip, which she quickly made better with a quick, baby-soft kiss.
They both grew still and quiet. When Emma spoke again, her voice was a husky whisper. "How did you know that I wanted you to...to take me that way? As if I were not a lady? And why didn't I hate it as a lady ought to?"
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