Her breast was swellingbeneath his hand, the nipple hardening. She said breathlessly, "I don'tfeel like resting anymore."
"I can tell." Hispalm slowly closed on her breast and heat tore through her body. "You'resure?"
She was starting to tremble."Yes."
He drew a deep, ragged breath."God, I'm glad."
He began to unbutton hershirt.
It was not like any timebefore. At first the rhythm was as slow and sweet as a lullaby, but later it wasneither of those things. It was frantic and hot and mindless, capturing themboth in a tempest of feeling. Yet she realized that storm had none of thedarkness of domination. He was leading, not conquering.
The climax left her limp andgasping, her arms clutching him tightly to her.
His chest was heaving, hisface buried in her shoulder. His voice was low and muffled. "Why,Jane?"
Without thinking, she told himthe truth. "I wanted something to remember after I leave Cinnidar."
He flinched as if she had struckhim. "I hope I made the experience properly memorable."
She had hurt him again withher careless words. "I mean, I woke up and you were there and I—"
"You don't have toexplain." He lifted his head and looked down at her. "I've been usedby women before. It's just never mattered to me." He swung off her, stoodup, and lifted her up in his arms. "I have no intention of becoming only amemory, but I'm not above snatching a few pleasant ones of my own."
He started walking toward thelake.
"What are youdoing?" she asked, startled. "Ruel, this is—"
He stepped off the bank andinto the lake.
The shock of the cold watermade her gasp. "You call this pleasant?"
He grinned as he set her onher feet. "You'll get used to it." His hands moved around in back ofher head to loosen her braid. "I want to see your hair." He threadedhis fingers through its thickness. "Silky... I've always loved yourhair." His fingers grabbed the soft mass, holding her head back as helooked into her eyes. "I love you."
She stood there, staring up athim. She couldn't tell him how she felt. She couldn't put herself in his poweragain.
"But of course you don'tbelieve me." He smiled with an effort. "Are you still cold?"
"No," she whispered.
His hands fell away from herand he stepped back. He deliberately hit the water, splashing her in the face."How about now?" he asked with a wicked grin.
She sputtered. "Are youtrying to drown me?"
"Just following Caleb'sexample. You seemed to find him amusing." He splashed her again.
"Ruel, that was—"His face was alive with such boyish deviltry that she broke into helplesslaughter. He had changed from sober intensity to wicked mischief in the spaceof a heartbeat, and she welcomed the transformation with relief. "Let'sswim."
He shook his head. "I'drather splash you. You looked like an indignant ten-year-old," Ruel said."I'd like to have seen you that young."
In the hour that followed shefelt as if he had given her back the childhood she had never had as they playedand swam in the water. She felt young and joyous and without a care. She wasdisappointed when at sundown Ruel waded back to shore and began to dress.
She followed him withreluctance. The air was still warm, but she shivered as the breeze touched herdamp body. She hurriedly dried herself on the blanket and started to pull onher clothes.
He picked up her shirt fromthe ground and held it for her.
She slipped her arms into thesleeves. "I'm capable of dressing myself."
He began to button her shirt."I want to do this. Kneel down," he murmured. "There's somethingelse I want to do."
