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“But I am ravishing you, Victoria. Right now. You can’t stop me. You haven’t a gun in your hand, and your strength is no match for mine. If I wanted to, I could take you by force with no effort at all.”
“But this isn’t by force,” she said, feeling wicked as she wriggled beneath him.
“Perhaps not,” he conceded, his eyes taking on a satisfyingly glazed look. “But what if I’d been a stranger who’d come upon you unawares while you were puttering about in here?”
She gave him her wickedest smile. “I’d have fought much harder.”
“And I’m telling you it wouldn’t have mattered!” he shouted. “You could have bitten, kicked, scratched, yelled, and screamed, and it wouldn’t have made any damn difference whatsoever to a man bent on rape. And God help you if there was more than one, Victoria. You’ve no idea the horror you’d endure before they killed you!”
She heard the fear in his voice, felt it in the trembling of his arms. “Your concern is appreciated, Julius, truly. But—”
“I don’t think it is,” he snapped. “I’ve seen such things abroad, during my travels in Africa. I’ve witnessed the aftermath of tribal wars, seen the atrocities committed against the women of the villages. Many of those who survived wished they hadn’t. I heard them crying out to their heathen gods in the night, begging to join those that had been given the ‘gift’ of death.”
His words were tinged with an echo of sadness so profound that it made her very soul ache in sympathy.
Julius tried to keep his emotions under tight control. He hadn’t told her, but this was the reason he’d come back home. He’d tried to escape by traveling the civilized world of Europe, abandoning the wild, untamed places, seeking to wash away the memories and banish the nightmares. But all the running, liquor, and light skirts in the world would never even begin to erase what he’d seen. Finally, he’d come home, seeking the solace of familiar surroundings in the hope of attaining some measure of peace.
“I had no idea,” Victoria whispered, staring at him.
“Thank God for that!” he murmured fervently, coming back to the present. “I beg you to heed my request: do not come here alone again. You’ve been fortunate thus far, but eventually your luck will run out. You must promise me never to return here alone.”
She nodded. “I won’t. Not without you.”
Julius made to rise, but before he could do so, she stretched up and kissed him softly, tenderly, cupping his cheeks between her palms. He paused, quivering with tension. “Victoria, I meant for us to pass the time here talking, getting to know one another better.”
She kissed him again, brushing his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. “I am getting to know you better, my lord.”
A tremor ran through his body. “Victoria, I will not—”
“Make the same mistake twice?” she cut in sharply. “You will not leave me in a state of torment this time, Julius! We’ll be married soon, anyway.”
Her smoky eyes burned into him, glittering from beneath heavy lids as she boldly ran her hand down between their bodies and stroked the aching stiffness there.
His breath caught as his midsection tightened. “It may matter a great deal to you when your acquaintances begin counting the months prior to the birth of our first child!”
She stroked him again.
“I cannot be held responsible for my actions if you continue thus,” he warned. “My restraint will only withstand so much, sweetheart.”
“Mmm. A challenge,” she mused, increasing the pressure below and massaging his thickening length. Arching up, she kissed him, drawing him back down.
He rolled to the side to avoid crushing her, and she again surprised him by carrying the motion through with him until she lay atop. He fought to keep his hands at his sides. “I would not dishonor you so,” he whispered, fighting the urge to do just that.
“What dishonor? I am to be your wife. What does it matter if we enjoy the pleasures of the marriage bed a little before the vows are spoken? We certainly wouldn’t be the first couple to do so,” she said with a chuckle.
“Because I wish to do this—” He saw her eyes take on a hard gleam as if she could read his mind as it shouted properly! “I wish to do this in a place of comfort and privacy. Not in some cold, run-down hovel in the middle of nowhere. You deserve better.”
“It’s quite warm and comfortable, and I can assure you that no one will disturb us here,” she insisted.
“That isn’t the point.”
“I want you,” she stated bluntly. Leaning down, she kissed him again.
He enfolded her in his arms, pulling her close. After only a moment, however, she pushed back off his chest and began to unlace her gown. Her fingers shook, making it difficult.
The hell with it. She’s right—we’ll be married soon anyway. He brushed her hands aside and took over.
The gown quickly fell away from her gleaming shoulders, revealing the tightly laced corset that held her breasts captive. Reverently,
