Midnight Eyes by Brophy, Sarah (well read books .TXT) 📕

was more than a little unnerved by the sheer force of the emotions Imogen inspired in him. He ran a gentle hand through her hair and pressed her head close to him and knew with a sinking certainty that without her, he had no life.

She had somehow managed to burrow herself so far under his skin that no amount of scratching would ever remove her. Not that he wanted to dislodge her, he realized with a grimace of disgust. He could scarcely conceive of a life without her now, much less a time when he might long for her to be gone.

That was why his jealousy burned so fiercely and doubt plagued him. How could he find peace when he knew she was under his skin but he wasn’t so sure that he was under hers?

What if she could all too easily conceive of a life without him? He could hold her body as close as he liked, make love to her till they were both too exhausted to stand, but it all amounted to nothing if she could leave him without a backward glance.

Her spirit was like a mirage. He had only to get too close to it and it disappeared on him again, leaving him holding a hollow nothing and it was that nothingness that frightened him to his core. He buried his face into Imogen’s hair, trying to banish cold fear in the warm realities of his Imogen.

She reached out a hand and ran it over the morning stubble on his jaw, feeling the way his muscles clenched under her gentle caress. To Robert, it felt almost as if she knew he was drowning in fear and jealousy and was trying to comfort him even though she was the cause of his tumult.

It served only to confuse him all the more. He had never before associated gentle touches with the animal passions that were easily satisfied. Never before had there been any tenderness in lovemaking, and he couldn’t honestly say that he had ever marked its absence before. Yet Imogen was unable to be with him and not touch him, and he couldn’t imagine now how he had ever lived without it.

“I’ve been thinking,” she whispered, flinching a little at the sound of her voice in the silence that surrounded them.

He lifted his face out of the mind-easing softness of her hair and leaned up on his elbow. He looked down into her face, and found his breath caught once more at the beauty of her. He felt just as he had the first time he had beheld her in the glare of the winter sun.

But what amazed him more was the fact that it wasn’t her beautiful face that ultimately held him so ruthlessly to her side. No, it was the fragile strength of her blossoming spirit that had him so entranced that he no longer had any desire to be without her.

“Should I be worried about you thinking while I make love to you?” he asked lightly, deliberately keeping his confused emotions from her.

Her smile was wicked. “Perhaps you will have to practice more to make sure we get it right,” she purred. She lifted her hand to him again, grazing the gentle smile on his lips with the tips of her fingers. He couldn’t resist giving them a nipping kiss and she gave a small squeak in protest, but left them there for him to sooth with his velvety tongue.

A small shudder went through her body. “Actually, if we get this any more right, I might expire. When you touch me, there is never a thought in my head beyond that touch,” she breathed.

“I must remember that,” he murmured.

“By all means,” she said as she snuggled a little closer to him, “but you should also remember that afterwards my thoughts come back louder than before. Hence the, ‘I’ve been thinking.’ And what I’ve been thinking is…that I’m all out of excuses, aren’t I?” Her smile turned rueful. “I’ve scuttled my own boat, so to speak. How can I now hide away in my room when I’ve rather neatly proved that, with a little help, I’m more than capable of navigating the big bad world?”

He gathered her close and kissed the top of her head, expressing silently the compassionate understanding that he couldn’t speak of out loud.

“I suppose I should start with the evening meal?” she said tentatively.

He watched as her teeth bit down on her bottom lip and began to worry it as she concentrated on the conundrum.

“If you helped me with the food, I might be able to stop myself from making a complete fool of myself.”

“Of course I’d like to help, but perhaps it is not the best of ideas.” His lips curved at the look of embarrassed dismay that flushed her face and he ran a soothing hand up over her naked back. “If you remember the last time I tried to help you eat I was so overcome by lust that I nearly ravished you on the main table,” he said gravely.

Her blush was swift but she smiled wickedly at the same time. “Actually, as I recall, it wasn’t lust that overcame you but a severe outbreak of tyrannical behavior. And you didn’t ravish me. You settled for telling me what to do for a bit, then, and I think this is important, ended up bedding down in the chair. So much for lust,” she finished tartly.

Smiling, he leaned down and nipped her bare shoulder in punishment for doubting his lust for even a second. “Actually, if we are going to be one hundred percent honest, I ended that night in this bed,” he whispered huskily against her skin. “Remember?”

“A mere detail.” She grinned even as she shivered with the delightful feel of his words against her shoulder. “I’m sure you can help me eat dinner without suffering from too much lechery. Besides, I don’t want to be fed like a child. I was thinking you could help more with