As her hands passed over his chest, his kisses deepened. Suddenly he stood, pulling her off the ground in his embrace, and kissed her wildly as his arms tightened around her.

Kora couldn’t breathe. She tried to break the kiss, then her hands turned from touching to pushing. Finally, in panic, she slammed her fist into his chest as hard as she could.

Win broke the kiss immediately and lowered her to the ground. For a moment he didn’t want to let go, but Kora pushed free.

‘‘Stop!’’ Her voice was shaking as she took in quick breaths. ‘‘You were holding me too tightly. You were hurting me.’’

Winter turned away and slammed his fist so hard against the tree trunk that a shower of blossoms fell around her like huge snowflakes. He swore in his low voice.

Kora felt as if she’d been on a runaway train. Her emotions were raw, out of control for the first time in her life. She lowered to the ground as silently as the flowers had fallen. The solid earth felt good as she leaned back, her body drained of all energy.

After a long silence Winter looked over his shoulder. For a moment he thought she’d vanished as quickly as she’d appeared tonight. Then he saw her lying on the ground with tiny flowers all around her. Her hair was wild and he thought she looked like something not quite of this earth. Maybe an angel, or a fairy.

All the anger left him as it always did when he looked at her. Logan had been wrong about her being invisible; she was magic. She was all he could see, even when he closed his eyes.

He knelt beside her and gently lifted her. For a moment she didn’t open her eyes, and a fear stabbed at him that he might have really hurt her by holding too tightly.

‘‘Kora?’’ he asked as he moved the long golden strands away from her face.

She opened her eyes and surprised him with a smile. ‘‘I’m sorry,’’ she whispered. ‘‘I was afraid I couldn’t breathe. I panicked. I pulled away when I said I wouldn’t.’’

‘‘No…’’ Winter couldn’t believe she was the one apologizing. ‘‘My hold is too strong. I’ll have to learn to be careful. Dear God, I’d never want to hurt you.’’

He leaned back against the tree trunk and gathered her gently against his chest. ‘‘This is no justification for what I did, but there’s never been anything soft in my life. I don’t know much about women, and the women I’ve known have been hard and fast. I’ve seen men lightly holding a woman’s arm, or gently patting her hand like it might break at any moment, but I never considered myself one of those dandies. Everything I’ve ever wanted in this world I’ve had to fight for to win and to hold. Nothing’s ever come easy to me except finding you to marry.’’

‘‘But you didn’t want me when you offered marriage.’’ Kora rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady pounding of his heart. ‘‘Not the way you did tonight.’’

‘‘I didn’t want a wife and I fought it as long as I could. But I wouldn’t give up the house, so I married. At first I told myself we’d made a fair bargain, nothing more, and I could forget you were there. But I was wrong. Every time I see you, I’ve had to fight a stronger urge to reach for you.’’

He lifted her shoulders so that she faced him only an inch away. ‘‘I want you, Kora. I want you like I never wanted anyone in my life. Not just to touch, but to hold all night long.’’

‘‘I want you, too,’’ she answered honestly. ‘‘But you don’t have to hold so tightly. I’ll try not to pull away again.’’

EIGHTEEN


KORA MOVED AS SILENTLY AS SHE COULD UP THE stairs to the attic. She sensed Winter following a step behind. The soft jingle of his spurs echoed his movements. Everyone in the house, Cheyenne, the two wounded cowhands, Jamie, and Dan, was asleep, and Kora was surprised the rapid pounding of her heart didn’t wake them all. She couldn’t believe that she was about to sleep with a man. And not just any man-Winter McQuillen. He was big and powerful and frightening when he roared. He only knew one speed, full gallop, when he wanted something, and tonight, he wanted her.

But that wasn’t the reason she was interested. The fact he owned the ranch didn’t matter. Or that he wielded more power with his low voice than most men did with a yell. Even the knowledge that he was her husband hadn’t been her motivation.

Kora wanted only the man. He thought he was so hard, but she’d seen the gentleness in the way he looked at her, and tonight she’d felt it in his touch. The very wildness that worried him excited her. She’d never thought she’d marry. She liked everything calm and in order. His world was filled with clutter and danger. But his was a chaos that made her blood rush. She didn’t know what it was like to sleep with a man, but it was about time she found out. And there was no other man she wanted to show her except Winter.

Without a word Kora slipped behind the divider and undressed. Her fingers trembled as she buttoned her nightgown. She thought of all the things he’d never said. Like that she was beautiful, or that he loved her. Those words might matter to other women, but Kora told herself they didn’t matter to her. He’d said more important things, like the house would always be hers and that he needed her help. His words weren’t the words of love, but they were honest words.

When she stepped out from behind the thin wall, Winter was standing next to his washstand. He’d removed everything except his jeans, and they were open at the first

button. He’d managed to spill most of the water and nicked himself shaving, making Kora smile.

She moved across the room and touched the tiny spot of blood. He looked down at her with dark eyes afire with need, but he didn’t touch her as she lifted his towel and patted his chin.

‘‘We’d better go to bed,’’ he whispered, as if they were words he’d said every night since their marriage.

Without touching her, he moved to his side of the bed and pulled back the covers.

Panic climbed up Kora’s spine. In the trees when he’d kissed her it had been dark. When she’d told him she was ready, she’d still been warm from the passion of his kisses. Now he was standing before her silently waiting for her to share his bed, and she wasn’t sure she could. Maybe she didn’t have what it took. She’d never even been interested in any man this way except him.

She backed away.

For a moment Winter looked concerned, then confused, then he seemed to understand. Without a word he leaned over and put out the light.

Now the only illumination was from the moonlight and stars. Still she hesitated.

With a quick jerk, he pulled the covers from the bed and spread them on one of the rugs. ‘‘Are you afraid of me,’’ he asked, ‘‘or the bed?’’

He dropped to his knees on the blankets. ‘‘If you won’t sleep with me on the mattress, I’ll join you on the floor.’’

She smiled and moved toward him. When she was only a few feet away, he gently put his hands on her waist and pulled her to him, resting his head at her middle.

Kora touched his hair and felt the excitement that she had before. Slowly she lowered to her knees. Without a word, he kissed her gently as he lowered her to the blankets and spread out beside her. The night was cool, but his nearness kept her warm.

Her head rested on his arm as he leaned above her, kissing her gently. ‘‘Are you sure you want this?’’ he whispered between kisses. ‘‘I still have enough reason left that I could go to the study. I promised you I wouldn’t force this role on you.’’

Kora wasn’t sure at all. What if he got carried away and held her too tightly again? She wasn’t even sure what she was agreeing to. She’d heard many women say it was something every wife had to endure. But if it was like Winter’s kisses, making love would be easy to become accustomed to. And his touch had been a taste of heaven.

His fiery need for her excited her.

‘‘I’m sure,’’ she lied.

On his side, with her pressed close, Winter watched her face in the moonlight as his hand lowered to the center of her gown. He spread his fingers out over her abdomen and felt the warmth of her flesh beneath the thin layer of cotton. He wanted to feel her skin but didn’t want to frighten her. Move slow, he kept reminding himself. Move slow. He knew she was unsure, but she was looking at him like he knew what he was doing. Win wasn’t about to tell her how little he knew of loving. Surely it couldn’t be all that difficult. He knew the basics. He’d learn.

He kissed her on the forehead. When she closed her eyes, he lightly touched his lips to her eyelids and felt her lashes tickle his mouth.

When he reached her lips, they were full and ready for him. Opening without having to be encouraged. The knowledge that she was learning and responding to the way he liked to love made his blood warm, and awkward movements became smooth. Her mouth had the feel and taste of soft, warm honey. She remained still as he felt and tasted her mouth.

His kisses were no longer hard, almost bruising, as they had been in the orchard, but still a fire coursed through her. The feel of his hand across her abdomen moving slightly, pressing gently, made her long for him to touch her as he had.

For a long while he seemed content to kiss her. She timidly raised her hand and touched his bare shoulder. With her touch she knew that his wild, maddening need was being held at bay.

His fingers stroked her face and hair as his lips brushed hers.

Kora liked the pleasure he brought, but she wanted the passion. If she was to drink tonight, she wanted the full glass. She raised her hand and stroked his chest, trailing her fingers over his warm skin.

The kiss deepened.

She continued to explore the wall of flesh over muscle. She liked the way his body tightened with her touch and rippled beneath her hand. The sun’s warmth seemed baked into his skin.

Winter was fighting all his passion to go slowly, and she seemed to be fanning the fire with kerosene. When her fingers tickled their way down the center of his chest to the spot just below his waist where his pants were open, he couldn’t hold back a groan.

Kora laughed softly against his ear and repeated her action, loving the way she could make him react.

The third time she broke the hold on his reserve, and they began galloping at full speed. His kiss turned to liquid desire, and his hands moved over her in bold strokes. At first he’d been content to rest his hand on her; now he longed to touch her all at once.

When his fingers captured her full breast, Kora arched her back, offering more. His hold was tight as his thumb found her peak and rubbed across it back and forth with maddening pressure. The thin layer of cotton offered nothing to protect her as the layers of cloth had in the orchard. She took passion’s wave and moved, begging for more.

He no longer kissed her as he continued to explore her body, but allowed her to sigh and cry out softly in pleasure. But he couldn’t live without the taste of her. He left his mission only long enough to unbutton the buttons at her throat. When his hand returned to her breasts, he loved the way she sighed and rocked her fullness into his embrace as though welcoming him home. The roughness of his hands seemed to excite her.

With her gown undone, he could fully taste her throat. She rolled her head aside, offering him her neck from the sensitive area he’d found just below her ear to where the material parted, revealing the rise of one breast. For a moment, he stopped, unable to do anything but stare at the beauty she offered him so easily, so freely. The sight of her lying on her back with her eyes sparkling with starlight and her gown open made him feel as if his brain were exploding. He pulled the material away slightly until he saw the swell of both breasts and the inviting valley between them.

Her breasts were fuller than he’d expected, with creamy skin that begged to be touched. His gaze locked on hers as he brushed two fingers down the center of her gown’s opening, applying pressure to each breast.