Page 5 of Magnificent Folly

  He pushed down the clinging cotton of the bod­ice of the nightgown, his fingers plucking fever­ishly at her nipples. She bit her lower lip to keep from crying out as the muscles in her stomach clenched. Fire. Need.

  Then he was pulling her toward the cliff. "This way," he muttered. "Shelter."

  Shelter in this deluge? She didn't care about shelter. She only wanted him to touch her, come into her. She wanted to run her hands over the hard muscles of his back as he—

  "Here." It was shelter—of a sort. A beach blan­ket was spread beneath the jutting overhang of

  the cliff. Andrew was stripping quickfy. "Lie down, please," he said. "It will have to be quick the first time. I'm burning up."

  So was Lily. She was experiencing a desire so intense and mindless, all she could do was stand there, wanting him.

  He was almost nude now, his back to her, a pale, powerful shadow in the darkness.

  She took a step toward him, then another. Her arms encircled his waist, her aroused nipples pressing into the flesh of his back. He felt so good. Hard, warm, sleek. "Andrew ..."

  He froze, his muscles locking. "Lord, Lily." A long shudder rippled through him, and the mus­cles of her stomach contracted in a silent gasp as she felt him hardening, readying. "Please. I can't—" He broke free and whirled to face her. "Quick, love." His hands urgentfy tugged the gown over her hips. "1 have to have—" He pulled her down on the blanket, and was between her thighs. 'Take me into you," he cried, then plunged deep.

  Lily wasn't conscious of the primeval sound is­suing from her. Hardness, heat, thickness, ruth­lessly seeking into the heart of her. "Yes, oh, yes." She spoke through clenched teeth. "Please . . . more."

  He was giving her more. Plunging, withdraw­ing, thrusting, his breath coming in harsh gasps. His hands slid around her to cup her buttocks in his warm, hard palms. "Hold me." He drew her up and forward to meet each wild, forceful stroke.

  She clenched around him.

  Andrew's throat arched as he threw his head back, his body tightening like a bowstring. "Lily!"

  Wild, she couldn't stand for it to go on. The tears ran down her cheeks as she dug her nails into his tight buttocks. Dear heaven, so good . . . She couldn't stand for it to end.

  There was no choice. The fury between them climaxed with the same explosive urgency with which it had begun.

  Andrew collapsed on top of her, his elbows braced on the blanket to spare her his weight She could feel his heartbeat thundering against her naked breasts as he fought for breath.

  What had happened? she wondered dazedfy. How had they come to this point, when she had never intended to give in to him?

  Several minutes passed before her own breath steadied enough for her to speak. "Andrew, we have to talk."

  His lips feathered her temple as he lifted off her and moved to her side. "Presently. For the mo­ment let's just lie here and listen to the storm." He cuddled her close, his arm drawing her spoon fashion against his warm body.

  "I have to get back to Cassie."

  "You've only been gone a short time." His callused hand cupped her breast and squeezed gently. "Probably less than thirty minutes." His warm tongue plunged into her ear. "We were both pretty impatient, weren't we?"

  Frantic, she thought. Starved for each other. She had never dreamed she could want anyone so desperately as she had wanted Andrew this night.

  His thumb flicked teasingly over her left nipple. "It will be better next time. 111 be able to take more time in pleasing you."

  Her nipple was hardening, a tingle starting in the center of her womanhood. Lord, she was want­ing him again already. "Don't do that. I don't want to be touched any more."

  His hand halted its teasing caress but remained cupping her breast, "Yes, you do," he said quietly. "You want me to touch you as much as I want to do it. You were caught off guard, and now you're panicking because you think I'm going to take advantage of your need and try to use it to domi­nate you."

  She stiffened. "And are you?"

  "No. I'm no manipulator. I want to make you happy." He paused. "I can make you happy, if youll let me."

  "Like this? Sex isn't everything."

  "It's a start. You can't deny you need it." His teeth gently closed on her earlobe. "I can give you what you need. Use me."

  Her breast was swelling beneath his hand, she realized with a feeling of helplessness. In another minute she wouldn't be able to think of anything but what her body wanted from his. "No!" Tak­ing Andrew by surprise, she abruptly rolled away. "I don't use people. This was a mistake." Her gaze wildly searched the darkness around them. Where the devil was her nightgown? "You wouldn't let it end with sex. You'd blow it up into something more."

  "I need this too," he said quietly as he sat up. "You know I've been wild to have you. I'd be satis­fied for a while with Just sex."

  "And then?"

  "When I'm not satisfied any longer, you can cut me off. In the meantime we'd have had a hell of an affair. Tempting?"

  He knew it was tempting, she thought. He seemed to be able to sense and play on her emo­tions as Cassie did the keys of her piano. "I have to get dressed and go back to Cassie."

  He knelt beside her. "Lily ..." He stroked her wet hair back from her face. "It's all right, love. Don't be so frightened." He glanced around, spot­ted her nightgown, then shook his head. "You can't wear the gown. It looks like a dish rag." He picked up his sweat shirt and pulled it over her head, putting her arms in the sleeves as if she were a little girl unable to dress herself. "This is wet, too, but it's fleece-lined, and not drenched through." He settled the shirt down over her hips and onto her thighs. "I wish I could see you in it. You must look sexy as hell, with those long legs ..." He trailed off and gave her a quick, hard kiss. "Run along. See, I'm not trying te hold you. I'm letting you go."

  She jumped to her feet and turned to leave.

  "Take a hot shower as soon as you get home, and be sure to dry your hair before you go to bed," Andrew said briskly. "Ill stay here and watch un­til I see the lights go on inside the cottage. 111 come as usual to be with you and Cassie on the beach tomorrow afternoon."

  She had already ducked from beneath the rocky overhang and was walking quickly down the beach through the rain.

  His soft voice followed her. "And I'll be here tomorrow night, love."

  She started to run. It wasn't Andrew she was running away from, she told herself. Andrew was sitting back there, watching her leave, certainty not in hot pursuit. It was only sensible to hasten her pace to get out of the downpour.

  He had said he was letting her go. Why did she feel that by doing so he had only forged new links in the bond between them?

  Andrew carried a brown paper bag when he came down the trail from the cliff the next day. He called a greeting to Cassie, playing in the surf, and then plopped himself down beside Lily and placed the bag beside her.

  "What's that?"

  "Your nightgown and robe. I washed and dried them when I got back to the cottage."

  Lily felt the color flood her cheeks. "Thank you," she said, feeling awkward. "Ill return your sweat shirt, of course."

  "No hurry." Andrew smiled full at her. "You could wear it when you come to me tonight."

  The top buttons of his black shirt were open, revealing the strong line of his tanned throat and the springy brown thatch that covered his chest. Her palms tingled, and she felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch him, run her fingers through that triangle of hair and— She pulled her gaze away. Good heavens, she was turning into some kind of nymphomaniac. "You're taking too much for granted."

  He shook his head. "Sex like we had is addic-

  tive. We're both crazy for more." He grasped a handful of sand and slowly let it run through his fingers. "I lay in bed last night thinking about how you felt, the way you smelled, the sounds you made. Did you think about me?"

  "Yes," she said, watching the sand sift through his long, slender fingers.

  "And did you ache as muc
h as I ached?"

  She closed her eyes, remembering those hours she had tossed and turned the night before. "Yes."

  "I want to see all of you. Ill bring a flashlight tonight."

  She swallowed hard and opened her eyes. "Can we talk about something else?"

  "What do you want to talk about?"

  "Anything." She drew a deep breath and tried to ease the tension gripping her. "I don't really know anything about you. Do you have a family?"

  He nodded. "A mother, a stepfather, and a half sister."

  "Are you close?"

  An affectionate smile illuminated his face. "Oh, yes."

  "Where do they live?"

  "Sedikhan. My stepfather, Jon, is chairman of the board of the Clanad."

  "So that's how you get so much time offs" she said lightly.

  His smile vanished. "I do my work without shirk­ing. There's no nepotism in the Clanad."

  She had hurt him. "I didn't mean to—" She broke off In exasperation. "Well, how do you ex­pect me to get to know you, when you practically answer me in monosyllables?"

  "There's no use describing my family, when you'll be meeting them soon."

  She stiffened. "You said they were In Sedikhan."

  He nodded and picked up another handful of sand.

  "I have no intention of taking a trip of that distance to meet your family, Andrew."

  "Not right away. I know you're not ready for a commitment like that." His gaze dropped to the sand in his hand. "But perhaps you and Cassie would like to meet Gunner and Quenby. They're less than a mile away."

  LUy frowned. "You mentioned them once be­fore. Tell me about them."

  "Quenby used to be my nanny before she mar­ried Gunner Nilsen. Gunner works for the Clanad, too, and has always acted as . . . well, as a sort of guardian. Would you like to meet them?"

  " 'Sort of guardian.' And the Clanad is 'sort of a corporation,' and your job is 'difficult to de­scribe.' " Lily shook her head. "You're impossibly vague."

  He grinned. "Cassie told me how lack of preci­sion annoys you. You have to have everything logical and neatly pigeonholed. Some things can't be explained, Lily. You just have to rely on your instincts."

  "I don't trust instinct."

  His grin faded. "I know." He shrugged. "Well, do you want to meet my friends?"

  She suddenly knew she very much wanted to meet Andrew's friends. Perhaps they would cast a little light on the complexity of his personality. "Yes, 1 think that would be a good Idea."

  He threw aside the sand in his hand. "Okay, in a few days."

  ."Why not today?"

  He smiled. "Because I think you'll feel safer com­ing to me at night and letting me love you if I stay a stranger for a while."

  'That's crazy."

  "Is it?"

  No, he was right, she realized. She was not ready for emotional intimacy even though she had accepted Andrew physically. How the hell had he known that about her, when she hadn't even been aware of it herself? She experienced a frisson of uneasiness as she looked up into his calm face.

  "No." She quickly glanced away from him to Cassie. 'There's no hurry. I can wait to meet your friends."

  "How's Cassie?" Quenby asked as soon as An­drew walked into cliff house. "And when am I going to meet her?" She gave Gunner, who was lounging in a chair in the living room, a meaning­ful glance as she walked toward the kitchen. "IVe had nothing to do but eat, swim, and sleep since I got here. You know I can't stand to be idle."

  Gunner made a face. "So she's punishing me by taking over the cooking."

  "We can't all be gourmet cooks," Quenby said defensively. "And I need something to do." She paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder at Andrew. "When?"

  "Soon," Andrew promised. "Probably a few days."

  "Good." A teasing grin at her face. "I thought I'd taught you not to dairy, Andrew. It took you eight years to get around to meeting your child, and at this rate it will be another eight years before you introduce her to me. I might just as well have stayed in Sedlkhan, where I was appre­ciated."

  "Maybe you won't be needed here." A frown crossed Andrew's face. "Lord, I hope not, Quenby."

  The grin faded from Quenby's face. "Me too. There's no sense in worrying. It could all be a tempest In a teapot." She blew him a kiss and disappeared Into the kitchen.

  "Maybe you'd better not wait that few days to bring Cassie and Quenby together, Andrew," Gun­ner said quietly.

  Andrew's gaze flew to Gunner's face. "YouVe heard something?"

  "Nothing conclusive. One of the men in Secu­rity called and said the theft of the records from Henry's office had been traced to Said Ababa."

  "The institute?"

  Gunner nodded. "It will take time for them to decode Henry's records, then track down Lily and Cassie. But they'll do it. I know those bastards." He smiled bitterly. 'They never give up until they find what they want. I remember when they had us penned up like animals waiting for slaughter and!—" He shook his head to clear it of the corro­sive memories. "But that was a long time ago."

  "Still, they haven't given up trying to get the Clanad back."

  "Never. TheyVe known where we were ever since

  we were given sanctuary in Sedlkhan. but they can't touch any of us there."

  "So they decided to go a different route to get what they want."

  Gunner nodded. "I'm putting a watch on Lily's cottage and the road to the highway. We may have plenty of time, but then again ..."

  Andrew felt the muscles of his stomach tighten. "Lily's not ready to come with me yet. She'd fight me."

  Gunner gazed at him with silent sympathy.

  Andrew's hands clenched at his sides. "I can't blow this, Gunner. It means too much to me."

  "I know."

  Andrew turned away, the movement heavy with weariness. "Tell Quenby that I want you both to come to the beach tomorrow to meet Lily and Cassie."

  Four

  It was a boldly whimsical thing to do, and not in the least like Lily. She should have had more sense than to give in to the impulse, she told herself as she hurried down the incline toward the beach. She wasn't one of the flip, aggressive college girls Andrew was surely accustomed to deal­ing with, and there was no way she could pull this off with panache.

  Then, as Lily caught sight of Andrew standing on the moonlit beach a few yards away, she al­most turned around and ran back to the cottage, like a frightened child.

  "You did wear it for me." A delighted smile lit Andrew's face as his gaze ran over her. She was garbed only in his sweat shirt, which came to her upper thighs and left her long legs bare. "Lord, you look gorgeous."

  "It was an impulse," she said quickly. "I didn't exactly wear it for you. I just thought I'd—"

  "Don't spoil it."

  The smile was fading from his face, and she suddenly couldn't bear it. "You said you wanted to see me in it." She tried to shrug casually. "No big deal."

  "I think it's a very big deal. It's the first time you've done something just because you knew it would make me happy."

  She strolled toward him. "I don't know why it should please you so much. It's certainly not the most flattering garment I've ever worn. I feel all legs."

  "You are all legs. Glorious legs. Magnificent legs. Didn't I ever mention I was a leg man?" His ad­miring gaze lifted to her face. "I wasn't sure you'd come tonight."

  "I wasn't sure either." She stopped in front of him. "I feel shy. That's probably why I wore the sweat shirt. A touch of bravado."

  He held out his hand to her. "Let's see if you're capable of more than a touch, Lily."

  She hesitated, and then slowly placed her hand in his and let him lead her across the beach toward the cliff. "That sounds ominous. What are you planning on doing to me?"

  "Enjoying you." His clasp tightened. "Are you wearing anything beneath that sweat shirt?"

  "No." They had reached the rocky overhang, and she turned to face him. "It seemed unnecessary at the time."


  "Oh, it would have been." He drew her into the hollow of his hips, his palms cupping her but­tocks, and he undulated against her, his bold

  arousal making heat tingle through her. She clutched at his shoulders as he said, "This is much more convenfent." He pushed the shirt up to her waist, his hands kneading the flesh of her bottom. "Isn't it, love?"

  The rough denim of his jeans felt coarse against the softness of her belly, and the studs pressed into her hips. As his long, hard fingers dug into her buttocks with just enough force to titillate but not hurt, she found herself uttering frantic little cries while she moved against him. "Andrew ..."

  "What a lovely sound." He parted her thighs, his hand cupping her womanhood, rubbing, pet­ting, his thumb pressing, toying, rotating. "Again," he said thickly. "I want to hear it again, Lily."

  Lily's knees almost gave way as sensation after sensation seared through her. "I don't... think I can take any more of this."

  "Yes, you can. Just a little more." He took a step back and whipped the sweat shirt over her head and threw it aside. "I told you I wanted to see you. I brought a flashlight."

  "There's moonlight."

  "It's not enough." He pulled her into the deeper shadows formed by the rocky overhang and reached down to pick up the shiny metal flashlight on the beach blanket. "Now, stand very still, love."

  A brilliant cone of light pierced the darkness. She had been expecting it but still felt a jolt of shock. The circle of light played on her face and then slowly moved down to capture her left breast. "Oh, yes. How beautiful."

  Lily's heart began to pound harder, and she

  could feel a burning sensation between her thighs as she stood in the darkness, chained by the golden circle of light. Chained, yes, the precise word. She felt helpless, unable to move except at his com­mand. Her nipples were hardening, pointing with arousal as she felt Andrew's gaze on her. He was only a hazy shadow behind the light, yet in some crazy way she felt as if he were the light itself.

  The beam moved slowly to play over her other breast.

  She could hear his breathing quicken in the darkness, and found the knowledge of his arousal incredibly erotic. She took an impulsive step toward him.