He slipped his tongue inside her mouth, aligned her closer against him. And her body exploded with sensation, fierce waves of it, like aftershocks from that dynamite blast.
Stunned, feeling as if shed vaulted back into that explosion, she clung to his biceps, slid her hands up those massive arms. He made a low, rough sound, pulled her hips tighter against him. And pleasure burst through her at the intimate contact, shocking, drugging pleasure, making her want to get closer, then closer yet.
Her knees trembled. Her head whirled as he deepened the kiss, sweeping her mouth with his tongue. Shed never felt anything so wild, so glorious. So free.
She moaned, wanting more. Needing more. She was lost. She didnt care. She didnt want these feelings to end.
But he pulled back and lifted his head. His uneven breath mingled with hers. And she could only stare back at him, shocked, stunned, amazed.
He dropped his hands and stepped back, his gaze still burning on hers. And then he turned, picked up his hat, his movements slow, stiff. He banged the hat on his thigh to dislodge the dust, shoved it back onto his head.
His gaze cut to hers again, and she knew instantly that something had changed. His eyes were still hot, still narrowed, but not just with hunger now.
He was furious. The anger vibrated right out of him and charged through the air.
Her heart plunged. She knew what he was thinking. That kiss had been reckless, wildly inappropriate. Shed broken every Roma rule.
Daredevil, her people called her. Too impulsive to be a princess.
Maybe they were right.
A lifetime of condemnation swept through her, and her face flamed. She hugged her arms, searched for something to say. Isis the bridge gone?
His mouth flattened more, carving deep brackets in those heavily stubbled cheeks. Hell if I know. His voice was bitter, rough. But my sanity sure is.
He turned, stalked around the rock in the direction of the bridge, anger pounding his strides.
She hitched out her breath and watched him go. But her mind was still spinning, her body pulsing from that delirious kiss.
Oh, God. She pressed her fingers to her lips, sagged back against the rocks. That kiss
had been wrong, she knew that. Wrong for a princess. Wrong for a respectable Gypsy woman. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
But heaven help her, she didnt care. She only wanted to kiss him again.
Chapter 4
Im sorry about your horse, Dara said from beside him as they hiked up the trail from the bridge.
Logan grunted. The missing gelding was the least of his problems right now.
You dont think hes lost, do you?
He wont go far. His words came out brusque, rougher than hed intended, and he clamped his already rigid jaw. She didnt deserve his bad temper. It wasnt her fault hed lost his self-control.
But damn, he was angry. Angry that he couldnt complete that freight run. Angry that he was trapped in the mountains with another vulnerable woman. Angry that hed given in to the insane desire to kiss her.
And hungered to do it again.
He hissed, struggled to get a hold on his ragged temper as he strode up the dusty path. What was wrong with him? Bad enough that he was stuck with her for the next few days, that he was responsible for keeping her safe. He couldnt compound the problem by doing something he would regret.
His body wouldnt regret it.
He slid his gaze to her sweet, full breasts, and his blood surged. This woman had riveted him since the moment hed seen her. And shed felt better than hed imaginedsoft, sultry. And the way shed reacted to that kiss, shivering, rocking against him, making him burn for more.
Disgusted at himself, he picked up his pace on the rocky slope, battled the need that pounded his veins. So they had chemistry. Staggering chemistry. The kind of chemistry that tempted a man to break every rule and blind himself to the past.
It didnt matter.
He had no business touching Dara. Not now. Not ever. She was off-limits to him. Prohibida.
And they had a treacherous trek ahead of them. It would take days of hard riding to get her across the mountain to another town. He couldnt afford a distraction that could get them killed.
He lifted his head, determined to get his mind on track, but a flash of light across the river made him stop. He frowned, focused on the trees crowning the opposite ridge, felt the skin shiver in the back of his neck. Was someone there? Those renegades should have given up, headed down to a village by now. Or had he only imagined that flash?
The wind rose, keening through the stark stone canyon, spiking the air with the threat of rain. He narrowed his gaze on the woods, remembered the plume of dust hed seen on the trail.
And a deep sense of foreboding rippled through him. He wasnt a fanciful man. Hed bet his gelding there was someone else on that ridge. Which meant he had to keep his wits about himand end this madness with Dara now.
He turned his attention to the woman beside him. The breeze whipped her silky hair loose, and she tucked the stray strands behind her ears.
Look, Dara. Her eyes swiveled to his, and he gentled his voice. Im sorry about that that moment of mind-blasting pleasure for what happened back there.