Always by Iris Johansen Page B

with the harshness of his breathing as he tightened his armsaround her. “It’s getting out of hand. Give me a minute.”
    That was easy to say. The muscles of his chest were still pressed against her, and she could sense his sexual arousal as a living force, swirling in waves around her. There was no aphrodisiac stronger than the knowledge of that arousal. Her hands pressed against his chest. It was a mistake, for now she could feel the heated thunder of his heart against her palms. “Now,” she said desperately, opening her eyes to gaze up at him. “Right now!”
    He drew a shuddering breath, then his arms dropped away from her and he sat back on his heels. “Okay.” The skin was pulled taut over his cheekbones. There was a heavy sensuality curving his lips, and his nostrils were flaring slightly. He looked hungry.… Oh, did she look like that, too? He smiled with an obvious effort. “I think the point’s been made, anyway. We want each other.” His breath released in an explosive rush. “How we want each other!”
    “Yes.” She raised a trembling hand to brush back a lock of hair from her eyes. “But itdoesn’t change anything. I’m not about to mistake lust for love. And I’m not about to tumble happily into your bed just because I have a yen for you. I have an idea you’d use that to your advantage.”
    “Smart lady. I’d do just that.” His eyes were twinkling. “But I’d make sure that our advantages were so closely entwined that you wouldn’t realize who was using whom.”
    A wave of heat suddenly rushed over her as she had a sudden mental image of that “entwining.” She jumped to her feet. “I think I’d better go to my room. It’s time we resumed our roles of prisoner and jailer.”
    For a fleeting moment she thought she saw a shadow of pain in Clancy’s face. It was gone the next instant. She must have been mistaken; Donahue was far too iron tough to allow himself that emotion. “All right. If it makes you feel safer.”
    There was a hint of desperation in her laugh. “There’s something a little macabre about feeling safer as a helpless prisoner.”
    “You’re not the helpless one,” Clancy saidquietly. “I am. I’ve never been so damn vulnerable in my entire life.”
    Her smile faded. He was doing it to her again. Pain, sadness, a yearning to comfort, and the sexual riptide that embroiled them in a whirlpool. “I don’t want you to feel helpless,” she said with a fierceness that shocked even herself. “I don’t want you to feel anything at all for me.”
    He stood looking at her without answering.
    Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I won’t let you make me feel guilty about something over which I have no control. You’re not going to complicate my life. I like it fine just the way it is.”
    “Do you? Somehow I received the impression that you could use a little help in straightening out one or two aspects.” He shrugged. “At any rate, you’re going to get it whether you like it or not.”
    “Clancy, I won’t have you marching in and taking me over. Your men might be intimidated enough to put up with that bull, but I won’t.”
    “We’ll see. Now you’d better go to yourroom and rest. I’ve put you through something of an emotional marathon, haven’t I? Just go to bed and sleep on it. Here’s the way I think we should handle it. First courtship, then sex, and finally marriage.” He grinned. “If you want to rearrange that order, I’m open for suggestions. I definitely can be had.”
    The inarticulate sound she made was charged with both frustration and exasperation. She turned on her heel and strode toward the door.
    “Lisa.”
    She stopped as she reached for the doorknob.
    “We both know we’re going to end up in bed together. In another couple of minutes we’d have been making love on that carpet.”
    Her hand tightened on the knob.
    “I just wanted to tell you that I’ll try to let you get accustomed to me before we—” He