Nicole Jordan by Master of Temptation

stuck to her pretense. “I took pity on you. Merely that.”
    His eyebrow shot up. “Pity?”
    “You were in pain. You needed comforting.”
    “So you made a virginal sacrifice?” His voice held a wry edge. “Do you comfort every stranger like that?”
    “Obviously not,” she said unevenly.
    “No, obviously not. I was your first lover. Some men would feel damned guilty for taking your innocence.”
    “You have no reason to feel guilty,” Caro pointed out. “You weren’t responsible for what happened between us. It was my fault entirely. I was the one who…insisted.”
    “I believe I went along,” Max said dryly. “What I don’t understand is
why
you insisted. Because you’re a healer and you wanted to heal me?”
    “Not only that.” She looked away, unable to meet his intense gaze. “I told you then, I wanted to know what passion was like. I had read about coupling in medical texts and…I was curious.” To prove her point, she withdrew a heavy leather-bound volume from her valise and held it up for him to see.
    Yet Max ignored the book and moved toward her again. It took all of Caro’s willpower to stand her ground.
    “Did I satisfy your curiosity?” His voice was suddenly husky.
    “I suppose so.” Which was a masterful understatement. Passion was so much more devastating than she had ever expected. At least passion with this man was.
    He seemed to echo her thoughts when he said softly, “I have never experienced anything like that night.” When she started to speak, he put a finger to her lips. “And pray don’t tell me it was the island’s magical spell. It was far more than that.”
    “Perhaps it was,” she said carefully. “You had seen too much of death, and you needed just the opposite. Physical passion is a way to defy death, to know you are alive. And intimacy is a natural means of seeking comfort. You needed comfort that night. A few moments of warmth and closeness to another human being.”
    “How did you grow to be so wise?”
    She stirred uneasily at the amused admiration in his eyes. “I am not wise, merely pragmatic. And I want you to know…I may be unconventional, but I am not normally the kind of woman who gives herself to strangers.”
    “Clearly not. Otherwise you wouldn’t have been a virgin.”
    He was teasing her this time, she reflected, feeling flaming color spread over her cheeks.
    Max studied her for a moment before nodding sagely. “I think I begin to see the problem.”
    His oblique comment confused her. “What problem?”
    “You are embarrassed by what happened. You needn’t be. You saved my life that night, angel.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You have no idea, do you?” Reaching up, he gently pushed a tendril of hair back from her forehead. “Let’s just say you helped me face returning to war.”
    She was taken aback by the look in his eyes. It was almost…sensual. No man had ever looked at her that way, with desire. Except for Max. Except for that night.
    “You have haunted me ever since,” he said simply, his voice no more than a whisper.
    You have haunted me as well.
    Caro tried to swallow, but she failed. When she remained speechless, his thumb slowly rubbed over her cheekbone as his glance slid down her body to linger on her abdomen. “There was no child?”
    “N-no,” she managed to reply.
    “I wondered.”
    He took a step closer, until his body was almost touching hers.
    Dear God, he was dangerous, with his beautiful face, his dark-lashed blue eyes, his sensual mouth.
    A shudder running through her, Caro shut her own eyes. His nearness made her dizzy. She could feel the warmth of his body, could remember what it felt like to have him kiss her, to touch her, to make love to her. She could still feel him moving between her thighs….
    Sweet heaven, she couldn’t dwell on those sensual memories.
    With a murmur of protest, Caro pressed her palms against Max’s chest, pushing him back a step.
    Breathless, she moved to stand