Love's Fiery Jewel (24 page)

And then it was there, the crashing finale of the
violently loving act that had brought them to the
breathless pinnacle of love, to send them careening in a
bursting spiral of ecstasy from its glorious heights.

Moments later they both lay motionless, bodies still
joined. Raising his head, Damien cupped Amethyst's face
between his palms. The heavy lids raised slowly, exposing the deep violet of her eyes as they looked silently into his,
and Damien felt a sense of wonder totally foreign to his
experience sweep his senses.

His voice breaking with emotion, he said simply and
sincerely, "And that, my darling, is why I could not and
will not let you go..."

Awakening suddenly from a restless sleep, Damien
anxiously clutched the small woman sleeping within his
embrace. Lifting his head from the pillow, he stared into
Amethyst's sleeping countenance, reassuring himself for
yet another time that night that he had not truly been
dreaming... that Amethyst was finally his own. The
soft naked body pressed tightly against his tantalized him
pitilessly, but extremely conscious of her fragile health,
he controlled by sheer strength of will the overwhelming
desire to kiss open those glorious violet eyes, to taste
again the moist sweetness of her mouth. She was not yet
well.. .he dared not make love to her again this night.
But, God, he wanted her! The velvet skin moving so
subtly against his seared him with its touch until his
desire was a living, palpable force.

Suddenly frowning in her sleep, Amethyst uttered a
soft moan and turned uncomfortably in his arms. Feeling
a prick of conscience, Damien loosened his hold. Had he
been more considerate, he would have waited until she
had fully recuperated. But somewhere along the way he
had lost control and succumbed to his own defenselessness against her. Moving his hand gently in the long,
black spirals of hair stretched across the pillow, he
luxuriated in the sensation of the silky strands moving
against his palm while he strained to see her face more
clearly in the weak light, suddenly wishing it was
morning so he might peruse the flawless countenance
more easily. God, would he never tire of looking at her?
Would his mind never be free of her? From the moment of his return to the island, he had been able to think of
nothing else but the gleam of her hair as it bounced
against her slender back, the heavy black lashes shading
those glorious eyes, the glow of her skin, those full,
sensuous lips that promised so much, only to succeed in
surpassing his wildest expectations the moment of their
contact with his. "No," he thought, a sudden clarity of
mind abruptly banishing the last trace of guilt. He wasn't
sorry he had taken her tonight. God, no! This wasn't
remorse he felt pounding through his veins, and he
would not waste time berating himself. He was glad she
was finally in his arms! His only regret was the need for
caution.. .that he could not fully indulge his passion
until she fully recuperated. "But then... then..."
lying back against the pillow he gently moved her close
again, "then when you are well, my darling, then we will
see.. .then we will see..."

The first gray light of dawn slipped soundlessly
through the window, its pale glow nudging Amethyst into
wakefulness as she moved uncomfortably. Her body
ached and a peculiar sense of unrest nagged persistently
at her subconscious mind, urging her awake. But she did
not wish to awaken yet... she was strangely afraid to
open her eyes, to ascertain if her dreams of the previous
night were indeed a reality. Steadfastly resisting the urge
to raise her heavy lids, she heard a deep voice whisper in
her ear as a broad hand slid familiarly across the bare skin
of her stomach to pull her against a warm, hard body,
"What's wrong, Amethyst? Aren't you feeling well? I
can feel your whole body tensing."

The hand moving up her arm turned her face toward
the voice that urged softly, "Open your eyes, darling.
Look at me...Amethyst..."

Unable to bear the suspense any longer, Amethyst
snapped open her eyes to see Damien Straith's handsome face, his expression concerned as he stared down at her.
A hot flash of shame flooding over her, Amethyst
reached up to cover her face momentarily with her small
hand. Her voice a forlorn whisper, she mumbled almost
incoherently, "If s true ...it's true ...I thought.. .1
hoped it was just a dream, that I would awake this
morning and laugh at my fears, but its true ...Oh, God,
it's all over..."

Firmly removing her hand from her face, Damien
raised her chin until her eyes were level with his, his lips
only inches away. "No, darling, it isn't all over. It's just
begun." Gently smoothing the warm tears from her
cheeks, his voice was a reassuring whisper. "You mustn't
cry, darling. I hadn't intended last night to happen so
quickly, but I'm glad it did. You will become adjusted to
the situation shortly, and will come to realize that we
were meant to be together, just as I have known from the
moment I saw you again."

He was kissing her lightly, his lips following a wide,
erotic trail across the smooth skin of her cheek as her
lavender eyes stared hopelessly into his. "You'll see,
darling. This strangeness will pass and you'll realize just
as I," his words were becoming blurred with the
increasing warmth of his kisses, "that this was meant to
be.,,

Suddenly he was past speech, his mouth devouring
hers with an intensity that set her to quaking, his hands
moving familiarly on her body, urging her closer still
until she was pressed against the full, naked length of
him, her face flaming hotly as she felt for the second time
the hardness of his desire pressed so intimately close. She
was trembling violently, the true cause of her shame the
confused realization that as he continued kissing her, his
hands stroking her with increasing passion, she was
uncertain if she truly wanted him to stop. Her body
seeming to come alive under his touch, Amethyst moved restlessly, resisting the wild urge to pull him closer
against her, to separate her lips under his kiss, to feel the
caress of his tongue against hers as his hands roamed her
body freely in enticing, heated promise. Almost unable to
suppress her surging response, Amethyst stiffened
noticeably, jarring Damien from his impassioned course.

"Amethyst, darling," his voice hoarse with emotion,
Damien pulled his mouth reluctantly from hers to
whisper appealingly, "I must have you again, darling. I
had wanted to wait ...to give you a chance.. .but I
must have you darling.. .1 must..."

Quickly shifting his weight, Damien moved atop her,
the crush of her body under his sending a jolt of ecstasy
through him that caused a low groan to issue from his
throat as he buried his face in her soft, warm neck
momentarily. Lifting his head, he pressed light kisses
against her ear, whispering softly, "I won't hurt you,
darling. Don't be frightened. Just relax and let me
in... darling..."

Suddenly his mouth was covering hers, his lips forcing
hers apart as his tongue savored the moist sweetness,
fondling, searching, drawing her with him to a height of
passion where she was hardly aware of his probing
manhood until it was abruptly inside her. Gasping at the
first penetration, Amethyst stiffened, snapping her eyes
shut in mortification at her body's greedy acceptance,
and misconstruing her reaction, Damien whispered
gently, "Open your eyes, darling. I want you to look at
me. Open your eyes," he urged again, his body remaining
a still, unmoving part of her as he waited patiently.

Reluctantly following his urging, Amethyst stared into
clear silver eyes, her breath catching at the strange,
stirring glow in their translucent depths.

"Yes, darling," he said tenderly as he began moving
sensuously within her once again,"I want you to see who
it is that is loving you, who it is that possesses you..."

But the drug of ecstasy was too strong, weighing her
heavy lids until they dropped closed over the luminous
lavender orbs, causing Damien to urge, his voice
thickened with passion, "Open your eyes. Amethyst, and
look at me." Once again he paused, waiting for her to
comply with his soft command, and suddenly unable to
bear the cessation of the sweet, heady languor which
gained greater control of her senses with each heavy
thrust, Amethyst opened her eyes to Damien's impassioned face. And still he paused, inciting in Amethyst a
desire to cry out, to plead with him to continue his loving
penetrations.

"Say my name, darling.. .tell me who possesses you
now...who is loving you so completely that your body
is no longer yours alone. Tell me, darling... Amethyst
...say my name..."

But she did not speak. Mesmerized by the silver glow of
his eyes, she continued to stare into his face, unwilling to
submit to the final subjugation to his will.

Refusing to concede even to himself that the burning
need to have Amethyst acknowledge him stemmed from
his fear that Amethyst closed her eyes to block out his
image and substitute the face of William Sheridan,
Damien urged more strongly, his voice a throbbing
command that could not be ignored, `Tell me, darling.
Who possesses you now? Say my name. Amethyst..."

There was a brief silence before Amethyst heard her
own voice, hardly recognizable in its hoarse, breathless
gasps, "It's you... Damien... you are the one. You
possess me now, Damien.. .you possess me..."

The tension building in the broad planes of his face
relaxing suddenly, Damien lowered his mouth with a low
groan to cover her lips with a long, demanding kiss.
Thrusting inside her again and again, Damien raised her
rapidly, with growing exhilaration to a peak of mindless
glory, brilliant in a beauty so intense that it was almost pain. With one last heaving thrust he carried her
breathlessly to the summit for a brief, rapturous eternity
before plummeting mercifully to complete, magnificent
release.

Quickly dropping to his side to allow Amethyst's frail
body freedom from his weight, Damien pulled her with
him, rolling until their positions were reversed, Amethyst lying atop him... small, warm... relaxed...
their bodies still joined. Reluctant to separate from her,
Damien reached down to pull the light coverlet across
them, whispering against the glowing curls tucked so
comfortably beneath his chin, "Sleep now, darling...
my little darling. I'll take care of you... you needn't
worry. You belong to me now, darling. You belong to
me..."

The sound of a light step passing the window a short
time later aroused Damien the second before the front
door of the house clicked open. Glancing toward
Amethyst as she lay beside him, sleeping in the circle of
his embrace, her face resting lightly against his chest, he
reached over to tuck the coverlet more securely against
her, shielding her naked body from the confrontation to
come. Listening intently, he raised himself to his.elbow
as the step stopped in the living room in a spot he gauged
to be near his abandoned pallet. After a brief pause, the
step moved rapidly to the bedroom door. Within a
moment the door swung open to reveal Tillie, her eyes
widening in momentary shock which swiftly turned into
heated fury.

"You!" she hissed softly, realizing Amethyst was just
beginning to stir and not wishing to frighten her with the
anger she directed into his self-possessed expression.
"You! What you do in my Amethyst's bed? Amethyst be
good girl... virgin... not plaything for whoring captain!"

"Be still, Tillie!" Damien's voice whipped out to quiet
the angry woman's words, as he glanced anxiously in
Amethyst's direction. Turning back, he answered coolly,
"My presence in this bed is none of your concern. I owe
you no explanation, but to set the matter clear once and
for all, I will restate what I have said before. Amethyst is
mine. She belongs to me, and nothing you do or say will
change that simple fact. I have simply sealed my
possession of her."

The soft moan issuing from the mulatto's lips and the
tears filling her dark eyes at his declaration causing him a
moment's remorse for his bluntness, Damien stopped
momentarily, his glance moving once again beside him to
Amethyst, who, eyes averted from his, swallowed tightly.
Turning back toward the woman who still stood in the
doorway, he said in a softer tone, "You needn't worry,
Tillie. I will take care of Amethyst. I haven't hurt her."

"But ...but..." Tillie stammered, interrupting his
words uncertainly, "Amethyst be a virgin ...Mr.
William Sheridan.. .him want Amethyst for him
wife..."

The Sheridan name inflaming his anger, Damien
snapped curtly, "Well, she is a virgin no more! And now
if you will kindly leave the room, you may prepare
Amethyst's breakfast!" At the angry glance his command
aroused from the imposing figure in the doorway, he
responded with growing heat, "And if you do not wish to
make breakfast, you may leave this house and I will care
for Amethyst myself!"