Iris Johansen - Always

No! She wouldn't feel like this. She had heard hostages sometimes developed kinky sexual desires for their captors, but she wasn't like that. Yet her breasts beneath the satin pajama top were moving up and down with the force of her breathing, and she saw Donahue's eyes move compulsively to that betraying disturbance. "Don't fight me," he said hoarsely. She could see his own pulse drumming wildly in the hollow of his throat. "I'd never hurt you. Don't you know that?"

"I don't know anything about you." Lisa closed her eyes to escape the sight of him. That was worse somehow, for now that she couldn't see him, she was more aware of the scents of musk and soap that emanated from him and the burning touch of his thigh through the layers of material that separated them. She opened her eyes again and met his with a fresh sense of shock. So intense. Smoky, intimate, wanting. "I don't want to know anything about you," she murmured.

"I think you're lying." His thumb on her left wrist was absently stroking the sensitive pulse point.

Lisa felt a flash of heat tingle through her. Oh, dear heaven, she doubted if he was even aware of what he was doing to her. A surge of intense desire set her trembling.

"I think you're feeling the same thing I am. In the physical sense, at least, I think you want to know everything about me."

"No, I-" She broke off. It was no use denying it. They weren't children who had no knowledge of sex. She was sure the signs were unmistakable to a man of his experience. "It doesn't mean anything," she said fiercely. "It's a biological reaction that's totally irrelevant. Get off me, Donahue."

"Soon." His gaze traveled lingeringly over the gentle swell of her breasts. Lisa felt an immediate peaking and knew it was visible through the thin satin. She looked at his face, expecting to see triumph. Instead there was only desire and heat and a curious sense of wonder. "How lovely that is. I wish I could see just how beautiful you are."

She felt the air leave her lungs as abruptly as the moment he'd tackled her. "No!"

Reluctantly Clancy pulled his gaze up to meet her own. "No," he agreed. "I know I can't do that. I just said that I wanted to. There's a difference between wanting and taking." He released her wrists. "It's been a long time since I found it necessary to take. I don't think I'd find it satisfying any longer. You don't have to worry about me forcing you into my bed. I want you to want me." His lips tightened. "For God's sake, don't be afraid of me. I couldn't stand that."

She shook her head. "This is insane. Why shouldn't I be afraid of you? You kidnapped me and now you tell me you want me to go to bed with you."

Clancy stood up and reached down to pull her to her feet. "What is there to be afraid of?" He smiled faintly. "You want me. too. I'll wait until you're ready for me. I can be very patient when I want something." He took her elbow and pushed her gently in the direction of the villa. "Don't you think we'd better go back to the house? We have some talking to do." Automatically she fell into step with him. Whywasn't she fighting him? His grip on her arm was almost gentle despite its firmness, yet she had the impression any resistance would be instantly quelled. She would have to bide her time until she had another opportunity to escape. She had almost made it. Surely she would succeed in eluding him next time.

"You're suddenly very docile. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm not docile." Lisa looked straight ahead. "Like you, I can be very patient when I want something."

He chuckled. "I should have known. My first impression of you was of gentle fragility. Who would have guessed there was such a tigress beneath that serene exterior?"

She felt a little shiver of shock run through her when she realized he was right. She had always been tranquil even in her moments of greatest happiness. Yet she had been acting with a primitive passion that was almost explosive since Donahue had walked into her dressing room. She had never before known fear, rage, or desire in such violent proportions. It made her a little uneasy to realize a stranger could arouse those emotions within her-particularly a stranger as lawless and ruthlessly determined as Donahue.

"What's wrong?" His eyes were narrowed on her face. "Is it something I said? Have I hurt you?"

"No." She avoided his gaze. "What could you possibly have said that would have had an effect on me? Your opinions don't mean a thing to me, Donahue." His fingers tightened on her elbow. "You havethe tongue of a wasp," he said curtly. "Do you suppose you could keep your stinger out of me until we have that talk? I'm not feeling any too stable myself at the moment."

They had arrived back at the villa and found Galbraith and the other two young men waiting apprehensively at the courtyard door. Galbraith was staring at her with an almost comical look of mournful reproach. "That wasn't very nice, Miss Landon," he said as he opened the door and stepped aside for her to precede him. "You were supposed to be a weak, languishing female, not Sheena of the Jungle, climbing vines and leaping seven-foot walls at a single bound. Now I'm in big trouble."

"You're damn right you are," Clancy said. "You weren't only stupid, you were careless. I'm tempted to send you back to Sedikhan. A rookie operative would have shown more savvy." He jerked his thumb at the two guards. "Replace them, and see if you can find anyone on the island with eyes in their heads." He was propelling Lisa across the courtyard toward the French doors that led to the bedroom. "And until you can find someone, I expect you to roost outside these doors yourself. Understand?"

Galbraith nodded. "I won't be able to replace them until tomorrow. I hope to hell we don't get one of those charming tropical showers tonight."

"Maybe it would wash some sense into that head of yours. Looking like a schoolboy is a professional advantage, acting like one is professional suicide." He ignored Galbraith's grimace as he closed the French doors behind them.

He released Lisa's arm and turned away. "Galbraith won't make that mistake again. You won't even be allowed into the courtyard without permission." He strode toward the door across the room. "This is the only other exit, and I'll be on the other side. I assure you that I'll be a hell of a lot more careful than Galbraith." He looked over his shoulder, and for an instant there was the hint of a smile lighting the grimness of his expression. "I know you better."

"You don't know me at all."

"You're wrong. I don't know you as well as I'm going to, but I do know you." He opened the door. "I'm going to get you something to eat. You'll probably feel better if you wash some of that sand off. However, if you don't feel up to it, I'll be glad to help. It's a valet service I'm always willing to provide when I kidnap a lady." The door closed behind him with a soft, decisive click.

Lisa stared blankly at the closed door. The abrupt change from brisk, threatening incisiveness to half-humorous sensuality had once more caught her off guard. How many sides were there to, the man's personality, anyway? She drew a deep breath and turned toward the bathroom. Even if she hadn't felt abominably gritty, she would have obeyed Donahue's last suggestion. He was too unknown a quantity for her to be certain that he'd been joking, and she definitely didn't want to be exposed to any more intimacies. She was still too bewildered and wary about her reaction to Donahue just now on the beach to take a chance of repeating the scene.

Forty minutes later she had finished showering, shampooing and drying her hair. Another ten minutes and she was dressed in baggy white linen slacks and a loose thigh-length cotton sweater in a warm melon shade. She coiled her hair in a careless knot on top of her head and nodded with satisfaction at her reflection in the mirror. No one could say there was anything in the least provocative about her appearance, and that was just what she intended. She thrust her feet into white canvas sandals and was ready for the fray. For a moment she stood there, trying to gather her composure. She had to come to an understanding with Donahue, and she hoped that understanding would bring them to terms on her release. If she could maintain the same aggressiveness and cool control she had noticed in him, perhaps he would see that she wouldn't permit him to keep her here. The only problem was that aggressiveness wasn't exactly her area of expertise. If it had been, she wouldn't be having this painful dilemma with Martin. She had always been too soft, and Martin had known exactly how to manipulate that weakness to his own advantage.;