““She cupped her hand, caught the gleaming flow of water and drank again. Royce did the same. She was right, he had never tasted water more satisfying. When he had drunk, he took a deep breath and felt his lungs fill with the mingled scent of lemons and jasmine, the perfume he already knew, for it clung to her skin. That satiny smooth skin. Would it feel cool to his touch as it had earlier or would she be warm now here in the cradle of the earth? He had to know. His fingers brushed over the curve of her cheek, lingered…Her lashes drifted down, so long and soft, up again, and he found himself gazing into fathomless eyes. “Royce-“ “Hush,” he said and gathered her to him. She was slim and strong in his arms, her body molding to his. Her lips parted, accepting the hard thrust of his tongue as he tasted her deeply. He wanted to go slowly, knew he should, and found the effort entirely beyond him. He had waited so long…not mere weeks but lifetimes it seemed…time without beginning or end, stretching out endlessly yet coming finally to this moment. Surely, he was not alone in believing they had been coming to this moment since that fog-draped morning in London when he first set eyes on her? Her hands were on his shirt, pulling it loose. Shock roared through him. He had not expected this. She was gently reared, a virgin, he had thought to go very slowly-heaven help him-always mindful of her innocence. But her passion seemed to match his own and she was fire in his arms, in his hands, in his dreams. “Sweet heaven,” she said, gasping softly. “I want you so much!” Somewhere on the planet there was a man who could withstand such words from a beautiful woman in his arms. Of course, that poor fellow was a eunuch, which absolutely did not bear thinking about. Royce groaned in relief, offered thanks to any and all deities who might feel they were due, and lowered her gently to the ground. Far in the back of his mind, he knew what he was doing was momentous. Kassandra was as far from a casual encounter as it was possible for a woman to be. He knew that and accepted it. Indeed, the depth of his feeling for her transformed pleasure into something vastly more.””
