"I was bound to find someone I wanted to get a little closer to," she explained.

"I'm glad it happened with me," he admitted.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against him. "Jade, do you want me to touch you now?"

She struggled out of his arms and took a step back. "It doesn't matter if I want you to touch me or not, Caine. You're my protector. You have to leave me alone."

She suddenly found herself pulled back up against his chest, his thighs, his hard arousal. Her flimsy nightgown proved scanty protection against his body, his incredible heat. "It doesn't work that way,

Jade."

"Why not?"

"I want you."

The huskiness in his voice was her undoing. She knew she should be appalled by her own reaction to him. Yet she actually wanted to melt in his arms. The urge to let him touch her was such a sweet torment. Lord, she was confused. She'd never, ever permitted anyone to get this close to her. She'd always protected herself against involvements of any kind, having learned early in life that loving someone caused more pain than joy. Even Nathan had deserted her. She'd become so vulnerable then. Yes, only a fool would let a man like Caine close… only a fool.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Neither Jade nor Caine was aware of the weather now. They were too consumed by the heat flowing between them.

They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity.

And in the end, it was inevitable. When Caine slowly lowered his head toward her, she leaned up to meet him halfway.

His mouth took absolute possession. He was as ravenous for her as she was for him. She welcomed his tongue, rubbed against it with her own. Her whimper of longing and acceptance blended with his raw growl of need.

The kiss was openly carnal. Caine was a lusty man whose hunger wouldn't be easily appeased. He wouldn't let her retreat or give half measure. Jade didn't want to draw back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, threaded her fingers through his soft curly hair, and clung to him. She never wanted to let go.

When he finally pulled away, she felt as though he'd taken her heart. She cuddled up against him quite brazenly, resting the side of her face against his warm chest. The mat of hair tickled her nose but she liked the sensation too much to move away. His scent, so wonderfully masculine, reminded her of

heather and musk. The earthy fragrance clung to his skin.

Caine's voice was ragged when he asked, "Jade? Are there other lies you want to tell me about?"

"No."

He smiled over the shyness in her voice, then said, "No, there aren't any other lies, or no, you don't

want to tell me about them?"

She rubbed her cheek against his chest to try to distract him, then said, "Yes, there are other lies." She

felt him tense against her, then hastily added, "But they're so insignificant I can't even remember them now. When I do, I promise to tell you."

He immediately relaxed again. Lying, she decided, was on the top of his list of atrocities.. "Jade?"

"Yes, Caine?"

"Do you want me?"

He didn't give her time to answer. "Damn it, be honest v with me now. No more lies, Jade. I have to know," he grated out. "Now."

"Yes, Caine, I want you. Very much."

She sounded as though she'd just confessed a dark sin. "Jade, there should be joy in wanting each other, not despair."

"There is both," she answered. She shivered inside over the knowledge of what she was about to do.

She was eager… and terribly uncertain. I will not fall in love with him, she promised herself, and knew the lie was a mockery when her eyes filled with tears. Caine had already found his way into her heart.

When she moved back into his arms, he felt her tremble. He tightened his hold around her. "I'll take care of you, Jade," he whispered. "Love, what are you thinking?"

"That I'll survive," she answered.

He didn't understand what she meant, but the fear in her voice made his heart ache. "We don't have to…"

"I want you," she interrupted. "But you have to promise me something first."

"What?" he asked.

"You mustn't fall in love with me:"

The seriousness in her voice told him she wasn't jesting. Caine was immediately infuriated with her. She was such a confusion to him. He decided he'd demand an explanation for her ridiculous request, but then she started caressing his skin into a fever. She placed hot, wet kisses on his chest, and when her tongue brushed against one of his nipples, his body began to burn for her.

She teased a path up the side of his neck with her sweet mouth, urging him without words to respond. Caine's control disappeared. He'd never had a woman respond to him with such innocence, such honesty. For the first time in his life, he felt cherished… and loved.

A low growl escaped him even as he told himself to be gentle with her. He wanted to savor each touch, each caress, to make this night with her last forever. Yet he contradicted his own command when she began to make those erotic little whimpers in the back of her throat. She drove him wild. He roughly pulled on her hair until he'd made a fist of her silky curls, then jerked her head back so he could once again claim her mouth for another searing kiss.

His passion consumed her. His mouth ate at her lips, and his tongue… dear God, his tongue made her shake with raw desire. Jade's nails dug into the bulge of muscle in his upper arms. She gave herself over into his care. A deep ache began to spread like wildfire through her stomach, then lower, until it became an excruciating sweet torture.

Caine's hands moved to her buttocks. He pulled her up against his arousal. Jade instinctively cuddled his hardness between her thighs and began to rub against him.

The ache intensified.

When his mouth moved to the side of her neck, when his tongue began to flick her sensitive earlobe, she barely had enough strength left to stand up. He whispered dark, forbidden promises of all the erotic things he wanted to do to her. Some she understood, others she didn't, but she wanted to experience all of them.

"There's no turning back now, Jade," he whispered. "You're going to belong to me."

"Yes," she answered. "I want to belong to you tonight, Caine."

"No," he grated out. He kissed her long, lingeringly. "Not for just one night, love. Forever."

"Yes, Caine," she sighed, barely aware of what she was promising. "Tell me what you want me to do.