< previous page page_195 next page >

Page 195
hope that she did. Most of the time, he did not want to know. Tonight was different. Tonight there could be no question of fear or force. Simon did not embrace Alinor. If she gave him the kiss of peace, he would know one way; if she gave him more, he would know the other.
Of Alinor's response there could be no doubt. Her arms came up and round his neck at once. She needed no second lesson on when to part her lips or what to do with her tongue. For a little while the kiss was sufficient for them both. Although Simon knew passion well, love was as new to him as to Alinor. For the first time in his life he was more concerned with his partner's reactions than with his own.
To Alinor it was a marvelous renewal of a wonder. Often as she danced with Simon, or spoke to him, or simply looked at him across a room full of people, her heart would stir in her breast. But the warm, languorous pleasure, the exquisite sensitivity of the flesh did not follow. She had begun to doubt the reality of the sensations, almost to believe that she had imagined them. Now she would never doubt again. A warmth from Simon's lips spread up her arms making them all boneless, yet strong enough to cling round his neck. Then the warmth spread down, across her breast, across her belly and loins and thighs. This time it was Alinor's knees that trembled. As innocent as any young female animal that responds by instinct, she pressed forward into her lover's body.
Simon wore no armor this night; he and Alinor were dressed alike in the thin silks of summer. The warmth of her body kindled his. His arms slid from her back down to her buttocks and crushed her closer. Although Alinor had never seen a man aroused, she had seen stallions in rut. She had no doubt as to what was pressing against her, but Simon was too tall. Alinor strained upward, striving to apply the pressure where she craved it. The movement made Simon tear his mouth free to

 
< previous page page_195 next page >