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no kiss of peace. Joanna's first reaction was surprise at the pleasure the new kiss gave her. All at once the blood seemed to rush from her extremities to her body. Her arms and legs felt weak, her head too light. Only her lips, her breasts, and her loins seemed real to her, tingling and pulsing. The rest had become insubstantial. There could be no thought of pushing Geoffrey away. Her hand would not touch him at all; it would crumple, as a veil of silk blown outward by the wind crumples when it touches something hard. |
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Geoffrey released her lips; his eyes were black in the moonlight staring down. Joanna uttered a tremulous sigh; her eyes closed, her head dropped forward onto his shoulder, and she wavered where she stood. Geoffrey's grip on her waist tightened still more. He took a step backward and then another, almost carrying her. Her limpness frightened him a little. |
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"Joanna?" he whispered, "Joanna?" |
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She did not reply but, eyes still closed, raised her face in a mute invitation. It was so open an invitation that a man might have taken it as a practiced gesture. At the moment Geoffrey was in no condition for thinking at all. He sank backward onto the seat he had risen from, turning Joanna so that she came down into his lap. The movement roused her a little; her eyes fluttered open, but Geoffrey closed her mouth before she could speak and she sank back into her cocoon of pure sensation. |
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Although he was no very practiced lover, Geoffrey had some experience. He was a nice looking young man; he had challenged four men for insulting him and had beaten three and killed the fourthwhich gave him a modest but firm reputation as a fighter. Also important, he was Salisbury's favorite, darling son and, as such, considered to have a direct line to the king's ear. The combination of attractions had brought him more frequent and more intimate attention from the ladies of the court than most young men of his age could boast, especially before they learned he never asked Salisbury for anything. |
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