Daddy Warlock Read Free

descended a broad bed, while hidden portals slid aside to reveal an oak armoire.
    Tara had the impression that the sensual fabrics and sleek woods had been selected to suit her sensibilities. The room had been waiting for her.
    The Magician set her down, his eyes gentle behind the mask. She wished, fleetingly, that he would take it off, but then it didn’t matter. What she knew of him went far deeper than what could be seen in his face.
    The strangest part was that she knew he was experiencing both the same fire of longing and the same reluctanceto yield to it. She knew he was afraid of hurting her, and uncertain of what she meant to him, and that he stood at a crossroads in his life.
    With a stab of insight, she saw that somehow she had been sent here to change him, and he to change her. But in what way? How could their thoughts be so intertwined at this moment, while they yet withheld so much of themselves, even their names?
    The Magician’s hand caressed her hip, burning through the fabric. Tara ran her finger along his jawline, and felt a shiver of response.
    She touched the faint stubble of new-grown beard. As if they were connected by electric wires, she experienced not only what lay on the surface but also his rush of hunger, his disbelief, his eagerness, his doubts.
    Then her eyes met his and, with a jolt, she saw that he was inside her mind, too.
    He was experiencing her smoky rush of longing, the tightening in her breasts, the melting in her marrow. The double awareness was overwhelming, for both of them.
    Tara’s only previous experience with lovemaking had been a few fumbling encounters with a college classmate whom she’d briefly imagined she loved. She had felt nothing like this soaring eagerness to arouse and share and merge.
    Her partner smoothed the blouse low over her shoulders, his thumbs caressing the exposed tops of her breasts. Tara wound her arms around his shoulders.
    She drew the man against her, mouth meeting mouth in explosive hunger. The moment they connected, all hesitation vanished.
    With a shrugging movement, his upper arm pushed the mask back and knocked off his hat. But with the curtainsblocking the moonlight, she could see nothing except the outline of his face.
    The Magician. It seemed like name enough, just now.
    Memory and delight flowed together as they slipped from their clothes and tangled together on the bed. There was no order to their passion, just thigh wildly brushing. thigh, his lips against her nipple, her hands molding his shoulders, his body responding with hot abandon.
    She shared his wonder, and his torrent of need. She knew he must have penetrated her mental recesses, as well, finding the wall she’d flung up to protect herself from her father’s disapproval and from anyone else who might try to control her life, the barrier that had vanished for this one amazing night.
    Only one night? she wondered. But it wasn’t like that. All the nights they had known belonged to both of them. Past and future had no meaning.
    Strong hands angled her hips, preparing her to receive him. Tara could feel her moist readiness, and so could he.
    What’s happening? How can we read each other’s minds?
    For an instant, she drew back, afraid of what she was experiencing. Could this be a hallucination, or had they tapped into a subconscious river that flowed between them? But surely such things didn’t exist.
    The Magician paused, watching her. Sensing her confusion and allowing her to sort it out. He would withdraw if she wished. He had been swept away as much as she, Tara knew, still hearing the echo of his thoughts, but he would never pressure her.
    As she pulled herself achingly from his mind, she became more aware of him as a man. Muscular, taut, graceful even in the slightest movement. An herbal fragrancemingled with the faint scent of his exertion. Most remarkable were his eyes, gleaming in the shadowed planes of his face, alive with speculation.
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