Merlyn's Magic Read Free Page B

actually
own this house! Unless he was the caretaker? That was quite possible.
If she had a house like this she wouldn't want to leave it unattended.
But the man facing her didn't look the type she would entrust her
lovely home to either! Well, maybe
she
would.
After all, she suspected she could entrust her heart to him without too
much encouragement.
    'Upstairs,' he murmured softly. 'Scared?'
    The recipient of a lot of teasing from a much older
brother, Merlyn had never liked to be mocked, her eyes sparkling
challengingly. 'Of you?' she taunted in a derisive voice.
    His mouth quirked. 'Why not? As soon as I get you upstairs
I'm going to rip all your clothes off,' he stated calmly.
    Merlyn stiffened, drawing herself up to all of her five
feet five inches in height, aware even as she did so that the man
seemed to tower over her by nearly a foot, and that he weighed at least
a hundred and eighty pounds. As she had driven up she hadn't seen
another house anywhere near this one, and she was well aware that she
would stand little or no chance against his weight and size if he
should decide to take advantage of her vulnerability.
    Nevertheless, she stood her ground. 'I might have
something to say about that,' she murmured.
    Dark brows rose. 'Judo expert, are you?' he mocked.
    'I could be,' she evaded determinedly.
    'Do you usually make this much fuss about taking your
clothes off for a shower?' he taunted.
    'Shower?' she blinked. 'You—'
    'Yes?' he teased softly.
    There were two red spots of anger in her otherwise pale
cheeks, her indignation apparent by the scathing look she was sending
him, the whole effect ruined by the ignominious sneeze she suddenly
gave.
    'No more arguments,' he declared, pulling her up the
stairs with little regard for her stumbling, pushing her into a bedroom
and stripping her coat off her before she had time to stop him. She did
manage to pull back as he began to unbutton her blouse. 'What is it?'
He frowned at her modesty. 'I have seen the unclothed female body
before,' he told her impatiently.
    She didn't doubt it. There was a raw masculinity about him
that bespoke an intimate knowledge with women and his power over them.
But he hadn't seen
her
body before, and that was
the one she was worried about. Her hands placed over his halted his
movements. 'I don't even know your name,' said Merlyn in exasperation.
    His brow cleared, the mockery back. 'You mean that if we
had been formally introduced you would have let me take your clothes
off without protest?' he drawled.
    This time the twin spots of colour in her cheeks were from
embarrassment. 'No, I—'
    'You can call me Rand.' He sighed his impatience with her
indignant anger. 'And if you won't let me undress you then at least
have the good sense to do so yourself, and then get into a hot shower.
I'll be downstairs making us some coffee.' He walked forcefully from
the room.
    Merlyn was left with the impression that she had just
survived a whirlwind. She sank slowly down on to the bed behind her,
until she realised her sodden clothes would be dampening the silky
peach coverlet. She stood up to undress, her thoughts with the puzzling
man downstairs.
    Rand. It had a nice sound to it. Her glance fell to the
bed beside her. How would it feel to be in that bed beside him, her
body entwined with his, crying out his name as he possessed her?
Because that man would possess, not merely make love. That warm
tingling she had known when she first looked at him returned to her
body as she envisaged his dark head next to her fiery one on the
pillows. He—
    'Here you are.' Rand walked back into the room without
warning, carrying her suitcase and vanity now, his eyes narrowing on
the nakedness of her flesh beneath the dark blue of her unfastened
blouse. Merlyn didn't need to look down to know that her flesh looked
like pale ivory against the dark material.
    Again that feeling of time standing still possessed her,
and she made no effort to conceal the rounded curve of her