The Taming of a Vixen Ch. 02

The silver of her gown made her seem ethereal, a Goddess about to disappear into the moonlight that had carried her to this existence. Tall and willowy, she graced the garden with more beauty than any lifeless statue.

He knew the instant she noticed him, the gasp of her breath traveling to his ears as she saw the figure standing in the shadows. A look crossed her face, not one of fear but of admiration for what she could see of him in the moonlight. Her hand rose to her throat with a shy grace and her eyes traced his body in a manner that quickly aroused his interest.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to intrude," he said softly, knowing she would have to strain to hear his words at this distance. "I couldn't help but be caught in your beauty. You seem like some Greek Goddess, here to seduce us mere mortals with your loveliness and grace."

Alyssa was intrigued even as she was flattered. The man stood in the shadows and all she could see of his face was a hint of the shape. He was tall, a plus for someone of her height, and his shoulders were wide, though she'd learned that sometimes a tailor may perform amazing deeds with his needle and make the least athletic appear more so.

"Have we met, sir?" she asked, thankful that her tone did not give away her thoughts.

"I think not," he said, watching her move towards him, graceful and exquisite. "I know I should remember such winsome loveliness as you possess."

"You flatter me, sir," she said, moving even closer, almost desperate to see his face. The moon took that moment to thwart her desires, hiding itself behind a huge cloud, deepening the shadows where he stood. "Would you care to give me your name?"

"I should rather try to guess your own, m'lady. If I might?" he asked waiting for her nod.

Alyssa smiled, intrigued by his play. "Of course, sir. But I should warn you, my mother was of a fanciful bent when she named me."

"Fanciful? Should I guess something outlandish such as Amaryllis, or Persephone? No? Then Eloisa or Aphrodite?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Perhaps Cassiopeia? I have it," he said, smiling down at her, for she'd moved closer during the exchange. "Alyssa."

"We have met," she said, laughing up at him. "For it is the only way you could have known so quickly."

Jason lifted his hand, tracing his finger across her smiling lips. "Perhaps I am just that good," he said, his voice growing husky as he touched her soft skin.

Alyssa felt his touch as a stroke of fire to her skin, creating ripples of pleasure that flooded through her. She knew that she should leave, flee from here and him before this moment could be drawn further. But her feet refused to heed the warnings of her head, even as his hands rose and slid warmly over her shoulders.

His palms were slightly rough, his hands wide and hard as they skimmed over her skin, sliding down her arms and making her shiver with feelings she didn't understand. When they rose, retracing their path, she barely stifled the moan that seemed drawn from deep within her. Those hands hesitated upon her shoulders before moving down her back, drawing her closer to him even as he stepped those last few inches to take her in his arms.

Her eyes were huge, turbulent seas of gray as she stared into the shadows of his face, knowing he was about to kiss her, and also knowing how wrong it would be.

Her hands rose as if to push him away. They lay against his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath her fluttering fingers. His head tilted as she watched, moving ever closer until she felt the warm brush of his breath against her mouth and then the tiniest of tingles as his lips touched hers.

It was an innocent kiss, mouths pressed together gently, clinging to the moisture of each other. A kiss meant to be a beginning. It lasted, more so because of the wonder of the moment than any design by either participant, as the mood drew them together. Jason raised his head, eyes caressing the softness of her face, the loveliness astounding him even as his head lowered once more.

Desire stormed through him, passion that gave no quarter as her lips clung to his mouth. He heard the small moan she gave, felt it in the long curved body that pressed against him. He withdrew only slightly, his mouth a breath away from hers.

"Open your mouth, Alyssa. Let me kiss you like you should be kissed," he groaned even as he recaptured her mouth, his tongue pushing inside to tangle with hers.

Alyssa was lost. Adrift upon an unfamiliar sea of strange desires and needs that her body was demanding be fulfilled, her only haven him. This man, whose name she didn't know, kissing her with abandon, his mouth hot and wildly arousing upon her own, his tongue a flicker of flame in her mouth. His hands roamed her slender form, one slipping around and finding the curve of her breast, cupping it in his palm.

What could have happened if they weren't interrupted was fodder for her dreams.

But interrupted they were, her name in Cat's voice forcing them from their desire-suffused paradise. Jason lifted his head, his lips feeling lost without the heat of her's beneath them. He stared down, groaning silently at the expression of innocent lust upon her face, making her lips pout, her eyes hazy and half closed.

"You are being called," he whispered, brushing her lips with his own once more, a small taste that did nothing to quench the thirst he felt.

"My friend, Catherine. I'm here with her and her brother," she said, still trying to see him in the shadows. "Will you not tell me who you are?"

"On our next meeting, lovely lady. Then you shall know me. But for now," he kissed her once more, a ravishment that left her panting and arching into his hard body.

"Go," he urged as he stepped back. "Go, before I can't let you leave."

Alyssa fled, turning only once, just before she left the small garden, to look for him. He had gone as he had come, a shadow that had torn her heart from her chest and taken it with him.