Battle Prize by Stephanie James Read Free Book Online

meet his searing gaze. "But a few more kisses . . . ?" She let the words trail off invitingly, expectantly.
    His reaction was not at all what she was expecting, however. The steel in him was suddenly very evident She felt it in the thighs that thrust against hers and saw it In the harsh line of his jaw. His rough palms moved with slow intent on her nipples, causing her breasts to swell and grow even more taut .
    "Do you really believe I could stand here and trade a few more kisses in the moonlight and then call it quits?" he demanded raggedly, "I want to take you, Rani Cameron, not flirt with you. There's one hell of a difference. Don't count on me to play by the same rules of war Tanner seems willing to obey."
    She heard the masculine warning in his voice and still had enough sense left to heed it. Gage was telling her the raw truth. He wasn't going to be content to sample a little more of this incredible excitement they had discovered. He would want it all. And God help her! He'd have her wanting the same thing. Rani told herself dazedly as she gingerly tried to put a little distance between them.
    As she stepped away from him, however, her breasts were exposed fully to his gaze. The hands on her nippies fell away slowly, but the touch of his eyes was every bit as tangible. Hastily Rani reached down for the gold towel and wrapped it around herself. What had gotten into her? Less than an hour before she had been telling herself that this kind of passion probably didn't exist for her!
    "Rani!"
    She looked at him, drawn by the husky sound of her name on his lips. "No, Gage. I'll admit you took me by surprise, but I'm not going to go to bed with you. You're my enemy, remember?" she concluded whimsically as she clutched the towel safely around her naked breasts.
    He shook his head once in a sharp negative. "That's what I want to set straight." he said carefully. "Whatever else happens between us, this side of things isn't involved. Do you understand?"
    She stared at him. "I don't see how it can be separated from the rest. You only want one thing from me, Gage: my agreement to go back to Dallas so that you can do your job and collect your payment. I would be a fool to let you seduce me, wouldn't I? Business and pleasure don't mix."
    Reaching out, he clasped his hands around her bare shoulders, holding her still. "We can and will separate it! When we go to bed together, Rani, there will be only the two of us involved. It will have nothing to do with my job or your stubbornness on other matters!"
    "When we go to bed!" she repeated, outraged. "You mean if, don't you? And it's a very large if, I assure you!"
    "I think we can say it's a certainty," he drawled more gently. "But whatever happens, when the time comes, remember what I've said. Give me your word on that, sweetheart. Please."
    He meant it, she realized. He really meant it. Gage fully intended to keep the matter of their physical attraction for each other outside the realm of the other battle in which they were engaged. Was such a thing possible? And if she told herself it was possible, could she then resist the lure of him?
    Bravely she met the demand in him with her own challenge, striving to keep her voice flippant. "I'm not the one who needs to understand the ground rules. You're the one who has to get something straight, Gage. Seducing me would not get you one step closer to achieving your goal of taking me back to Dallas. Is that very clear?"
    He nodded at once, which surprised her. "I accept that. Now give me your word that you'll let whatever happens between us personally remain just that— between us. It stays off the battlefield."
    "But of course, Gage," Rani managed very sweetly, turning to head back toward her condominium. "I wouldn't think of making love on a battlefield. So unromantic!"

 
     
     
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    It was the pounding on her front door that woke her early the next morning. Rani blinked sleepily, stirred amidst the peach-colored sheets and buried her