Summer Mahogany by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online Page B

blouse and slacks that were plastered against her skin, water dripping on the galley floor. More water trickled down her forehead from her rain-soaked hair.
    "You're drenched to the skin," he accused her in irritation. "You should have worn a raincoat."
    His words made her feel like a straggly kitten half-drowned by a downpour. "I know I should have," she admitted, shivering more from her cool reception than from the damp. "I forgot all about the rain when I made up my mind to come."
    His mouth was compressed grimly for a minute. "Wait here," he ordered. "I'll get a towel or something to dry you off."
    As he disappeared down the narrow corridor, Gina hesitated for a split second, then started stripping off the wet clothes until they lay in a watery puddle on the floor. Self-consciously she crossed her arms in front of her at the sound of Rhyder's return.
    Ducking his ebony head to enter the galley area, he came to an abrupt halt at the sight of her. A folded blanket was in his hand. Gina's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. It wasn't from cold. She was frightened by the shamelessness of her own behavior where Rhyder was concerned.
    His features were half in shadow, the angular planes revealing nothing. She sought the clear blue of his eyes. They mirrored the image of a slender girlchild. Words tumbled from her tongue to dispel the image.
    "I want you to make love to me, Rhyder." Her voice was thin, betraying the taut state of her nerves. "That's why, I came. No one has ever made me feel the way you do when you kiss me. And I remember what you said yesterday about being a man a-and not playing those innocent games of kissing and holding hands. It's true about you, I know—about being a man, I mean, and wanting more from a woman than just kisses. I want more than that, too. I—"
    "Gina—" he began, his head moving to the side in a hopeless gesture.
    "No, let me finish," she rushed in. "I know you'll be leaving sometime, probably before the summer is over. I might not ever see you again." She breathed in shakily, the blood roaring in her ears. "But I love you, Rhyder, and I want to belong to you completely, even if it is only for a little while. I swear I won't ask any more than that from you. I just want you to love me."
    Her voice trailed off lamely as he walked slowly toward her. The shadowy light from the single lamp didn't illuminate his expression. She searched with pathetic eagerness for some indication of his answer. When he stopped in front of her, his mouth was curved in a tender smile, but it told her nothing.
    His unreadable gaze never left her upturned face as he unfolded the blanket and drew it gently around her shoulders. Gina trembled at the touch of the soft woolen material against her naked skin. He crossed the ends securely in front of her, tucking it under her chin and holding it shut with one hand.
    "Oh, Gina…" He murmured her name in a sigh that almost sounded sad.
    Her chin quivered. "Please, Rhyder, don't send me away," she begged. "I couldn't stand it."
    "Someday—" he tenderly brushed a damp strand of hair from her cheek "—a nice young man will come along and you'll marry him in a big church wedding, walking down the aisle in a lace gown with your grandfather beside you. And you'll probably have a houseful of kids with green eyes and dark hair. That's when it will stop hurting and you'll look back on this moment and be glad that I told you to go home."
    "No!" Gina protested with a sobbing cry.
    "Go home, Gina," Rhyder insisted quietly. "Go home and wait until you're grown up. Save all that love for the right man when he comes along."
    "I love you," she pleaded desperately.
    "No." He shook his head. "I've only awakened the woman in you. Now you want to experiment, to discover what it's all about. You picked me because I was at the right place at the right time in your life, but I'm the wrong man."
    The pain shattering through her body was too great to be borne. "You're nothing but a