Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown Read Free Book Online

into the serve, watching the ball. I didn't see that you'd turned around until it was too late." He touched her cheek. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have hurt you for anything in the world."
    "But you were showing off," she said softly with a teasing smile.
    "I was showing off," he admitted self-deprecatingly.
    He grinned, and her heart expanded behind her breasts, causing them to swell and tingle. They were suddenly bursting with sensations she'd thought long dead. She'd buried those feelings after her marriage had ended in failure. Was that glorious breathlessness really there? Was it due to the accident or caused by something else much more significant?
    He was gorgeous, if that adjective could be used on such a masculine face. Against the azure summer sky, which accented the color of his eyes, his hair shone raven black. Drawn into jagged furrows, his dark brows expressed his concern for her. A beautifully shaped nose, which was straight and slender only to flare slightly at the nostrils, formed a perfect bridge between his compelling eyes and sensuous lips. Shay wondered if the women in his congregation found it difficult to concentrate on the spirituality of his sermons as they watched that mobile mouth form the words.
    The hip that wasn't being soothed by his hand rested in his lap. Beneath her bare thigh, she could feel his. It was hard and warm. The springy hairs that bristled from it tickled her skin. He had raised one knee to support her back. Her lightheadedness returned when she realized that her naked back was lying along his thigh.
    Her eyes roamed avariciously over his face. She wanted to take as much advantage of the moment as she could. "You play tennis very well," she said, barely recognizing her own voice. It came through her lips like a seductive shadow.
    He didn't answer for a long time. His eyes were doing their fair share of greedy touring. He catalogued each of her features: brow, eyes, and nose came under his avid gaze. Then his eyes rested on her mouth and stayed. And stayed. They were still there when he said throatily, "Championship tennis team in college."
    For long, portentous moments they didn't say anything, only looked, as though before now they had been starved for the sight of the other. The only movement was his hand, which still idly massaged the bruised spot. Almost imperceptibly his head moved closer. Her lips parted. His did the same. Her heart thudded in her chest—or was she feeling the pounding of his as she was pressed tighter against him?
    Her hand crept up the collar of his shirt and slipped inside. "Ian?"
    "Shay."
    His face ducked lower. Even closer, closer. Her eyes focused on his mouth. She could almost taste its moist softness melding with hers.
    She felt his body tense and go rigid at the same moment that he inhaled sharply. Reflexively the fingers on her bottom squeezed, then released her. His hand was yanked away as though it had been tugged upon by a malicious puppeteer. His head jerked upward, and she was dumped from his lap onto the grass as he jumped to his feet.
    He stalked away from her to a nearby tree, where he leaned his forehead on the rough trunk. His whole body was trembling as his shoulders heaved with gasping breaths. Restless fists thumped against his thighs. His whole aspect was that of a man trying desperately to get a grip on control that was rapidly disintegrating.
    Offended and hurt beyond measure, Shay stood up. She barely kept herself from falling when the injured hip almost failed to support her. The pain had diminished only to the level of a dull throb. Damn him!
    "What's the matter, Reverend Douglas?" she taunted acerbically. "Did the scarlet woman almost tempt you to fall from grace? Heaven forbid that you kiss such a vile person as me."
    He spun around, his physical agitation fueling his temper. His blue eyes were stormy. She could see it was an effort for him to speak in calm, level tones. "You'd better sit down and rest until our parents get back.