Graham kissed her over and over again, as his blood rushed in his ears and his breath grew shorter and shorter.

Grasping her hands in one of his, he held them over her head as he

moved over her.

His eyes were on hers.

Hers were wide, absorbing him.

Looking at him.

As if she knew he needed that.

Needed to have her look at him while they made love.

Her breasts rubbed urgently against his skin, cream against bronze.

He moved his head down and suckled, teasing the tip of one with his

tongue, then the other.

He felt her squirm beneath him, hardening him until his desire was so

strong it threatened to break free at any moment.

Caitlin arched against him and then there was no turning back.

He knew he couldn't have even if he'd wanted to.

And he didn't want to.

The need was too strong, beyond all reason.

As he began to enter her, a small whimper broke free from her lips and

his eyes widened.

He stopped.

"You're Oh, no, they'd come too far for him to stop now. She wouldn't

let him stop now.

"Yours, Gray. I've always been yours."

Her arms tightened against him and she arched her hips up even

farther.

He entered, unable to hold back.

Sheathed in her, he felt as if he'd finally come home.

The next moment passions drummed through him and he began to move,

afraid of hurting her no matter what he did.

The pain melted away in the heat until it was gone as if it had never existed.

She responded, her body urgent beneath his.

The decisions were all taken from him as they took the journey

together, scaling the highest peak two lovers could.

The journey they took together was wild and wondrous, and over all too soon.

Graham could feel Caitlin's heart hammering beneath his, as if it were

really one heart cleaved in two.

But it wasn't, and he knew it.

To believe anything else would be to play the fool.

They were far too different to make it work for long.

Slowly his breathing evened.

Very carefully Graham rolled off and settled in beside her.

Euphoria retreated and disappeared.

Reality returned with a one-two punch.

Damn, what had he been thinking of?

Where was his selfcontrol?

He shouldn't have let this happen.

No matter how much he had wanted her, how much he ached, he shouldn't

have let things go this far.

He was supposed to be guarding her, for pity's sake.

When he had taken off for California, he had tottered on the edge

without any thought to ever waking up tomorrow.

The bottle had called to him, offering solace.

The temptation of drowning himself in its amber liquid and forgetting

all about Caitlin had been so strong it had all but rattled his

teeth.

It had almost sucked him in.

But somehow he had found the ability to resist, to hold fast against the overwhelming urges.

-Why couldn't he have done the same with her?

The sound of their breathing drifting through the air was all that she heard. But Caitlin sensed something ominous; she could feel the silence creeping along her skin like a longlegged spider.

When she turned her head toward him, Graham was looking at her.

His eyes were fathomless again.

Why can't I ever know what you're thinking, Gray?

Even now?

But things had never been easy with Gray.

There was no way to find out what was on his mind except to ask.

"What?" she prompted.

With every passing second the silence was eating away at her, making

small holes in her confidence that were growing into large ones.

Beyond the annoyance at his own lack of control was a core of guilt.

He hadn't known, wouldn't have guessed that that was her first time.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Had he known, he would have found the strength to back away.

Caitlin stiffened.

Suddenly she didn't feel nude, she felt naked.

And there was a world of difference between the two.