Harriet's entire body tightened in response to the startling intrusion. She squeezed her eyes shut and held herself still, trying to decide if she liked the feel of him inside her or not. It was all so strange. Deliciously strange.

Then Gideon moved his finger once more and Harriet made her decision. She loved the feeling of him inside her. She lifted her hips against his carefully probing hand and clutched his shoulders.

"You want me." Gideon caught her nipple between his teeth, tugging slightly. "Say it."

"I want you." Harriet could hardly speak. The words were a choked little gasp. "I want you, Gideon."

"Say it again. I need to hear the words, my sweet, reckless Harriet. I need to hear you say them." His hand moved on her, tracing a tiny pattern in the damp heat.

Harriet could not believe it when the fire within her seemed to escalate. She twisted beneath Gideon, seeking some goal she could not name. "Please. Please, Gideon."

"Yes," he muttered. "b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, yes."

Then he was moving her legs farther apart, settling himself between her thighs. Harriet felt him reach down and guide himself to that part of her he had been stroking. She felt him moisten himself in her wet heat. And then she felt him start to enter her.

Harriet tensed as she realized this particular portion of Gideon was constructed on the same ma.s.sive scale as the rest of him. Her fingers clenched on his shoulders and her eyes flew open. She found herself gazing straight into the fiery furnace of his tawny gold gaze.

"I am hurting you," he said, teeth set in rigid self-control. "I did not want to hurt you. You are so tight. So small and beautiful and tight. And I am a great, hulking brute who has no business forcing myself on you like this."

"Do not say that. You are not forcing yourself on me." Harriet stared into his leonine eyes and saw the regret and the pain through the flames. "Do not ever say such a thing. It is not true."

"It is true. I have deliberately taught you to experience feelings you do not know how to handle. And I am taking advantage of your unschooled emotions."

"I am not a child. I shall make my own decisions," she said.

"Will you? I think not. You will have enough to regret in the morning as it is. I will not add this to the burden."

She knew instinctively that he was going to try to draw back and she also knew she could not allow him to do so. She sensed that he needed to know she wanted him as desperately as he seemed to want her.

"No." Harriet sank her nails into his powerful back and arched her lower body in invitation. "No, Gideon. Please do not pull away from me now. I want you. I want you."

He hesitated, still poised at the soft, moist entrance of her body. Sweat beaded his forehead. "G.o.d help me, I want you. More than I have ever wanted anything in my life." The words were torn from Gideon in a strangled groan as he surged slowly, heavily, deeply into her.

Harriet cried out in spite of her determination not to do so. Gideon covered her mouth quickly with his own, drinking in her incoherent exclamation.

A thrilling excitement that was laced with pain and pleasure flowed through Harriet. She felt stretched and filled beyond endurance and at the same time she dimly realized she was reaching for a glittering thrill of excitement that was just out of reach.

She knew she hovered on the brink of a grand discovery. With a little time, she could grasp the elusive pleasure. She was sure of it.

But there was no time. Gideon stroked slowly out of her and then plunged forward again, driving himself to her core. He gave a hoa.r.s.e shout filled with raw, masculine satisfaction. His body arched above hers, every muscle corded as hard and taut as steel.

And then he collapsed along the length of her, breathing in great gulps of air as he crushed her between himself and the hard stone floor of the cave.

Chapter Seven.

Gideon rose once during the night to light the second lamp. Harriet did not stir. He got back into their makeshift bed, gathered her close once more, and went to sleep.

When he awoke a second time he knew it was dawn. In the cavern there was no way to distinguish night from day, but his senses told him that the morning had arrived. Morning and the reckoning.

He had known what was to come the moment he had intercepted Crane fleeing from the cave entrance and realized Harriet was still inside. Even as Gideon had fought his way through the rising surf he had been aware that there would be no time to find Harriet and get her back out before the outer cavern was flooded.

And that had meant he would be spending the night with her. It had meant she would be thoroughly compromised by dawn. There was nothing he could do to stave off the inevitable.

Nevertheless, he'd had no intention of compounding the problem by making love to Harriet.

But Gideon realized now that once she had smiled at him, once she had reached for him and opened herself willingly to him, all his good intentions had gone up in smoke.

Making love to Harriet had become as inevitable as the dawn.

Gideon stretched cautiously, wincing as he worked muscles that had been stiffened overnight by the hard stone beneath him. He felt Harriet stir beside him, snuggling closer against his side, seeking his warmth. She did not open her eyes.

He smiled to himself as he looked at her. She lay snugly in the curve of his arm as if it were the most natural place in the world for her to be. Her face was half concealed by her wild, springy hair. Gideon touched the chestnut-brown stuff with curious fingers and found it amazingly soft. He closed his hand around a bunch of it, squeezed it, and then released it.

As if it had a life of its own, the fistful of hair sprang free the instant he loosened his fingers. Harriet's hair was just like the rest of her, Gideon decided: soft and sweet-smelling and full of an utterly feminine vitality.

Last night he had lost himself in this woman. Last night he had discovered the full extent of his own desire for her. Last night she had told hima"no, showed hima"that she wanted him. She had given herself to him with a wild, innocent abandon that was infinitely more valuable than the heap of treasure that lay on the floor of the cave.

She had given herself to the Beast of Blackthorne Hall, in spite of his scarred face and his equally scarred past.

Gideon's body began to harden as the hot memories returned. He moved his leg over Harriet's bare calf and slid his hand down over the lush curve of her b.u.t.tocks. He wished more than anything else in the world that this magical time did not have to end.

He had never feared to face reality before in his life. Indeed, he had learned to confront it long ago. But this morning Gideon knew he would have given his soul for a sorcerer's wand. He would have waved it over this cave and made it into a world where he and Harriet could stay forever.

Harriet lifted her lashes, blinking away sleep. For a few seconds she gazed at him with dreamy la.s.situde and then awareness cleared her turquoise eyes.

"Good heavens," she said, sitting up abruptly. "What time is it?"

"Morning, I believe." Gideon watched her tug the cloak modestly around herself. He realized she was avoiding his gaze. He could see the rising heat in her cheeks. "Calm yourself, Harriet."

"My family will be terribly worried."

"No doubt."

"We must get out of here so that I can rea.s.sure them that I am safe."

"Are you?" Gideon sat up slowly, watching her.

Harriet's head snapped around to face him. Her eyes widened. "I do not understand, my lord."

"Forgive me, my dear. I did not mean to tease you." Gideon got to his feet, heedless of his own nudity until he saw Harriet quickly avert her gaze. That amused him briefly. She did not appear to even notice his scarred face, but the sight of his maleness made her turn away. "You had best get dressed, Harriet. The tide will be out and Dobbs may come looking for us at any moment."

"Yes. Yes, of course." She got to her feet, still clutching the cloak about herself. Then she bent down and picked up her gown. She hesitated, obviously trying to decide how to get into the garment while keeping herself concealed beneath the cloak.

"I'll give you a hand in a moment," Gideon offered softly.

"That will not be necessary, my lord."

"As you wish." Gideon stretched again and walked over to where he had left his own clothing. He pulled on his shirt and stepped into his trousers, pleased to see they had dried overnight. His boots were stiff from their salt.w.a.ter soaking.

"Gideon?"

"Yes, my dear?"

Harriet hesitated. "About last night, my lord. I would not wanta That is to say, you should not feela""

"You may tell your aunt to expect me at three this afternoon." Gideon tugged on one rigid boot. It was not an easy task. The leather seemed to have shrunk.

"Why?" Harriet demanded bluntly.

Gideon c.o.c.ked a brow and slid her a speculative glance as he jerked on the other boot. Harriet was staring at him, looking exceedingly alarmed. He wondered if she was finally appreciating the full import of what had happened. "Under the circ.u.mstances I shall want to pay my respects, of course," he said.

"Your respects? Is that all?"

He shrugged. "And make a formal offer of marriage."

"I knew it." Harriet glowered at him. "I knew that was what you were thinking. Well, I will not have it, my lord. Do you understand me? I will not allow you to do it."

"You will not allow it?" Gideon eyed her consideringly.

"Absolutely not. Oh, I know what you are thinking. You believe that because of what happened between us last night you are honor-bound to make an offer of marriage. But I a.s.sure you, it is entirely unnecessary, sir"

"It is?"

"Definitely." Harriet drew herself up proudly. "What happened last night was not your fault. I was entirely to blame. If I had not been so foolish as to go out on the cliffs to watch the events, none of the rest would have occurred."

"But you did go out on the cliffs, Harriet. And the rest of it did occur."

"Nevertheless, I do not want you to feel obligated to propose." She looked very fierce.

"Harriet, you are distraught. When you have calmed down you will see that you have no option but to accept my offer of marriage. Indeed, your aunt and your sister will insist upon it."

"I do not particularly care if they insist. I make my own decisions, my lord, just as I did last night. And I will take full responsibility for them."

"I, too, make my own decisions, Harriet," he said, growing quietly angry at her mutinous att.i.tude. "And I also take responsibility for them. We will become engaged this afternoon."

"No, we will not become engaged this afternoon. d.a.m.nation, Gideon, I will not be married just because I have been compromised."

Gideon was enraged now. "And I will not have it said a second time that the Beast of Blackthorne Hall has ravished and callously cast aside another rector's daughter."

Harriet paled. She stared at him, her eyes huge with dismay. "Dear G.o.d, Gideon. I had not thought of what they would say about you."

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l." Gideon took three long strides across the cavern and gripped her shoulders. He wanted to shake her. Instead he held her very still and forced her to look up at him. "You were not thinking at all. You were merely indulging your naive, emotional whims with no real thought about the reality of what either of us will face when we leave here this morning."

She searched his face. "You knew all along what you would be obliged to do today, though. That was what you meant last night when you talked of fate."

"Of course I knew what the end result would be. And so did you."

She shook her head frantically. "No. I did not really think about it until this morning when I awoke and realized you might feel obliged to offer marriage. I told myself there was no need. I could endure the gossip here in the country. And as I do not go into Society and have no plans for marriage, I did not think it mattered what people said."

"And if you discovered that you were with child? How did you intend to deal with that?"

Harriet dropped her eyes, her cheeks reddening. "It is unlikely, my lord. It was, after all, only the one time."

"Harriet, it only takes one time."

Her lips tightened. "In any event, I will know for certain in a few short days."

"A few short days? They are likely to be the longest days of your life. Harriet, you are an intelligent female. I suggest you start acting like it instead of a naive, temperamental child."

Her fingers clutched at the folds of her cloak. "Yes, my lord."

The rage went out of Gideon as quickly as it had come. He pulled her close and pushed her head down onto his shoulder. He could feel the tension that stiffened her spine. "Will marriage to me be so bad, Harriet? Last night you did not appear to find me repulsive."

"You are not in the least repulsive, my lord." Her words were m.u.f.fled against his shirt. "That is not the point. The point is that I did not wish to be married out of a sense of duty."

"I understand You are a very headstrong sort of female." He smiled wryly into her hair. "You are accustomed to going your own way without restraint. You no doubt fear losing some of your precious independence."

"I do not intend to lose any of my independence," she muttered.

"You will adjust to marriage in time."

"Now, see here, Gideon, what is all this talk of adjusting?"

"Never mind," he said gently. "We will deal with that later. In the meantime, you must allow me to inform your aunt that we are engaged."

"But Gideona""

"You say you will know if you are carrying my babe within the next few days. If it transpires that you are, I will procure a special license and we will be married immediately. If you are not, we shall do things more formally and set the date for a more appropriate length of time."

Harriet raised her head, eyes bright with sudden understanding. "You wish to wait if possible, do you not?"

"If possible. It will help quell some of the gossip if we let it be known that there is no need to rush. Now, that is settled, and I think we had best be on our way. People will be looking for us soon." He released her and went to pick up the lamp.

Harriet said nothing as she followed him out of the cavern. Gideon was aware of her trailing close behind, tight-lipped and unhappy, but she made no further protest.

He knew she was feeling trapped and miserable, but he did not know how to improve her spirits. All he knew for certain was that she would be far more miserable if he did not enforce the decision to marry.

It was all very well for Harriet to claim that she did not need the protection of a formal offer of marriage because of what had occurred during the night, but Gideon knew the truth. Her life would be a living h.e.l.l, even here in Upper Biddleton, if he did not do the proper thing. He would not have her ruined because of him.

Gideon realized she was not pleased with the prospect of marriage to him, but he also knew she had no choice.

Right now Harriet was too dazed to think clearly. Gideon wondered when it would occur to her that she had something even more terrible to worry about than the prospect of being forced into marriage.