'We're friends,' she said gently as she brushed his cheek with her thumb. 'Isn't that what you told Cupid?'
'And you heard his response. I don't have any friends.'
'You do now.'
He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then pulled her against him into a tight hug. The warm scent of sandalwood filled her head as she listened to his heart beating fiercely under her cheek while his tanned biceps flexed next to her face. His tender embrace went deeper than just a momentary physical gesture, it touched her profoundly.
'All right, Grace,' he said quietly. 'We'll try this. But just promise me that you won't let me hurt you.'
She frowned up at him.
'I'm serious. Once I'm shackled, don't release me for any reason. Swear it.'
'But-'
'Swear it!' he insisted sternly.
'All right. If you can't control yourself, I won't let you go. But I want you to make a promise to me.'
He pulled back and looked at her skeptically, but left his soothing arms around her. 'What?'
Grace braced her hands against the strength of his biceps. She felt chills spread over his arms the instant her palms made contact with his flesh. He glanced down at her hands with one of the tenderest expressions she'd ever seen.
'Promise me that you won't give up on being free,' she said. 'I want you to try to beat this curse.'
He gave an odd half-smile. 'Very well. I shall try.'
'And you will succeed.'
He laughed at that. 'You have the optimism of a child.'
She returned his smile. 'Peter Pan all the way.'
'Peter who?'
Reluctantly, she withdrew from his arms. Taking his hand, she led him toward the bedroom door. 'Come with me, my Macedonian love-slave, and I will tell you of Peter Pan and his Lost Boys.'
'So, this boy never grew up?' Julian asked as they made dinner.
Grace was actually amazed he hadn't complained when she asked him to make a salad. He seemed to like using knives on food.
Unwilling to investigate that little idiosyncrasy, she concentrated on her spaghetti sauce. 'Nope. He went back to the island with Tinker Bell.'
'Interesting.'
Grace dipped a spoon into the sauce. Cupping her hand under it, she blew across the top of it, then took it over to Julian. 'Tell me what you think.'
He bent down and opened his mouth.
Grace fed it to him and watched the way he savored it. 'It's delicious.'
'Not too much salt?'
'Perfect.'
She beamed.
'Here,' Julian said, holding a piece of cubed cheese for her.
Grace opened her mouth for it, but he didn't give her the cheese. He took advantage of her open mouth to kiss the daylights out of her.
Goodness, but someone ought to be able to bronze a tongue that could move like his, or do something to preserve it. Such a treasure should never be lost.
And those lips…
Mmm, she didn't want to think about those delectable lips and what they were capable of.
He splayed his fingers against her lower back and pressed her against his hips where he bulged in his jeans. Mercy, the man was heavily endowed, and she trembled at the thought of having all his sexual powers unleashed on her.
Would she even be able to survive it?
She felt his body tense as his breathing changed. He was seriously getting into this and she was seriously beginning to fear that if she didn't stop it, neither one of them would be able to pull away.
As much as she hated to leave his hot embrace, she stepped back.
'Julian, behave.'
His breathing ragged, she saw him fighting with himself as he dragged a hungry look over her body. 'It would be a lot easier to behave if you didn't look so damn good.'
His words shocked her so much that she actually laughed at them.
'I'm sorry,' she said as she saw the irritated look on his face. 'You have to remember that, unlike you, I'm not used to people saying things like that to me. The biggest compliment I've ever gotten from a guy was from Rick Glysdale when he came to pick me up for the prom. He took one look at me and said, 'Damn, you cleaned up better than I thought you would.' '
Julian scowled. 'I worry about the men of your time, Grace. They all seem to be great fools.'
Laughing again, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, then went to get their pasta off the stove before it overboiled.
As she dumped the noodles into the sieve, she remembered the bread. 'Can you check the rolls?'
Julian moved to the oven and leaned over, gifting her with one luscious view of his rear. Grace bit her bottom lip as she forced herself not to go over there, and run her hand across that tight, firm butt.
'They're about to burn.'
'Oh, shoot! Can you pull them out?' she asked, trying not to spill the boiling water.
'Sure.' Julian grabbed the dish towel from the counter, and started to pull them out. All of a sudden, he shouted an expletive that caught her attention.
Turning, she saw the cloth had caught fire.
'Over here!' she said, moving out of the way. 'Drop it in the sink.'
He did, but not before part of it caught her on the hand.
Grace hissed.
'Did I get you?' he asked.
'A little toasted.'
Julian grimaced as he took her hand in his and examined the burn. 'I'm sorry,' he said an instant before he placed her fingertip in his mouth.
Stunned, she couldn't move as he ran his tongue around the sensitive flesh of her finger. In spite of the burning sensation, it felt good. Really, really good.
'You're not helping my burn,' she whispered.
With her finger still in his mouth, he smiled wickedly, then reached behind his back to turn on the cold water. He twirled his tongue one last time around her finger before opening his mouth and moving her hand under the cool stream.
While he held her finger there with one hand, he reached to her potted plant in the windowsill and broke a piece off her aloe plant with the other.
'How do you know about aloe?' she asked.
'Its curative powers were known even before I was born,' he said.
Chills swept up her spine and coiled around her stomach as he rubbed the gooey gel over her finger. 'Better?'
She nodded.
His gaze warm, he stared longingly at her lips as if he could already taste them. 'I think I'll let you handle the oven from now on,' he said.
'Probably for the best.'
She moved past him and took the bread out just before it was too cooked to eat.
Grace made them plates, then led Julian into the living room to eat on the floor by the sofa while they watched
