Across the River of Yesterday

'I'll be through here in fifteen minutes or so. I have to get the shading at the foot of this tree right.'

'I wouldn't think of disturbing you.' His voice was silky. She heard his steps behind her. 'You just keep right on painting.'

'It will only be- What are you doing?'

'Nibbling your ear. Quite tasty.' He stopped her with his hands on her shoulders when she would have turned around to face him. 'No, your work is too important to postpone. You paint away, love. I'll find something to keep myself amused.' His tongue suddenly plunged into her ear. 'Your hand jumped. Now you'll have to take care of that little smudge, won't you? Sony about that.'

'I'm sure you are.' She could hardly speak through the tightness of her throat. The clean smell of soap and a minty after-shave lotion was surrounding her, and his body was emitting a masculine heat as aphrodisiac as the pungent male scent of him. She tried to steady her brush. 'You're making it very difficult.'

'Am I?' His arms reached around her and his deft fingers began to unbutton her blouse. 'Well, life can be tough sometimes.' He spread the edges of her blouse back and unfastened the front catch of her bra. 'We have to learn to overcome these little upsets. I'm sure if you concentrate, you can forget what I'm doing to you.' His hands suddenly closed on her bare breasts. 'Oh, now you've made another smudge. Maybe you should make those tree roots instead of shadows.'

She swayed a little, her breasts lifting beneath his hands with every breath. 'Gideon, don't…'

'You've got such sweet nipples. They're poking at my palms as if they're nuzzling against me.' His voice was thick. 'And the weight of these pretty things is driving me crazy.' He pressed his hips against her and rubbed slowly back and forth. 'See?'

His length was hard and aroused as he undulated against her, and his hands were squeezing her breasts rhythmically. 'Do you know what I'd like to do to you? I'd like to take all these clothes off you and try a little painting myself. I'd paint your nipples scarlet.' His hand moved down to the apex of her thighs and began to rub gently. 'And this lovely thing a warm gold. I'd use a very soft, delicate brush, and I think you'd like it as much as I. I'd take a very long time and each stroke would be slow motion.' His teeth bit lightly at her earlobe. 'I'd make sure you felt every bristle of the brush as it dipped into every curve and valley. Do you think you'd moan as I did that, love? I'd love to hear you moan and pant. Then I'd wash it all off and use my own brush to stroke you and make you moan.' He brought her in solid contact and held her there for an endless moment as he buried his lips in the nape of her neck. 'I think you've dropped your brush.'

'I don't care.' She was trembling helplessly. 'Let me turn around.'

'Why?'

'I want to touch you.' The words were so faint, they were almost inaudible. 'This isn't fair, Gideon.'

'I know, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.'

'Not for me. I feel so helpless.'

He hesitated and then his hands dropped away from her. 'Touch me.'

She turned and nestled against him. Her shaking fingers quickly unbuttoned his blue chambray shirt. Then she pushed the cloth aside, and pressed her naked breasts against his hair- roughened chest. He gasped and she could feel the shudder running through him. She didn't seem to have the breath to gasp. Her lungs were so starved for oxygen that they felt as if they were burning up. She couldn't seem to get close enough to him. She wasn't conscious of the low sound of hunger she made as she thrust her breasts against him, rubbing the sensitive nipples into the springy thatch of thick brown hair that roughened his tanned chest. The fiery friction made her cry out again.

'Easy.' Gideon's voice was a choked murmur. 'I want it as much as you do, but if we're not careful I'll just lift you up and take you right here.'

'Okay.' Her voice was muffled. 'Anywhere.'

'The lake.' He was breathing harshly, his chest lifting and falling against her lips.

'It's too far.'

He pushed her away. 'It will give us time to cool down. I want this to last a long time, love. You go change into that violet thing you wore the first night and I'll get a blanket.'

'That's an evening outfit,' she said, bewildered.

'It doesn't matter. I want this to be special. Something to remember.' He smiled beguilingly. 'Please.'

She stared at him helplessly. She was practically exploding and so was he, and yet he wanted to delay it? She opened her lips to protest, but that blasted smile was her undoing. Sunlit tenderness and little-boy pleading.

'All right.' She turned to the door. 'It's crazy, but okay. But let's hurry, dammit.'

'Right.' He ran by her and tossed back over his shoulder, 'Downstairs in five minutes.'

When they met in the foyer, Gideon had a quilt over one arm and an armful of towels in the other.

'Towels?' she asked. 'We're going for a swim? I must have missed something along the way. That wasn't exactly the activity I had in mind.'

He laughed with a joyous exuberance that caused Serena's exasperation to ebb away. 'Neither do I, love. That's why we've got to hurry or I might be tempted to throw you down in the bushes and ravish you. The swim is afterward.' He took her elbow and ushered her out onto the porch and down the steps.

The night was warm and balmy and heavy with the scent of jasmine and coffee beans, and Serena's silver heels sunk into the soft earth as she kept pace with his swift steps. She began to laugh helplessly. She felt young and crazy and more exhilarated than she had in years. 'Gideon, this is absolutely insane. There are beds galore back in the house, and you opt for nature in the raw.'

'I want everything perfect for you. The first time I saw the lake I knew I wanted to make magic with you there.'

'Magic?'

'Lovemaking is magic when it's between the right people. I don't know what kind of relationship you had with your husband, but this is going to be better.' His voice was suddenly fierce. 'Ill make damn sure it's better. Ill wipe him out of your mind, if it takes a lifetime.'

'Gideon…' She drew a deep breath. 'I'm not about to make comparisons. You're probably the one who'll find me inadequate.' She paused and then continued in a little rush, 'I'm not very experienced.'

He didn't reply for a moment. 'I know you haven't had any lovers in the last two years. If there had been anyone on the horizon, I would have dropped everything and moved in right away.' His gaze narrowed on her face. 'Antonio?'

'There were… problems.' She smiled with an effort. 'Do we have to talk about this? I just thought you should know I don't have all the techniques down pat. I didn't want you to be disappointed.'

He threw back his head and laughed joyously. 'Disappointed? I feel like flying over the moon. Do you know how jealous I've been of that bastard?' His hand tightened on her elbow and suddenly they were almost running. 'There aren't any techniques, only instinct, and we both have an abundance of that, don't we, love?'

Her spirits rebounded to reflect the same joy she could feel in Gideon. 'I'll say we do.'

They came out of the encircling palms into a clearing and Serena caught her breath. It was such an incredibly enchanting sight. In the moonlight the waterfall tumbling over the limestone rocks was a shimmering iridescent stream of silver as it poured into the onyx mirror of the pool. The dark encircling palms enclosed and imprisoned the jewellike beauty with a jealous intimacy.

She stopped on the moss-covered bank, mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the scene. 'It's utterly fantastic,' she said breathlessly. 'I've never seen anything so lovely.'

'Well, you can't paint it. Not tonight, at least.' Gideon dropped the towels on the ground and then spread the quilt with a quick billow of material. He turned to face her. 'Lord, you're beautiful. I knew when I first saw you in that outfit that I wanted to see you wear it here.' He took a step, and one finger traced the silver-scrolled trim bordering the square neckline. 'This shines in the moonlight, just like I knew it would.'

She could feel the warmth of his finger on her breast through the thin material. 'I thought you didn't like it. Eleanor of Aquitaine, remember?'

'I like it. I was just jealous of all the other men who had probably seen you in it.' His gaze was fixed intently on the naked swell of her breasts above the neckline. 'And I was trying like hell to keep from doing this.' His hands slowly moved behind her and loosened the back zipper. Then he pulled the neckline down, baring her breasts