Elizabeth stared at Reece, her blue eyes focused intently on his face as she tried to make sense of what he'd said. 'Why would you say something so utterly ridiculous?'
Reece rubbed himself against her, his arousal hard against her softness. The feel of her, the scent of her, the warmth of her body created a heady seduction, prompting Reece's reaction to her nearness. He cupped her buttocks in his big hands, lifting her up and into the need pulsing between his legs.
Elizabeth squirmed, trying to free herself, but her movements ignited a strong reaction in Reece. Fondling her hip with one hand, he grasped the back of her neck, pulling her mouth to his, kissing her with bruising force. Moaning, Elizabeth opened her mouth for his invasion as she clung to his shoulders.
Reece devoured her lips. He pillaged her mouth with his tongue, all the while exploring her body with one hand as the other held her captive.
When he ended the kiss, Elizabeth laid her head on his chest, her arms draped around his neck. 'Would... would it have felt like this with Luanne?'
Hell, no! Kissing had never made him feel the way he did right now. Women liked to be kissed, so Reece had learned the art of kissing quite young, but kissing had never meant more than part of the pleasant, necessary foreplay to entice a woman into bed. But after kissing Elizabeth, he was a minute away from exploding. If he hadn't ended the kiss, he would have taken her right where they stood. Hard and fast and hot.
'Like I said, a woman's a woman. Kissing is kissing.' Reece grinned. 'If you liked the feel of my tongue in your mouth, you'll love the way I'm going to feel inside you.'
Elizabeth clutched Reece's shoulders. 'I...I won't be used. If you think I'm willing to be just another woman in a long line of women, then you'd better think again.'
'Nobody's forcing you to stay, Lizzie.' Reece slid his hands into position under her breasts, lifting them. 'All I'm saying is that I'm horny as hell. I need a woman, and if you stay, you're going to be that woman.'
Elizabeth swallowed hard, wondering if Reece could possibly mean what he was saying. Swaying slightly, she closed her eyes, trying to focus, to concentrate on Reece's thoughts. Her mind ran into a solid wall of resistance.
'What's it going to be, honey?' Reece asked. 'Are you going or staying?'
What was he trying to do? Scare her off? Make her dislike him? Despite the fact that she couldn't read his thoughts, Elizabeth felt certain that Reece would never do anything to harm her, and most certainly would never force her to have sex with him.
Pulling away, she turned her back to him and clasped her hands together. She couldn't allow Reece to run her off. She had to find the courage within herself to overcome whatever obstacles he put in her way.
'Go on home, Lizzie.' Reece wanted to take the few steps that separated them and pull her back into his arms. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and find comfort in her embrace. He wanted to lay her down on the bed and make slow, sweet love to her all night. He wanted to wake in the morning and see her smiling at him, hear her saying his name.
Elizabeth turned to face him. 'I won't allow your fear to keep me from helping you.'
'Dammit, woman!' Anger. He knew and understood that emotion only too well. If he allowed the anger to consume him, to control his actions, he could drive her away. He couldn't let any other feelings influence him. Not now. Not when Elizabeth's life could depend on what happened between them tonight.
Without saying another word, Reece walked toward her. Elizabeth saw the anger and determination in his eyes, and for one split second she sensed something else in Reece- sorrow-and she held on to that fleeting emotion when he lifted her into his arms and tossed her down on the bed. She had no time to adjust her body or focus her mind before Reece came down on top of her, his big, hard body pressing her into the mattress. He gave his hands free rein to explore her body. He squeezed her breasts. He delved his hand between her tightly clenched legs, rubbing the side of his hand against her intimately. When she tried to roll away from him, he straddled her body, placing a knee on each side of her hips.
Elizabeth looked up at his hard face, into those lone-wolf amber eyes, and knew there was no way she could control this man, that she was completely at his mercy. 'Don't do this, Reece. Stop trying to make me hate you.'
Reece slipped his fingers beneath the edge of her thermal top, shoving it up over her stomach to the swell of her breasts. She grabbed his hands, momentarily stopping him, but he manacled her wrists in his grasp and lifted her hands over her head, flattening them on the pillow.
'I don't want you to hate me, honey. I want you to love me and love me and love me. All night long.''
'No, Reece. Stop it. Now!'
He nuzzled her tummy with his nose, nudging the edge of her thermal top higher and higher until her round, full breasts were exposed. Elizabeth sucked in her breath, a surge of uncertainty and sensual longing combining within her.
She hated the way Reece was acting, but despite his deplorable behavior, her body ached with wanting, with the need for his touch.
'Great boobs,
Groaning, she twisted and turned, struggling against his hold. 'Don't, Reece. Please. Not like this.'
Ignoring her pleas, he suckled her breast. She cried out from the pleasure of his touch and the pain in her heart. He released her trapped hands, ran his fingertips down her throat, over her breasts and into the waistband of her thermal bottoms. He eased the bottoms down enough to expose her navel and hips.
Reece forced himself to look at Elizabeth, to endure the hurt he knew he would see on her face. She stared at him, tears trapped in the corners of her eyes. The sight of those tears weakened him, but he forged ahead, sure he was right in what he was doing-saving Elizabeth from Reece Landry.
'You see how it is with me, Lizzie. I'm a sorry bastard who doesn't give a damn how you feel. I take what I want, and to hell with the consequences.' He unzipped his jeans, lowered himself atop her and gave her a hard, forceful kiss. 'I'm mean, honey. Mean enough to kill. I'm no good through and through.'
Elizabeth tried to speak, tried to tell him that she didn't believe him, that somewhere buried beneath all that pain and anger and bitterness was a good man. A man who had been unloved and abused all his life, a man in desperate need of someone to care. But she couldn't form the words, couldn't get the sound past the knot of tears lodged in her throat. All she could do was cry.
Reece watched the tears well up in her eyes and spill over, streaming down her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell in quick, jerky undulations. Her mouth opened to release her gasping sobs.
He couldn't bear the sight of her tears. He knew she wasn't crying for herself, but for him. After the way he had treated her, she still cared. Damn her! He hadn't frightened her; he had hurt her. He hadn't run her off; he'd made her cry.
She lifted her hands up to him, touching the side of his face with her fingertips. Her touch burned him, like a cleansing fire cauterizing a wound. The pain surged through him. He fought the healing effects of her pure, loving concern. He couldn't care about this woman. He wouldn't!
Reece jumped off the bed, zipped up his jeans and reached for the bottle of whiskey on the nightstand. Opening the liquor, he tilted the bottle, placed it to his lips and took a choking swallow. He coughed several times.
'You're a fool to stay with me. Why the hell don't you leave while you still can?' He took another gulp of the whiskey, wincing from the impact as it seared a path down his throat.
Wiping away the tears she could not control, Elizabeth pulled up her thermal bottoms and jerked down the top, then got out of the bed. How could she ever make him understand that she couldn't leave him even if she wanted to? No one else could save him. Aunt Margaret knew and so did she. Even if someone else could prove his innocence and set him free, no one else could free him from the anger and hatred that had ruled his life. Only she could do that.
She laid her hand on his back. Every muscle in his body tensed.
Not turning around, Reece lashed out at her. 'I could have raped you, Lizzie. Why the hell are you still here? Aren't you afraid to be in the same room with me?'
She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him. His body remained rigid. 'Don't you think I knew what you were trying to do?'
He covered her hands with his own where she held him tightly at the waist. 'I was trying to get me some,
