Preview

Joshua walked the woods deep in troubled thought, memories of the night his relationship with Catherine changed filling his mind. The passion they’d shared nearly drove him insane. He’d almost given in before she was ready, long before he was prepared to face the consequences of becoming intimate with her. It frightened him more than he wanted to admit. Keeping distance between them had been the hardest task he’d ever endured.

She’d fallen in love with him. Her longing sang to him constantly, making his dilemma all the more difficult. She wanted him to declare for her, but every time he attempted to work up the courage to bring her into his confidence, the words refused to come. He berated himself on a nightly basis for his own cowardice, but he wasn’t prepared to face the possibility of her rejection.

After heaving a sigh laden with yearning, he opened his mind to her, as he’d done over the past months, to savor the thoughts and feelings she broadcast. She was dreaming of him—a passionate dream, judging by its intensity. He faltered when his mental compass told him she wasn’t in her bed, where she should’ve been. No, she was in the clearing, reliving the passion he could not himself dismiss.

In less than a minute, he was kneeling beside her, a gentle hand on her arm. “Catherine.” When she mumbled but didn’t wake, he shook her and called her name again, bringing her out of sleep with a start. “Are ye all right,” he asked, helping her up.

She brushed forest debris from her dress, flustered and embarrassed, and nodded. “Guess I fell asleep. What time is it?”

“‘Tis after two in the morning. What are ye doin’ out here?”

“Thinking about us.”

“Oh?” He lifted her face and searched her eyes, finding a mirror to his own aching need. She nodded again and smoothed a lock of hair from his forehead. When her fingers brushed his ear, her lips quivering in uncertain invitation, he pulled her into his arms and answered her unspoken plea. He couldn’t give her the tender kisses he’d held himself to. All the passion he had struggled to hold at bay broke free, inspiring pheromones that swept away her inhibitions. She returned his kiss hungrily and clung to him as if she were drowning.

He wanted her. God help him, he did. The subtle scent of her arousal filled his senses, and when he realized she intended full surrender, his tenuous control nearly snapped. She touched her tongue to his lips in a tentative gesture that turned his desire into a raging storm. His needs overcame them both while he took her mouth, drinking in her sweet, warm depths until her knees weakened, his rampaging seduction drawing her further under his spell.

It was with the greatest difficulty that he managed to stop before he took her to the ground and explored every inch of her, made her his own. He straightened and held her still while doing his best to bring his mutinous body back in line. “Oh, Catherine,” he said at last, his voice strained.

“Joshua…” She tried to push away, but he held her tighter. “Joshua, I—”

He pressed fingers against her lips so quickly she jerked in surprise. “No, love. Be still.” When sobs bubbled to the surface, he stroked her hair and tried hard to soothe her. “I know how ye feel. I know what ye want. We must’na give in—not yet.”

She pushed against him until he allowed her to leave his arms, painful emotions reddening her eyes. “I’m in love with you.” Her words were a desperate challenge.

A lump formed in his throat. “Aye.”

“You…you love me too.”

“More than I can tell ye.”

“I know you want me as much as I want you.”

“So much so ‘tis killing me,” he confirmed, the lump thickening.

“Then, why…?”

He turned away, sure the sinking of his heart would show in his eyes. His voice trembled while he answered, “There are things you need to know first. Things I have’na been ready to speak of. Things that…” He swallowed against the lump. “Things that may frighten you.”

She stepped in front of him, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I don’t understand.”

“There are facts concerning my way of life I’ve not shared with ye. I can’na let us go any farther until you know and can accept my deepest secrets.”

“You’re being awful mysterious. What can be more important than how we feel?”

He brushed the tears from her cheeks and tried to smile, but what pulled at his face felt less than gentle. “Nothing is, but there are lines most women will not cross, even for the sake of love.” When she frowned and shook her head, he added, “What I must share is considered…forbidden knowledge. I can’na tell you without risking both our lives, nor can I explain it simply—I need time to help you understand.” He turned away again and swept fingers through his hair. “Do you trust me?”

“You know I do.”

After closing his eyes tight to draw on his waning control, he returned to her fighting the memories of past betrayals. “Can I trust you?”

“Of course you can. I’d never do anything to destroy what we have.”

Joshua knew he could delay no longer, but explaining here and now, with his emotions so close to the surface, would surely result in the rejection he feared. He needed time to calm his own uncertainties and formulate a plan, and a delay would help her prepare. He pulled her close and drew a trembling breath. “Let me take ye to my home. Plan to spend this weekend with me. I’ve prepared my guest room for ye. ‘Twill give me the time to explain.”

“All right.”

“I’ll pick you up Friday evening. You may tell your mother whatever you wish. If you still want me after this weekend, well, we’ll see.”

She touched his face with her fingertips, making him close his eyes against looming tears. “Nothing will change the way I feel,” she insisted. “Nothing can.”

The strength of her declaration forced its way into the shattered remains of his heart, but the pieces were too stubborn to mend. “I can only hope ye’re right.” Sorrow welled, and before tears surfaced, he advised, “Go home now. I’ll see you on Friday.”

“Friday,” she agreed, backing away. He watched her leave feeling as though he was about to lose the most precious thing he’d ever held.

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Treacherous Destiny