Dance-of-the-Snake-Yvonne-Whittal Read online

  beat a shade faster, and her limbs were trembling beneath her when he continued

  to speak.

  'I told her it was over between us, but she wouldn't believe me, and when she

  arrived uninvited at my home this afternoon I told her the truth rather bluntly and

  brutally.'

  'You told her you wanted me?' she asked, her words a mere whisper.

  'I told her I wanted to marry you.' He smiled cynically at the look of surprise

  that flashed across her tired face. 'I decided it was only fair to be honest with her,

  and as a result she became determined to make it as difficult as hell for me to

  convince you of my sincerity.'

  His hands were spanning her slim waist, their warmth

  through the silk of her dress sending exciting little tremors racing along her

  receptive nerves, and she asked a little breathlessly, 'Why do you want to

  marry me?'

  'You're an extremely cool, proficient young woman, Jessica, and right from

  the start you were a challenge to me. You're not only an excellent doctor,

  you're also a remarkably good pilot, and I had to find out if you were human

  too,' he smiled faintly. 'I mocked you for becoming emotionally involved with

  your patients, but somehow you taught me that there was more to doctoring

  than just the physical side of it; that there's a psychological angle to it as well.

  Most of all, I think, I admire your courage, and . . .' A muscle jerked in his jaw,

  and something resembling a remembered fear lurked in his eyes. 'My God,

  Jessica, I've never been so frightened in all my life as on that day when you

  climbed into that truck to help the injured man in the cab. I knew then that if

  that truck slipped over the edge, taking you with it, I would lose a vital part of

  my existence, and it was that thought that • drove me nearly out of my mind.'

  'Dane . . .' she breathed, loving the sweet agony of hi5 hands as they

  tightened about her waist, and she swayed towards him even before he drew

  her closer to his hard, muscled body.

  'I love you, Jessica,' he murmured the words she had thought she would

  never hear, and his voice was vibrant with emotion as he rubbed his rough

  cheek against hers and sought that frantic little pulse at the base of her throat

  with his lips. 'I love every damned silly little thing about you. The way you

  walk, and the way that husky note in your voice deepens when you're

  emotionally disturbed. I love the way your eyes crease at the corners when you

  laugh, and the way they flash fire when you're angry.' He raised his head

  suddenly, his eyes probing hers until it felt as if he were delving into the secret

  recesses of her soul. 'Take pity on me, Jessica. I've never been so desperate for

  the need of a woman's love and, confound it, never has my entire existence

  depended on it.'

  She was shaking so much now with the wonder of it all, that she couldn't speak,

  but the secrets of her heart were laid bare in her eyes, and he groaned, almost as if

  he were afraid to believe what he saw there.

  'For pity's sake, Jessica, don't torment me like this!'

  'I love you,' she managed somehow, her hands straying across his broad chest to

  become entwined behind his strong neck. 'Haven't I made it embarrassingly

  obvious to you on so many occasions?'

  'How could I be sure when you never said anything,' he accused, but desire

  leapt like a flame in his eyes as they roamed every inch of her face before

  lingering on her soft, quivering mouth.

  'You never said anything either,' she protested weakly.

  'I did tell you that I wanted you.'

  'That wasn't very encouraging for a girl who'd always lived according to certain

  principles, and where you're concerned, Dane, I became terribly greedy,' she

  confessed unsteadily. 'I wanted much, much more than that from you.'

  'I think you're going to get more than you ever bargained for,' he issued a

  warning against her lips, and then she was swept up into the vortex of his passion,

  matching his hunger with a hunger of her own.

  His hands caressed her a little wildly, moulding her to him until she felt his

  need as strongly as she felt her own, but she was aware, too, of a certain restraint

  in his love- making, and she loved him all the more for it.

  'That night in Venda, after the snake dance ceremony,' Dane began at length,

  urging her towards the sofa and drawing her down beside him, 'I hadn't planned

  to make love to you, but '

  'I know,' she interrupted, tracing the strong line of his jaw with tender, loving

  fingers. 'It was a mad, magical

  night, and I—I wouldn't have felt so ashamed of the part I played in it if I'd

  known then that you loved me as much as I loved you, but instead I thought...'

  'You thought I was merely trying to satisfy my lustful desires,' he finished for

  her with a faintly mocking smile, and when she buried her hot face against his

  shoulder his arms tightened about her. 'If Sister Ravele hadn't interrupted us

  you would have discovered exactly how much I loved you.' His lips against her

  ear sent little shivers of pleasure racing through her. 'You were going to let me

  make love to you that night, weren't you?'

  'Yes,' she confessed unashamedly. 'I—I couldn't somehow help myself, but

  I'm not making excuses for the way I behaved. I wanted you; it was as plain and

  simple as that.'

  His lips found hers and all her longing and despair was in that kiss, but when

  desire flared between them she drew away from him slightly, and turned her

  face into his shoulder once more.

  'Do you think your parents would object if I made arrangements for us to be

  married next Saturday?' Dane asked eventually, and she was too tired and

  happy to be surprised by his haste as she wrapped her arms about his waist and

  nestled closer.

  'I don't think they'll have any objection, but what about my contract with

  Peter?'

  'I shan't mind if you continue working until your contract has expired,' Dane

  replied, rubbing his cheek against hers and drawing her closer into the circle of

  his arms.

  'And after that?' she asked tentatively, a smile curving her lips.

  'We'll let time take care of itself.' He raised his head slightly, and there was a

  surprising warmth and tenderness in his eyes which seemed to melt her bones,

  but that look was replaced swiftly by a devilish gleam. 'Do you think your

  father will be satisfied with the cattle Chief Cedric

  insisted I should use for the purchase of a wife?'

  'Don't be ridiculous!' she laughed, then she tilted her head and glanced up at

  him curiously. 'What have you done with them, if I may know?'

  'I gave them to the faithful Jonas who has looked after me for so many years,

  and I told him to get himself a good wife who could keep the house in order,

  and take care of the children—if at that time you still have a yen for doctoring.'

  'Oh, Dane,' Jessica murmured unsteadily, burying her hot face against his

  shoulder, but he prised it out again so that he could look down into her dark,

  luminous eyes.

  'You're blushing,' he grinned.

  'I know,' she smiled tremulously. 'You have that shattering and embarrassing

  effect on me.' 'Do I?'

/>   His lips trailed a sensually destructive path from her ear to the base of her

  throat, then back again to move on to her eager, waiting lips, but by this time

  her heart was beating so hard and fast that she was reminded of the primitive,

  rhythmic beating of the drums on that night they had been privileged to watch

  the dance of the snake. That primitive beat was vibrating through her again,

  stirring her emotions to a wild crescendo as Dane altered their position until

  she was lying full length on the sofa with his lean, hard body imprisoning her,

  and his fingers were impatient as they pulled down the zip of her dress and

  undid the catch of her bra. Her breasts swelled in response to the light,

  sensually arousing caress of his hands, and she was like driftwood on the rising

  crest of that ecstatic wave of desire.

  A tiny shred of sanity brought to mind Chief Cedric's parting words. 'A man

  is like a python when he is ready to seek his mate. His hunger is swift and

  strong when he uncoils, and when he strikes there is no escape.'

  He could have been referring to Dane, for his hunger,

  swift and strong, lashed her like a storm, and in her tired but happy state, she

  was more vulnerable than she had ever been before.

  'Dane!' she gasped, her blood flowing like liquid fire through her veins.

  'Darling, please . . .'

  Desire still smouldered in the eyes that looked down into hers when he raised

  himself up on one elbow. 'You want me to wait?'

  'Would it be asking too much?' she pleaded softly, her dark eyes a little

  anxious as she slid her hands tenderly over his sleek, dark head until her fingers

  came to rest in the nape of his neck. 'Dane, would it?'

  There was no doubting the love that she saw burning in his eyes, nor the

  tenderness in the smile that curved his often harsh mouth.

  'You're worth waiting for, my Jessica,' he said and, getting to his feet, he drew

  her up with him. 'It's time you went to bed. It's nearly two o'clock, and I'm

  certainly not going to start our life together by taking advantage of a girl who's

  almost asleep on her feet.'

  His fingers traced the lines of weariness beneath her eyes, then he kissed her

  lingeringly on her soft mouth.

  'I'll see you tomorrow,' he said, picking up his jacket, and he blew her a kiss

  from the door before he closed it quietly behind him.

  'I'll see you tomorrow,' his words echoed happily through her mind when she

  eventually crawled into bed. There was still so much to talk about, but it could

  wait until tomorrow, and she^ promptly went to sleep with a smile of tender,

  joyous happiness curving her lips.