Read Online Magic by Moonlight by MAGGIE SHAYNE - Free Book Online Page A

reared
by my uncle, who had served with the Musketeers before he finally
married and settled down. He is gone now too. I have no family. But
then, a Musketeer is better off without one. My life is my work,
you see.”
    “And love?”
    Shrugging his broad shoulders, Alexandre
smiled. “When love comes, it will become my life. For true
love alone, would I lay down my sword. Until that day comes I am
happy to fight for right and the honor of the king. Each day brings
a new challenge, a new adventure.”
    “A new woman...?”
    His smile changed to one filled with
mischief. “Sometimes. A warrior never knows which day will be his
last, so he tends to make the most of his nights. But sex is not
love, my Lady Hammer. Those moonlight trysts meant nothing, neither
to me nor to the ladies involved. And I think you are wise enough
to know this.”
    She wondered if it would mean anything if she were “the lady involved.” Then told herself it didn’t
matter. He stepped closer, brushing a damp tendril of hair from her
face. “You are tired now, and it has grown late. We should
rest.”
    Her throat went dry. “All right.”
    Al stoked the fire, then laid the saddles on
the ground to use as pillows. He put them very close together, she
noticed. Then he picked up his long coat. Stretching out on the
ground, he pulled the coat over him, then held one side up and
looked at her. “Come, Mary Catherine. You know you’ve nothing to
fear.”
    “I know,” she said, maybe a tad defensively.
“I’m not afraid.” Or if she was, it wasn’t for the reasons he was
thinking. Lying so close to him all night long—and not touching
him—was going to be a challenge. It wasn’t Al she was worried
about, it was herself. Did women come on to men in his time? What
would he think of her if she—
    What was she thinking? He was the one
obsessed with sex, not her. And since he’d vowed not to touch her
until his role as protector was fulfilled, she didn’t have a thing
to worry about.
    Did she?
    “Mary Catherine?”
    His brows were arched as he lay there
waiting for her, looking like a centerfold—except that he had his
clothes on. M. C. sighed and went to him, slid underneath the coat,
and laid her head on the saddle.
    “Good night, my lady. Sleep well.”
    “ ‘Night, Al,” she said, but she didn’t
think she was going to sleep.
    She did. Must have, because when she woke
up, her head was no longer pillowed by the saddle, but by something
far warmer, soft and firm at the same time, and with a much nicer
smell.
    She opened her eyes to the brilliance of
dawn, and realized what it was. Al’s chest. And his arms were
wrapped around her, one hand buried in her hair. One of her legs
had decided to rest atop both of his, and her arms were twined
around his waist.
    He smelled good. God, he did, and he was so
warm and hard underneath her. She lifted her head, wondering if she
could slip away before he woke. But when she looked at his eyes,
she found them open, staring into hers, a fire burning in their
depths.
    “ Mon Dieu,” he whispered. “You
are...so beautiful.”
    His lips were only inches from hers, and
pulling her closer, like magnets. Drawing her. She didn’t fight it.
She let her mouth be tugged to his until their lips touched. And
then Al’s arms tightened around her, and he kissed her. His mouth
pushed at hers until she opened to him, then his tongue slid inside
to lick and caress. She’d never known her mouth could be such an
erogenous zone. She’d never been kissed like this. Tenderness and
passion at once. She wanted him. It hit her like a bullet between
the eyes. She wanted to make love to this man. Here. Now.
    She was practically on top of him now, and
as he continued kissing her, she moved the rest of the way. Her
legs straddled his, and she felt his arousal pressing hard between
them. But then his hands came to her shoulders, and gently, he
lifted her away.
    “Never,” he whispered, “has temptation been
so difficult