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Authors: Patricia Watters
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felt helpless to stop what was happening. She didn't want to love him, yet it was as if an intangible force was drawing her to him. Even after seeing the scars, and mulling over Helen Janacek's description of Stefan's father being mauled, and listening to her warnings against falling in love, Joanna knew she wasn't ready to walk out of Stefan's life.
She turned off the light and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, contemplating the changes in her life—Stefan's act replacing hers, their staterooms isolated in a passageway only they shared, and ironically, instead of hating him for his intrusion in her life, finding herself wanting him in a way she'd never wanted Karl, even when they were betrothed. As she pondered the incongruity of it, Tekla Janacek's words invaded her mind.
...beware of new acquaintance... .falling from great height... brown clouds...
Joanna willed herself to focus on her acrobatics students, on aerial ballet, on Vicksburg where she'd see her twin brother, Matthew, and his wife Libby, and meet little Robbie. But a stronger will eclipsed those images. Her last thought before drifting off was of Stefan standing in the doorway and the scars crossing his magnificent body...
At dawn, Joanna awakened in startled confusion, aware that she was calling out. In her bizarre dream she'd slipped from Otto's grip and was tumbling in slow motion toward the cage below, where in a cloud of brown dust, lions and tigers were viciously attacking Stefan. Over and over she tumbled, knowing that if she could reach Stefan, the animals would stop. But she never got there. And as she screamed a silent scream, no one came to help Stefan...
"Are you alright?" Stefan's voice came from the direction of the doorway.
Heart pounding as the image of Stefan being mauled replayed in her mind, Joanna sat up abruptly. Her eyes focused on Stefan's bare torso and the patchwork of claw marks. He walked over and sat on the bed, and she made no move to stop him. She reached out and dragged three fingers down the scars on his shoulder. "Why do you do it?" she asked.
Stefan shrugged. "I don't know anything else." He covered her hand with his, trapping it against his chest. "You're trembling."
She moistened her dry lips and raised her eyes to meet his. "I just had a... disturbing dream," she said, then felt at once absurd and embarrassed. It was, after all, just a dream.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, his lips moving toward hers.
"No," Joanna said, her voice shaky. "I'm fine, other than I feel like... a fool."
Stefan's eyes on her lips, he said, "Why? For being human?"
"No," she replied. "For being... vulnerable."
"We're all vulnerable at some point," he said, his breath wafting against her lips as he moved yet closer. "What makes you feel vulnerable now?"
Joanna's mouth moved toward his. "You," she replied, uncertain why she'd made such a bold admission. At once his arms were around her, his hands tangling in her hair as he pulled her head back, lifting her chin. His mouth covered hers, his tongue teasing until her lips parted, allowing his tongue to entwine with hers. At first his lips were hauntingly gentle, but as the kiss deepened, he became more demanding, his lips seeking hers with an urgency that seemed to intensify every nerve fiber in her body. In his arms she felt as if she were tumbling into a great abyss, and she clung to him, trying to maintain her equilibrium. He drew her tighter to him, and she felt her breasts pressing against the hard wall of his chest, the contact igniting a fire she wasn't sure she could control. His lips became demanding, and she returned the kiss with a passion she'd never known, until the tight, breathless feeling in her throat threatened to choke her.
Grappling for some sense of normality, she braced her hands on his chest, and said between anxious breaths, "I'm not ready for this." She passed her tongue over her bottom lip and caught the metallic taste of blood.
Stefan touched
She turned off the light and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, contemplating the changes in her life—Stefan's act replacing hers, their staterooms isolated in a passageway only they shared, and ironically, instead of hating him for his intrusion in her life, finding herself wanting him in a way she'd never wanted Karl, even when they were betrothed. As she pondered the incongruity of it, Tekla Janacek's words invaded her mind.
...beware of new acquaintance... .falling from great height... brown clouds...
Joanna willed herself to focus on her acrobatics students, on aerial ballet, on Vicksburg where she'd see her twin brother, Matthew, and his wife Libby, and meet little Robbie. But a stronger will eclipsed those images. Her last thought before drifting off was of Stefan standing in the doorway and the scars crossing his magnificent body...
At dawn, Joanna awakened in startled confusion, aware that she was calling out. In her bizarre dream she'd slipped from Otto's grip and was tumbling in slow motion toward the cage below, where in a cloud of brown dust, lions and tigers were viciously attacking Stefan. Over and over she tumbled, knowing that if she could reach Stefan, the animals would stop. But she never got there. And as she screamed a silent scream, no one came to help Stefan...
"Are you alright?" Stefan's voice came from the direction of the doorway.
Heart pounding as the image of Stefan being mauled replayed in her mind, Joanna sat up abruptly. Her eyes focused on Stefan's bare torso and the patchwork of claw marks. He walked over and sat on the bed, and she made no move to stop him. She reached out and dragged three fingers down the scars on his shoulder. "Why do you do it?" she asked.
Stefan shrugged. "I don't know anything else." He covered her hand with his, trapping it against his chest. "You're trembling."
She moistened her dry lips and raised her eyes to meet his. "I just had a... disturbing dream," she said, then felt at once absurd and embarrassed. It was, after all, just a dream.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, his lips moving toward hers.
"No," Joanna said, her voice shaky. "I'm fine, other than I feel like... a fool."
Stefan's eyes on her lips, he said, "Why? For being human?"
"No," she replied. "For being... vulnerable."
"We're all vulnerable at some point," he said, his breath wafting against her lips as he moved yet closer. "What makes you feel vulnerable now?"
Joanna's mouth moved toward his. "You," she replied, uncertain why she'd made such a bold admission. At once his arms were around her, his hands tangling in her hair as he pulled her head back, lifting her chin. His mouth covered hers, his tongue teasing until her lips parted, allowing his tongue to entwine with hers. At first his lips were hauntingly gentle, but as the kiss deepened, he became more demanding, his lips seeking hers with an urgency that seemed to intensify every nerve fiber in her body. In his arms she felt as if she were tumbling into a great abyss, and she clung to him, trying to maintain her equilibrium. He drew her tighter to him, and she felt her breasts pressing against the hard wall of his chest, the contact igniting a fire she wasn't sure she could control. His lips became demanding, and she returned the kiss with a passion she'd never known, until the tight, breathless feeling in her throat threatened to choke her.
Grappling for some sense of normality, she braced her hands on his chest, and said between anxious breaths, "I'm not ready for this." She passed her tongue over her bottom lip and caught the metallic taste of blood.
Stefan touched
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