anya spent the night in a very comfortable armchair, but she still felt a crick in her neck when she was awakened by a nudge on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Stefan looming over her—and nearly gasped at his expression. How long had he been up and stewing over the events of the past two days, to put that kind of fury on his features? Or was it that?

“Dare I say good morning?” she asked warily, only to find herself yanked out of the chair and roughly shaken.

“You were told there are wolves in this part of the country!” he blasted at her.

“Yes, and bears and—”

“Do you know how quickly a wolf can tear you apart?” was his second blast, the one that made her understand.

God, she had forgotten about his brother! After such an experience, that might be the only thing Stefan had thought of when they couldn’t find her.

“I’m sorry, Stefan,” she said sincerely, not even thinking about lying now. “You were ignoring me. I just wanted your attention, and to tell you that you were wrong. I’ve been kissed by another man, and I didn’t feel anything. It does matter who’s doing the kissing.”

Hearing, even if in a roundabout way, that she desired him had a very swift effect on Stefan. His anger, merely induced by fear, crumbled beneath his instant arousal. He was already holding her shoulders, had been about to shake her again. He drew her to him now and took her mouth almost savagely.

Tanya didn’t have to wonder what had brought this on. His anger, of course, or so she assumed. So much for rashly made promises. But the fight was over as far as she was concerned. So was her own anger, which she’d gone to sleep with last night. It was really amazing how kissing could calm them both down in one way but fire them both up in another, more pleasurable way.

She was caught up in that pleasure very swiftly. The thrust of his tongue was met by some thrusts of her own. She helped him shed the blouse he unbuttoned for her. Her skirt just dropped at her feet. He didn’t seem surprised that she was naked now, since she’d removed her underclothing last night to sleep, leaving on only the outer wear for modesty’s sake, as she’d done on the riverboat. But he probably wasn’t paying attention, no more than he had the last time, and that was something she’d just have to accept for now, because she had no intention whatsoever of stopping him.

Quite the opposite, actually, was taking place, since she was the one who moved them slowly toward the bed this time. And once there, she was the one who made sure their kiss wasn’t broken as she grad­ually lowered herself and him to the mattress. She had to worry not only about their being interrupted, which tended to recall him to his senses, but also about that damn promise of his, which would end this quicker than anything else could if he remem­bered it.

So she was frantic to keep Stefan in his mindless, rage‑induced state, and wouldn’t even let go of his head when he began removing his clothes. Only when he was as naked as she was did she relax enough to simply enjoy what was happening. And then she found herself caught up in that wildness again, that pure, wanton desire clamoring for release.

This time, it was she who wasn’t paying close attention to everything he was doing. She was so centered on the sensations his hands were provoking in her, as they explored with maddening slowness from neck to loins, that it took her a while to realize he wasn’t kissing her anymore. In fact, he was watch­ing her in fascination. When she finally opened her eyes, he stilled his hands, their gazes locked, and she saw that he wasn’t the least bit angry.

Tanya was struck by such a keen sense of frustra­tion at that point, she blurted out, “Damn you, Ste­fan, don’t calm down now!”

To her complete chagrin, he burst out laughing, and was still grinning when he asked baldly, “Why?” He bent and gently bit her lower lip, then laved it with his tongue. “You think I’m not going to continue making love to you?” His lips nibbled now between words. “Think again, little houri. You have belonged to me, with your father’s blessing, since the day you were born. “ His hand swept her breasts in an unmistakably possessive manner. “You are the only woman who has ever been truly mine. I won’t take you again mindlessly, Tanya. Didn’t I promise you that?”

She wasn’t really expected to answer that just then, was she? She was so overcome with ecstatic delight over those key words “belonged” and “truly mine” that she had to give back some of that joy or burst with it. Her arm curled around his neck to draw his mouth more firmly back to hers, her tongue slipping past his lips to thrust and tease, while her other hand boldly sought his manhood, satin on steel, and ca­ressed with the gentlest touch.

Her innocent touch brought a groan rumbling from his depths that had her innards curling up and sighing with satisfaction. She was making love to him, and he was letting her. And when she thought she couldn’t bear another minute of it, he took over, gathering her close and filling her with his heat. But unlike before, he moved slowly this time, sen­suously, deliberately prolonging the wonder of it, then finally with deep, grinding thrusts where he reached for the core of her, and brought her to a shattering climax that racked her body with fierce pulsations that continued to his final thrust, only with slightly less force, then nearly exploding again when she felt his own hot spasms.

She didn’t want reality to intrude. It hadn’t been pleasant the last time. But of course they couldn’t lie there forever, clinging to each other, much as she wanted to. It was morning. Everyone else would be up and readying to depart. And Tanya still had to account for her foolish behavior that had sent her right into the arms of bandits.

So it was with some surprise that she felt his lips softly grazing her cheek and heard him ask with only mild curiosity, “Who kissed you and made you feel nothing?”

Without the slightest guilt for what kind of fury her answer might bring down on his golden head, she said, “Vasili,” then promptly exonerated him by adding, “But he hated doing it, grouched the whole time, and only gave in when I said I’d ask someone else to kiss me if he wouldn’t.”

Stefan raised himself up on an elbow to give her an incredulous look. “You went asking for kisses?”

“Only to see if you were right or not.”

“You couldn’t just draw on past experience for an answer?”

She didn’t let that bother her. She was too sated and mellow to be bothered by anything just then.

“I hate to disappoint you, as I did Vasili, since he asked the same thing, but my past experience isn’t as great and varied as you both think.”

He smiled then. “And here I was going to admit, to my own amazement, a gratitude for it.”

Tanya almost choked, but she knew what he was referring to and blushed, retorting, “That wasn’t ex­perience, that was pure instinct.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you, Tanya,” he said gently.

She knew that. That it was so was what she found hard to believe. But if this was the kind of reaction she could expect from him when he wasn’t troubled by guilt, which she now understood had been the problem last time, then she’d just have to see that they made love more often.

“Could we stay here today to—explore this ‘grat­itude’ of yours more fully?”

He laughed and rolled back, his arms tight around her so she went with him. His hand moved to smooth her hair and keep her face pressed to his chest.

“I wish we did have more time, but my father is anxious for our arrival. He will know to the hour when we should be expected, and this delay—”

“Will worry him.” She sighed. “I understand.”

He whacked her bottom then, and told her to get dressed. But she received four more delaying kisses while trying to do as ordered. The man couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her this morning. She felt the same way. It was so unusual, having him like this, and she couldn’t have been happier.

When they were ready to leave, she took advantage of his pleasant mood to ask, “What was that remark you made about Pavel sparing me a switching all about?”

“Nothing important,” he replied, but then he caught her chin in his hand to add sternly, “Don’t ever ignore specific warnings again, Tanya.”

She smiled, aware that that was going to be the extent of his scolding. “Then don’t ignore me again, Stefan. I do foolish things when I get angry.”

“God, don’t we all.”