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“None.”

With a deep sigh of relief he rolled to one side, drawing her firmly into the circle of his arms and wrapping them both in his cloak.

It felt so good here. So right. She reached a finger to his mouth and traced the outline of his strong lower lip, laughing when he caught it lightly between his teeth and nipped.

Suddenly avoiding his eyes, she ran her fingers through the hair on his chest. “How is it that I can taste you, feel you, experience all that I did just now, if you are…what you say you are?”

He put his hand beneath her chin and forced her to look at him. His words were spoken with a rare gentleness, though his eyes remained solemn. “Don’t question the fates, love. Just be grateful for the miracle. Savor it, for all too soon a price will be named. And we will have to pay.”

“Oh, Gareth.” She closed her eyes against the pain and drew his head down for a long, lingering kiss.

Hearing his little moan of pleasure, she thrilled to her newly discovered power.

Even now she could feel the passion rise in him again, could feel the strain of his muscles as he dragged her almost savagely against him.

Her man. Her love. The knowledge made her heart soar.

“I don’t care about the price. I’ll gladly pay, as long as we have this night. ”

“Then let’s not waste a minute of it,” he murmured against her throat as he took her again.

The light of dawn streaked the eastern sky. A chorus of birds sang in the nearby gardens. The sharp tang of meat roasting, and the sweeter scent of bread baking, attested to the cook’s diligence. A light in the scullery windows signaled the beginning of a new day for the servants.

Still Gareth and Felicity lay in their secret bower, sheltered from view, locked in a fierce embrace.

All night they had loved, then slept, only to awaken and love again.

Their lovemaking was by turns tender then savage.

At times they lay calm and cozy as old lovers.

At other times, sensing that their time together was all too brief, they came together in a wild frenzy, until, sated, they would doze once more.

Now, with morning upon them, there was no more time to waste. Every moment was precious to them. There was still so much to say, so much that each wanted to tell the other.

“Why did you let me see you, when you kept yourself hidden from everyone else?”

Gareth smiled at her question. “You’re a beautiful woman. Isn’t that enough?”

She shook her head. “You’re keeping something from me. What is it?”

He caught a strand of her hair and, avoiding her eyes, watched it sift through his fingers. “You looked like another.”

“Cara. Did she have red hair?” The words escaped her lips before she could stop them.

She saw the sudden clenching of his jaw before he nodded.

“Aye. And green eyes. But it was more than the physical resemblance. There’s a goodness in you, love, that was so like her.

” He caught her by the shoulder and stared deeply into her eyes.

“Love, true love, is never only physical. Love is the mating of one soul to another. And it was your soul that touched mine.”

His words warmed her, yet she was surprised to feel only a faint pulse of heat at his touch. Alarmed, she sat up and brushed his lips with hers. The heat grew, and she sighed with satisfaction.

“You once said that you stay here at Falcon’s Lair because there is something you haven’t done. What is it, Gareth?”

She felt him begin to withdraw from her. Laying a hand on his arm, she said, “If you share it with me, maybe I can help you.”

He shook his head. “No one can help me, love. The choices I made were my own. They in turn led to my fate. I must live an eternity knowing I cannot save the ones I most love. And the hell of it is, I must spend that eternity alone, without heirs, because I chose honor over love.”

“I made a choice last night.” She wound her arms around his neck and offered her lips to him. “What will be my fate?”

Instead of kissing her, he touched a finger to her mouth in the gentlest of caresses. His eyes wore the same haunted look she’d seen that first night, crossing the moors. “You wear your heart on your sleeve, little happy face. But that heart is destined to be pierced by a sword.”

She caught her breath at the pain. He dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers. She waited for the heat, but none came. Instead, the man beside her began to blur and fade.

She felt a piercing wave of panic. “Don’t leave me. Hold me, Gareth. I’m so afraid.”

“Close your eyes, love, and hold tightly to me.”

She did as she was told. She heard a sound like rushing wind, and the trees overhead dipped and sighed. Then a strange silence settled over the land.

Thoroughly chilled, Felicity opened her eyes. She was alone, kneeling in the dew-dampened grass. She was wearing the gown she’d worn the night before, thoroughly wrinkled and thoroughly soaked.

Was it possible that she’d fallen asleep, that all of this had been nothing more than a dream?

It was no dream. Gareth had been here with her. He’d touched her. Loved her. The things she’d experienced had been beyond her imagination. Weren’t they?

And yet…and yet she could still feel the imprint of those strong fingers tingling along her body. And those lips. Had they brushed hers? She pressed a finger to her mouth. It wasn’t just her imagination. Was it?

Sweet heaven. What was happening to her? Could the sane, sensible daughter of Robert Andrews really believe she’d been loved by a ghost?

In the morning silence she looked up to see a falcon passing overhead as swiftly and as soundlessly as a shadow. At the sight of it her heart soared.

Then she glanced at the grass beside her. It still bore the imprint of a man’s body. She touched it. It was still warm.

Tears sprang to her eyes. Logic be damned. All that mattered was that she loved and was loved by Gareth, the first Lord of Falcon’s Lair.