fire, his long legs stretched casually before him. He watched her
through impersonal eyes as he unbuttoned his shirt. Hanging from
a thin leather thong, a small disk of beaten silver rested against his
bronzed chest.
She was scrubbing roughly, her fingers digging into her scalp
as she shampooed her short carrot thatch. Meticulously washing
each part of herself, she kept as much of her body as possible
hidden under the water. When she was done, she began again more
slowly, trying to steal precious minutes.
As Quinn watched her bathe he felt no heat in his blood, no
tightening in his loins. If anything, the emaciated features that the
rough scrubbing revealed were even more unattractive now than
when they had been hidden under the garish cosmetics.
He drained his glass and poured another. Alcohol had never
before prevented him from performing; perhaps it would fog his
brain enough so he could carry through this distasteful task. He
rose from the chair and turned down the room's one lamp. Now
only the fire provided light. The silver disk on his chest glittered
orange like a malevolent eye. He walked toward the tub and picked
up the towel, tossing it where she could not reach it.
"Get up."
She looked up at him, her eyes mutely pleading, her lips
slightly parted. Frozen with fear, she could not move.
He was beside her in one long stride, pulling her out of the tub.
Abruptly he released her and stepped back, taking in the generous
spheres of her breasts as they glistened golden in the fire's flames.
His eyes dropped to the curly triangle between her legs. Finally he
felt himself hardening, and he quickly shed his clothes. Not willing
to risk losing his desire, he kept his eyes away from her face and
on her nude body, its thinness mercifully obscured by the room's
dim light.
Noelle's heart thumped painfully at the sight of him naked in
front of her. His broad chest and arms were well-muscled, his
flanks narrow. Against her will, her eyes fastened on his manhood,
jutting enormous and threatening from the curly black hair beneath