“I hope you will be comfortable. If you need anything, you have only to ask,” the young woman named Karin said with a smile.

Marina nodded. She swallowed when the woman closed the door, suddenly feeling lost and very much alone. Unsure of what to do, she turned around to look at the large, elegant bedroom that she was given. Marina had never been in such an ornately decorated room. A fireplace almost large enough to stand in was centered on one wall. In the hearth, a magical fire merrily crackled and popped, sending out a welcome warmth.

Across from the fireplace was a huge four-poster bed. Each post was elaborately carved to look like coral. Marina noticed a long nightgown and robe across the foot of the bed and a pair of silk slippers on the floor beneath.

There was a set of double doors, standing open, and leading out onto the balcony. On each side of the doors, a column of windows rose from floor to ceiling, giving the occupant a magnificent view of the twinkling lights from the city below. A short distance from the city the ocean waves crashed against the cliffs, the sound was soothing. There was another door on the opposite side of the room that Marina suspected led into the bathing room.

With a loud sigh, she walked over to the fireplace and gazed down at the dancing flames. She hugged Mr. Bow tightly against her chest and bit her lip in uncertainty.

“You know, if you keep holding me this tightly, I might think you are dreaming that I’m Mike,” Mr. Bow dryly stated.

“What? Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Bow,” Marina murmured, loosening her grip.

“Why don’t you go to him?” Mr. Bow asked.

Marina shook her head. “And do what? Tell him that I want to feel his lips upon mine? That I want to feel his arms wrapped around me, and….”

She blushed and placed Mr. Bow on the table near the fireplace. She closed her eyes as a wave of desire swept through her with such intensity that it caused a physical ache. Perhaps she should tell him that she desired him in a way that she had never felt before. She knew that Mike wanted her. The evidence of his attraction to her had been obvious when he’d kissed her and she’d felt his hips pressed against hers.

“And… what?”

Marina’s eyes flew open, and she gasped and quickly turned at the sound of Mike’s deep voice. Her gaze locked with his. He stood in the open doorway leading out onto the balcony.

“I…,” Marina’s voice faded when she saw the burning desire in his eyes.

“And what, Marina?” he asked again.

The rough need in his voice washed over her. Once again the piercing desire swept through her, causing the ache to grow to a pulsing heat between her legs. He was her match—the other part of herself—he completed her.

“You can see my magic. You can feel it,” she said, hoping he would understand what she was saying.

“I see the colors that surround you wrapping around me.” He lifted his hand up and took a step toward her. He turned his hand, staring at it. Marina could see the colors of her magic, uninhibited by Magna’s spell, swirling around him. “I can feel the connection to you,” he murmured, turning his gaze back to her.

“I need you, Mike. I want you in a way I’ve never wanted to be with another,” she confessed, taking a step toward him.

* * *

They moved slowly toward each other. As the gap between them narrowed, Marina’s magic spun outward, cloaking them in the warmth of her aura. Mike sucked in a deep breath as he felt the unusual power flow through him. This was different from a runner’s high, this was like seeing the universe opened up before you and being able to walk among the stars.

A soft hiss escaped him when Marina finally touched him. Her hands moved up his chest to cup his cheeks. He could see the uncertainty and a trace of vulnerability in her eyes. With a soft moan, he lowered his head and captured her lips.

The spark that had ignited before between them burst into a raging wildfire. Mike could feel Marina’s hands sliding along his skin to his hair. Her fingers splayed, holding him to her while her lips and tongue explored his mouth.

A soft moan escaped him when her hands moved down along his neck and over his shoulders. He tried to pull back, but every time he did, she would follow him. Her hands were driving him crazy. They ran up and down his arms before moving around to his back.

She didn’t stop there. He sucked in a deep breath when she pulled both of his shirts free and slid her hands up under them to his heated flesh. Reaching around, he gripped her wrists and pulled back while his eyes shone with the fire burning inside him.

“I need a shower or a bath or whatever in the hell you take here,” he muttered in frustration.

Marina’s eyes glittered. Her fingers curled around his, and she tugged him toward a door on the opposite side of the room. Mike knew he was in trouble when she opened the door to the bathroom. His resolve to be a gentleman was quickly melting away. If she did what he was hoping for, there would be no stopping or going back.

“Marina,” he tried to warn her.

She looked at him with a fierce expression. “You say you need to bathe. I wish to bathe with you,” she said, pausing in the doorway.

“Honey, if we go in there, I can assure you there is going to be a lot more than bathing going on,” Mike warned.

“I hope there will be,” Marina softly admitted, starting to turn back to step inside.

Mike pulled her to a stop. She turned, a faint expression of doubt creeping into her eyes. He reached up and cupped her cheek.

“This isn’t going to be a one night stand—or even a two night stand. If I make love to you, Marina, it will be for keeps,” he said.

“I… I have never asked to be with a man before, Mike Hallbrook,” Marina admitted, flushing and glancing over his shoulder.

Mike bit back the curse that almost slipped out. He had suspected that Marina was inexperienced, but he hadn’t realized that she might be a virgin. Swallowing, he dropped his hand to his side and clenched his fist. This was going to be a true test of his willpower.

“We come from two different worlds,” Mike said.

Marina’s gaze jerked back to his face. “Does it bother you that we are different?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, but I want you to be sure. I meant what I said, Marina—especially now. If I take you tonight, this is serious,” he said, emphasizing the last word.

“When you take me tonight, we will be together as one,” she retorted in a quiet voice.

“Damn woman, you are going to drive me over the edge,” Mike cursed, wrapping his hand around her braid and capturing her lips again.

He didn’t resist the tug this time when she pulled him into the bathroom. His mind played through all the ways he wanted to make love to her. Knowing that this was her first time, he was going to do everything he could to make sure she enjoyed it. That included making sure she knew that he liked to have a little fun. He had always been an intense—but selective—lover. Something told him that Marina, even inexperienced as she was, would have no trouble keeping up with him.

Breaking the kiss, he stepped back. His eyes glittered with promise, and his cock felt like he could drive nails with it. It had been a long time since he was this aroused. If he didn’t take some control of the situation soon, it could quickly spiral into raw, primitive sex.

“Take off your clothes,” he ordered.

“Only if you also remove yours,” she countered, lifting her chin.

Mike raised an eyebrow at her daring tone. The curve of her lips proved that she might be innocent of the actual act, but she knew what was about to happen. His suspicion proved accurate when her eyes twinkled with mischief, and she started to unfasten her top.

“I may live in a small village, but I have visited the capital city many times. What I have not seen during my trips, my mother and grandmother made sure to add to my education when I was old enough and curious enough to ask. Grandmother was a little more enlightening than my mother,” she explained with a wicked grin.

“How enlightening?” Mike asked, his gaze mesmerized by her fingers as she continued to undress.

“Very,” she informed him with an inviting look.

Marina undid the last button and turned her back to him before she slowly shrugged her blouse off one shoulder. She paused to glance at him with a teasing smile before slipping it off the other shoulder. He swallowed when he saw that she didn’t wear anything underneath her top. Her fingers moved to her belt, and she slowly tugged it free from her pants.

When she held it up in the air, Mike reached out and took the belt, wrapping it around his hand. She turned her head to stare at him again over her shoulder.

“Grandmother told me that to receive great passion and pleasure, you need to enjoy it the same way that you enjoy a good wine,” she murmured.

Mike swallowed. Her fingers were moving down along her side to her leggings. He could see the curve of her creamy breast, but not the tantalizing nipple that made his mouth water when he thought of what the hard tip would feel like when he sucked on it.

“And how do you… enjoy a good wine?” he asked in a rough voice.

“By teasing your taste buds, having the right dish to go with it, and savoring it so that it lasts all night,” she whispered.

Mike’s soft rumble of approval echoed through the bathroom when Marina pulled off each boot as she spoke before pushing down her leggings. They slid down her long legs to pool at her ankles. She lifted one foot and pulled it free before kicking off the other leg.

“Kelia prepared my bath. Will you join me, Mike?” Marina asked.

Mike watched her walk over to the raised platform. She stepped into the bath, and turned, allowing him to see her for the first time.

She was slender from the challenges of the last year, but still completely feminine. Her breasts were small and firm. She had a short waist, but long legs that made his hips jerk at the thought of them wrapped around him. His gaze traveled down to the patch of dark brown curly hair between her legs.

His mouth watered at all the wonderful things he planned for that part of her body. He quickly pulled off his shirts, untied and pulled off his boots and socks, and shucked his pants. His wicked smile lit up his eyes when he heard her swiftly inhaled breath at the first sight of his throbbing cock.

“I think it is time that I began enjoying my wine,” he teased, climbing up onto the platform.

“Ye… Yes, it is,” she agreed, sinking back into the water.

“How hot do you like it, Marina?” Mike asked, stepping into the water.

“The… the water?” she mumbled, her eyes glued to his cock.

Mike chuckled, sank down into the water, and reached for her. “The sex,” he murmured, pressing his lips against her neck.

A soft moan echoed in the room. “Hot… very, very hot,” she said, unaware of anything but his lips against her heated flesh.