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said, as if remarking on the weather.
    She watched as her challenge ripped at his tight control.
    “Would I not? You are in greater danger now than you were from those beggars, because I do not beg.”
    His leather and musk scent overwhelmed her. She shivered and forgot to breathe. Her head swam. He was too close. Thank the Madonna for the shrine at her back that kept her from fainting dead away.
    Then he pulled her to him, and only his arms supported her. One hand tunneled into her hair, holding her in place for him to taste her mouth. With the press of his chest against her bosom, twinges and prickles sprang to life in her breasts. She moved against him in a vain attempt to ease the building sensations. His other hand streaked down her back to fondle and cup her buttocks. He dragged her hips between the notch of his thighs. The swelling beneath his breeches burned heat into her belly. An aching, empty yearning bloomed in her womb.
    He nipped at her lower lip, and she opened to him. She surrendered to the welling need to taste his musky flavor, stroke his hard body, and wallow in his heat. Passion burned dark and glorious in a world where she thrived on his scent, his touch, his kiss.
    When his lips lifted and his arms released her, the world turned ashen and cold. The remnants of desire shuddered away. Breathless, she huddled back against the shrine, unsteady and unsure what had just happened or what she thought. She blinked at Robert, who stood a good two arms’ lengths distant, staring at her.
    The silence stretched until he shifted his glance. “Forgive me, Lady Juliana. That was a mistake and should never have happened.”
    But it had happened, and life would never be the same. Still shaken and unable to speak, she nodded.
    He frowned and bent to pick up his gelding’s reins. “I believe you now understand the consequences of going about alone, or must I restrain you physically?”
    She pursed her lips, trying desperately to gather her thoughts and re-form her smile. He was right. That kiss had been a disastrous mistake; she could not afford to repeat it. “Save your threats. In the spirit of cooperation, I promise not to stop again without telling you first.”
    “That is most generous of you.” He pulled his horse away by two steps, but his darkling-green gaze held her in place. “However, you will not stop at all unless I give you leave.”
    Her chin rose, and she squared her shoulders. “Need I remind you, Sir Robert, that you possess no authority over my person or actions?”
    He gave her back smile for smile. “Oh, but I do have authority. You, yourself, gave it me.”
    She sucked in a gasp and held on to the much-needed air. The man had an alarming tendency to use her own weapons against her. “Explain, please.”
    “You convinced me to guide this caravan by giving your promise to be a most cooperative traveler.”
    “Do you suggest I have been less than cooperative?”
    “When I must leave my guide’s duties to come in search of you, when you constantly slow the caravan and endanger yourself—in a word, aye. Now, get back in line!” he shouted.
    Startled, she jumped, but her smile never wavered. “Before I accept your so gracious invitation to rejoin my companions, I would have a word with you.”
    Robert inhaled slowly. “Now what?”
    “I noticed that today instead of leading us south, you are guiding us in a westerly direction.”
    “I am the guide. ’Tis my duty to choose the path.”
    “Yes, of course. But you see, Palermo lies to the south, not to the west.”
    “True, but I choose to get there by going west.”
    She allowed only a small sigh to break her pretense of calm. “That isn’t possible.”
    “On the contrary, Genoa and the Mediterranean Sea lie to the west. Travel by sea is faster than travel by land. In Genoa, we will place your friends aboard a ship that will take them to Palermo. You and I will find a ship destined for England and begin our journey back to