She flushed at the thought of it; it seemed so absurd. Yet that very
thought had passed through the mind of the man. He was by nature a
hunter; he was self-willed and reckless. No woman had ever moved him in
his life until this girl crossed his path, and he reached out towards her
with the same will to control that he had used in the business of life.
Yet, while this brute force suggested physical control of the girl, it
had its immediate reaction. She was so fine, so delicate, and yet so full
of summer and the free unfettered life of the New World, so unimpassioned
physically, yet so passionate in mind and temperament, that he felt he
must atone for the wild moment's passion--the passion of possession,
which had made him long to crush her to his breast. There was nothing
physically repulsive in it; it was the wild, strong life of conquering
man, of which he had due share. For, as he looked at her sitting in his
office, her perfect health, her slim boyishness, her exquisite lines and
graceful turn of hand, arm and body, or the flower-like turn of the neck,
were the very harmony and poetry of life. But she was terribly provoking
too; and he realized that she was an unconscious coquette, that her
spirit loved mastery as his did.
Pages:
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138