Crimes of the Heart (13 page)

“And how do we know that he didn’t do it? Because you say so?” she challenged as twin flags of red seared her cheeks.

He balled his hands into fists. “Because I
know
so.”

“How? By gut instinct? By his example? For crying out loud he committed adultery with your mother?”

“Don’t even go there,” he bit out between clenched teeth while pointing a finger at her.

“For our son’s sake, I will go there. Take your blinders off, Devon. He put your mom in a tiny house, no bigger than a shack. Even after you came along he never moved you two to a better place, never offered to have her stop being the cook for him and his
wife
. What kind of man would do that?”

The loud roar in his ears nearly made him miss the last. “A desperate one, all right? He loved my mom.” He jabbed a finger into his chest. “He loved
me
. It was the only way he could keep us close to him. It was the only way he knew how to take care of us.”

“And he left you nothing when he died.”

To most people the hint of sadness in her voice would have been misconstrued as pity. But not for him; he knew she’d suffered the same fate as he had.
Disowned.

By her own account she’d handed him his trump card. “Exactly. Remember? His wife held the purse strings. Never once did he control any of the money in his own house. If he had embezzled the cash he’d have left it to my mother and me. Somehow, some way, he would have made sure we had gotten it.”

Clear, bright dawning entered her eyes. Stunned wonder crossed her features. “Oh, my God, he
didn’t
do it.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Jewel,” he said softly, reading the echoing hurt and pain in her expression. She knew how he’d felt for so long, shunned, misunderstood. With that knowledge a certain satisfaction swept over him; she believed him now. “So you’ll help me then?”

“I can’t.”

His bubble burst. His heart ached. “Why not?”

“You’re leaving town.”

“Just for a while. Not for good.”

She gazed at him with some inner knowledge he couldn’t quite figure out. “Eventually I think you will. And then it will be up to me to pick up the pieces in Sean’s world. And in mine.” She whispered the last, causing the words to stab his heart.

Lord, how I must have torn her life apart. She expects the same treatment this time, too. And why shouldn’t she when I never showed her any different?

He detected a sense of fear in her. This had nothing to do with uncovering the real criminal at all. This was personal for her. On some level she knew him better than he knew himself. According to her way of thinking, as soon as he accomplished his mission of reclaiming his family’s honor, dignity, and respect, he’d have no reason to remain in town.

Dear God, she’s right
.

The knot in Jewel’s belly had slowly unraveled. The atmosphere around Devon and her had been quiet and contemplative the last few hours.

Although they’d exchanged few words, it seemed as if the bond they’d shared strengthened after releasing years of pent-up truth and emotion, the eruption finally led to understanding each other. The fight had whooshed out when she’d stated the obvious.

Sometime after he’d achieved his family’s redemption, he’d leave. Most certainly for good this time. To her, loving someone meant losing them.

Now, walking beside him up the gleaming staircase of the inn to their room, she wished she’d have prolonged dinner instead of picking at her meal, and then shoving it aside.

Jewel knew the moment she walked through the door the intimacy would immediately pulse to life. Her body betrayed her as it hummed in anticipation.

The slight weight of his hand on the small of her back brought Jewel back to the here and now. Alone in the long elegant hallway she sensed the beginning of the gossamer web of passion encircling them in a titillating embrace.

Without a word, Devon guided her to their room. With each step, she felt the brush of his hip against hers and the accompanying tug of desire. The change in his breathing pattern alerted her to his own heightened awareness. His clean, fresh scent only added to the arousing closeness.

He stopped in front of the door, and then, watching her closely, fished out the key. Jewel gasped at the hypnotic, sensual pull she detected in his dark eyes.

He wanted her.

It never ceased to amaze her how in tune they were, how utterly perfect they could read each other in private, stolen moments of passion.

Turning the key, he shoved the door open, and then waved her in ahead of him. As she entered, Jewel was assaulted with the heady fragrance of roses.

“Damn, I forgot about that,” Devon muttered, following and turning the lock to shut out the world.

Intrigued, she moved to the living room, searching for the source of the perfumed air. She frowned when she didn’t spot even one flower. “The bedroom.” She twirled in that direction.

She passed Devon who dragged a hand down his face. Going over the threshold, she took measured steps toward the center of attention dominating the area.

Rose petals, in a multitude of different colors and shades, covered the bed. Awe robbed her of speech. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes and she cupped a hand over her mouth to stop the bubble of joy that threatened to break loose.

“I remember promising you this a long time ago,” he said almost shyly.

Jewel turned around. Twin slashes of color sliced the top of his cheeks. He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. She giggled at this decadent side of him, and then flopped back on the mattress. Red, pink, yellow, peach and white petals flew up, and then gently floated back down, some landing on her.

Hugging herself, she rolled back and forth. “I love it.”

His chuckle, low and throaty, sent tingles to her toes. Scurrying to her knees, she grabbed handfuls of the soft flowers, tossing them in the air. They rained down on her, caressing her face and neck. “This is so wonderful.” Holding out her hand to him, she coaxed, “Come join me.”

He didn’t make her wait. The mattress dipped at the added weight, nearly toppling her into his arms. Devon steadied her. The contrast of his warm, work-roughened hands and the silky feel of the petals made her suck in her breath.

Staring into his eyes, she gasped with wonder. “You remembered.”

“I wanted to give you this when we were young, instead of a musty old loft with prickly hay and a scratchy wool blanket.” Emotion clouded his voice. But his eyes shone with an inner light, reminding her of the love they once shared, the absolute caring, the way he used to be.

Had their confrontation peeled back the protective layer he clung to, letting her peek inside? Could the real Devon be just below the surface waiting for a signal to reemerge? Reaching the loving man he’d been might hold the key to solving so many of their problems, of his constant need to leave.

Tentatively, she reached up and trailed her fingertips over his face. “Oh, Devon, you are the sweetest man for doing this for me. Thank you.”

Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his. He returned the soft caress, prolonging the gentle kiss. The tenderness in his touch brought a deep longing in her to the forefront. She yearned to be loved and cared for by this man, the only man who could repair her broken heart, the heart he broke.

When he delved his tongue in her mouth, she flowered under him. His warm hands cupped her face as he paid homage to her with the incredible, sensuous kiss, strumming chords in her she never knew existed. Jewel reveled in this sensitive side of him, a side he seldom showed.

Pulling back slightly, Devon locked gazes with her. Sucking in a sharp breath, she read the stark hunger in him clear to his soul. Wonder filled her at the revelation; he allowed her to witness his desperate need for her.

He’d never let her so close before, never let her read more than the physical desire. Now, he opened a pocket of himself to her she marveled at. She swore to herself she’d never betray that knowledge and would never harm him with it.

“I want you, dollface,” he whispered fiercely.

Blinking back the sting of tears, she nodded. “I know. But I don’t know if I can give you what you want or need.” The admission cost her dearly.

A spark of admiration shone brightly in his dark green eyes. “The truth is, I don’t know if I can do the same for you, either.” He blew out a hot breath. It fanned her face and something low and deep curled inside of her. “I thought I knew all the answers. When I came back to town I had it all figured out.”

“Getting back what had once been your father’s, right?”

“Buying the house, the property, rebuilding the horse breeding and training business was easy enough to plan.”

A cloud passed over his features. She guessed, “But I wasn’t what you expected. And Sean was a complete shock.”

He grinned, sly and wicked, sending a tingling sensation through her veins. He brushed back wisps of her hair with such reverence it renewed the well of moisture gathering in her eyes.

“You, Mrs. Marshall, nearly knocked me down with one look.” He frowned. “I figured you’d left town if the house was for sale. But, if by some chance, you were still around, I’d planned to give you a divorce.”

An invisible band wrapped around her chest, squeezing tight. Jewel lowered her head. A tear escaped, sliding down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb, and then gently lifted her chin.

“In a way I thought it would fix things between us, set you free of me.” Sheepishly, he continued, “Oh that was after I’d have showered you with a pile of money.”

“I don’t want your money.” Irritation edged her voice.

He held up his hands, palm side facing her. “Whoa, now. I got that impression when you kept throwing it back at me this last week. Do you know how annoying that can be to a man who only knows dollars and cents?”

A giggle escaped at his crestfallen look. “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?”

The feel of his large hands on her shoulders seemed like a balm to her. “Yes, we are.” He paused for a moment. “Jewel, I never had anything I could offer you before now.”

“That’s not true,” she rushed to reassure him. “Remember the summer when they sent me away to camp and I came home to find out my mother had died…” she trailed off as she clamped her eyes shut, willing the fresh wave of tears to stay at bay. “Just you being there for me then was more than enough.”

“God, I hated them for doing that to you.”

His concern touched her. Looking at him again, she whispered in a broken voice, “I never had a chance to say good-bye to her.”

“They took it away from you.”

She nodded. “And when the rumors went around town how depressed I was, no one came to me to talk or even to ask me how I was doing. Except you, you shoved a note at me the first day back to school.”

Raking a hand through his hair, he said, “I was thirteen, I didn’t know what else to do, or even if you’d talk to me, so, for me, it was the only way to tell you someone gave a damn.”

“I still have it.”

He jerked his head up at that. Deep lines formed between his brows. “I didn’t know it had meant so much to you.”

“It did. For the first time in a long time I knew someone cared what happened to me.” The memorized words of his note ran through her mind now.

I’m sorry about your mom. I know how you feel. My dad died three years ago and it still hurts like hell. Just don’t go and do what they say you’re gonna do
.

“No one has ever made me feel like you do.” Emotion clogged his voice. “These last twelve years I turned it off. I didn’t want to face anything but how much I hated your father. It was so much easier that way. It kept me alive when I thought I was dying inside.”

Jewel gasped at this new piece of knowledge. “You don’t want to dig up all the things we should have said back then, do you?”

“No, dollface, I don’t.” The sadness in his tone matched the hollow ache behind her heart. “I guess I don’t want to admit my mistakes in all of it.”

“That way we don’t have to live with our part of the blame either.” Taking a shaky breath, she asked, “So, has our second chance passed us by?”

With infinite care, he clasped her hand in his, entwining fingers. The gesture tugged at her heartstrings. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

She gulped hard. “Sometimes I think there’s no way out, no answers for us. But when I look at Sean and how happy he’s been since you’ve been back, a small seed of hope breaks through all the doubts.”

He lifted her hand to his mouth, and then deposited the softest, gentlest kiss on the back of it. A well of promise swept through her. “Well, then, there you have it. We’ll fight for our second chance.”

A pang of anguish pierced her middle. “Just for Sean’s sake?”

“Maybe we started out that way because of our son, but we’re going to finish this for us. It might not be nice and pretty at times, hell, I guarantee it won’t be.” He leaned close and stole a quick kiss, startling her. “But, Mrs. Marshall, whatever happens, when all is said and done, we’ll walk away without any regrets.”

Walk away.
She wondered if he even knew what he’d said. Somehow she didn’t think he did as he trailed tantalizing kisses over her eyelids, cheeks, and mouth. The troubling words buzzed in her mind and stabbed at her heart. Jewel shoved the irritating noise away and gave herself to her husband. She had him now, for this moment.

Devon lingered on her lips. She still tasted like strawberries to him, sweet and delicious. Deepening the kiss, he banished the ghosts of his past. Revisiting that era had ripped off his bandaged scars, exposing the raw wounds to more painful probing.

Now, he longed to lose himself in her, desperately needing her healing touch. Her small hands stroked his shoulders, and then his chest as if she knew what he craved. In her arms he found an acceptance no one else had gifted him with.

Shifting, with his thighs bracketed hers, he caressed her back, and then cupped her bottom. Her low moan, combined with his own, sent shivers down his spine. “Too many clothes,” he murmured, tugging her shirt out of her jeans.