Cross My Heart (20 page)

Clint ushered Elyse into the spacious room and closed the
door, then took her in his arms. She was so soft and fragrant and
cuddly, and it seemed he'd been waiting an eternity for this moment.
Just thinking of her made him hot, and when he touched her he burned.

Dammit, why was he dragging his feet about this
relationship? He'd grown used to loneliness until Elyse came into his
life, but now it was intolerable. After Dinah he'd promised himself
he'd never need a woman again, but he needed Elyse. Why had he hurt her
by insisting they wait until later to marry—or even to
announce their engagement? The reasons he'd given himself and her were
valid, but they weren't good enough.

He kissed her long and lingeringly. "Have you been waiting
as impatiently as I have for this?" he murmured against the side of her
mouth.

"At least as impatiently," she replied, turning her head
slightly to capture his lips once more.

It had been a week since they'd made love, and the fire
that simmered in his groin made it difficult for him not to rush her.
He pulled her skirt up until he could get his hand under it, then
encountered panty hose where he'd hoped for bare flesh. "Are all these
clothes necessary?" he muttered as he caressed her
sheer-stocking-covered thighs.

"Only if we're going back downstairs," she answered
between kisses.

"Over my dead body," he said firmly, and slid his hand up
to her round little bottom. "We're going to bed." He crushed her up
against him.

She started unfastening the knot in his tie. "Soon, I
hope?" She rubbed slowly against him, and he clenched his teeth in an
attempt to control his raging desire.

He gripped her errant derriere. "I'd thought we'd shower
first." His voice betrayed his intolerable strain, "but—"

"Together?" Her breathing was jerky.

"Of course."

"Can I wash your… back?"

He bit back a groan as a vision of her coming at him with
a washcloth in her talented little hands nearly did him in. "Honey," he
grated fervently, "you can wash anything you want to."

They quickly removed their clothes and headed for the
bathroom, but they made it only as far as the bed.

It was midnight before they got that shower, and by
morning they had to do it all over again.

For the next ten days, Clint was so caught up in
legislative sessions during the day and campaigning evenings and
weekends that Elyse saw little of him until the election the first week
in June. He called Elyse every day, though, and she watched his
campaign ads on television. The few times they were together were
hurried and frustrating, and she clearly understood why he'd wanted to
postpone their engagement announcement until things settled down. She
had a lot to learn about being a politician's wife.

When the votes were finally in and counted, Clint retained
his Senate seat with a wide margin to spare. The party at his campaign
headquarters on election night began early and went on until the wee
hours of the morning; and Elyse had never seen anything like it. It was
the first time she'd attended a major political event with Clint, and
she attracted a lot of attention.

The crush was a little frightening, but Elyse smiled a lot
and managed to answer questions without really saying anything. Paul
and Liz were there, receiving congratulations and best wishes on their
recent marriage, but Clint was the star of the show. Elyse was
surprised by his public presence. He was skilled in projecting just
the image he wanted. Tonight it had been confidence and, once it became
obvious he'd won, gratitude and happiness.

In public he appeared to be gregarious. He talked with
anyone who approached him, posed for pictures, allowed himself to be
interviewed by the news media and supplied food and drinks for
everyone—a contrast to the quiet, retiring man Elyse had come
to know. She suspected that maintaining two different personalities
must be a strain, and she vowed to do all she could to keep things
running smoothly for him at home once they were married.

Immediately after the primaries, Paul and Liz left on a
delayed honeymoon to Europe and Clint started campaigning for the
general election. His opponent was a well-known and well-liked rancher
in the district. The man's rugged good looks and down-home manner
appealed to the other ranchers, farmers and small-business people who
made up a large portion of the population, and Clint was worried.

It was a week before he brought up the subject of the
engagement announcement party. Elyse had cooked dinner for him that
Tuesday evening, and after they'd put Janey to bed they settled down on
the couch in the family room.

Following a long, intimate kiss he snuggled her against
him. "Honey, I talked to Mom today. She and Dad are coming home next
week for a stopover before going on to the summer place at Tahoe. She
says if you'd like, she'd be happy to help with plans for the
announcement party, and she hopes you'll have it at the house."

Elyse had talked to the Sterlings on the phone once or
twice, and they'd seemed friendly and polite. "I'm glad they're
coming," she said. "I'm anxious to meet them, and I'll be forever
grateful for your mother's help. Did you have a date in mind?"

They settled on a Saturday night in mid-July, three weeks
away. Much later, when Clint was leaving, he turned to her. "Oh, I
almost forgot. Bill Ogden stopped in my office today to invite us to a
swimming party and barbecue at their house Sunday afternoon. Nothing
elaborate, just a few couples. I told him I'd ask you and let him know
tomorrow."

Elyse smiled. "Sure. Sounds like fun. I've been hoping
we'd see the Ogdens again soon. Maybe Reba can give me pointers on how
a senator's wife should behave."

Clint chuckled and put his hand inside her pink cotton
robe to fondle her breast. "If you'd like to go back upstairs with me
I'll be happy to show you how I want this senator's wife to behave."

"You're insatiable," she said with a grin. "Besides, you
told me you have an early morning appointment."

He grimaced and removed his restless hand. "Ah, yes, my
constituents. Can't get elected without them." He kissed her and left.

On Sunday Elyse dressed in white slacks and a tank top
with a multicolored oversize shirt worn loose over it. Janey had gone
home after church with the family of one of her friends from Sunday
school, with plans to stay overnight.

Elyse leaned against the leather seat in Clint's car as
the Cadillac streaked down the freeway. Clint held her hand against his
denim-covered thigh, and music from the stereo system literally
surrounded them.

She was happy and content. The world was bright and
beautiful, and her ghosts had been laid to rest. Clint loved her, they
were making plans for their engagement party and he had tentatively
broached the possibility of an August wedding and a two-week honeymoon
in Hawaii before the last hectic weeks of the campaign and the November
election.

For now, she was eagerly looking forward to an afternoon
of swimming and feasting with Bill and Reba Ogden and their
guests—and she was pleased at the opportunity to meet more of
Clint's friends from the legislature.

There were several luxury cars parked in front of the
Ogdens' home when they drove up, and Elyse reached for the beach bag
that contained her new black one-piece bathing suit, which exposed a
great deal more than it hid. As they approached the house they heard
music coming from the backyard, and Clint took her arm and led her down
a flagstone path through a profusely blooming flower garden along the
side of the house.

They heard voices as they got closer, and when they
rounded the back corner of the building they stepped onto a wide,
covered patio that ran the width of the house. The music was coming
from speakers mounted under the overhang, and there were several
casually clad men and women gathered in a cluster on the tiled area by
the kidney-shaped swimming pool. Numerous round tables and chairs were
strategically placed for informal dining, and Elyse noticed a bathhouse
on the far side of the pool. The rest of the huge lot was covered with
carpetlike green lawn, flowering bushes and massive old shade trees.

At first they moved toward the group unnoticed, but then
Bill caught sight of them. "Clint," he called, starting in their
direction. But he didn't look very welcoming. There was no smile, and
if Elyse hadn't known better she'd have thought he was intent on
heading them off.

"Hi," Clint said happily. "Sorry we're a little late."

The rest of the cluster of people turned almost as one and
stared. The sound of happy voices stopped so abruptly that it left a
total silence, broken only by the lilting melody of the string section
of a symphony orchestra in the background.

Clint stopped and looked around, perplexed. It was Bill
who finally spoke. "Clint, we have an unexpected…
um… that is…"

Elyse had never seen anyone quite so flustered, and she
knew this had to be out of character for the suave, unflappable Senator
William Ogden. A cold feeling of dread blew across the back of her
neck, and she blinked as a tall blond woman with sapphire eyes and
beautifully chiseled features separated herself from the group and came
toward them.

"Hello, Clint," she said in a throaty whisper that raised
the goose bumps on Elyse's flesh.

She felt him jerk with surprise beside her, and the hand
that held her arm clenched with such force that she almost cried out.

For a few interminable seconds he just stood there. When
he spoke, it was in a voice dead with shock. "Hello, Dinah."

Clint's face had lost every trace of color, and his skin
seemed to be stretched taut across the bones beneath. He and Dinah
Jefferson, the woman who'd rejected his love and caused him such grief,
looked at each other with gazes that seemed to devour each of them, yet
melded them into one being.

There was a roar in Elyse's head that drowned out
everything else, and for a moment she thought she was going to fall.
Then an arm around her waist steadied her, and Reba's voice whispered
in her ear. "Hang in there. Now smile and come with me."

Elyse hoped the grimace she made would be construed as a
smile, and she moved with Reba, although she had to break Clint's
unconsciously tight hold on her arm first.

Reba's strong arm was the only thing holding Elyse up as
they walked toward the house. Reba slid the glass doors back and
ushered her inside, but some imp in Elyse made her turn back in time to
see Clint and Dinah come together in an embrace that spoke more
eloquently than words ever could.

The pain that attacked her and held her prisoner was icy,
and she wondered why hell was always referred to as hot.

Reba saw, too, and quickly tugged Elyse away from the door
and down a hall to a room that was obviously an office. Still in shock,
Elyse sank bonelessly down on the leather couch and let the world whirl
around her.

She was roused a minute later by Reba, who put a small
crystal glass half full of amber liquid in her hand. "Here," she said.
"Drink this."

Elyse was shaking so badly the liquor sloshed. She gripped
the glass with both hands and raised it to her lips. The swallow she
took was smooth and the liquor slid down her throat before she realized
it was whiskey. She took another gulp, then set the glass down on the
table in front of her. "Was this your idea of a joke?" she asked, still
too shaken for anger.

"Good Lord, no!" Reba replied. "Please believe me. We had
no idea Dinah was even in the country, let alone Sacramento. She showed
up just minutes before you did. There was no time to get rid of
her—or to warn Clint. She was surprised we had company and
started to leave, but the others spotted her and insisted she stay."

Reba took a sip of her own drink. "Elyse, I'm almost
certain she didn't know Clint was coming, and it's obvious he didn't
know she was here."

Yes, Clint hadn't known Dinah would be here. He certainly
would never have brought Elyse if he had. She wondered how long it
would take him to remember that she was with him now.

She picked up her glass of whiskey and took another
swallow. It broke up some of the chilling coldness in her and calmed
her a little. At least it made her head stop spinning so she could talk.

"Would you please call a cab for me?" she asked.

Reba looked startled. "I'll take you anywhere you want to
go, but if you run away you're going to provide everyone here with
enough juicy gossip to keep them weaving tales for years. You can bet
that everyone noticed Dinah's not wearing a wedding ring. If you're
serious about Clint you'd better be prepared to fight for him."

"Serious about him!" Elyse started to laugh, but there was
no humor in it. "How can I be serious about him—" she stopped
as the laughter again erupted "— when his true
love… has just come back… to claim him?" She was
gasping with hysterical mirth. Reba couldn't know how serious she was,
or that she and Clint had been making plans to announce their
engagement.

Reba grasped her by the shoulders and shook her. "Stop it,
Elyse. Get a hold on yourself. You can't fall to pieces now."

Elyse took a deep breath and the hysteria subsided. "I'm
sorry," she said, and ran her hand through her hair. "I don't seem to
be handling this very well."

Reba hugged her. "You're doing just fine, love. A whole
lot better than I would be if it were Bill." She finished her drink.
"Why in hell did Dinah have to come back here?"

"Maybe she missed Clint as much as he missed her."

Reba turned her head to look at Elyse closely. "You've got
it bad, haven't you?"

Elyse was too undone to attempt a lie; she just nodded.

Reba muttered an indelicate oath, and seconds later
Clint's voice boomed down the hall, calling Elyse's name.