Harnessed Passions (35 page)

He remained patient as he waited and hoped
Julia would wake and keep him company. When that didn't happen he
reluctantly gave in to his fatigue and quickly washed his face and
torso before climbing into bed next to her. Her breathing was even
and rhythmic and her skin was much cooler. He wanted to touch her,
to pull her against him, to kiss her and tell her how much he loved
her, but he knew she needed to rest.

With the covers pulled up across his chest
he found himself happy just to have his wife lying close beside
him. He gently brushed the long strands of dark hair from her face
and snuggled close against her back. She was soft and alluring even
in her sleep, but his own fatigue had taken hold of him and he soon
found comfort in the folds of a restful slumber.

Next to him, his sleeping wife lay dreaming
of a cold dreadful place filled with hate, fear and revenge. She
could hear her name being called, beckoning her to come forward
into a world never before discovered by the living, nor left once
entered.

She could see herself walking alone through
a path of dead trees and flowers. Dark weathered coffins lined
either side of the path, each one different in size and shape yet
each as cold and forbidding as the one before. She walked slowly
towards the end, following the sound of her name until at last she
reached the end of the path. She stood there for some time just
looking around, waiting for something to happen. The urge to turn
around forced her to look back. The caskets were gone and in their
place were two lone graves. The holes lay open and a light began to
glow within their depths.

Julia stepped closer, her legs moving on
their own accord, willing her forward. She tried to stop and turn
away, she tried to run, but she could no sooner control her
movements than she could control the rising of the sun.

As she came within touching distance of the
first grave, flames leapt out at her, sending her stumbling
backwards. She tried to scream, but her voice was trapped inside
her throat unable to escape. She tried again and again until she
felt something cold and wet against her ankles. She looked down and
found the ground beneath her feet dissolving into a massive body of
water.

Again and again she tried to call out, but
no sound would come from her throat. She gazed up and saw a woman,
her long dark hair lay matted and wet around her shoulders and
head, her long thin fingers stretching out as her hands reached
toward her. She wore a white gown, tangled with twigs and vines,
caked with wet slippery mud and green pond muck. The vision called
to her, forcing Julia's legs to move, pulling her into the space
separating them.

The woman's hands wrapped around Julia's
neck and she felt her life being squeezed from her soul. She tried
to fight but couldn’t find the strength to pull away. Out of the
corner of her eye she saw another figure, this one a man, older and
some distance behind them. She tried to call out to him; she tried
to stretch her hand to him, but she couldn't reach him. Her life
was nearly gone; her death only a breath away and there was nobody
who could save her.

“
Revenge is mine,” she
heard the woman screech through the still bitterness of the empty
void.

"Why are you doing this?" she gasped, not
really saying the words, but hearing them echo around the emptiness
nevertheless. "Who are you?" A light shined above the woman,
etching her face in a radiant glow.

Heather? Oh dear God, it was Heather! She
was trying to kill her and behind her stood Victor Turner, her own
father. Julia tried again to scream, but this time the sound
exploded around her as it pierced the core of her destined doom.
She heard a voice echoing through the eternity of terror; gently,
eagerly calling out to her. Heather’s grip around her neck eased
and Julia looked around, seeing a horse, black as the night posed
at the top of hill beside her. On his back rode a man clothed in
shining armor, his face masked by a helmet of pure silver.

The horse began to move nearer her, sword
drawn and swinging in the air as the steed began to gallop,
threatening those who dared to stand in his way. Julia screamed
again, causing the knight to ride faster toward her, his arms
outstretched and reaching for her the sword no longer of importance
fell to the cold ground. She stretched forth her arms to the image
as it disappeared leaving her alone in a vast emptiness, the images
of fear and hate no longer visible, her father gone and Heather
faded into oblivion. She was alone again, utterly and profusely
surrounded by solitude filled with confusion and uncertainty.

A touch of warmth moved against her skin and
for a moment she felt protected; her limbs began to relax as her
eyes fluttered open. Her heartbeat pounding in her ears and sweat
beaded across her brow. She began to whimper, this time her pleas
answered by a gentle pull on her shoulders and strong arms pressing
her against a wall of warmth. She felt secure and safe at last;
certain her knight had rescued her after all, but where was she and
where had Heather and her father disappeared to?

"Shhh," a voice said in her ear, soothing
her to a calmer state. "I'm here, Princess." Julia lifted her eyes
trying to focus through the stinging tears on her surroundings as
she was held gently, cradled in the strong barrier of protection.
Where was she? How did she escape Heather and the revenge she vowed
to claim? The face of her knight grew clearer as she blinked away
the tears, until at last she knew who had rescued her.

"Daniel," she whispered, seeing the concern
on the man's face. It was Daniel, he was here; he had rescued her
from the world of unforgiving death. The man smiled softly, turning
her in his arms and pulling her against him, wrapping his arms
around her as securely as he could without hurting her. His chest
was bare and the soft mat of hair covered a thick layer of muscles,
cushioning her cheek as she lay against him. She could smell the
odor of soap and masculine musk. He was real; he was here and he
was real.

"I'm right here Little Princess," he assured
her, his voice vibrating in her ear like the soft and gentle purr
of a kitten. "Nothing's going to hurt you. Just relax." Hurt? What
could possibly hurt her? She could never remember feeling more
protected in all her life. But then the memory of that night she
nearly died returned and she began to shake. Her best friend had
tried to kill her, tried to take her back into the world of the
dead. Her nightmares were real and so was the fear raking her
heart.

"Heather wants me dead," she whispered, more
to herself than the man next to her. Daniel sighed deep and eased
away from her slightly, tilting her chin up so he could look into
her fearful eyes.

"Heather's dead, Julia. She can't hurt
you."

"I saw her Daniel," Julia insisted, her
voice sounded small and weak as her head began to pound again. "She
tried to drown me. She blames me for her death, and she said she
wanted revenge."

"Julia, listen to me. Heather is dead and
people do not return from the dead. It's impossible for you to have
seen her."

"It's not impossible Daniel. I know what I
saw and I saw Heather Farnsworth. I'm not crazy damn it! She tried
to kill me."

"Calm down Julia," Daniel urged rather
sternly, caressing her cheek with his thumbs. "I never said you
were crazy. I just don't think you saw Heather; I'm not doubting
something happened that night and you thought you saw her, but
ghosts can't kill people. It's impossible."

"Don't patronize me," she snapped, pushing
the man away with a force she didn't know she possessed in her
weakened condition. Her head began to explode behind her eyes as
she lay back against her pillow. "I know what I saw."

"Julia, please listen to me," Daniel began
gently, brushing her hair away from her face. "I know you saw
someone, but you have to admit it was dark and it could have been
anyone out there. Perhaps someone was trying to frighten you. It
was a sick joke, someone's idea of fun."

"Do you think I'm crazy?" she asked after a
few silent moments, blinking the tears away. She kept her face
turned from Daniel's accusing eyes, unwilling to see the truth in
the blue depths. The thought that people would think she was insane
was bad enough to deal with, but if Daniel ever thought that...well
it would prove impossible to contend with. He didn't answer at
first. Instead he leaned down and kissed her cheek tenderly. The
touch of his warm lips against her skin brought goose bumps to her
flesh. His hand moved to her waist and caressed her softly through
the flannel nightgown as his lips briefly moved to the soft curve
of her neck.

"What would you say, if I told you I thought
you were the sanest woman I've ever known?" Julia looked him,
inspecting his handsome features with interest. There was no
mockery in his eyes, only tenderness. She blinked, this time unable
to contain the tears as they rolled unchecked down the sides of her
cheeks. Daniel wiped the moisture away with a brush of his thumb.
He moved her to lie on her back, then leaned down across her and
briefly kissing her dry lips.

"Daniel I'm scared," she whispered, feeling
the quickened pace of her pulse. She no longer thought of the
swimming hole or of the night Heather tried to kill her. She
thought only of tonight and the man leaning across her, his hand on
her shoulder, his lips a hair's breadth away from her own.

"I know Princess," he told her reassuringly.
"Will you trust me to take care of you?"

"Even if I lose whatever's left of my
sanity?" she tried to tease him, but found his closeness
overpowering.

"You're not insane Julia."

"I suppose it would prove easier for you if
I were." Daniel frowned sternly, glaring down at her. Julia smiled
softly hoping to make light of the feelings now erupting within
her. Feelings of betrayal, desertion...and especially love echoed
through her veins as she looked into his blue-green eyes. She loved
Daniel and there was no way she could deny those feelings - not any
more.

"Just think," she continued with a simple,
uneasy smile. "If I am crazy, you'd be free of me and have my land
too. It would prove very profitable for you." Daniel narrowed his
eyes on the woman for a few moments, before he climbed out of the
bed. Silently he pulled his jeans up across his muscular thighs,
avoiding the eyes watching him.

"You're tired Julia," he told her, his voice
deep and rough. "Try and get some sleep. I'll be next door if you
need anything." He started for the door dividing their rooms, his
eyes diverted from looking back at her. He looked so proud and
distinguished, even with only his jeans on, that it made Julia feel
instantly guilty. She sighed deeply to steady her nerves. She
didn't mean to hurt him, if anything she wanted to pull him closer.
Instead, she only succeeded in pushing him further away.

"Daniel," she whispered, hesitating to
finish until he turned to glare back at her. She rose up on her
elbows and lowered her eyes. How did she tell the man she loved,
she didn't want him to leave her - now or ever?

"What is it Julia?" He was growing impatient
waiting for her to say something. The urge to wring her little neck
for accusing him of wanting her land and not her weighed heavily on
his shoulders, but the urge to pull her beneath him and make
passionate love to her proved to be ten times as heavy.

"I'm sorry," she told him at last. "I didn't
mean to say that, it's just...I don't know...perhaps I am going
crazy. I just know I don't want you to leave. Please stay with me.
I promise not to make you angry again." The soft plea in her voice
was enough to crumble Daniel's resistance. He couldn't stand the
idea of her being so frightened or feeling she had to beg for his
attention. He groaned inwardly as he stepped to the foot of the
bed. He sat down on the edge pulling one leg up under him.

"I'll stay. Try and get some sleep." She
frowned as she lay back down, closing her eyes. It wasn’t what she
had expected or hoped for, though now that she was broaching new
territory with him, she wasn’t quite sure how to proceed.

Daniel sat at the foot of the bed for
several minutes watching to see if she could fall asleep again.
God, she was beautiful and his desire for her was beginning to
throb again. If only he could convince her it wasn't her land he
wanted to lay his hands on, but her.

"This is silly," she said, after some time.
"I can't sleep knowing you're just sitting there. Please come back
to bed? I promise not to attack you."

"Promise?" he teased after a moment. She
smiled and tossed the covers next to her aside, then giggled softly
as he reluctantly began to crawl up the bed toward her. Julia
laughed lightly when he lay down beside her, staying on top of the
blankets. He pulled her into the curve of his arm and held her
against his chest. At least he could still touch her, even if it
wasn't as rewarding as he had wanted.

Julia snuggled up against the security and comfort
of Daniel's hair firm body. The warmth of him radiated through the
blankets, warming her everywhere. Her pulse skipped a beat and her
palms began to itch, aching to touch his body.

She bit her lower lip as she moved her hand up to
his chest, tracing the faint circle of a nipple hidden beneath the
brown hair with her fingers. Daniel reacted to her touch much as
she had hoped. His nipple peaked to a small kernel and she heard
his heart pick up speed beneath her ear causing her to smile,
biting her lip a little firmer.

"Julia," he warned softly, his voice deep
and husky. She knew that tone, she'd heard it often; every time he
held her and kissed her. Julia knew she was playing with fire, but
she couldn't think of anything to warm her more than the raging
inferno this man she called husband ignited within her.