Rebel Heart (32 page)

"I am offering whatever you wish to take. For my freedom," she added swiftly.

He was dead silent. "What I wish."

She breathed deeply. He could see the tension radiating outward from her eyes and her lips were pressed tightly together.

"I know you want me," she whispered. She straightened again and their eyes met. Hers were still flashing, and the light of battle shown fiercely from them. A fierce pounding exploded within his head and a rush of adrenalin surged through his blood stream. His hands shook, and he clenched them tightly together to still the trembling.

"This is no game," he muttered furiously.

"I never thought it was."

He battled the horrible tempest and rage that simmered inside, yet his temper grew. He knew not what he would do. He'd never felt such raw anger before or such mercuric desire. She had to learn what she implied, for even in his mind he knew she had no idea of what she was promising or that in a matter of seconds he could be sheathed tight within her womb and rocking it with her until she cried out with the greatest pleasure. "Take the shirt off."

"No."

He smiled then. "No? But you just told me I could have whatever I wished. And babe, I want to see you. All of you."

"Can't you seduce me without looking?"

"Of course, and perhaps in time I will. But for now...." he let the words hang suspended in time while he watched the light trembling of her body. Her air of confidence had vanished the moment he expressed his wish. What had she thought?

"For now..."

Her voice sounded thready and desperate. He battled the relief he felt at her hesitance. "Once will hardly be enough to satisfy me." He had her in the palm of his hand. She'd back off now, but the smug feeling vanished when he looked up and saw her toying with the top button to her shirt.

"Once...that's all," she whispered.

She'd moved on to the next button even though her entire body trembled. The tempest inside him was growing again, his anger, his frustration. She meant to betray him, here and now. The third button slipped through the hole, and he could see the soft ivory swell of her breasts--her nipples. His fingers wound around the arms of his chair, tightly so.

It was more than he could take, more than he wanted to resist, but if he ever meant to find happiness with this little lady, he must end this now. It would not do to let her have her way in this. She was his, and he would not stand by and watch her give herself to another man.

He strode across the room to her and pulled her into his arms. His actions were not well done, and his anger was so great he had a hard time controlling himself. She cried out in alarm as her body met his. This time he felt no mercy, no tenderness. It was a lesson in seduction, nothing more. He would not make love to her even though his body cried out in need and hunger. His lips descended slowly, lingering, building the anticipation. He wanted her to think about what she gave, and how it felt to betray a fiancé. His mouth moved against hers. His tongue gently stroked until her lips parted and he entered her.

"Remember this when you lie in your husband's bed. Remember the betrayal," he whispered close to her ear. He felt her body shudder then stiffen and when he looked into her eyes, she appeared as a frightened animal. He gave her no quarter. His lips descended again with the intent of pressing home the point. His fingers brushed over the ivory length of her throat, slipping within the opening of her shirt, and curled around the fullness of her breast, testing the firmness of each nipple. "Will this feel the same when your husband touches you here...like this?"

She gasped for air. She did not mean to stop him. He knew it. Yet she was stubborn and the lesson must go on. His lips slid from hers and he trailed fiery kisses downward. All the while he was kissing her, he was undoing the remaining buttons so that when he pushed the fabric aside, it fell from her shoulders.

He touched her breasts with his lips, slid lower to the naked flesh of her belly. His hands curved around the twin mounds of her derriere, pulling her closer. He touched her between her thighs. She wept for him. His fingers parted the delicate folds and touched her clit.

Then he felt a deep shudder pass through her and a wrenching moan, not of pleasure but of despair. A roaring reverberated through his head. Her long, delicate fingers were on his shoulders, and she was pushing him away, denying that which she had promised. It should have pleased him. It did. Yet he wondered if he could stop himself.

He drew back, yet their bodies still touched. Between them a wealth of emotions ricocheted with fury, despair, frustration. He did not see compliance or understanding. She had learned nothing. "My wishes, babe. Yet you have almost betrayed Cameron. You would have me do the same. I would make love to you now, but then you would come to Cameron not as the innocent you would try to proclaim."

She pushed away, an arm length at best. "I'd tell him that I had many lovers. I don't have to justify anything," she cried out, grabbing the shirt from the floor and holding it in front of her.

"I am supposed to take solace in that? You've not come even close to satisfying my wishes, and already you fight me. I would require so much more. You would have to come to me willingly and with a smile on your face and a sparkle of pleasure in your eyes. Yet even now your body weeps for me. You would come to me, and remember that after it was done, I would still take you to Cameron. I would make sure he knew of the seduction and the part I played. He would still marry you. There would be no escape, because he is honor bound to your father, and I am honor bound to Cameron."

She swung her arm in an attempt to strike him. He reached out and caught her arm. "Stop this!"

"Can't you see? I have no other choice."

"You have no right to betray Cameron."

She swore, finally pulling away from his ironclad hold and running away from him. "I owe Savage nothing. Nothing, I tell you."

"But you do owe your father."

"For banishment and for taking me away from my sister? Never."

"Cameron would not hurt you--"

"So you say. But I cannot be confined. I cannot live that way. I will not. You are as bad as Savage." She whirled again, turning from him. She fell to her knees, her head cradled in her hands, her hair falling over her shoulders.

It came as no surprise that he didn't like himself very much, but in his own defense, he reminded himself she was trying to sell herself to him to escape marriage--to him.

He walked to the door. He had to get away from all this confusion, from the fear and the hate that simmered and spun in the room. They had betrayed each other. How would he ever find a way to heal all the wrongs they had piled up today?

He hesitated at the doorway, pausing to take in huge gulps of air before turning back to look at her. The sight touched him as no other. "You will never know how close--"

"I was stupid," she murmured.

She rose from her kneeling position. When she turned, he could see the streaks of tears on her cheeks, but he also saw the regal tilt to her chin and the determination in her eyes. "I had no idea."

"Any man would have gladly taken what you offered.

"I want to know love before I am wed. I was only afraid of what I didn't understand."

"So you haven't changed your mind."

She clasped the shirt together in front, her eyes blazing. "No!"

Perhaps she had not learned the lesson, but he was angry still and more than a little frustrated. "I would like desperately to understand the strange workings of your mind--your very feminine mind. All common sense seems to elude you."

She lowered her lashes, and he wondered what she was trying to hide from him this time. He would never understand, he realized belatedly, never be able to communicate with this wild, impetuous spirit. Perhaps her father had found the only viable solution to Victoria's independent nature.

Banishment.

"I seek only my freedom. There is nothing difficult to understand about that."

"You seek that which does not exist. Everyone is accountable to someone. There is no freedom as you envision it," he reminded her.

"I will not be accountable to a barbarian. You, on the other hand..."

He threw up his hands. "You're incorrigible."

"In case you never took a good look at yourself, so are you," she murmured, her head tilting slightly as if questioning her own admonition. "I don't feel well." She looked at him wearily.

She turned from him and walked to the fire, holding her arms around her waist and rocking slightly. Her shoulders were hunched over, and she really didn't look well. He studied her for a second and was amazed by the tenderness welling deep inside for her.

She would never make life easy for him, but then he'd never sought a life of leisure. She was an adventure waiting to happen, and perhaps with her at his side, their lives would always be interesting. But he knew he had a long way to go before he could win her to his side.

He strode into the bedroom, to the closet and returned with a pair of leggings. He handed them to her, and after she took them, he brushed a lock of hair from her eyes.

She jumped slightly at his touch. "Please..."

He smiled tenderly at her. Hers was such a beautiful face. The plea was spoken with such a sweet innocence. It was easy to see why DeMontville was forced to send her away, why she had Jonathan wrapped so tightly around her little finger. "I would have you set me free."

"The price or the reward would remain the same. I would claim what Cameron should have."

"I would not regret it," she promised softly.

"You called me a barbarian. Is that what excites you? I assure you I'm no savage in bed." He winced at his choice of words, and he saw she'd noticed and was smiling now.

She tilted her head solemnly, the smile gone. There was something intriguing about the motion and even about her quiet and thorough perusal of himself. He felt suddenly as if she was stripping the clothes from his body and finding him to her liking. Then she blushed, unable to meet his eye. "You are no savage. I know that. I regret my hasty use of the word barbarian, but I was angry. Once, before I find myself married to Savage, I would like to feel cherished. I seek only a moment of love. No commitment."

"To punish him?" he demanded suddenly. "Victoria, this is not right. He will not take kindly to this betrayal."

"I promised nothing to him. I betray no one except myself if I allow this marriage to go on."

"You owe him your allegiance."

She tilted her head again. "You have taunted me and teased me, but..."

"But?"

"Oh, I don't know. You say you cannot understand me. But you are an enigma. I--" She hesitated, needing more air. "It would be far better to know your touch before finding myself in Savage's hands."

"Because I do not bow to your every whim? Because I do not toss your skirt and show you what you have so impulsively offered?"

"Because you care about humanity," she said very softly. "You saved my life only a day ago. You--“

"I never confessed to that."

"You didn't have to. I know you saved me. I can't explain how I know, but.... Perhaps it was the battle cry before you fought the men that followed me. Perhaps it was something Jonathan said. I would offer that which is only mine to give. The only gift I--"

"Let me get this straight," he interrupted. "You want only your freedom in return?"

"Yes."

"It would do no good. Cameron would find you."

"I would hide well."

"There is nowhere you could run."

She bristled. But she did not argue and there was nothing more she could say.

He turned from her, resolved that he really had to leave--immediately. He stopped at the door, his gaze raking heatedly over the small but exquisite form that stood before the fire. Tori was treacherous, bold and so very exciting.

He had fallen under her spell, and he knew that in the days and months to come he would not easily forget this day. And he wondered then if this was the betrayal Aisling had spoken of.

The door slowly swung shut. As he stood outside, the click of the lock was so very final, the deception weighing heavily on his soul and his conscience, his fury simmering

Cameron

The moon cast a golden light upon the land. Cameron sat near the lake watching the ripples lap the beach. It had a soothing effect on his jagged nerves and volatile emotions. The soft sounds made by the waves, the scent of pine mingled with the freshness of the air, put things in a different perspective.

Victoria DeMontville unnerved him, would betray him. He twirled a long blade of grass between his fingers then with a sigh he shifted so that he lay back on the ground, one arm behind his head. It was very late. He doubted if he could sleep. He was in tune with every thing, every sound, every scent that whispered through the air.