Rebel Heart (36 page)

"You have it. But, Victoria, you will not have the box back."

"The box holds the key."

"It is too dangerous and you are too impulsive. I am willing to concede a great deal for you but not everything."

"Without me you'll never be able to use the knowledge that is there. You will hold the key to a door you cannot open."

"Ah...so now you play the trump card." He stepped closer, so close she could feel his warmth and his strength. He smiled, and she remembered the feel of his arms around her. "Then we will work side by side, intimately." His breath caressed her cheek and she shivered.

"If that is the only way."

"And you will not renege?"

"I will not."

"Then there is little left to be said. I have all the paperwork and we will be wed today, just as soon as you can get ready."

She quickly understood that finding an Achilles heel would be very difficult.

She stood before him defiantly, but even then her words were softly spoken. "You don't understand. I will marry you, just not today. I--"

"I see."

She heard the amusement in his voice and could barely tamp down the frustration that surfaced so swiftly.

"You're trying to tell me that you need time to recover from your harrowing experience," he murmured sympathetically.

She met his gaze. "Then you do understand."

"Of course, but it changes nothing. The factors causing this situation still exist and the need for haste has only intensified. We are pushed on many sides: Morray--Sheridan--Drake. Then there is the little matter of our lovemaking." He paused. "Two nights alone with a man who is larger than life. You could be pregnant, Tori."

"A child," Tori repeated, dazed and trying hard to keep the frustration from her voice. "I could not be. It happened only once," she whispered and was shocked to discover he heard.

"I know, yes. We will be forced to lie. People will wonder if the Phantom tried to take advantage of the situation."

She backed away from him, shaking her head. "You--"

"If there is a child, I would not like to have him born before the requisite time."

She looked at him, shocked at the constraint in his voice. And she was amazed that she would feel suddenly guilty, amazed also that she was very glad she had not truly betrayed him, and that The Phantom and Cameron Savage were indeed the same man.

"No--I mean," she paused, “The Phantom--you were always the gentleman."

"That is good to hear."

"Really..." she began, her emotions escalating, but then she caught herself quickly.

"You are to be my wife. I seek your comfort and your safety, nothing more. I would kill any man who touches you."

"But...I'm not yours."

"True, but very soon..."

"Tomorrow."

"Today" he corrected. "If you are not downstairs in one hour, I will get you myself. And, Victoria, need I remind you what you promised? Willing? If you are not the picture of a blushing bride, the wedding is off and of course the treasured box is gone."

"Blackmail."

"I see it as securing your safety," he told her bluntly. "There are too many people who would stop at nothing to possess what is inside your mysterious box. I will not allow you to possess it because I am never quite sure what you will do next."

"But--"

"Do you think Morray has given up his quest? He hungers for everything you have, everything you know and even the applause that will come to you when this is over. I missed the key elements seeking a momentary cure while you went after something far more valuable. But if I'm right, you don't know how to harness the energy that will unlock the genetic code and link it to another allele. To put it simply, you need me."

"You opened the box," she whispered. "That was mine."

"Mine now--mine when it was given to me, mine with the promise of your hand in marriage."

"The Phantom," she said quickly. Then she fell speechless, appalled at his treachery and now deeply concerned. Could they work together?

"No..."

Even as the thoughts of the wedding night came to her, she felt a shivering inside. He would make love to her again. It had been so...she had no words. Tonight she would be his wife--in every way.

"Can't we please try to work together," she told him, heedless of the fire that leaped to his eyes.

He threw up his hands in exasperation. "You will have most everything you want. Yet I will not allow you to break the laws of the people. You will not run over the countryside at whim. I would not risk losing you. If you have truly changed and if you are capable of rational behavior, we will get along just fine. Time will tell it all."

She fought the simmering tempest inside her. "If you want me, you have to take me the way I am and I can only promise you that I will try."

She broke off because he had slowly backed her against the wall. His hands now rested on either side of her head. She did not understand what he was about.

He stayed in that position for a long time, watching her, even giving her room to escape beneath his arms if she had wanted to. If she could have moved, she would have. But when her gaze met his, she froze.

"I want every impulsive, irrational bone in your body, Victoria, but I also want to keep them safe." He lowered his head. He was so close she could feel the strength of him, the power, but he didn't touch her. "Come to me, Victoria, now. Now when there is no box between us, no blackmail. This is not coercion. All I want is one kiss freely given. Come to me," he said softly.

She looked at him and he held her gaze with his own. She was entranced, swayed by the soft cadence of his voice. Sensations swept through her, heating her. She forgot his subversion, forgot she had vowed to hate him.

"Willingly, right now, kiss me." Still he did not touch her, yet it seemed as if he did.

Even when she placed her hands on his chest to push him away, she could not do it, because he held her so securely with his will and within his gaze.

"I don't want this."

"You'll learn to love me."

"Arrogant man," she whispered softly. Yet she no longer meant the words.
I do love him. I just don't want him to know.

"Come to me. There will be no chains or shackles. I promise. Make a choice now."

"I am so completely baffled."

"I want you, Victoria."

Of their own accord her hands slowly rose. Her fingers were on the back of his neck, pulling him closer, so close. She watched him. The need, the longing in his eyes swayed her. A tempest of desire swept through her, and she shivered with the force of it. She rose, standing on the tip of her toes, and her mouth brushed his, closing over it. Her tongue brushed his lips beckoning them to part, and she touched his teeth then his tongue. She reminded herself she could not, should not, love him.

She retreated. He followed. Then she seized the initiative and advanced again. She made bold forays against him, savoring the moment.

She heard him groan. He finally touched her, his hand pressing lightly on her back, urging her closer. She was next to him, and his body was like steel against her, unbending and yet in the strangest way he did bend, giving in to her needs.

Then he ended the kiss, setting her away from him. He didn't have to tell her what she'd done, what she'd just accepted. Her hands were on her cheeks, the heat of them burning her fingertips.

He smiled and gently brushed her fingers away, touching her there where the heat of her embarrassment pooled.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself to your husband--to a barbarian."

"You are not my husband," she whispered.

"Not yet, my love, but soon."

Even as thoughts of bravado came to her, she felt a shivering inside. He meant to wed tonight. It was too soon... But there was no other choice.

 
"You may not receive what you purchased."

"It doesn't matter," he charged. Then in a soft voice, "I will enjoy loving you so very much, Victoria. And I pray you will find pleasure too."

"Cameron..."

But he did not have time to reply. The door opened.

Nessa quickly stepped back, closing the door in front of her, leaving them alone once more. Tori heard nothing then, no sounds of Nessa running from the door.

She gasped once more, this time in astonishment as Savage suddenly swept her up into his arms. He laughed. She clung to him to keep from falling, meeting the mischievous glitter of his eyes. She blinked, remembering this side of him was more like The Phantom, but then as if caught, he shuttered his face against her scrutiny.

Then she pushed back her astonishment and shoved at his chest, struggling desperately within his hold. "Put me down," she cried out.

Yet he laughed again and headed toward one of the closed doors.

"What is behind this one?" he asked innocently. "A purification chamber perhaps or merely a shower."

"You can't mean..."

"Of course I can. You didn't seem in a hurry, and yet, I believe I'd like my bride smelling of something better than...bat guano or mildew when we exchange vows."

He pushed the door open with his foot then let her slide down the length of him. She felt the ripple of his muscles as they tensed with her weight, felt the heat of him against her. She gasped for air, pushing away from him when her toes touched the floor. "Barbarian."

He grinned, arms crossing over his chest. "Yes," he added softly. "Is a bath to much to ask?"

"I was already planning on one. Perhaps you should see to one yourself."

"In one hour," he promised her softly. His fingers brushed her cheek. She felt the astonishingly seductive movement of his hands there. The look in his eyes sent a tremor along her spine as he spoke again. "Now that I have your promise, can I leave you in peace to finish your preparations? Shall I stay and help? Perhaps we could rush the wedding night."

"No!"

He bowed courteously and followed it with a soft chuckle.

Then he turned to leave her.

Surprised, Tori stood very still, her hand clenching the fabric of her shirt. Then she swore vehemently.

She heard the door creak open. She was ready to yell at him for disturbing her again.

This time it wasn't Savage. Nessa stood before her, a smile on her face.

"Victoria, you promised me," she said wryly, and she slipped quietly into the room, closing the door behind her. "After all this time you're swearing again."

"That man would make a saint curse."

Nessa stared at her for a moment then hurried across the room to her. "Just tell me what I can do."

"Hold me up, Nessa. I don't know if I can do this." Tori paused. "Oh, never mind. I'll be out in a minute. Then you can help me get ready. Just don't go too far away." Tori turned then and moved quickly into the shower. "Purification chamber," she muttered, then slammed the door shut on the shower.

Ten minutes later Tori stood in her room, staring at her twin once again. Her wedding dress was on the bed and Nessa hovered over it. It was too much, really too much. Nessa didn't have a right to look so smug.

"Fifty minutes and counting," Nessa said.

"And I'm losing my nerve. Look at me. I'm shaking all over. I can't go through with this. I just can't. I'll never be able to walk down the steps, let alone down the aisle."

"You could take the elevator," Nessa said with concern.

"You don't understand. This isn't very easy." Her panic was growing. "For so many reasons, so many I can't even tell you. The worst part of all of this is that I know he doesn't want me. I won't change. I won't let him lock me in a room somewhere and forget about me. All the new laws--we've gone backwards, you know. It didn't used to be this way. Before the first wars women had rights. They were equals."

"The laws changed for good reason. Women had to be protected, nurtured so the race would go on. It was for the good of the world."

Tori shook her head, her fingers smoothing the fabric of the wedding dress. She couldn't tell Nessa she'd made love with The Phantom and she knew who he was. She wanted to tell her but she couldn't.

Nessa would never understand, so she said simply, "Well, it no longer applies, yet it seems the men wish to keep it that way."

"I suppose it serves some greater purpose. I understand, but it won't change overnight. The threat is still there. It's very real."