Somewhere I'll Find You (39 page)

Slowly, he withdrew the list from the back of her gown, caressing her face with one hand as she leaned forward to allow him to do so.  Carefully, he pocketed the paper, but Jenny saw the grim expression in his eyes never lightened, even once the document was safely away from her. 
Is there nothing I can do to help you, Erik? 
She cried in the
silence that
fell between them. 
I want this to be over – I want to be safe, at home, with you in my arms … I want this to be no more than a bad dream …
But Jenny knew such wishes were almost always disregarded.

They slept fitfully on
the multiple flights that followed, both wearing the same clothing that they had worn on their last night in London.  Swept into a limousine as soon as they passed through the terminal in San Francisco, the exhausted couple soon found themselves sequestered in a private railcar on their last leg home.  Ignoring the luxurious amenities, both quickly removed their travel-soiled clothing, changing
into robes that the porter provided
. 
While all that either wanted – or could think of – was rest, Erik and Jenny managed a quick bite to eat before tumbling wearily into one of the bunks, their bodies tangling together out of habit, rather than conscious thought.

Hours passed
before Erik woke, bewildered
,
in the shifting, rocking dark of the train car until Jenny’s slumbering hand draped itself across his thigh.  He sucked in a quick breath through his teeth as her innocent movement awakened a need in him for something that only she could provide.  He shifted restlessly
, and when she moved into his arms, that innocent
hand slid purposefully upwards;
he muttered a low groan
in response
.  When her lips left a moist trail down his chest, his hands easily found the juncture between her t
highs, finding her wet and ready for him
.

He tried for a token protest,
know
ing
it was all his body would allow.  “Jenny, we’ve just been through hell.  Are you sure?”

“I’m more than sure.”  Her beautiful
gray
eyes gazed somberly up into his.  “We could have died – but we didn’t.  And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate life.”

Her hands were everywhere, running down his chest
and back up, only
to slide down further.  And, to his giddy amazement,
her mouth was chasing after her fingers
.  He groaned and threw back his head with a deep gasp.  “Hold it.”  In self-defense, he rolled on top of her.  “Keep that up, and this will last about sixty seconds.”  He kept her pinned until he could remember that he wasn’t a giddy teenager.  “I’ve b
een saving this up for you
for
…
it seems like forever.”  He lowered his head, and the kiss was staggeringly deep.

The sound that she made was a feral purr that shuddered into his mouth and out the soles of his feet.  While his lips devoured hers, he gave his hands the pleasure of exploring her lush body.

Her hands were working on his back, tensing his muscles, nails nipping at his flesh to urge him on.  To take and take and take.  Her breath came in low, throaty moans so erotic he knew that he would hear them in his
dreams
.

At long last
,
he broke free of the amazing bounty her mouth provided
, looking down at her.  “You are the most terrifyingly beautiful woman I have ever known.”

Her smile was slow, amazingly brilliant.  She sat up, hooked an arm around his neck bringing his ready mouth down to hers.  Her murmur was approving as he explored her inch by slow, delicious inch.  She thought that he had the most wonderful hands, firm, and just rough enough.  Her eyes fluttered closed dreamily when he used his thumbs to torment the tips of her breast
s
.

Never in her life had she known the magic and generosity of love.  She knew only that she would give him anything he asked.  Whatever he wanted.  Whenever he asked.

He nipped at her skin, marveling in its softness.  Enthralled by the discovery, he exploited it, lifting her onto his lap, so that he cradled her rather than their bunk.  Then he did more than cradle – and more than caress.

When she was limp with her desire and he knew that she was completely open, he quickly and with considerable skill, ripped her ruthlessly to
her
peak.

She cried out, bucking hard, the heat of her needy release pouring into his hand.  Love and pleasure burned through her with unbearable heat.  She turned to him, turned on him, in a wild frenzy of lips and hands.

She made him hiss out her name, and the sound of it sang to her like music. When his heart pounded like thunder under her mouth, she knew it was for her, and only for her.

He lifted her as if she weighed nothing.  She opened, arched, and took him so deeply that her hands reached out to grasp his from the sheer joy of it.

She rocked, matching his rhythm, matching the savage beat of her own pulse.  Endlessly, with the sound of the train murmuring in the background, they took each other.

He was nearly blind
ed
by
the beauty of her face, electrified by what her body brought to his.  He thought he felt something break inside him, around his heart.  Then, like some
mythical
goddess, she lifted her arms high.  Groaning, her body went taut, tightened around him like a velvet fist, and tore him over the edge.

The couple that
eventually
emerged from the train car
at the end of their journey
barely resembled the bedraggled people from hours before.  “Thank God for porters,” Jenny smiled even as she swore that her gown would be tossed into the nearest fire.  “At least we don’t look like something that the cat dragged in.”

“You my love, could never.”  Gallantly Erik kissed her hand before carefully placing her in her beloved Cord.  “Bless Daniel for being efficient
,
among other things.  He’s meeting us at the cottage and he can take care of those damned papers.”  Seeing her quizzical expression, he laughed as he moved to his side of the roadster.  “Western Union, darling.  They do have them at train stations.  I
telegraphed him
to meet us there.”

Their clothing may have been pressed and repaired, but a damp rain soon had them both shuddering, looking forward to the warm hearth in Jenny’s cottage.  Great gusty sheets of rain whipped coldly over them as they staggered through the front door, and straight into the trap that Carver had set for them.

Alistar raised his pistol, the muzzle centered between Erik’s eyes. 
It was impossible to
know how Carver had reached the cottage before them, nor how he knew that the cottage would be their destination.

Cold eyes flashed as he watched Jenny’s arms tighten around her lover, his free hand bunching into a fist as he swung the pistol in her direction, his rage boiling over.  “You botched everything,” he snarled, his gaze switching back to Erik.  “You were supposed to be caught smuggling that lis
t.  You must have it on you now -
give it over. I’m not going to hang just because you d
ecided to play hero!
”

Cursing in desperation, Erik moved Jenny aside.  “You can have me, and the list.  Just let her go.”

Throwing back his head, Alistar l
aughed hysterically.  “You think
that it could be as simple as that?  Come, this is hardly worth my time.”  His face darkened with rage.  “I had it all planned, every step of the way.  But I hadn’t counted on you acting as if you were doing one of your damned films.”

One of my films, is that what he thinks?
Erik’s thoughts raced even as he forced his body to grow still.
  That’s laughable – he’s the one turning this into a drama.  But if he wants something from the movies, he’ll get it.
  I have to get the gun away from him, or at least away from Jenny!

In desperation, Erik gathered himself, counting the seconds before he lunged at Alistar. The blow caught Alistar
as squarely as Erik could have wished
, hurling him backward against the hard stone of the fireplace.

The two men struggled desperately, their breath hoarse and ragged as Alistar wrestled to keep his weapon, and Erik fought to remove it.  There was a blur of satin as Jenny threw herself into the mix, Erik’s heart stopping at the sharp bark of the gun still in Alistar’s hand.

“Jenny!  No!  Dear God, no!”  His warning came too late.  Erik watched as her body jerked back, crying out as he watched her stumble and fall.
No longer caring about Carver, Erik scrambled to Jenny’s side while Alistar took the chance to bolt out the door into the rainy darkness.

“You must hide them.”  Her voice was very weak even as her hand grasped at Erik.  “Know that I love you, dearest.  With every fiber of my body, till the very end of time.”  She clutched feebly at him, her eyes calm and yet there was a fierce desperation within
their fading gray depths
.  “You must hide them,” she gasped as forcefully as she could.  “In case he comes back . . .” She wanted so badly to ease the desperate pain in his eyes. 
He has to do this,
she thought desperately, feebly shoving at his shoulder. 
He ha
s
to hide that list . . .

But Erik never moved, not even when Jenny shoved at his shoulder with all the strength that remained.  He held her close to his chest, counting the endless minutes as her breath slowly stilled, her blood still pooling out onto the wooden floors.

After she was gone, Erik held her in his arms, his mind frozen in a haze of grief too great to understand.  When Daniel burst in seconds afterwards, it was only then that Erik lowered his head to sob as his world crashed into darkness.

It took some fancy talk, a flash of his badge, and assurances from his superiors before the guard called for security to escort Michael to where Richard Severance was being held.  He lis
tened to the echo of locks
releas
ing in their tumblers
, of doors open
ing
.  He would always remember the strange clang of metal on metal, the impassive faces of the guards and medical staff, the odd smell of madness.