Tread Softly (8 page)

"So
my little angel has turned into a tyrant, is that it?" Rafe took one of
the aluminum canes she held out to him and eschewed the other. "All right,
boss lady, I'll use the stool while I'm doing the barbecuing, provided you
stay at my side. Deal?"

"Deal."
Cady laughed, feeling as light as a hot-air balloon when Rafe put his other arm
around her and seemed to want her arm around him.

The
cooking went well. The minute Trock thought Rafe had done enough, he insinuated
himself into position as cook and eased Rafe back from the grills.

"That man
is as high-handed as you are," Rafe grumbled, calling Graf to him. Cady
followed Rafe's gaze. The dog had started to cross the lawn not far from where
Bruno Trabold, now in a striped shirt of Rafe's, was talking to Emmett.
"How did you get out here, boy?" Rafe rubbed the silken, pointed
ears, glancing at Cady with a smile. "I remember when you brought him back
with you after one of your stays with your father. He doesn't resemble that
gaunt, frightened puppy anymore."

"No."
Cady smiled down at the brown velvet dog, whose head cocked as though he could
understand what his beloved people were saying. "If I hadn't been walking
on the beach that day, he would have died out there. He couldn't get a grip on
the ice to pull himself out of that frigid water," she remembered.

"What?"
Rafe growled, his black brows snapping together, his blue eyes marble hard.
"You never told me you went out on the ice after him. You just said you
found him on the beach."

"Ah...
well, no, I guess I didn't tell you I had to go out on the ice, but... ah, I
was careful. I got the ladder from the boat house and pushed it in front of me.
Graf was able to clutch the rungs with his paws and pull himself up. He was
smart enough to stay on the ladder, and then I backed it toward me, easing my
way on my stomach until I was on good solid ice."

Rafe grasped
both her shoulders, numbing them. "Damn you, Cady, you could have died out
there! You know what that lake is like when the ice backs up." He shut his
eyes as though what he was seeing in his mind pained him. "When the ice
melts, then refreezes, and the wind whips the open water onto the ice cap...
God, Cady, it looks like the Alps on water. You know that." His eyes had
darkened to indigo and seemed almost to be shooting sparks at her. "If
you'd fallen in, no one would have seen you. You could have died. Don't ever be
so stupid again."

The dog whined a question, making both of them look at him
as he nosed between them.

"Don't
worry, big boy, I wouldn't hurt your lady, but I'd like to paddle her
derriere," Rafe rasped, gazing once more at Cady.

Cady felt daring. "You aren't strong enough yet, Senator,
so be careful what you say. You might end up being paddled by me," she
challenged, liking the martial light that flickered in his deep blue eyes.

"Threatening
me, are you, wife?" Rafe crooned, his hand crawling up the inside of her
right arm, his index finger touching her sensitive underarm.

Cady
had no breath left. She felt her spine melt, her legs give way. It was an
effort to keep her voice from squeaking. "Exactly. I intend to make you
even stronger than you were before the accident, and if you try to spoil my
plans... watch out." She lifted one small fist and shook it in his face.

"Let's go into the house and wrestle. The best two
falls out of three wins," he drawled, his lips running from her temple to
her jawline.

"Really,
Cady* you might stop trying to seduce your husband in front of so many
people," Lee Terris shrilled, making Emmett and Bruno laugh as the group
moved toward them.

"Well,
then hurry up and leave and I'll seduce him in private," Cady simpered,
wanting to take off her high-heeled sandal and hit the other woman with it.

Rafe
roared at the three astonished faces looking at him. "Be careful, Lee,
she's liable to throw you out of here." Rafe urged his wife forward.
"Everyone seems to have some food. Let's get some for ourselves."
Without another word to his father or the others, Rafe pointed to the table and
smiled at Cady.

She
was amazed at the way Rafe stayed at her side after eating, how often he
included her in his conversation with other congressmen regarding his work, and
how frequently he asked her opinion, his attention on her when she answered.
She was flabbergasted at how many times he used the expression, "My wife
thinks."

Still,
they were separated a few times, and once when that happened, Rob Ardmore
arrived at her side.

"Cady,
I have to congratulate you on your handling of a very tricky political
scene." He smiled down at her, not hiding the admiration in his eyes.
"Rafe is a very lucky man. You made him look real good today."

"Rafe makes
himself look good. People trust Rafe because they sense his strength, his
commitment to the good of his state and of the country." Cady smiled at
him, liking him.

"Spoken
like a true politico's wife."

"I
would prefer you to have said 'like a senator's wife.'" Cady grinned at
him.

"If
it ever gets tough, come to me, Cady. I'll be there for you," Rob
whispered, lifting her hand to his mouth.

Suddenly Rafe
appeared behind them.

"It's
kind of you to be so concerned about my wife." His teeth were bared.
"But I think I can take care of her now."

Cady's
breath expelled in a sigh that was half sob. She hastened to explain. "Rob
was a great help to me on the environmental bill, Rafe. He also put me in touch
with the right lobbyists." She tried to hold that blue-ice gaze, but her
lashes fluttered down. "Emmett and Bruno were at me all the time. Without
Rob's help, I couldn't have done it. I don't have your knowledge of the Hill,
Rafe."

"No."
His voice was hard and uncompromising. He looked back at Rob Ardmore. "My
wife won't be needing your assistance in the future."

Cady
gasped. "Rafe, you have no right to tell me whom I can choose for my
friends. I would never dare do such a thing with you, and I don't think you should
with me." She ended on a shaky gulp, staring at the collar of his shirt
instead of meeting his cold eyes.

"I
see," he said stiffly, glancing from her to Rob. "Excuse me."

Cady
gazed after him, misery pulsing through her body. She had been so happy earlier.
They had seemed so much closer.

"Cady,
don't look like that. The Densmores are a law unto themselves," Rob said,
his voice soft. "No doubt no one in Rafe's whole life has spoken to him in
such a fashion. I know I've never heard anyone answer him like that." Rob
stepped closer. "Cady, will you be all right?"

"What
did you say?" She looked up at him, his words scattering through her mind
and then assembling. "Oh, yes, I'll be fine. Rafe is never mean to me.
Don't worry about me."

"I
do worry about you, Cady," he said as he turned to leave. "I can't
help it."

Cady
held out her hand to him. "Good-bye, Rob. I'm very glad you came
today."

"Call me if
you need me. Promise," Rob insisted.

"All
right. If I ever need a friend, I'll call you." Cady forced a smile to her
face.

Gradually
the other guests drifted away. By the time the last ones had departed, Cady
hadn't seen Rafe for almost two hours. He had been talking to Bruno, Emmett,
and Lee Terris, but then that trio must have left, because she didn't see them
again. Cady couldn't feel anything but relief that they hadn't bothered to say
good-bye to her.

The late summer
evening was turning deep purple as

she supervised
the dismantling that the catering service was doing in the yard. By the time
she entered the house, Trock was there to tell her that Rafe was in the sauna.

"Thank
you, Trock. Tell the senator I said good night. Make sure that the oils are
rubbed into his back tonight."

"Of
course," Trock answered in a colorless voice.

Cady could see
the flicker of reproach in Track's gunmetal eyes. His gaze chided her that she
would think he, Albert Trock, would forget such a thing. She touched his arm.
"Good night, Trock, and thank you for all your help."

He inclined his
head and left her. She sighed and began to ascend the curved stairway of the
Federal-style colonial mansion. She trudged to her room, yawning, thinking only
of the shower she would take.

When
she came out of the shower into her bedroom, wrapped only in a bath towel, she
staggered with shock when she saw Rafe sprawled on her bed, a blue toga around
his middle. He rolled onto his side on the bed, facing her. "Hello. I
think we have some unfinished business."

The
unfathomable look was gone, and there was heated determination in his gaze. His
jaw had the same granite look she had often seen before the accident, when he
took the floor of the Senate and argued for a cause that he deemed just, an
argument that brooked no rebuttal. The twist to his lips could be construed as
a smile, but there was no softening there, no hint of compromise.

Cady's
momentum carried her forward two more steps, then she stopped, clutching the
bath towel like a shield. "You'd better go to bed. You need the
rest," she told him, her tone crisp, belying the jellylike condition of
her insides.

"You're
not my doctor," Rafe answered in measured tones, swinging his legs to the
floor.

Cady
lifted her chin, gearing herself for battle. She had no idea which failed her
first, her resolve or her knees. Panic filled her and she turned to run back to
the bathroom. She had taken two steps when Rafe hooked her around the waist.
"No, damn you, let me go," Cady squealed, a mixture of anger and
sensual trepidation coming through her pores. "I'm not your concubine.
I'm not your slave," she spit out through clenched teeth as she struggled
to free herself.

"No,
you're none of those things, but you are my wife, and I want my wife this
evening," Rafe hissed, clamping her arms to her sides and pulling her back
to the bed. "Behave yourself."

"No,
I won't behave your way, damn it. If you need a woman, buy yourself one."
Cady thrashed on the bed, his arm holding her while he divested himself of his
robe. She stopped writhing when she saw the pinched look around his mouth, the
strain sharpening the planes of his face. "You should go to bed. You've
had a big day," Cady whispered as he lowered himself next to her.

"Isn't
that what I've been saying?" Rafe let his head rest on her outspread hair,
his hand coming up to globe one breast, his eyes closing. "Don't say you
don't want me tonight, Cady. I'm dead tired, but I have to have you. It's been
so long." His eyes fluttered open. "Even if I have to spend hours
convincing you, I'm going to make you want me tonight."

Cady
heard the little voice that told her he was just stringing her along, that he
would dump her as soon as he could. She also heard the voice that told her he
needed her tonight. Shutting her mind to everything but that, she lifted her
arms to let her fingers touch the faint blue shadows under his even bluer eyes,
smoothing the lines that pain had drawn down his cheeks. "Oh, I don't
think it will take hours." She sighed and met his eyes.

"Cady?"
Rafe growled softly, his hand going in tentative search at her breast as he
pulled the towel free of her body. His hands rocked her close to him as he released
a pent-up breath.

He leaned over
her, his mouth opening on hers, his tongue running across her lips like a
velvet letter opener. She welcomed the probe of his tongue like a hot knife on
her senses. His body felt like an extended throb of she supervised the
dismantling that the catering service was doing in the yard. By the time she
entered the house, Trock was there to tell her that Rafe was in the sauna.

"Thank
you, Trock. Tell the senator I said good night. Make sure that the oils are
rubbed into his back tonight."

"Of
course," Trock answered in a colorless voice.

Cady could see
the flicker of reproach in Track's gunmetal eyes. His gaze chided her that she would
think he, Albert Track, would forget such a thing. She touched his arm.
"Good night, Trock, and thank you for all your help."

He inclined his
head and left her. She sighed and began to ascend the curved stairway of the Federal-style
colonial mansion. She trudged to her room, yawning, thinking only of the shower
she would take.