Desert Devil (23 page)

"You ought to sue the dressmaker for indecently exposing you." He swept her up in his arms and started toward the house. "Or perhaps you'd rather make a million posing for some poster shots. That outfit beats a wet T-shirt any day."

Juli refused to dignify the remarks with a retort of her own. She folded her arms across her breasts and held her body as distantly rigid as possible under the circumstances. She knew better than to try to fight against him, knew resistance to his greater strength and determination was useless. He carried her inside and down the hall and plopped her at the bathroom door.

"You can clean up in there," he stated. "Hand your clothes out to me and I'll have Estelle take care of them. I'll bring you something else to wear."

Juli hesitated, rebellious against the way he threw out commands, but reluctantly realizing she couldn't just stand there dripping puddles all over the floor.

"I'll only be a few minutes, and then I want to go home—to the trailer, I mean," she amended, remembering it was Nicole's property now.

She stepped inside and closed the door. She unzipped the wet dress and stepped out of it. Concealing herself carefully behind the door, she reached around it and handed the dress to Thorne.

"I said I wanted your clothes," he growled. "All your clothes."

"I have no intention of giving you—"

"All your clothes," he repeated.

Angrily, she slammed the door shut again and a moment later handed out her lacy underthings, feeling her face flame and only glad he couldn't see that, as well as her most private items of clothing. Why, oh, why, had she chosen today to wear the almost wickedly lacy underthings? She eyed herself in the gleaming expanse of mirror, the pattern of tan and white skin covering her like some indecently reversed article of clothing. Hurriedly, she turned on the shower knobs and washed away the grimy remains of her bout with the river water. It seemed, she thought with exasperation, that she was always arriving here in something less than her most presentable condition. She was toweling herself dry when there was a knock on the door.

"Open the door. I'll give you something to put on."

"You could have sent Estelle," she snapped.

"Yes, I could have," he agreed. "But I didn't."

Keeping a towel draped around her, she opened the door and stuck her hand out. She pulled back a man's royal-blue dressing gown, several sizes too large, but silky feeling against her bare skin. She determinedly fought down an odd little rush of excitement at the realization that she was wearing such a personal item of Thorne's clothing.

"Thank you," she said coolly. "Please let me know when my own clothes are ready." She sat down on the padded stool in front of the dressing table and prepared to wait.

"I'd like to talk to you," he said.

Juli didn't reply.

"I said I'd like to talk to you," he repeated more loudly. When she still didn't reply, he added grimly, "Either you come out here and talk to me, or I'm coming in there and talk to you."

In panic she heard something brush against the door, as if he might be testing his shoulder on it, and she had not doubt that if she delayed too long he just might break the door down.

"I'm coming out," she said, trying not to sound shaky. She checked to make sure the oversized robe covered her thoroughly and tightened the rope belt around her waist. She opened the door and stared up at him defiantly. He had changed to dry clothes.

"Well, what did you want to discuss?" she demanded. A dismaying thought occurred to her. "Where is Nicole?"

"On her way to Scottsdale, I presume. We'll go to the den," he said decisively.

He followed her down the hall. Juli was uncomfortably aware that the silky robe, though oversized, was not exactly unrevealing in the way it clung to her derriere. She was glad when they reached the den and she could sit down.

"Where is your mother?" Juli asked uneasily.

"Shopping. But don't worry. You don't need a chaperone. I'm not going to behave the way I did the other night."

That was good, Juli thought, because she was feeling strangely light-headed, remembering with tingling warmth that other night in this very room.

"Now, about the property," he began.

"If Nicole bought the place and not you, why did you go out there this morning?" she demanded.

"I was afraid you had already picked up and left while I was involved with problems at the plant."

"Evidently, your little scheme to make Nicole jealous was even more effective than you planned," Juli commented. "She was jealous enough to spend a good chunk of money to get me out of the way."

"That is at least twice now that you have accused me of deliberately making Nicole jealous," he said angrily.

"Are you denying it?" she challenged.

"Yes. I certainly am denying it!" he said hotly. "I wasn't trying to make her jealous. I simply wanted to make plain to Nicole once and for all that I am
not
in love with her and I am
not
going to marry her."

Juli's heart thundered at the vehement words and she clutched the robe belt to control the trembling of her hands. "But everyone says… I mean, everyone knows you and she—"

"She and I
what
?"

"That you were in love with her before she married your brother. That you played around together even after they were married. That you were just waiting for a respectable interval of time to pass before marrying her now. That you
had
to marry her to keep control of the company!"

"I don't have to do anything," he retorted. "And I certainly don't have to marry Nicole. Jason and I had already made the necessary legal arrangements so that if anything happened to one of us, the surviving brother inherited a small portion of the other's holdings— enough to retain control of the company. And even if that weren't true, I wouldn't marry some woman I didn't love just for the sake of the company!"

Juli was beginning to feel something soft and eager opening within her with each word he spoke. The words almost sang around her. He wasn't in love with Nicole and he had no intention of marrying her for any reason. "But you were in love with her once?" she persisted, still hardly able to believe what she was hearing.

He scowled. He went over to a cabinet and poured a drink. She shook her head when he raised the glass, offering her one. "Yes and no. Once, a long time ago, I thought I was in love with Nicole. But I quickly woke up when I recognized her scheming, devious ways."

"You considered her throwing you over to marry Jason 'devious'?" Juli couldn't keep the doubt out of her mind or voice. "She couldn't help herself if she just fell in love with him."

"Everyone thought that was the way it happened." There was a long, taut silence while he looked broodingly at the drink. "That was what I wanted everyone to think."

"Why?"

"For Jason's sake. So he wouldn't know she married him mostly for spite when I told her I wouldn't marry her."

"Oh!" The soft exclamation slipped between Juli's lips as she realized what Thorne had done to protect his brother's feelings. Everything was so different from what she had thought, and now she was seeing in Thorne again one of the traits that had made her tumble headlong in love with him. So much in love that even when she doubted him and was in painful torment, her love had never vanished. It surged back now, stronger than ever. But still she had to ask, "And the rumors about Nicole and you seeing each other after she and Jason were married?"

He shook his head and his mouth twisted in a bitter smile. "I don't know, unless people just enjoy passing around juicy gossip without regard to its accuracy."

"Why didn't she and Jason live here instead of Scottsdale?"

"Unfortunately, Jason heard the rumors, too, and I'm afraid he never fully believed it was over between us." Thorne's regretful voice hardened. "But it was."

Juli paused, breath held, wishing she could let it go right there. But she couldn't. She had to ask. "It was over—until he died."

Thorne looked up sharply, eyes narrowing. "I made the mistake of trying to be kind and helpful to Nicole after Jason's death. I did it for Jason, because he loved her. But she misunderstood my motives. That was why I finally had to pull that little scene in front of her the other morning. It was the only way to make her see the light. And I'm not sure even that convinced her. Some women manage to see only what they want to see."

His words hung in the air as he scowled into the liquid amber of his drink, and the soft warmth that had flowered within Juli suddenly shriveled in a cold chill.
Some women manage to see only what they want to see
. She had done it again, she realized in despair. What a naive fool she was! Thorne wasn't in love with Nicole; that was obvious now. But she had just now naively interpreted that to mean he must have feelings for
her
, and that wasn't true at all! The reasons for his playing out that little scene in front of Nicole were different from what she had assumed, but that didn't change the fact that it was all just a charade played out for Nicole's benefit. He had cold-bloodedly played with Juli's heart for his own purposes. His display of affection had been merely an act to rid himself of the unwanted attentions of another woman.

Juli stood up. "So now you're rid of Nicole. Congratulations. But she still owns the property, and I'm supposed to be out this weekend. So if I could trouble you to take me home now—?" Juli didn't look at Thorne, afraid he might see the bright glitter of tears in her eyes.

"You'll stay at the trailer as long as you want," he said. There was a determined thrust to his jaw. "Don't worry about Nicole. I'll take care of her."

What was that for? Juli thought bitterly. A reward for playing her part satisfactorily in the little scene for Nicole's benefit? "I want to leave as soon as possible. Please take me back to the trailer."

"No. You're not going anywhere just yet."

"We've been through this before, but this time you're not stopping me! If you're too busy to take me, I'll just call a cab and go."

"Like that?" he questioned, his tilted eyebrows jeering at her attire.

Juli paused on her way to the desk phone. She had no idea where her clothes were, and it was doubtful if they were dry yet, anyway. "Yes, like this, if I have to," she retorted defiantly.

"Oh, no, you're not," he said grimly. "If you're walking out of here, it's not going to be wearing
my
bathrobe."

With surprising swiftness, he reached out and jerked loose the rope cord around her waist. She clutched frantically at the silky material, wrapping it around her and holding it with both hands. With both his hands he grabbed the front of the robe, ready to use full force to rip it away from her.

"You wouldn't!" she gasped furiously.

"I would." His hands didn't loosen. "So if you'd care to greet your cabbie naked, just go ahead and make your call."

She jerked away from him, knowing he was fully capable of carrying out his threat to leave her standing there helplessly naked.

"Very well, but I… I'm leaving as soon as my clothes are dry."

He released his hands warily and turned back to his drink. "You're being quite stubborn and unreasonable—"

"I'm being unreasonable!" she gasped. "How about
your
ridiculous and totally unreasonable accusation that I deliberately schemed to get in bed with you?"

He had the decency to flush slightly. "I'm sorry about that. I was…" He hesitated, then finished slowly: "I guess I was disappointed. I thought you were different, and then it appeared that you were as scheming and devious as Nicole."

"So, if you believed that, and you evidently believed it before we left the trailer that night, why did you bring me here? Why didn't you just walk off and leave me?"

He scowled. "Because I couldn't. Because I wanted you even if you were scheming."

"And so you behaved like a… a savage! Throwing me into a bedroom and practically holding me captive, just like you're doing now." Juli's lips compressed as she blinked back tears, because she knew that in spite of all that had happened, it was more than her body that was captive here. It was her heart. And though her body might soon be released, her heart would never be free because she loved him still.

"I know I behaved… badly," he growled in reluctant admission. "But you made me furious and frustrated. I didn't want to want you—but I did. I didn't want to be in love with you, but I was. I am in love with you…" He spoke the words with an odd helplessness, as if they were unfamiliar and beyond his usual iron self-control.

They were staring at each other, Juli's eyes wide with wonder, when Estelle tapped on the doorframe and then peered inside.

"Your clothes are ready."

"Thank you," Juli said. Estelle came in and handed Juli the dress on a hanger. She placed the other items, discreetly folded into a neat bundle, on the coffee table. When Estelle was gone, Thorne looked at Juli.

"So, you have your clothes. You're free now," he said. "I can't hold you captive if you want to go."

"Are you asking me to stay—longer?" Her eyes, dark with emotion, lifted to meet his again.

He took one long stride toward her and flung the dress toward the sofa with a rough gesture. "I'm asking you to stay for today—tomorrow—forever! As my wife," he finished huskily.

Juli's hands left the folds of the silky robe and crept toward his neck, heedless of the way the silky material of the robe threatened to slither open. With hands that had an uncharacteristic tremble, Thorne removed her arms from around his neck and placed them in control of the robe again.

"You'd better keep yourself covered, or—"

"Or what?" Juli's eyes danced.

"I might not be able to live up to my promise not to behave the way I did the other night. And you'd better not wait too long to set the date for our wedding day," he warned.

"I was under the impression you made all the important decisions," Juli teased.

The light in his eyes suddenly changed. "Sometimes I try to. But there's one decision I can't make, because you have to make it. I'm talking about our getting married, but you've never said yes—or no—"