Authors: Marilyn Campbell
Topaz Dreams (19 page)
Falcon followed her example,
spooning the food directly out of the boxes onto his plate. The flavors
were not unfamiliar, but he had little appetite.
Finally, Steve gave
up trying to pretend nothing was wrong. "I thought we got past the
silent treatment last night. If you're waiting for a formal apology for
my acting like a twit, you've got it. You threw me for a loop. Unlike
you, I am a very emotional person."
Falcon managed a sad smile. "No,
Steve. I need no formal apology. Your actions were entirely
understandable under the circumstances. I received some very bad news
while you were gone. I have not yet adjusted."
"Can you tell me?" Steve's voice was soft. He looked so worried, and she would have taken his hand if things were different.
Falcon
related the information he had received about the latest fatal accident
and the orders he had received. "It could cause another delay in
catching up to Underwood if we must use only Outerworld transportation."
Steve
noted he still used the word "we." "I'm sorry about the man who died
and all the others before." Steve had the feeling that was not what was
bothering him most. "Are you afraid you won't be able to get back?"
Falcon
looked into her eyes and read compassion there. He sighed. "Yes." There
was little else to be said. "I find I am quite fatigued tonight. Where
would you like me to sleep?"
Steve put fresh linens on her mother's
bed, since it was the largest, and a few minutes later Falcon bid her
good night and retired behind the closed bedroom door. Now that she
thought about it, she was amazed she was still upright herself. As soon
as the kitchen was back in order, she headed for her shower and bed.
It
had been a lovely day from start to finish. Certainly a contrast to
last night. The children, her mother, even Mr. Spock, were absolutely
crazy about Falcon. How could they not like such a sweet, gentle,
patient, gorgeous man? Wasn't there a saying about children and animals
being able to see past the surface to the truth?
She could not stop
her thoughts from running the gamut of what they had been through
together this past week. Nor could she prevent the memory of the erotic
dream from returning. He believed he put it in her head by accident.
She was not at all sure he did, at least not in the way he thought. The
fantasy of making love with him had crept into her every spare thought
since she first saw him before he had ever touched her mind.
It had
to be an unbelievable coincidence that she and Falcon crossed paths at
the same time his hormones decided to perk up. She happened to be the
woman at hand, so he wanted her, wanted her to be his first sexual
experience.
What a kick! How many women would pant for some sack
time with a guy like Falcon, regardless of where he came from? How many
more fantasized about introducing a virgin to sex? For that matter, how
many women had actually made love to an honest-to-God man from outer
space, not counting the movies?
And soon he would be gone. She was
positive they would find Underwood, Falcon would get the ring back, and
he would return to his world. She knew in that moment she would miss
him terribly, because no matter what he was she cared.
So what if
she just happened to meet him at a time when anything female would have
suited his needs? She had an extremely rare opportunity here. Only a
complete fool, or a coward, would ignore it. And she was neither. For
the first time in years she was relieved her tubes had been tied after
Vince's birth.
Steve got up from the bed, put on a robe, and went to
her mother's door. She tapped lightly, and spoke in a low voice,
"Falcon? Are you awake?"
"Yes."
"May I come in? I need to tell you something." He took so long answering she thought he might have been asleep after all.
"Yes."
Steve
opened the door and took a few steps inside. It was dark, but she could
tell he was sitting up in the bed. "Falcon, are your eyes closed?"
"I have already removed the lenses. I was not expecting you to see me until morning."
"Oh,
God. I really am sorry about how I acted last night. It was stupid and
horribly rude. Please open your eyes." He did. "They're really are
quite beautiful."
"You said you had something you wished to tell me."
Steve
kept her gaze glued to his, knowing he could see her clearly in the
dark. "I wanted you to know that I believe we'll find Underwood. I have
a good feeling about our trip to his office tomorrow. I'm sure you'll
get back home."
"Yes. Of course I will."
"Falcon?"
"Yes?"
"I was curious ... about your eyes. Can you really see me perfectly in this dark room?"
"Yes."
"And you can see through things, too?"
"Some. If the covering is thin enough."
"Can you see through my robe?"
Steve saw his pupils expand from a spindle shape to a diamond and back again before he answered.
"No."
He was lying. "No? What if I take off my robe?" She untied the belt and let the garment fall to the floor.
"Steve,
I promised not to seduce you, and I will honor my word. I will also
control my thoughts so as not to influence your dreams. However, it is
much easier to do both if you are not in the same room with me."
"Hmmm.
Yes, you did promise not to ... I believe the exact word you used was
entice me. And I respect you for being an honorable man. But, you see,
Falcon, I can't always keep the promises I make." A little at a time,
Steve gathered up her nightgown until the hem reached her knees, her
thighs, her hips. With an exaggerated stretch of her torso, she raised
the gown over her head and dropped it on top of the robe.
Falcon
sucked in his breath and held it. Why was she doing this to him? She
did not want to share her body with a man of mixed blood.
She did!
Her desire came to him as strongly as her scent. She had not moved
closer, but her husky voice seemed to close the space between them.
"I
want to give you a gift to take home with you, Falcon. Something to
remember me by... if you still want me. Do you want to know all that
being human has to offer?"
"Please, Steve. Don't..." He struggled to complete the sentence.
"The
word is 'tease! And I'm not." But her breathy voice continued to taunt
him as she glided to the edge of the bed and drew back the sheet. "This
isn't fair. I can't see you." She dropped the sheet and moved to the
adjoining bathroom to switch on the light. Pulling the door partway
closed, she smiled reassuringly. "That's better. Your body is too good
to keep in the dark."
Falcon's mouth went dry. She did not simply
look at him. She devoured him with her eyes, piece by trembling piece.
He was afraid to move, to reach out to her as he longed to, afraid she
was a dream that would evaporate if he tried to hold onto it.
Steve
leaned forward and combed her fingers through his hair. "Beautiful.
Just like silk." Her sweet breath fanned his face, and Falcon angled
his head to bring her palms into contact with his scalp.
He would
have closed his eyes to savor the pleasure her slight touch gave him,
but his gaze was captured by the full swell of her breasts rising and
lowering before him with each of her breaths. Their dark rose-colored
peaks had drawn tight the moment she removed her robe.
Steve dragged
her fingertips out of his thick mane and placed them on his temples.
"Do I need to do this to know your thoughts?" He could not answer.
Steve's gaze scanned downward to his erect masculinity. "No, I don't
think it's necessary."
She traced the features of his face, and ran
her index finger over his sensitive lips until they parted. "Your skin
is softer than a baby's. I never thought someone could get addicted to
the feel of something, but I think I could stroke you all night, and
enjoy every minute of it." Her finger pressed down slightly on his
lower lip, then slid between his teeth and over the tip of his tongue.
"But
this isn't soft at all. It's like a cat's—rough and firm. You shocked
me when you first put it in my mouth, but it was one of the most
sensual things I ever experienced. It made me think of how it would
feel... in other places."
Her fingers trailed down and up his arms
and over his chest. His muscles clenched and relaxed beneath her
feathery caresses. When her exploration took her lower, his stomach
contracted, and a low sound, so much like a purr, escaped his throat.
But she did not touch where he anticipated, moving instead to his
thighs and down to his feet.
"Mmmm, yes. All over. Soft skin over
hard muscles. Absolutely marvelous. Now I understand how a sightless
person can see with their fingertips."
Moving to the foot of the
bed, she placed a hand on each ankle and separated his legs. She
climbed onto the mattress, into the triangle she created, running her
fingers up his inner thighs as she progressed.
Falcon was certain he
would die with each pounding heartbeat. Surely man was not meant to
feel so much at one time. Some part of his brain told him he was
supposed to be doing something other than lying there mesmerized, but
for the life of him he could not make his limbs respond. He had never
been completely helpless, under another's total control. It was
intoxicating and exhilarating all at once.
"I have been wondering
about this, Falcon." Her fingers trickled through the sparse curls at
the base of his manhood. "You do have some body hair, but it's fine and
silky and tickles my fingers. Another memorable feeling."
Her one
hand moved lower to cup and roll his swollen sacs. Falcon could no
longer keep his eyes from squeezing shut under the onslaught of
pleasurable sensations she was creating. Her other hand brushed over
the tip of his member, then down and up the sides, so lightly he found
himself ready to beg for mercy.
As if she heard his silent plea, her
fingers closed around him; he forgot to breathe, then inhaled with a
gasp as her tongue flicked over him. Her mood changed suddenly. He felt
her control slip with her first taste of him. Her actions became
feverish, nibbling, sucking hungrily, until he was certain he had died,
and this was heaven.
Falcon opened his eyes again in time to see her
straddling him. He wanted her to hurry; he needed her to go slowly. She
guided him to her, and he tensed, poised on the brink of the unknown.
Unexpectedly, she regained control, seeming to understand his need to
experience this first time in milliseconds.
Gradually she took his
hardened length into her hot, moist recess. Would screaming help? he
wondered as she lowered herself completely, and his strangled growl
blended with her soft cry of relief.
Her muscles grasped him
tightly, pulsing around him. Had a sheath ever fit a sword so
perfectly? Impossible. Nothing could compare to this.
Until she
moved. Falcon tried to make it last, knew he should wait for her, but
his body would not heed his wishes. With an upward thrust his world
exploded into shattering prisms of light and color, twinkling down
around him like falling stars as he returned slowly to Earth.
Steve
lay on top of him, her head nestled against his neck. He gathered
enough strength to put his arms around her, but not enough to speak.
His hands moved over her, finding relaxed muscles. She had needed no
more than he to be satisfied. Knowing that made him feel a little less
selfish.
Never had Steve felt so drained, yet so contented. She
stifled a giggle as she realized Falcon was so much of a man he had
given her the most glorious, thrilling climax in her life, without
moving a muscle. Well, maybe just one. Good God. How could she ever
settle for a mere human after that?
Steve felt him throbbing deep
inside her, powerful and hard. He filled her and stretched her beyond
what she believed possible, and he was ready and wanting more.
That did not surprise her in the least, and with one strong muscle contraction, she told him she'd be happy to comply.
the hell do you mean they vanished? I have never known you to fail so
miserably, King. First you tell me this man overpowered you in a fight.
You! Probably the most proficient martial arts expert on this
continent. Then, while you were licking your wounds, your hirelings
lost track of two people on an enclosed houseboat?"
"I know I have
not performed to your satisfaction, Mr. Underwood. The man's strength
was unlike anything I've ever seen. As to the men I hired, they swear
they witnessed the man and woman jump overboard and swim toward the
yacht. They immediately returned from their post across the street and
reported this to me. Within minutes I personally conducted a search of
every room on board. I was prepared to eliminate the intruders and turn
their bodies over to the local authorities. As burglars, their deaths
would have been justified."
"The operative words there were "would have". What makes you think they weren't simply taking a swim?"
"With
an ocean and a heated pool across the street, no reasonably intelligent
person would choose to swim in such polluted water. Also, there was a
fresh puddle of water on deck and a trail of water that led below. I'm
certain they came aboard."
"But you're not certain where they went
after that, except that they did not return to the houseboat."
Underwood barely contained his fury with King. The younger man had
never been inept before. There was a piece missing, and he never
tolerated dealing with an unknown factor. "Get the videotapes you
picked up from Miss Preston. I want to look at them again."
King
immediately prepared the first film for viewing, and stood by patiently
as his employer watched the brief clip he had already seen numerous
times in the past few days.
Underwood studied the screen as
Barbanell went through her first visit to his office. Falcon entered.
No, she had never seen him before, that much was certain. On the second
tape, she barely recovered after running into him again in Los Angeles.
Then-subsequent working together had to be completely impromptu.
"Put
that first tape in again." This time Underwood watched it run in slow
motion. Barbanell's appreciative perusal of Falcon scanned him from
head to toe. What did she see when she frowned right there? Using his
remote, Underwood backed up the film and froze the action. His heart
leapt into his throat. Every time he had watched this scene, he had
watched their faces, and missed seeing what had disturbed Barbanell. Up
to this moment he thought she had been looking at Falcon's traveling
bag. But it was his hand that caught her eye, the ring finger on that
hand to be precise, and the gaudy opal ring. Furious with his belated
awareness, Underwood hurled the remote control at the two figures
frozen on the screen.
Damn! For the last week he had been
misdirecting the one person he had been waiting for. How had he allowed
something so vital to elude him? The realization made him feel stupid
and ordinary. His stomach clenched and bile rose in his mouth. His
oversight was unforgivable, an insult to the gift of intelligence he
had been born with. Underwood pulled himself together with the greatest
effort.
"King, I shall give you a chance to redeem yourself. I want
the woman eliminated. Be careful what method you choose, but not so
careful that you fail again. I cannot risk leaving her alive with the
knowledge she has undoubtedly acquired about that man. He's the one we
want. It's time to let him find me. They haven't disappeared. They've
relocated. My guess is they'll be found in San Francisco. Have someone
go to Barbanell's home and verify it, then be sure they are delayed
until you can get there yourself. And, King, a second failure will not
be tolerated."
King bowed his head as he backed out of the room. Gordon Underwood did not make idle threats.
A moment after King left, Delphina entered the office.
"Ah, Delphina. You always know when I need you."
She
smiled sweetly as she came forward and made an elegant show of sitting
on his lap. His arms encircled her, one hand bracing the back of her
slender neck. Urgently, he pushed her head close, crushing her mouth
against his.
"I need you, Delphina. I need what only you can give
me. I've made a grave error, an unforgivable mistake. But you can make
it better."
"Of course, Gordon." Her dainty fingers opened the top button of his shirt, but he stopped her.
"No,
not that, not yet. I love you, Delphina, more than I believed I would
ever be capable of loving another. But, I—I need more today." He took
her fingers and placed them on his temple. "I need the other. It will
cleanse me and clear my mind in preparation for what is coming."
As
he wished, Delphina planted the vivid memory in his mind. A second
later, Miss Preston's ruler cracked across his knuckles. He would
gratefully accept the punishment he deserved, and afterward, everything
would be all right again.
spooning the food directly out of the boxes onto his plate. The flavors
were not unfamiliar, but he had little appetite.
Finally, Steve gave
up trying to pretend nothing was wrong. "I thought we got past the
silent treatment last night. If you're waiting for a formal apology for
my acting like a twit, you've got it. You threw me for a loop. Unlike
you, I am a very emotional person."
Falcon managed a sad smile. "No,
Steve. I need no formal apology. Your actions were entirely
understandable under the circumstances. I received some very bad news
while you were gone. I have not yet adjusted."
"Can you tell me?" Steve's voice was soft. He looked so worried, and she would have taken his hand if things were different.
Falcon
related the information he had received about the latest fatal accident
and the orders he had received. "It could cause another delay in
catching up to Underwood if we must use only Outerworld transportation."
Steve
noted he still used the word "we." "I'm sorry about the man who died
and all the others before." Steve had the feeling that was not what was
bothering him most. "Are you afraid you won't be able to get back?"
Falcon
looked into her eyes and read compassion there. He sighed. "Yes." There
was little else to be said. "I find I am quite fatigued tonight. Where
would you like me to sleep?"
Steve put fresh linens on her mother's
bed, since it was the largest, and a few minutes later Falcon bid her
good night and retired behind the closed bedroom door. Now that she
thought about it, she was amazed she was still upright herself. As soon
as the kitchen was back in order, she headed for her shower and bed.
It
had been a lovely day from start to finish. Certainly a contrast to
last night. The children, her mother, even Mr. Spock, were absolutely
crazy about Falcon. How could they not like such a sweet, gentle,
patient, gorgeous man? Wasn't there a saying about children and animals
being able to see past the surface to the truth?
She could not stop
her thoughts from running the gamut of what they had been through
together this past week. Nor could she prevent the memory of the erotic
dream from returning. He believed he put it in her head by accident.
She was not at all sure he did, at least not in the way he thought. The
fantasy of making love with him had crept into her every spare thought
since she first saw him before he had ever touched her mind.
It had
to be an unbelievable coincidence that she and Falcon crossed paths at
the same time his hormones decided to perk up. She happened to be the
woman at hand, so he wanted her, wanted her to be his first sexual
experience.
What a kick! How many women would pant for some sack
time with a guy like Falcon, regardless of where he came from? How many
more fantasized about introducing a virgin to sex? For that matter, how
many women had actually made love to an honest-to-God man from outer
space, not counting the movies?
And soon he would be gone. She was
positive they would find Underwood, Falcon would get the ring back, and
he would return to his world. She knew in that moment she would miss
him terribly, because no matter what he was she cared.
So what if
she just happened to meet him at a time when anything female would have
suited his needs? She had an extremely rare opportunity here. Only a
complete fool, or a coward, would ignore it. And she was neither. For
the first time in years she was relieved her tubes had been tied after
Vince's birth.
Steve got up from the bed, put on a robe, and went to
her mother's door. She tapped lightly, and spoke in a low voice,
"Falcon? Are you awake?"
"Yes."
"May I come in? I need to tell you something." He took so long answering she thought he might have been asleep after all.
"Yes."
Steve
opened the door and took a few steps inside. It was dark, but she could
tell he was sitting up in the bed. "Falcon, are your eyes closed?"
"I have already removed the lenses. I was not expecting you to see me until morning."
"Oh,
God. I really am sorry about how I acted last night. It was stupid and
horribly rude. Please open your eyes." He did. "They're really are
quite beautiful."
"You said you had something you wished to tell me."
Steve
kept her gaze glued to his, knowing he could see her clearly in the
dark. "I wanted you to know that I believe we'll find Underwood. I have
a good feeling about our trip to his office tomorrow. I'm sure you'll
get back home."
"Yes. Of course I will."
"Falcon?"
"Yes?"
"I was curious ... about your eyes. Can you really see me perfectly in this dark room?"
"Yes."
"And you can see through things, too?"
"Some. If the covering is thin enough."
"Can you see through my robe?"
Steve saw his pupils expand from a spindle shape to a diamond and back again before he answered.
"No."
He was lying. "No? What if I take off my robe?" She untied the belt and let the garment fall to the floor.
"Steve,
I promised not to seduce you, and I will honor my word. I will also
control my thoughts so as not to influence your dreams. However, it is
much easier to do both if you are not in the same room with me."
"Hmmm.
Yes, you did promise not to ... I believe the exact word you used was
entice me. And I respect you for being an honorable man. But, you see,
Falcon, I can't always keep the promises I make." A little at a time,
Steve gathered up her nightgown until the hem reached her knees, her
thighs, her hips. With an exaggerated stretch of her torso, she raised
the gown over her head and dropped it on top of the robe.
Falcon
sucked in his breath and held it. Why was she doing this to him? She
did not want to share her body with a man of mixed blood.
She did!
Her desire came to him as strongly as her scent. She had not moved
closer, but her husky voice seemed to close the space between them.
"I
want to give you a gift to take home with you, Falcon. Something to
remember me by... if you still want me. Do you want to know all that
being human has to offer?"
"Please, Steve. Don't..." He struggled to complete the sentence.
"The
word is 'tease! And I'm not." But her breathy voice continued to taunt
him as she glided to the edge of the bed and drew back the sheet. "This
isn't fair. I can't see you." She dropped the sheet and moved to the
adjoining bathroom to switch on the light. Pulling the door partway
closed, she smiled reassuringly. "That's better. Your body is too good
to keep in the dark."
Falcon's mouth went dry. She did not simply
look at him. She devoured him with her eyes, piece by trembling piece.
He was afraid to move, to reach out to her as he longed to, afraid she
was a dream that would evaporate if he tried to hold onto it.
Steve
leaned forward and combed her fingers through his hair. "Beautiful.
Just like silk." Her sweet breath fanned his face, and Falcon angled
his head to bring her palms into contact with his scalp.
He would
have closed his eyes to savor the pleasure her slight touch gave him,
but his gaze was captured by the full swell of her breasts rising and
lowering before him with each of her breaths. Their dark rose-colored
peaks had drawn tight the moment she removed her robe.
Steve dragged
her fingertips out of his thick mane and placed them on his temples.
"Do I need to do this to know your thoughts?" He could not answer.
Steve's gaze scanned downward to his erect masculinity. "No, I don't
think it's necessary."
She traced the features of his face, and ran
her index finger over his sensitive lips until they parted. "Your skin
is softer than a baby's. I never thought someone could get addicted to
the feel of something, but I think I could stroke you all night, and
enjoy every minute of it." Her finger pressed down slightly on his
lower lip, then slid between his teeth and over the tip of his tongue.
"But
this isn't soft at all. It's like a cat's—rough and firm. You shocked
me when you first put it in my mouth, but it was one of the most
sensual things I ever experienced. It made me think of how it would
feel... in other places."
Her fingers trailed down and up his arms
and over his chest. His muscles clenched and relaxed beneath her
feathery caresses. When her exploration took her lower, his stomach
contracted, and a low sound, so much like a purr, escaped his throat.
But she did not touch where he anticipated, moving instead to his
thighs and down to his feet.
"Mmmm, yes. All over. Soft skin over
hard muscles. Absolutely marvelous. Now I understand how a sightless
person can see with their fingertips."
Moving to the foot of the
bed, she placed a hand on each ankle and separated his legs. She
climbed onto the mattress, into the triangle she created, running her
fingers up his inner thighs as she progressed.
Falcon was certain he
would die with each pounding heartbeat. Surely man was not meant to
feel so much at one time. Some part of his brain told him he was
supposed to be doing something other than lying there mesmerized, but
for the life of him he could not make his limbs respond. He had never
been completely helpless, under another's total control. It was
intoxicating and exhilarating all at once.
"I have been wondering
about this, Falcon." Her fingers trickled through the sparse curls at
the base of his manhood. "You do have some body hair, but it's fine and
silky and tickles my fingers. Another memorable feeling."
Her one
hand moved lower to cup and roll his swollen sacs. Falcon could no
longer keep his eyes from squeezing shut under the onslaught of
pleasurable sensations she was creating. Her other hand brushed over
the tip of his member, then down and up the sides, so lightly he found
himself ready to beg for mercy.
As if she heard his silent plea, her
fingers closed around him; he forgot to breathe, then inhaled with a
gasp as her tongue flicked over him. Her mood changed suddenly. He felt
her control slip with her first taste of him. Her actions became
feverish, nibbling, sucking hungrily, until he was certain he had died,
and this was heaven.
Falcon opened his eyes again in time to see her
straddling him. He wanted her to hurry; he needed her to go slowly. She
guided him to her, and he tensed, poised on the brink of the unknown.
Unexpectedly, she regained control, seeming to understand his need to
experience this first time in milliseconds.
Gradually she took his
hardened length into her hot, moist recess. Would screaming help? he
wondered as she lowered herself completely, and his strangled growl
blended with her soft cry of relief.
Her muscles grasped him
tightly, pulsing around him. Had a sheath ever fit a sword so
perfectly? Impossible. Nothing could compare to this.
Until she
moved. Falcon tried to make it last, knew he should wait for her, but
his body would not heed his wishes. With an upward thrust his world
exploded into shattering prisms of light and color, twinkling down
around him like falling stars as he returned slowly to Earth.
Steve
lay on top of him, her head nestled against his neck. He gathered
enough strength to put his arms around her, but not enough to speak.
His hands moved over her, finding relaxed muscles. She had needed no
more than he to be satisfied. Knowing that made him feel a little less
selfish.
Never had Steve felt so drained, yet so contented. She
stifled a giggle as she realized Falcon was so much of a man he had
given her the most glorious, thrilling climax in her life, without
moving a muscle. Well, maybe just one. Good God. How could she ever
settle for a mere human after that?
Steve felt him throbbing deep
inside her, powerful and hard. He filled her and stretched her beyond
what she believed possible, and he was ready and wanting more.
That did not surprise her in the least, and with one strong muscle contraction, she told him she'd be happy to comply.
Chapter Thirteen
For knowledge, too, is itself a power. —Francis Bacon
"Whatthe hell do you mean they vanished? I have never known you to fail so
miserably, King. First you tell me this man overpowered you in a fight.
You! Probably the most proficient martial arts expert on this
continent. Then, while you were licking your wounds, your hirelings
lost track of two people on an enclosed houseboat?"
"I know I have
not performed to your satisfaction, Mr. Underwood. The man's strength
was unlike anything I've ever seen. As to the men I hired, they swear
they witnessed the man and woman jump overboard and swim toward the
yacht. They immediately returned from their post across the street and
reported this to me. Within minutes I personally conducted a search of
every room on board. I was prepared to eliminate the intruders and turn
their bodies over to the local authorities. As burglars, their deaths
would have been justified."
"The operative words there were "would have". What makes you think they weren't simply taking a swim?"
"With
an ocean and a heated pool across the street, no reasonably intelligent
person would choose to swim in such polluted water. Also, there was a
fresh puddle of water on deck and a trail of water that led below. I'm
certain they came aboard."
"But you're not certain where they went
after that, except that they did not return to the houseboat."
Underwood barely contained his fury with King. The younger man had
never been inept before. There was a piece missing, and he never
tolerated dealing with an unknown factor. "Get the videotapes you
picked up from Miss Preston. I want to look at them again."
King
immediately prepared the first film for viewing, and stood by patiently
as his employer watched the brief clip he had already seen numerous
times in the past few days.
Underwood studied the screen as
Barbanell went through her first visit to his office. Falcon entered.
No, she had never seen him before, that much was certain. On the second
tape, she barely recovered after running into him again in Los Angeles.
Then-subsequent working together had to be completely impromptu.
"Put
that first tape in again." This time Underwood watched it run in slow
motion. Barbanell's appreciative perusal of Falcon scanned him from
head to toe. What did she see when she frowned right there? Using his
remote, Underwood backed up the film and froze the action. His heart
leapt into his throat. Every time he had watched this scene, he had
watched their faces, and missed seeing what had disturbed Barbanell. Up
to this moment he thought she had been looking at Falcon's traveling
bag. But it was his hand that caught her eye, the ring finger on that
hand to be precise, and the gaudy opal ring. Furious with his belated
awareness, Underwood hurled the remote control at the two figures
frozen on the screen.
Damn! For the last week he had been
misdirecting the one person he had been waiting for. How had he allowed
something so vital to elude him? The realization made him feel stupid
and ordinary. His stomach clenched and bile rose in his mouth. His
oversight was unforgivable, an insult to the gift of intelligence he
had been born with. Underwood pulled himself together with the greatest
effort.
"King, I shall give you a chance to redeem yourself. I want
the woman eliminated. Be careful what method you choose, but not so
careful that you fail again. I cannot risk leaving her alive with the
knowledge she has undoubtedly acquired about that man. He's the one we
want. It's time to let him find me. They haven't disappeared. They've
relocated. My guess is they'll be found in San Francisco. Have someone
go to Barbanell's home and verify it, then be sure they are delayed
until you can get there yourself. And, King, a second failure will not
be tolerated."
King bowed his head as he backed out of the room. Gordon Underwood did not make idle threats.
A moment after King left, Delphina entered the office.
"Ah, Delphina. You always know when I need you."
She
smiled sweetly as she came forward and made an elegant show of sitting
on his lap. His arms encircled her, one hand bracing the back of her
slender neck. Urgently, he pushed her head close, crushing her mouth
against his.
"I need you, Delphina. I need what only you can give
me. I've made a grave error, an unforgivable mistake. But you can make
it better."
"Of course, Gordon." Her dainty fingers opened the top button of his shirt, but he stopped her.
"No,
not that, not yet. I love you, Delphina, more than I believed I would
ever be capable of loving another. But, I—I need more today." He took
her fingers and placed them on his temple. "I need the other. It will
cleanse me and clear my mind in preparation for what is coming."
As
he wished, Delphina planted the vivid memory in his mind. A second
later, Miss Preston's ruler cracked across his knuckles. He would
gratefully accept the punishment he deserved, and afterward, everything
would be all right again.
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