A Prince for Jenny (12 page)

She smiled a secret smile because she knew he spoke the truth.

"So are you," she said, feeling wise and generous and born anew.

Chapter Nine

They stayed in Raleigh three more days, giddy as teenagers and greedy as children. And when they came home at last, Daniel lingered on her doorstep, reluctant to let her go.

"You're my world, Jenny."

"And you're mine." She held on to both his hands, her eyes wide and earnest. "Can we be together the way we were in Raleigh?"

"Just let somebody try to stop us, Jenny. I'll turn them into dog food and sell them at Sullivan Stores."

He left her laughing on the doorstep. Jenny's beautiful image was still with him when he passed through his security gates and turned into his driveway, then it vanished as if it had been wiped out with black magic.

The car in front of Daniel's house made his blood run cold. A red Fiat, Georgia license plates. Claire's car.

How the hell did she get through his security?

He gunned his car up the driveway, fishtailing as he rounded the oak tree. He was close enough to see her sitting in the driver's seat, black hair drawn back in a French twist that left curls curving onto her olive skin, full lips and dark eyes accented enough to enhance but not enough to detract. Everything about her was meant to look casual. Daniel knew from experience that appearances lied.

His tires squealed as he braked, and he was out of the car almost before it stopped. Rage propelled him across the driveway.

Claire let down her window. "Hello, Daniel," she said as calmly as if it had been only three days instead of three years since she'd seen him.

"Leave, Claire."

"Why, Daniel. Is that any way to greet a wife?"

"You're no longer my wife."

"Is that why your hands are shaking?" He rammed his hands into his pockets. Her laughter was soft, intimate. "Is that why a muscle is twitching in your jaw and why your back is rigid? Because I'm no longer yours to do with as you please?" Her smoky voice dropped another octave. "And you were pleased quite often, weren't you, Daniel?"

"Damn you to everlasting hell."

They were locked together by the look that passed between them, locked together as surely as gladiators fighting to the death.

The sweet summer air trembled around them, full of cricket song and twilight. Beside the door, gardenia bushes perfumed the air. Recent rain had dampened the earth, and its rich aroma surrounded them.

Everything around Daniel was filled with promise. And Claire had come to destroy it all.

Her bravado vanished as suddenly as it had come.

"You don't have to damn me to hell, Daniel. I'm already there."

She looked genuinely remorseful. Daniel hardened himself against her act.

"I don't know what impulse brought you here or what you hope to achieve by coming, but my advice to you is to leave before I have you removed for trespassing. You gave up all claims to me and the children three years ago."

"I can't leave, Daniel."

"Why? Is something wrong with your car?" He could be a tough, coldhearted bastard when the situation merited it... just like his father. A chilling thought.

"No, Daniel. Nothing's wrong with my car. I just came to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about."

"I think we do, Daniel." Claire fidgeted with the clasp on her purse then looked him squarely in the eye. "I've come to get my children."

Chapter Ten

"I'll see you in hell first." Daniel jerked open the car door and started in. "Move over."

"Are you crazy?" Claire tried for defiance even as she scrambled out of his way.

Daniel got behind the wheel and roared out of the driveway. The tires screamed in protest as he took the curves.

"What are you doing?" Claire clutched the dashboard. Jaw clenched, Daniel ignored her. "You're going to get us both killed."

Daniel didn't stop until he got to a motel on the outskirts of town; then he jerked open the car door, marched Claire into the office, booked her for one night, and ordered a cab.

She was panting when he locked the bedroom door behind them.

"Now talk," he said. "You have fifteen minutes."

“Daniel... you've gone mad." Her hands shook as she reached into her purse for a cigarette.

"Fourteen."

With the lazy grace of a cat, Claire strolled to the bed and stretched out. Putting her hand on the mattress, she tested the springs.

"Ummm. Comfy. You always did know how to pick a bed, Daniel."

He glanced at his watch. "Thirteen."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Claire, I've always been serious. Life is not the game you seem to think it is."

"All right... all right." Her hands shook as she crushed her cigarette in the ashtray on the bedside table. "This is not a game. I want to see my children."

"By all the saints, why?"

"Because I love them."

He thought he'd see the lie in her face; instead he saw something that looked like emotion and a vulnerability he'd never expected.

"It's been three years, Claire. They barely remember you. I can't let you slip in and out of their lives on whim."

Claire paced the room, her lovely legs showing through the slit in her skirt Every now and then she gave him a smoldering glance from underneath her long eyelashes. Daniel almost laughed. Why had he ever thought her beautiful and innocent?

"You can't or you won't, Daniel?"

"I won't. The children went through hell when you left the first time. I won't let you put them through hell again."

"I don't think you're going to have any choice in the matter." Claire swept her purse off the bed and made a great show of opening the clasp. She'd always been partial to the dramatic gesture.

When she threw the newspaper clipping onto the table, Daniel's heart stopped. A picture of two people kissing topped a lengthy article. He didn't have to look to know who they were.

"It's because of her, isn't it, Daniel?"

"Leave Jenny out of this, Claire. She has nothing to do with my decision."

"Well, she has something to do with mine." Claire jerked the clipping off the table and held it under his face. " 'Jenny Love-Townsend was seen smooching the elusive entrepreneur Daniel Sullivan at the grand opening of another Sullivan Store,' " she said, quoting from the article. " 'The famous Down' syndrome artist was wearing a ring said to be a Sullivan family heirloom.' "

Claire flung the paper across the room. "Do you think I'm going to leave my children in the hands of a retard?"

Daniel had never wanted to strike a woman until that moment. A muscle in his jaw ticked as he faced the woman who had once been his wife.

"I knew you had no morals, Claire. I never knew you were vicious."

"Morals! You preach to me about morals. I'll bet that little number can't wait to get her hands on your money... or is it your family jewels that interest her most?"

Only a massive effort at self-control kept him from giving vent to his rage.

"Your time is up, Claire." He started to the door.

"Do you think you can win that easily, Daniel? Do you think I'll slink off into the night after you walk out on me?"

"I don't give a damn what you do, Claire."

"You will, Daniel. You will."

 o0o

Two things were paramount in Daniel's mind: checking on his children and checking on Jenny. He found his children in their bed already fast asleep. Miss Williams hovered anxiously in the hallway while he stood watch over each small bed.

Megan stirred, opened her eyes, then reached for him. "Daddy? I was dreaming you didn't come back."

"I'll always come back. Always." He kissed her sleep-warmed cheek, then tucked the covers under her chin. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

Patrick was curled into a tight ball with his fist under his cheek. A heavy sleeper, nothing could awaken him.

Daniel picked the teddy bear up off the floor and tucked it back into Patrick's arms. "Sleep fast, my son," he whispered. "I won't let any harm come to you."

Miss Williams was still waiting in the hallway when he came out. "Mr. Sullivan, is anything wrong?"

"Yes. Follow me, please."

In his study he gave his instructions. She was not to let the children out of her sight. She was never to entrust them to anyone whom Daniel had not specifically assigned to take care of them. He would give her a list of people who could talk to his children on the telephone; all other callers had to be approved by him.

"Tomorrow I'll enhance the security by hiring bodyguards who will accompany you and the children at all times. Do you have any questions or any problems with these changes?"

"Are the children in danger, Mr. Sullivan?"

Were they? Claire had been capable of leaving them without a word. Was she capable of taking them the same way?

"I honestly don't know, Miss Williams, but I have reasons to want extreme care taken with them."

"And my salary?"

"It will be handsomely increased."

"You can count on me, Mr. Sullivan." She lifted herself up to her full height. "Godzilla can't get past me when I make up my mind."

After the nanny left, Daniel sat at his desk pondering Claire's threat.

I don't give a damn what you do, Claire.

You will, Daniel. You will.

She'd been enraged about Jenny. Was there a chance Claire would try to harm her? It was a chance Daniel wasn't willing to take.

 o0o

He posted one of his security guards outside the nursery, then drove to Jenny's. A light rain had begun to fall. His first instinct was to protect her without causing alarm. Jenny's bright, her doctor had said. She understands everything. He'd learned that lesson well in Raleigh. Not only did Jenny understand, but she wanted to be treated as if she did.

The rain picked up momentum, and he turned on his windshield wipers. In the closeness of the car, he got hot thinking of other things he'd learned in Raleigh.

Jenny was in the den playing a game of checkers with Gwendolyn. Her dogs were asleep at her feet, and the cats were curled on the sofa cushions. She took one look at Daniel's face and knew something was wrong.

Without a word she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. His heart was pounding so hard, she could feel the vibrations in her cheek.

Taking his hand, she led him to the sofa. "Do you want tea first, or do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

Daniel smiled. "Are you clairvoyant, Jenny?"

"I talk with the angels."

Gwendolyn stood up and made a big to-do of yawning. "And it's time for me to talk to my pillow." Instead of bustling out the way she always did, she paused long enough to pat Daniel's cheek. "I always said you were the one to make Jenny's dreams come true."

He bent down and kissed her wrinkled cheek. Then, knowing how she hated to be thought sentimental, he frowned at her. "You wouldn't be trying for another gift, would you?"

"Poppycock. If I want a gift, I'll go out and find my own man." She'd dyed her hair red recently, and her bright curls bobbed as she headed up the stairs.

Jenny locked the door behind her, then put her arms around Daniel's neck.

"A kiss makes everything better, Daniel."

His mouth descended on hers. The tension of confronting Claire suddenly exploded, and he pulled Jenny hard against his hips, parting her legs with one of his. He could feel the softness and the heat of her through their clothes, and he went wild with need.

His tongue plied her mouth, thrusting hard and delving deeply. She moaned.

"Jenny?" He stepped back, apologetic. "I'm sorry. I went a little crazy."

Reckless fool. He'd been gentle with her in Raleigh, and patient. She was barely tutored in the ways of love. What was he trying to do? Scare her to death?

"No ... Daniel..." She wrapped herself around him, her arms tight around his chest and her right leg hooked around his left. "Don't treat me differently."

By all the saints, would he never learn that lesson?

"I need you, Jenny."

"I'm here."

Even in his overpowering need, he didn't fail to prepare himself. Responsibility would always be a part of their lovemaking. It was a trust he'd taken on when he pledged his love to a special woman.

He gathered her skirt into one hand and hauled her close to him. The nearness of her made his heart slam against his chest. With their faces only inches apart, she looked deeply into his eyes.

"Don't be gentle with me, Daniel."

Never taking his eyes from hers, he lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his hips. His first thrust was hard and deep. Jenny's eyes widened.

"I like that... oh, Daniel, I like that a lot."

"You're going to like this even more." He began a frantic rhythm that sent them reeling against the walls. Sheer rapture colored Jenny's cheeks.

"Wonderful. . . wonderful. . . wonderful," she murmured as she rode the waves of sensation. If she'd known about such things, she might have compared their lovemaking to riding river rapids and racing down snowy ski slopes and plunging from great cliffs into the shining waters below. But all she knew was the wild freedom that filled her soul. She was soaring, soaring above all her handicaps, flying high above her limitations, flying with Daniel, her love, her hero.

There was something magnificent about his insatiable need. His eyes were bright as a god's as he took her to the floor. She met every thrust with joy, every new challenge with abandon.

He rolled them over. "Ride me, Jenny."

She needed no further instruction, for she was perfectly attuned to him, heart and soul and body. With her palms pressed against his and their fingers intertwined, she tried to fall into Daniel, to melt into him, to become a part of his hard, heaving body.

Lights from the lamp reflected on his dark hair, and brightness from the lightning that streaked the stormy skies shone in his hot eyes.

"Ah, Jenny... Jenny ... Jenny."

Daniel's litany of praise was music to her ears. Some part of her that had long been held prisoner was released. She knew no boundaries as she loved her Daniel, no restraint. With hands and lips and eyes and body, she loved him, loved him until the sweat dripped into her eyes and she could hardly see, loved him until her dress became so tangled, she ripped it aside, loved him until at last they lay in a heap, hips still joined, arms spread at impossible angles, and legs heavy with the weight of each other and the weight of fulfillment.