Any Thursday (Donovans of the Delta) (6 page)

She caught her breath as he reached up and adjusted her wedding veil. “I didn’t know the bride had eyes as blue as the Mediterranean.”

“I’m not the bride.”

“Then why are you dressed in white? Practicing?”

“Certainly not. I never intend to marry.”

“You know what they say about the best intentions.”

“Not in this case.” She reached up to take the veil off her head, but Jim’s hands stopped her.

“Don’t.” His eyes burned across her face. “I want to look at you a moment longer.”

Hannah held her breath. She was caught, and there was nothing to do but make the best of it. As Jim’s dark eyes raked over her, she cursed the fates that he had been the one to catch her parading around in her grandmother’s wedding dress.

“Why are you here, Jim?”

His hands left the wedding veil and bracketed her cheeks. “I felt the need for some excitement, Hannah.”

“You’ve come to the wrong place.”

“I think not. You’re the most exciting woman I know.”

His hands felt gentle on her face. She wished he wouldn’t touch her like that. She already was feeling sentimental, and his sweet touch was sending her right over the edge.

“Please,” she whispered.

“Please what, Hannah?” Even his voice was gentle. She felt as if she were falling into a tender trap.

“Please take your hands away from my face.”

Instead of obeying, he tipped her face up toward his. “Do I bother you?”

“More than you’ll ever know.”

Her remark seemed to please him. His smile was that of a man who knew he’d devastated a woman. That’s what he was doing, she decided—devastating her. Whether it was their proximity or too many years of denial or merely his own overpowering presence, she didn’t know; furthermore, she didn’t want to know. She simple wanted to survive Jim Roman’s invasion of her quiet Delta home and get back to the work she loved.

“More than your exotic man?” he asked suddenly.

She jerked out of his reach. “What?”

Jim crammed his hands into his pockets and began to pace the small, cramped attic. “You mentioned an exotic man this morning. Who is he?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Anything that keeps a gorgeous woman from my bed is my business.”

“Why, you arrogant jackass.” She jerked the pins from the wedding veil and pulled it from her hair. Turning her back on Jim, she folded the veil into the box. “I wouldn’t come to your bed if you were begging me on bended knee.”

“Is that why you kiss me the way you do?”

“I kiss all men that way.”

He was behind her, turning her in his arms. “Even your exotic man?” His eyes blazed down into hers. “Who is he?”

The heat of his touch coursed through her. Her passion threatened to consume her. She willed herself back under control.

Keeping her voice level, she glared at him. “His name is Rai Ghayami, and he was more man than you will ever be.”

She saw the power in Jim’s gaze mere seconds before his mouth crushed down on hers. She had meant to hold herself stiff against him this time, but there was a savage fury in the kiss that shook her resolve. Something in her rose to meet that power.

One of them groaned—she wasn’t sure who—then they were clinging to each other, their bodies rocking together in the love battle they knew so well. She felt his hands working the small buttons on the back of her dress, felt the satin and lace being slipped from her shoulders. His lips left hers and burned across her throat, then moved downward to sear along the tops of her breasts.

She leaned her head back, unconsciously offering herself up to him while still telling herself that she was in complete control.

Suddenly she felt herself being pushed away. Holding the wedding dress over her breasts, she looked at Jim. He had the bewildered look of a man who had set out to trap a wild animal and found himself the quarry.

“If he was so much man, he would never have let you go.” With that gruff-voiced declaration, he turned and stalked away. He was moving so fast, she thought he would behead himself on the attic doorway, but at the last minute he ducked under.

Hannah finished the job Jim had started: She pulled the wedding dress off. What would have happened if he had been the one to take it off? Judging by the way she felt, she decided the answer was fairly simple. She’d have given in to her passion.

Hanging the wedding dress carefully in the old armoire, Hannah came to a decision. She wanted Jim Roman and so she would have him—in her own way and in her own time. She’d go to him to slake the burning thirst that raged through her. The West Coast Warrior’s bed would be her proving ground. Once and for all she’d show herself that she could satisfy the needs of her body without sacrificing her career.

Her lips curved upward into a smile. Jim Roman had been right. She’d go to him. Once. Then she’d walk away.

Her smile broadened as she reached for her clothes. She’d go to him all right, but first she’d have her revenge.

 o0o

Jim cursed himself all the way down the attic stairs.

He didn’t know what had happened up there. He’d gone to Hannah, telling himself he wanted to make sure she was unscathed from her adventure on the runaway stallion, and then he’d seen her in the white satin dress. It was the damned wedding dress that had made a fool of him. For a moment he’d believed Hannah was the soft, feminine woman he’d been searching for. He’d even gone so far as to be jealous of her exotic man. Good Lord, he thought. Jealous! What he needed was a good stiff drink.

He climbed into his rented car and drove to the little dive he’d discovered down on the waterfront. It was cool and dark inside, with nothing to mar the quiet except the tinkle of glasses on the polished bar and the unhurried rhythm of a lonesome blues song from the upright piano in the corner. Jim chose a table at the back of the bar near a window. Outside, the afternoon sun danced on the river.

Jim slouched into his chair, content. The sight of water always soothed him. He supposed he’d inherited that trait from his father. As the waiter brought his drink and the plaintive blues song washed over him, he wondered what other traits he’d inherited from Brick Roman. Not wanderlust. He was happy with his houseboat by the Pacific. What about irresponsibility? Was that why Brick had left, or was there some other reason? It was an old puzzle without an answer.

Reaching for his drink, Jim impatiently cast aside thoughts of his father. He turned his face to the window, seeking solace in the river. Instead of water, he saw a woman in white, a bold, exciting, irresistible woman who threatened to turn all his dreams upside down.

His glass clinked against Formica as he set it back on the table. Outside his window the setting sun put on a spectacular show. Around him, the blues wailed on. But Jim neither saw nor heard: He simply sat in his chair with his untouched glass of bourbon, seeing the image of Hannah in a white satin wedding gown.

 o0o

The image of Hannah in the wedding dress stayed with Jim through the rehearsal that evening and followed him to the country club for the rehearsal dinner. Even though she was dressed in red, he still remembered the shimmering innocence of her in white.

He wondered if he might be losing his mind.

“You’ve hardly said a word all evening. Surely we’re not that boring.”

Wishes did come true, he thought as Hannah moved into the chair recently vacated by Aunt Agnes. All evening he’d watched her, willing her to come to him. And now she was at his side, as vivid and glowing as a scarlet poppy. She looked as if she’d just stepped off a roller coaster and had loved every minute of the ride. The image of her in pure white shattered with an almost audible tinkle.

“I’ve been busy taking mental notes,” he lied.

“I forgot. You have a story to write.” She laughed. “I hope you aren’t going to tell the whole truth.”

“No. I’m going to leave out the part about you outshining the bride.”

“That’s not possible. She’s radiant.”

“So are you.”

She leaned toward him and gazed earnestly into his face. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Yes. For tonight, I’ve put all my ulterior motives aside.”

“Please don’t be too nice, Jim.”

“Why not? I thought it might give us both a little relief from the skirmish.”

“It makes what I have to do harder.”

Jim found it impossible not to touch her when she was near. He reached out and caught a dark, shiny strand of her hair. It wrapped around his fingers as intimately as a kiss.

“And what is that, my gorgeous red vamp?”

“I have to deliver your comeuppance to you.”

He quirked his eyebrow upward. “For the horse?”

“You know darned well it’s for the horse.”

“If this is going to be as good as what you delivered in the tub, I can hardly wait.”

She grinned. “I knew that goody two shoes act wouldn’t last.”

“It’s not my style, but I try sometimes.”

“I like you better when you’re being your usual arrogant, overbearing self.”

“Then I’ll strive not to disappoint you.” He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her close for a quick, hard kiss.

Around them, the noise and laughter of the wedding party went on unheeded. The bride and groom slipped out the door to spend the rest of the evening alone, and some Donovans began to make their way home while others hung around to swap family tales. They left Hannah and Jim to their privacy.

Hannah pulled back from Jim, laughing. “If you thought you’d scandalize me, you’ve failed. I could pull off every stitch and parade stark naked down the middle of the dinner table, and nobody in my family would even bat an eyelash. Nobody loves a good prank better than a Donovan.”

“You call that kiss a prank? I see I’ll have to polish my technique. Perhaps you could help me.”

“Perhaps.”

Jim knew that wicked smile was coming, and when it did, he was shocked at how much he’d been counting on it

“Even better,” he said, imitating her drawl, “why don’t you do that little trick on the dinner table?”

“I have a better idea.”

“I can’t imagine anything more enticing than seeing you naked on the dinner table.”

“How about a game of poker?”

“Strip?”

“Maybe. If you promise not to beat my pants off.”

“That’s the general idea.”

Hannah stood up, taking his hand. “I have a room all set up.”

Jim only had to look at her face to see that she was up to devilment.

“You’ve already planned this?”

“Of course.”

“Revenge, I take it.”

“Only if I win.”

Jim grinned. “Then prepare to lose, Dr. Donovan. Poker is my game.”

 o0o

Hannah led him to a small back room of the country club. Three of her brothers—Tanner, Theo, and Charles—already were there, sitting around a table, waiting for them. A deck of cards lay facedown on the snowy white tablecloth.

Tanner looked up and grinned. “What took you so long, Hannah?”

Theo winked at Charles. “Your lipstick’s smeared, sis.”

Hannah dragged out a chair and sat down, as unflustered as if she were on a Sunday school picnic. “Is nothing sacred around here?”

“Certainly not your love life.” Tanner reached for the cards.

Hannah grinned at Jim. “All the Donovans are crazy. You can back out if you want to.”

He pulled out the chair next to hers and deliberately pulled it so close that their thighs were touching when he sat down. “Getting cold feet, Hannah?”

“Not a chance,” she shot back.

He turned to Tanner. “Name the game.”

“Draw poker. Penny ante.”

The bidding was quick and lively. Hannah beat them all the first game by bluffing with a pair of fours. From the cool, confident way she played, Jim had been certain that she was holding a full house.

Tanner laughed at the bewildered look on Jim’s face. “She worked her way through graduate school playing poker.”

“Don’t believe a word he says. He’s just jealous because I always beat him.” Hannah picked up the cards. “My deal.”

She took the second game too. And the third and the fourth. The stack of pennies in front of her grew.

“This is getting too rich for my blood,” Charles announced. “I’m already out twenty-five cents.” He stood up to leave.

“Mine too.” Theo joined him.

Tanner tossed the cards toward Hannah. “As much as I’d like to stay and get revenge, I have more exciting things to do.”

Hannah grinned. “Give Amanda my love. And tell her thanks for letting me borrow you for a while.”

The Donovan men took their boisterous leave, and Jim was left alone with Hannah. His gaze sizzled over her. The only sign that his scrutiny bothered her was the heightened color of her cheeks and the quick movement of her hands as she shuffled the cards.

At last he broke the silence. “I always thought I wanted a sweet old-fashioned girl.”

“Don’t you?”

“You make me wonder.”

Hannah had meant to give some flip reply and get on with her revenge, but as she looked at Jim, she realized what she felt for him was more than passion, more than a passing attraction. She was responding to the person he was, the warm, witty, altogether nice man who fit into her family with grace and ease. She’d watched him charm her mother, win over her father and her brothers, and delight her nieces and nephews. She’d even watched him settle her mother into a chair with a cup of coffee while he cleaned up the breakfast dishes for the entire Donovan clan.

The cards fluttered to the table, silent. “You make me wonder too.” she said.

“Wonder what?”

“Wonder if I’ve made the right choices. Wonder if my work will always be enough.”

“Do you want to call the whole thing off, Hannah?”

She was still for a while, thinking over his proposition.

“How much of it?”

“The revenge.”

“Merely the revenge?”

He laughed. “Only the revenge. The challenge was mine. It stands.”

Ahhh
, she thought,
he’s a dangerous man
. Hannah had always loved danger. She supposed that was one of the reasons she kept exploring the depths of the ocean: There was always the danger—and the mystery.