Dreams: Part Two (12 page)

“You know me, Gil. I’m nothing if not noble.“

“Uh-huh.“ He surveyed the depleted tray of snacks that had been placed within easy reach of the sofa, the pile of books and magazines arranged conveniently on the table, the carefully plumped pillows and the remains of an earlier cup of coffee. “You know what I think?“

“What’s that?“

“I think you’ve just discovered one of the little joys of married life, and you’re wallowing in it. Ever had a woman fuss over you before, Colby?“

“Not that I can remember,“ Colby responded with total honesty. He grinned back. “A man could get used to it.“

“It appears you’re taking to it like a duck to water. From the report I got, I assumed you were at death’s door, but you don’t look like you’re going to croak on us any time soon. What’s the real story?“

“The bruises you can see and a few more on my ribs. Nothing’s broken. I’m a little sore but Diana’s keeping me dosed with female medicine. It works fairly well.“

“Female medicine? What’s that?“

“Take a guess.“

Gil’s expression cleared. “I get it. That kind of medicine.“

“Yeah, that kind of medicine.“

“Is it working?“ Gil asked with interest.

“Like I told Diana, I don’t have cramps.“

“That must be a great relief to you. You want to tell me what happened last night?“

“Didn’t Diana fill Evelyn in? I understood they had a real heart-to-heart chat at the post office this morning.“

“I hope you didn’t chew Diana out when she told you she’d talked to Evelyn. She’s really upset, Colby.“

“I know. That’s why I didn’t yell at her when she admitted she’d run into Evelyn and spilled the whole story.“

Colby chuckled. “You should have heard her yelling at me last night, though, when I finally got back here. She thought I’d been out drinking with some old buddies. She really started to let me have it with both barrels until she realized what had happened.“

Gil regarded him with amusement. “Wives tend to do those things. When they stop fussing over things like that, you got cause to worry. What did happen last night?“

Colby shrugged, and winced when his ribs protested. “It was all pretty straightforward. Harry caught me alone on the way back from Spooner’s. I was changing a tire.“

“Not the best position to be in when Harry’s around.“

“Yeah. That’s what I found out. Harry took the opportunity to try to get even for an old grudge. It was like an instant replay of twenty years ago.“

“Who won this time?“

“It was a draw. I encouraged Harry to be satisfied with that.“

“I doubt if he will be. Kind of convenient, him finding you out in the middle of nowhere fixing a flat tire.“

Colby looked at Gil for a long moment. “Yeah, that occurred to me, too. He might have followed me to Spooner’s, I guess. He could have put a knife into one of the tires while I was out back having a few beers with Eddy and then followed me until I finally realized I had a flat.“

“Want me to have a talk with Roy Barnes?“

“No, because I’m not going to do anything about it, and you know it. What happened was between Harry and me and goes back twenty years. It’s got nothing to do with Barnes or anyone else.“

“Kinda thought you’d feel that way. You might have a tough time convincing Diana to let it drop, though. She’s mad.“

“I can handle Diana.“

“Who says you can handle Diana?“ Diana glowered at him from the kitchen doorway, a tray of cups in her hand.

“Colby, this is not a matter of machismo. This is a matter for the law. I will not have that big ox thinking he can beat you to a pulp and get away with it.“

“Now, honey,“ Colby said soothingly, “there’s no need to get any more upset about this. It’s over.“

“It’s a long way from over.“

Gil interrupted. “If it’s any consolation, Diana, Harry didn’t exactly get off unscathed last night. Someone saw him when he drove Margaret Fulbrook into town this morning and he looks kind of skinned up from bouncing off the pavement. I hear the match ended in a draw.“

“This is not a professional prize fight we’re talking about,“ Diana fumed. “This was a clear case of unprovoked assault.“

“Diana, I think I need another one of those tablets,“ Colby said quickly. “Would you mind getting me one along with a glass of water?“

Instantly her attention was riveted on his physical condition. “Of
course. Here, Gil. Help yourself to the coffee. I’ll be back in a few minutes.“ She set down the tray and hurried toward the stairs.

Gil watched her dash up the stairs and then he gave Colby a quick grin. “You can’t play the wounded hero forever, you know. Sooner or later the bruises will fade.“

“I’m going to milk it for all it’s worth in the meantime. By the way, Gil, Diana and I are leaving in a day or two.“

“I thought you were here for the summer.“

“I’ve changed my mind.“

“Because of Harry?“

“Hell, no, not because of Harry.“ Colby picked up his coffee mug. “Because of something else.“ He gave Gil a brief description of what had happened out on River Road.

“A black Corvette, huh? I can’t think of anyone who’s driving one around here,“ Gil said thoughtfully.

“Neither can Eddy Spooner.“

“He’d know if there was a car like that around.“

Colby nodded. “Yeah. But the fact that he doesn’t know anything about it is what worries me. It’s too much like no one knowing anything about those pranks that were played on Diana when she was living in the cottage.“

“You still think someone besides your son’s girlfriend was responsible for those incidents?“

“I don’t know, Gil. I just know that those pranks coupled with that damned fool who tried to take us on River Road add up to too many incidents. Someone besides Harry Gedge may be carrying an old grudge, but if that’s the case he’s not coming after me directly the way Harry did. He’s threatening Diana. I have to get her out of here.“

“I don’t blame you. None of it makes any sense, but I’d do the same in your situation.“

“You’ll keep an eye out in case anything new crops up?“

Gil nodded, his face grim. “You bet. I’ll give you a call if I hear anything.“

“Thanks.“

The sudden silence from upstairs made Colby glance over his shoulder. Diana stood on the landing, the bottle of pills in her hand. She was staring down at him, and he wondered how much she’d overheard.

“Colby?“

Colby smiled reassuringly and said the first thing he could think of that might distract her. “Relax, honey. You wanted to go back to work at Carruthers and Yale, didn’t you?“

The pleading call from the grotto was stronger than ever. She had to stay. Torn between the desperate, silent
demand and the need to escape, she hovered at the edge of the hot spring. She could do nothing until the warrior
came for her. She was helpless.

Her feet were damp. She looked down and saw that a thin ribbon of fluid was trickling along the cave floor,
angling toward the entrance. The fluid was tinged bloodred and it came from between her thighs.

Soon the pain would start. She was so afraid of the pain.

Diana’s eyes snapped open. She lay still for a moment, trying to bring herself back to the reality of her Portland bedroom. It had been two weeks since Colby had hustled her and Specter back to the city. She had been back at work at Carruthers and Yale for over a week.

She waited a few seconds longer and then she couldn’t resist.

“Colby?“ she asked softly. “Are you awake?“

He groaned. “You, too, huh?“

“This is getting ridiculous. Nobody shares dreams like this. It’s spooky.“

He turned on his side, yawned and gathered her close. His hand stroked her with a familiar, sleepy sensuality.

“Relax, honey. It’s a little unusual, but it’s not anything to get nervous about. I told you, I’ve been having dreams about that damned cave for twenty years.“

“But have you ever known anyone else who’s had them?“

“No.“ He leaned over to nuzzle the curve of her neck. His leg angled across her thighs. “But, then, I’ve never spent the night there with anyone else except you. I also am not in the habit of discussing my dreams with other people. How would I know if someone else was having the cave dream unless he or she volunteered the information?“

“It’s not normal, Colby.“

“Maybe all married couples share their dreams.“

“If the phenomenon was common, we’d have heard about it by now,“ Diana retorted.

“Maybe we’re unique.“ His hand slid down over her hip, and his mouth followed the line of cleavage that disappeared beneath the low bodice of her nightgown.

“Colby, I’m trying to have a serious discussion.“

“Could we have it in the morning? I’m sort of busy at the moment.“

Diana laughed softly, the uneasy spell of the dream broken by his unabashed lust. “It’s nearly two o’clock. We should go back to sleep.“

“Ill make this fast.“ His hand slipped between her thighs.

“No, you will not make it fast.“ Diana pushed at his shoulders. He went over onto his back, his eyes gleaming in the shadows.

“I won’t?“ he asked.

“No. You will make this nice and slow.“ She let her breasts brush his naked chest as she leaned over him and found his mouth with her own.

“Anything you say, honey.“

BUT everything
was
NOT quite as she said, Diana reflected the next morning as she dressed for work, not by a long shot. Colby was accommodating enough in bed, but he could be intransigent out of it. She was learning the hard way that marriage required a great deal of adjustment. As far as she could tell, she was the one doing most of the adjusting.

Colby had never really given her a reasonable explanation as to why he wanted to leave Fulbrook Corners before the summer ended. She knew he was uneasy about the pranks that had been played on her, and she thought he had been more concerned about that late-night race on River Road than he had admitted to her, but he’d refused to say much about it.

“Just kids playing dangerous games,“ he’d explained briefly when she’d grilled him. “What’s the problem, anyway? You wanted to go back to work as soon as possible. Here’s your chance.“

She’d been happy to head for Portland, but not for the reasons he’d assumed. It was true she wanted to start back to work as soon as possible now that she’d made her decision, but as they’d driven out of Fulbrook Corners, Diana’s main feeling had been a sense of relief that they were going to be beyond the reach of Harry the Ox.

She’d abandoned the attempt to get Colby to sue, but she wasn’t happy about it.

Diana sighed and examined herself closely in the mirror. She could still fit into most of her expensive business suits, but it wouldn’t be long before she would have to go shopping for maternity clothes. The first signs of changes in her body were starting to manifest themselves.

Colby seemed to take great satisfaction in watching for them, but Diana found the changes disconcerting. She had always kept her figure firmly under control by dint of exercise and diet. But now her body seemed hellbent on following its own path. Just one more example of how her life had begun to slip out of control since she’d met Colby Savagar.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

She walked into the kitchen a few minutes later and found Colby stacking the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.

He glanced up and surveyed her from head to foot, taking in the neat sophistication of her tawny brown hair, the small gold earrings, the cream-colored suit and silk blouse and the matching cream-colored heels. He grinned possessively.

“I wonder if you have any idea how intimidatingly professional you look when you’re dressed for work,“ he said as he closed the dishwasher and leaned back against the counter. “A twentieth-century amazon warrior.“

“Are you intimidated?“

His grin widened wolfishly and he folded his arms across his chest. “Do I look like the kind of man who’d let himself be intimidated by an amazon? Especially when I know I’m responsible for getting this particular amazon pregnant?“

Diana walked toward him, letting her hips sway with just enough emphasis to get his attention. She stopped very close to him and tapped her enameled nail against the side of his mouth. “Mr. Macho, hmm?“

He shrugged with fine modesty. “What can I say? When a man’s got it, he might as well flaunt it.“

“If I see you flaunting it in front of any other females, I’ll show you just how much of an amazon I can be.“ Diana drew a quick little breath as the teasing threat left her lips. She was still new to the kind of games lovers play.

Colby’s eyes narrowed swiftly. He made no attempt to hide the flare of masculine pleasure in his gaze. His voice lowered to a rough, sexy growl. “I love it when you go all primitive and jealous.“

“Do you?“

“Yeah. Gets me hot.“ He unfolded his arms and put his hands around her waist. “What do you say we get in a quickie before you leave for work?“

“You’ve got a book to finish and I’m late.“ She kissed him briefly and stepped back. Her lashes lowered mischievously when she said, “Save it for me, tough guy. I’ll see you later. Try not to get into an argument with Specter.“ She swung around and started to sashay out of the kitchen.

“Specter’s not as dumb as I once thought. Ever since it dawned on him that I’ve now got control of his dog biscuits all day long, he’s been negotiating for a truce.“

“Don’t abuse your power, Colby. Nobody likes a tyrant.“ Diana leaned down to scratch Specter’s ears as he padded over to say goodbye.

Colby’s voice stopped her just as she reached the door. His tone was no longer teasing or sexy.

“Diana, try leaving work on time this afternoon. You’ve been getting home later and later all week. Crown’s sucking you back into the overtime routine. I don’t like it.“