Each Time We Love (39 page)

More for the women's
sake than for his own, and to avoid as many raised eyebrows as possible
when Savanna's child was born, Adam had declared that there would be no
formal honeymoon, nor an announcement of the wedding. As news of their
marriage spread by means of various friends and acquaintances, there
would be no mention of the
actual
wedding date.
As far as anyone was concerned, the marriage was indeed recent, but
how
recent was nobody's business!

But while the honeymoon was going to be forsaken, Adam did
insist that he and Savanna have some time alone before they returned to
Campo de Verde to visit for a few weeks before undertaking the journey
to Belle Vista. Savanna appeared as coldly indifferent to the idea of a
honeymoon as she had to everything he had proposed since the afternoon
he had stated so vehemently that they
would
marry, and Adam felt a strong urge to throttle his dearly beloved.

On their wedding night, when the travel-weary little party
stopped for the evening at a respectable but rather rough tavern
several miles north of North Orleans, Adam suggested that the two
ladies share the lone bedroom they were offered and that the gentlemen
sleep on blankets outside the door to their room. He had the immense
satisfaction of seeing Savanna's eyes widen with astonishment and he
was happily aware that for the remainder of the evening, she watched
him with a puzzled expression on her lovely face. As much as Adam would
have enjoyed making love to his bride, he wanted a far more seductive
setting than a tiny room with paper-thin walls and a lumpy bed!

It didn't do Savanna's temper any good to listen that evening,
as they prepared for bed, to her mother prattle on about what a
considerate,
charming
young man she had married.
Outraged and bitter at Adam's underhanded methods to gain her consent
to the marriage, Savanna was in no mood to hear anything good about
him! Her eyes glittering with suppressed temper, she opened her mouth
to state precisely what sort of an arrogant, crafty bastard Adam St.
Clair really was, when she caught sight of her mother's happy face and
shut her mouth with a decided snap. Elizabeth was thrilled with the
marriage! Absolutely delighted that her daughter was safely,
respectably
married to a handsome, generous, well-bred, wealthy young man, and
Savanna didn't have the heart to disillusion her. Besides, her argument
was with Adam and there was no reason to involve Elizabeth. Giving her
mother a fond kiss on the forehead, Savanna rolled over in the small
bed and, stifling a yawn, decided that this was probably the oddest
wedding night of any bride—imagine sharing a bed with your mother while
your groom slept on the floor outside the door! Savanna smiled. Served
the insolent devil right!

When Adam had first mentioned the stay in New Orleans, Savanna
had viewed it as another sign of his high-handedness, but realizing
that as long as her mother was hovering nearby she would have to keep a
civil tongue in her mouth, she was now actively looking forward to the
instant the two parties separated. Consequently, the next afternoon,
when the little group split up, the new couple taking the two horses
and detouring to New Orleans while the rest, riding in the phaeton,
returned to Campo de Verde, Savanna was almost smiling, the light of
battle shining in the depths of her aquamarine eyes.

Adam had kept his suite of rooms at the hotel and it was there
that he took his not-so-loving bride. If Savanna was impressed with the
gracious rooms and elegant furnishings, she said nothing. She was
not
going to let herself be distracted by such frivolous things as thick,
jewel-toned carpets, gilt-edged mirrors, damask-covered sofas, gleaming
crystal chandeliers and silk-hung beds!

Privately she admitted that the rooms were gorgeous, and under
different circumstances she would have been wide-eyed with delight and
absolutely enchanted with her surroundings. Standing stiffly in the
center of the elegant sitting room, she glared resentfully at Adam as
he shut the double doors behind him, wishing he didn't look quite so
devilishly attractive in his dark blue coat and buff breeches. Her
wardrobe had always been extremely limited, and though she had never
longed for frilly gowns of silk and lace, at least never
really
longed for them, she felt slightly out of place in such grand
surroundings wearing her old-fashioned riding habit of plain gray
cloth. That Adam, despite their days on the road was garbed in the
height of fashion, from the pristine whiteness of his neatly tied
cravat to the bright shine on his black boots, didn't make Savanna feel
any more comfortable. In her present mood, his very elegance was just
one more fault in his already vastly flawed character.

Reaching up and destroying the cravat that aroused such black
feelings within his bride by tearing it from his neck, he tossed it
carelessly on one of the marble-topped tables scattered around the room
and eyed her consideringly. She had been singularly docile during their
ride into the city, but he wasn't fooled—she was pining for a fight.
Adam wasn't exactly averse to letting her vent her spleen—after all, in
front of her mother she'd had to keep a smile pasted on her face and,
though it had choked her, speak to him in polite tones. He grinned.
Knowing his bride, he thought she was probably about ready to explode
from having had to be nice to him.

Settling himself down comfortably in a deep chair of straw
silk, Adam rested his hands behind his head and stretched out his
booted feet in front of him. "Ah, my dear, alone at last," he drawled
maddeningly. "Shall we begin to bill and coo like the lovebirds we are
supposed to be?"

"I don't," Savanna ground out with eyes blazing,

"love you!
I hate you
—you underhanded,
calculating bastard!"

Adam smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure
you do! After all," he went on silkily, "all I've done is save you from
disgrace and provide my child with a name. Such a despicable crime I've
committed!"

Savanna looked away, embarrassment and guilt crawling through
her. There was too much truth in his words for her to ignore—even in a
temper and spoiling for a fight, she found herself with no weapons
against him. His words bit deep and the anger she had erected as a
shield against him suddenly crumpled. He didn't fight very fair, she
thought crankily. How could she possibly rail and shout at him when in
the deepest recesses of her heart she knew that she
should
be grateful for what he had done? Sighing, she walked over to one of
the wide velvet-draped windows and looked blindly down at the street
below. The words stuck in her throat, but she managed to get them out.
"You did an honorable thing, I can't deny it, and m-m-most men in your
position wouldn't have gone to such lengths." Her eyes suddenly
glittered with unshed tears and she declared passionately,
"Unfortunately, you have also chained us together for the rest of our
lives! Beyond the child, we share nothing, no real feelings for each
other!"

She heard Adam get up from his chair and she stiffened as he
walked up behind her. He was standing so close to her that she could
feel the heat of his big body against her back, and her pulse leapt
when his hand rested gently on her shoulder. His warm breath caressed
her ear as he bent nearer and said quietly, "Savanna, I do have
feelings for you. I know that we started off badly, but since we have
managed to create a child between us and we
are
married, don't you think we might try to deal better together than we
have so far?"

Savanna bit down hard on her lip, battling back her tears.
Adam in a kind mood played bloody havoc with her reasoning and made it
difficult for her to remember that he was an unprincipled monster who
had blackmailed her into a marriage she most decidedly had not wanted.
She wanted to fight with him, to hurl angry words at him, but the urge
to spin around and throw herself into his arms and seek comfort from
his embrace was nearly overpowering and she fought hard against it. She
was
not
going to give him a weapon to use against
her! It was impossible, however, considering the state of her
treacherous emotions, not to take the olive branch that he so
generously offered. The thought of living in a state of constant
warfare was definitely not very appealing, and logic told her that in
order to survive they must find some way of living peaceably together.
Still keeping her back to him, she admitted huskily, "It will not be
easy—our backgrounds are very different… and I don't believe that your
family will quickly forget what my father did to them."

Adam's hand tightened on her shoulder. "I'm not going to
pretend to you that Jason and Catherine will be overjoyed with our
marriage, but they are reasonable people. Once they are convinced that
you mean neither them nor me any harm, they will accept you gladly for
who you are,
not
for who your father was! As for
our different backgrounds…" Adam smiled and, slowly turning her around,
linked his hands behind her waist. "Did I ever tell you of my life with
the gypsies?"

Instantly distracted, as he had known she would be, Savanna
stared at him, lively curiosity in her eyes. "Gypsies? What are you
talking about?"

Laughter flashed in the dark blue eyes. "Why, my dear, only
that I am not quite the pillar of respectability that your mother
believes—my early years were equally as harum-scarum and unorthodox as
yours! Come, sit on the sofa beside me and let me tell you of Clive
Pendleton, Reina, Manuel and Tamara— Catherine's name when we lived
with the gypsies."

Fascinated, Savanna sat beside him on the damask sofa and
listened with wide eyes as Adam told her of those long-ago years he and
Catherine had spent living with the gypsies. Adam could tell a good
story, and since he had considered the entire experience a huge
adventure, Savanna found herself listening to an exciting tale. When he
finished speaking, Savanna sat there staring at him and he was
astonished to see a tiny flicker of respect in the depths of her gaze.

She lifted a hand and startled him by gently caressing his
cheek. "Was it very hard for you when Reina returned you to the earl?"

Delighted with her reaction, Adam caught her hand and kissed
her fingertips. A quizzical gleam in his eyes, he said carefully, "Not
as hard as convincing you to marry me."

Her face closed up immediately and she glanced away from him.
Cursing his impetuousness, Adam rose from the sofa. Loving her as he
did, it was all he could do to prevent himself from dragging her into
his arms and forcing the response he wanted from her, but, determined
to win her heart, he tamped down his baser instincts.

Adopting a casual air, he said easily, "I suspect that you are
longing for a bath and then perhaps a nice dinner, served here in our
rooms?"

Savanna looked at him gratefully, glad that he had introduced
such a mundane topic. She was emotionally exhausted and the thought of
a long, luxurious bath, followed by dinner in this elegant setting, was
extremely alluring. Smiling shyly at him, she murmured, "That sounds
lovely!"

Adam grinned at her and walked over to a corded bellpull.
"Madame's wish shall be my command! Especially since the staff of this
hotel are noted for their excellence and I have to do nothing but make
your desires known to them!"

Adam remained available until everything was in readiness for
Savanna's bath; then, casually telling her that he felt like stretching
his legs and wandering around the lobby for a while, he departed,
leaving Savanna in sole occupancy of the suite. Marveling at how
splendidly events were swiftly moving, Savanna wafted dreamily into the
large dressing room which adjoined the bedroom and where her bath had
been prepared. It wasn't until she was decadently ensconced in the
deepest, fullest brass tub of lavender-scented water and frothy bubbles
she had ever enjoyed in her life that it dawned on her that Adam was
sure to demand intimacy during the coming evening. Thinking of dining
alone with her husband in their private set of rooms, and especially of
what would happen later, suddenly had her heart beating faster and, to
her utter dismay, her nipples and loins fluttering with anticipation.

Seeking escape from the erotic images in her mind, she hastily
dunked her head under the water, cursing her vulnerability to him. She
forgot to close her eyes or mouth and came up spitting out bubbles and
with stinging eyes. That, my girl, she thought crossly as she wiped the
soap out of her eyes, is what you get for being such a lascivious
little slut!

A few minutes later, her wet hair and body each wrapped in its
own towel, she left the dressing room and walked back into the bedroom,
intending to find her cleanest and least-crumpled gown to wear for the
evening. She stopped in astonishment as her gaze caught the incredibly
lovely garments laid out temptingly on the huge bed.

The negligee was the most delicate, feminine concoction she
had ever seen in her life. Of the finest-spun gossamer silk, in a shade
that rivaled the color of her eyes, with a deep inset of blond Mechlin
lace across the bosom, it was undoubtedly a very wicked
garment—designed with blatant seduction in mind. Savanna stared at it
with longing and trepidation.

Did she dare to put it on? Almost mesmerized by the negligee
and the peignoir, she approached the bed in a daze. Wonderingly, her
fingers ran over the soft, supple fabric of the peignoir, an equally
seductive creation in a darker shade of aquamarine with a narrow gold
stripe interwoven in the heavy silken material. A wide ruffle of more
blond Mechlin lace flowed around the opening and across the hem of the
peignoir, and there was something so delightfully appealing and
feminine about the garments that Savanna, accustomed all her life to
the plainest, most practical clothing available, suddenly gave in to
temptation.