Harnessed Passions (37 page)

Julia stormed out of the room, tears
streaming down her face as she ran up the stairs, throwing herself
on her bed. It was impossible to hold back the pain any longer.
Seeing Daniel so intimate with Sharon Farnsworth had made all the
fantasies of passion dissolve right in front of her. He may have
shared her bed, he may have declared his love to her, but that
didn’t mean he wanted her body. Her father was proof that you
didn’t have to be in love to screw another woman; it was just a
physical connect. One she knew her husband was not getting from
her.

Dinner that evening was eaten in complete
silence. Julia and Louise answered only the questions asked, never
adding anything extra or offering any topic of conversation. Daniel
and Jeremy exchanged several confused glances before falling into a
similar silence. It was useless to carry on a conversation with
yourself.

Thompson served their meals
than left only to return with another course. By the time desert
was dished, Julia had a headache the size of Kentucky. She pushed
Mrs. Lester's bread pudding aside and excused herself, leaving the
other three alone. Bridge had filled the tub for her and she slid
beneath the scented water, closing her eyes. She tried to block out
the visions of her husband with
that
woman, but every time she tried to focus on
something else she would see them again; laughing and smiling like
secret lovers.

Nearly half an hour passed by before Julia
found enough energy to wash her hair and get out. She draped
herself in a large bath sheet, combed the tangles from her hair and
brushed her teeth, before walking back into her own room. The lamp
on her vanity had been lit suspending the room in a soft glow of
shadows. She dried off and pulled on her flannel night gown, then
sat down in front of the mirror to finish her hair. The image of
Sharon Farnsworth appeared before her and she began to mentally
compare herself with the woman.

Her reflection appeared slightly older than
her twenty-two years. Her eyes appeared to be ringed in dark
circles, even though she knew it was only shadows from the lamp.
Even her long hair felt drab and lifeless compared to its condition
just a few days ago. She just didn't know how to compete with a
woman as attractive or experienced with men as Sharon was. She
didn't know the first thing about making love let alone what it
took to please a man or how to keep one happy sexually.

Julia tossed her brush down on the vanity
and hid her face in her hands; it was hopeless, she didn’t know the
first thing about how to satisfy a man like Daniel Browning. Now
that he had found another woman to share his desires, she would
never be able to win him over; and she would never share him. She
would not be the other woman to her own husband.

She was considering offering herself up as a
sacrifice to a volcano god when a soft knock sounded at the door.
Before she had a chance to answer, the door opened and Daniel
stepped through. He looked more handsome than she had ever seen;
the dim light from the lamp fell across him, accenting the broad
lines of shoulders and chest, his long lean legs and firm buttocks.
His face and long hair was etched in silhouettes, making his firm
jaw and straight narrow nose appear to be carved from marble. His
blue eyes sparkled in the dim light and he smiled softly, showing
her his straight white teeth, his long fingers wrapped around a
delicate crystal glass.

"I thought you might like some brandy," he
told her softly, handing her the glass in his hand. "Would you like
to talk?" Julia accepted the drink, but sat it down instead of
tasting it. Nothing had a taste anymore, not even her once desired
brandy.

"I'm just tired Daniel," she lied,
retrieving her hair brush from the vanity. "I think I'll call it a
day and turn in." Daniel stepped up behind her, taking the brush
from her hand and began pulling it gently through the long damp
strands of dark satin.

"Your mother said you two had an argument,"
he told her. "I'm not prying, but I happen to know this pretty
little head of yours fits very nicely on my shoulder." Julia smiled
at the man's tenderness. She had feared her mother may have told
him what they had been fighting over, but as he continued to brush
her hair she realized he hadn't a clue.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you
are?" he whispered, bringing her eyes up to stare at his through
the reflection in the mirror.

"I'm not at all attractive," she argued
shyly, feeling the heat of his stare on her face. "I'm clumsy and
short and I've got the figure of a boy." Daniel chuckled softly,
his hands falling in a gentle massaging action on her
shoulders.

"Where did you ever get an idea like that?
You're gorgeous, and if boys looked anything like you, I'd have had
a strange tale to tell my mother."

“
Do you really think I'm
pretty?" she asked, not really listening to the man's teasing.
Daniel nodded seductively his eyes locking with hers.

"You're more beautiful than any woman I've
ever known."

"Even Sharon Farnsworth?" Julia bit her
tongue as Daniel's hands stopped their movements, his eyes held
hers through the mirror's image.

"What are you talking about? Why on earth
would you want to compare yourself to that woman?"

"I saw the two of you together today," she
admitted, knowing she could no longer lie to him than she could
herself. "I know I haven't any right to interfere, if you want to
have her company. It's just that...I would have thought you had
better taste." Julia pushed his hands away and stood up, going to
the bed and sitting on the edge. She glanced back to Daniel and saw
the stern look dance across his face. She had discovered his secret
and worse, she had insulted his choice in lovers.

"If you don't mind Daniel," she whispered,
forcing back the tears. "I'm tired. I'd like to go to bed." Daniel
didn't answer her; he just stood staring at her through the
shadows.

"Who told you I was having an affair with
Sharon Farnsworth?" he asked, his tone even and low, but his
actions rigid and still.

"Nobody had to tell me, I saw the way you
were looking at each other. She could hardly keep her hands off
you."

"Well, since you know all about it, perhaps
I should tell you the whole story," Daniel walked very slowly
toward the bed as he relayed his tale to her.

"It all started quite innocently at first,"
he began. "Just a man and a woman; nothing out of the ordinary,
until one hot summer's night when I saw her walking naked in the
moonlight like a wicked seductress; I was under her spell before
the sun rose the next morning. I don't know how it happened, it
just did. There she was, her long seductive body begging to me,
pleading for me to take her. Our eyes met and it was love at first
sight. We tried to fight it, but we knew it was hopeless. There was
no denying the urges any longer, I had to have her. I snuck into
her room after midnight and took her, there and then.

"I couldn't resist, she was too tempting,
too inviting. One touch and I was lost, forever her love slave, but
I felt guilty. I knew I couldn't hurt you like that, so instead I
told her I had to let her go. Although she pleaded with me to stay,
I knew I had to go back to you. I left her alone, bathed in the
love and passion we'd shared one last time. I came home knowing
you'd be asleep, but instead I found you waiting for me. You were
drunk, I told you to go to bed, but you told me you knew all about
us. You followed me to her house and stood outside the

"I begged you for
forgiveness, but you wouldn't hear of it. You pulled a gun on me;
you said if you couldn't have me, nobody would. You shot me dead,
right through the heart, but when you saw what you'd done you knew
the law would hang you, so you turned the gun on yourself. There we
were, dead on the floor, all over a torrid love triangle. Our head
stones read simply,
died for
love
." Daniel finished his story and leaned
across Julia not touching her, yet holding her prisoner with his
eyes.

"What a pity you never asked me if I even
wanted her. You just shot me without a trial, without a defense,
you sentenced me to die never knowing my side of the story." With
those words Daniel turned and headed for the door separating their
two rooms.

Julia sat in stunned silence. She couldn't
believe what she had heard. She was so certain Daniel had been
lovers with Sharon until he told her that stupid story. Now she
wasn't certain whether she was alive or if she had indeed shot and
killed both of them. She glanced to the door where he gone stood
and found it closed.

Without thinking she went to it, threw it
opened and jumped back in surprise. On the other side leaning
against the frame was Daniel. His arms folded across his chest, his
eyes dancing with emotion as they locked with hers, his mouth in a
firm straight line as he stared at her.

"Do you want her?" she asked softly, her
eyes lowering from the intent stare of his.

"Would it matter to you if I did?" Julia
glanced up. He wasn't going to let her off the hook without a
confession.

"I know...what I mean is...well, you're a
man and..."

"And you're a woman. Well, at least we have
our genders right."

"You don't have to get rude. I just wanted
to know. After all, you are my husband. I should know what to
expect in case anyone should ask." Julia started to shut the door,
but he caught it before it slammed and opened it wide, following
her as she paced her way back into the room.

"What would you tell them if they did ask?
Would you tell them that since I couldn't get the love from my wife
the way most men do, I had to go hunting for my comfort elsewhere?
Would you tell them every time I come near you, you push me away
and hide behind a lame excuse about my marrying you for your land?
Perhaps you'll just explain how we were forced to marry. You could
blame it on your father and say it was his fault you never got the
proper courting most women do, but then again knowing you as I do,
you'd probably just accuse them of sticking their noses in where
they weren't welcome and hide behind your virginity the way you
have with me."

Julia's mouth fell open than snapped closed
only to open again. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't
think of a good response; everything he said was true. She did deny
him; she did push him into another woman's arms. It was her fault
he was having an affair. She had to accept the blame as her
own.

"I'm sorry Daniel," she whispered, feeling
the full burden of guilt. "I never realized I sent you to her. I
won't interfere again." She stepped further into the room, turning
her back to him. He reached out and took hold of her arm, jerking
her around to face him.

"You just don't get it do you?" he snapped
and Julia saw the anger and lust on his face. She tried backing up
away from him, but he held her firmly in front of him. "I haven't
slept with Sharon Farnsworth; in fact, I haven't slept with any
woman in months, unless you count the times I've held you at night.
And if you must know, it's you I'm in love with, it's you I want to
sleep with and it's you I want to make love to."

Daniel pulled her up against his chest as
his mouth claimed hers in a move so quick; it nearly knocked her
off her feet. She reached up instinctively and held onto his strong
broad shoulders to prevent herself from falling as he wrapped his
arms around her slender waist. A second later and she found the
floor gone from beneath her feet as he lifted her into his arms. He
carried her to the bed, tossing her on top of the covers with
savage delight.

"Daniel I...," she began, trying to think of
something to say to calm his anger and lusty revenge.

"Don't," he warned, ripping his shirt open
and throwing it to the floor, ignoring the scatter of buttons that
danced across the carpet. "I'm tired of taking no for an answer.
It's time you became my wife and it's time you knew exactly what it
feels like to have a man between your legs." Julia began backing up
on the bed, but was stopped short by the cold head board.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, crawling on the
bed with her. A second later he had her pinned to the blankets his
arms imprisoning her wrists above her head, his long lean leg
thrust between hers.

"Daniel I don't think..."

"And I want you to keep it that way," he
told her, kissing her with such savage tenderness it stole her
breath away. "No more thinking Little Princess, no more excuses. I
want you, only you. I've wanted you since I first saw you. I'm in
love with you and you're in love with me, nothing else
matters."

He lowered his mouth to hers again in order
to keep her silent and slid her wrists into one hand as he worked
with haste in removing her clothes. Julia squirmed against him, but
found her own strength no match for the brute power of her
husband's as he pulled her nightgown over her head, before
restraining her hands again in a firm grip.

A moment later and they lay together on the
soft bed completely naked. Their bodies pressed together in heat
and passion, with only a sheet of desire between their nakedness.
She knew she should feel embarrassed but she didn’t; the feel of
his hard body against her was erotic and she found her heartbeat
pounding rhythmically against her chest.

Daniel chuckled against her lips, sending
shivers traveling along her spine. He knew her resistance was
exhausted and he was anxious to demolish it completely. He led the
fingers of his free hand slowly across her cheek, down her neck and
chest, finally coming to a halt at the soft, firm mounds of her
breast, all the while kissing her speechless. His hand covered the
tender flesh squeezing the hardened nipple gently between his thumb
and forefinger, offering a pain-pleasure sensation that had her
gasping, then moaning into his mouth.