Lilac Temptress (48 page)

Drake didn’t allow Isadora to finish
her sentence. “I have had enough of your feuds with her. Do not
bring her into this conversation and spoil it.”

“
How can I not? She seems
to be at every direction I turn.” Isadora raised her agitated voice
slightly. “I swear that Rosaline and that woman are up to
something. I think they are trying to sabotage our upcoming
wedding. I think that woman wants you for herself,” Isadora
persisted, “and that she will stop at nothing until she succeeds in
her attempts to gain your affections.”

Drake shifted uneasily on his feet as
he ran his hands through his damp hair.

Isadora studied him while
standing fully poised, as stringent as ever, as lovely as ever and
as icy as ever. “If I am not mistaken, I think you are quite
captivated by her.
Infatué
.”

“
If you are troubled about
our marriage not taking place... don’t be. She holds no power of
persuasion over me,” Drake quickly responded, hoping to convince
her.

“
I’m glad to hear that I
should not distress.” Isadora let out a sigh of relief.

Drake heard a harsh noise from the
direction of the veranda, which sounded like a thump.

“
What was that?” Isadora
started walking toward the veranda making her way through the
doors. Drake followed hesitantly, mentally preparing himself for
the inevitable confrontation and ensuing conflict. As he stepped
outside he only found Isadora starring upward into the dark, starry
filled sky.

“
Must have been my
imagination.” Isadora breathed in the balmy night air looking
upward at the generous moon. “The night herons sing.”

Drake leaned over the balcony railing,
staring over the expanse of the gardens. He put up a pretense,
hiding his concern for Sierra. He wondered how she had escaped; he
then noticed the iron lattice framework overlapped in a crisscross
pattern scaling the wall covered with Bougainvillea vines, just
barely reaching his balcony. He caught sight of a torn piece of
cloth entangled in the latticework.

“
Drake, is there something
wrong?” Isadora asked curiously, staring at him.

“
No… not at all.” Drake
took her hand leading her back into his bedroom. “I am very tired.
Today has been long.”

“
You understand that I wore
this nightgown especially for you hoping that you might want to be
with me tonight. I thought you might like to see me this way,” she
said in her most seductive voice.

Drake closed the veranda doors not
really wanting to look at her. He wouldn’t let Isadora see that he
was yearning for another woman. “I like that you try to please me.
But why do you try so hard, Isadora? I’ve never known you to beg.
We are together by our own design—until now it never even mattered
to you what I did. You kept me waiting so that you could enjoy your
own exploits, and now—why is it so important to you that we make
love?” Drake questioned her suspiciously, exercising patience,
though his patience was quickly diminishing.

“
Why do you deny me this
small and simple pleasure? At least let me stay tonight and just
sleep in your arms.”

Isadora didn’t want to take no for an
answer. She would not lose what she worked so hard to gain. If she
could only get Drake to make love to her, everything would go as
planned. She would not risk her future prosperity by losing Drake
to some red-haired, treacherous little trollop.

“
I don’t think it is best
that you stay here tonight.”

Isadora narrowed her sharp eyes at him
incredulously.

“
Having you here with me
tonight would be all too tempting,” Drake said trying to soothe her
bruised ego and diminish any lingering doubts. “And I think you
know that as well.”

“
I guess you leave me no
choice. At least come riding with me tomorrow morning,” she
proposed. “It might do us both some good to share a bit of time
with each other.”

Drake nodded in agreement as she
leaned into him for a kiss. He sensed her dissatisfaction when he
raised his lips to meet her forehead.

Isadora turned and exited the room,
her failed attempt to make love to Drake leaving her
irritated.

* * *

Drake anxiously dressed in a cotton
nightshirt and ankle-length breeches, waiting only ten minutes
before moving quickly down the corridor, heading toward Sierra’s
room. The door was unlocked, and when he entered the room he found
her sitting on her bed quietly brushing the tangles of moist grass
and dirt out of her hair.

“
Sierra...” Drake said
moving toward her.

“
No, don’t come any closer.
We can’t keep meeting like this, in cozy bedrooms. I must begin to
behave as a proper lady when you are near,” Sierra bit at
him.

And damn you if you
do,
Drake thought before he spoke. “I only
came to—”

“
I know why you came—to
check on my welfare right? I want to really believe you worry over
me, but recently every moment that we have been close, opposition
occurs,” Sierra sighed heavily, “and since I have no power of
persuasion over you...” her voice trailed off, her downcast eyes
held back tears while hurt feelings filled her body. How would she
ever tell him that she loved him after hearing that she could not
influence his plans regarding his marriage?

“
Sierra, I didn’t mean to
say it in that way,” Drake pulled her attention back to him, still
keeping his distance as she had instructed him to, and he felt
tortured.

“
Then how did you mean
it?”

“
I...” Drake was at
familiar place when speaking to her—at a loss for words.

“
How convenient for you
Drake to hold your tongue since you won’t tell me the truth. I
don’t want your excuses.”

“
Then why did you flee and
not show yourself?” Drake asked accusingly as if she were guilty of
having some hidden agenda.

“
I only wanted to
apologize, for the trouble I have caused you. I didn’t visit you to
make your life any more difficult. Besides, visiting was obviously
a mistake,” Sierra snapped.

“
Was it?” Drake quirked his
brow. “You came into my bedroom late in the evening. Are you sure
you only wanted my forgiveness?” A wicked grin crossed his lips
when he thought about what had just taken place between them. He
was certain that if Isadora hadn’t interrupted, Sierra would be in
his bed right now.

Sierra remained quietly thoughtful for
a moment. She would not allow Drake to bait her into answering his
question—instead she would tell him what she was really thinking.
“I don’t like Isadora. I’ve known women like her. She will take
everything she can get from you while she disguises her true self.
Believe me when I tell you that she is vigilantly guarding
something. I can tell by the sound of her voice when she speaks to
you. I think that she keeps secrets.”

“
So, you suspect that she
is being dishonest with me. You’re implying that she is an
actress.” Drake laughed resentfully. “And what do you think you
know of a refined woman like her? Do you think you have learned so
much since leaving the small town privileges of a brothel
lifestyle?”

His words stung her deeply, giving
rise to her fury. She gazed at him holding back angry tears. “Why
do you wound me with such unkind words? I only mean to protect you.
I want you to see her for what really she is!”

“
And what would that
be?” Drake scoffed. “Do you think I don’t
know
her?”

Sierra remained silent. She refused to
come across as clinging or jealous, in rivalry with Isadora over
him. She would not allow Drake to think of her as juvenile, even
when she was infuriated and shouldn’t care.

Drake began his withdrawal from her.
“When did I ever need your approval?” he sullenly whispered, his
back facing her.

“
Ever since you realized I
might be your ruin,” Sierra retaliated with a sharp
tongue.

Drake stood still in the doorway for a
moment, spreading his arms wide, hands gripping the frames, angry
at himself for picking a fight with her.

“
You can stand there like a
coward with your back facing me, not looking at me. But I heard you
with her tonight. I know that you do not love her. I think that you
have not made love to her since she has arrived.” Sierra voiced in
a whisper. She knew she should not have mentioned Drake’s intimate
acts with Isadora, but she wanted to be sure.

She wanted to know if she were the
reason that Drake could not be intimate with Isadora. If she were
the reason, it would give her the courage to keep fighting for him.
He was stubborn as a mule, that was for certain, but Rosaline was
right, he deserved his chance at love. He needed to let go of his
past, and allow himself a future where he didn’t have to settle for
anything less, Sierra thought. She didn’t want him to have regrets,
years from now, after he had lost her forever.

Drake turned and glared at her; he
shuddered on meeting her eyes. His breath heavily caught in his
chest, his shoulders tensed. He had never been called a coward and
he wanted to tell her that she was wrong, but he would have been
lying, so instead he turned his head away from her, embarrassed and
overwrought with shame. His mind plunged into chaos because of
Sierra, and he was no longer able to identify with the man that he
once was. He thought too much about her, and frantically questioned
his choices, causing him anguish, because he could no longer trust
himself—and his days were filled with ruthless
self-examination.

Sierra watched him standing there not
brave enough to meet her eyes. The weighty atmosphere around him
seemed as if it were going to crush him. Taken aback when he raised
his head to meet her eyes again, his distraught look of inner
turmoil riveted her. He wavered a bit, and then folded his arms
across his abdomen as if trying to protect himself from her. Then
he retreated, leaving her there—feeling dumbfounded and miserable;
never speaking another word to her, and all she could do was lean
into her pillow and cry.

Flooded with mixed emotions, Drake
made his way down the corridor. Sierra was right. And he had indeed
spoken to her harshly, but he needed to put distance between them.
He realized now that he had been a fool to think he could settle
for being her friend. When he was near her not a single friendly
thought tempered his mind, and lately Sierra never left his
thoughts. He knew he wanted her in a way that had nothing to do
with friendship. He knew that he avidly wanted her to become his
lover. He knew he needed some fresh air before he choked on his own
stupidity.

Chapter 20

Sierra finally drifted to sleep only
to be awakened by the soft tickling of her cheek. “Drake...” she
unintelligibly whispered before lazily opening her eyes only to see
the man that used to be hers, the man who had promised to love her
forever, Jason Grant, standing above her. Sierra gasped in shock
and instantly pulled her covers to her neck, jumping far back into
the headboard. “What are you—how did you—?” She stammered, unable
to gather her thoughts.

“
Surprised to see me,
darling?” Jason’s white toothy grin sparkled as he plunked down on
the bed beside her, gazing at her heavily in the moonlit darkness
of the room.

Sierra immediately lost her composure
and slapped him forcefully, hoping to remove the crafty smile off
his face.

Jason lurched backwards and laughed
haughtily. “I see you haven’t changed a bit—I thought that might be
the welcome I’d receive.”

Sierra quickly lit the bedside lamp. A
dim glow settled over the room and she could see him more clearly.
It was the same Jason she’d seen in the Gallatin street pub,
masquerading as someone else. Only he was slightly older,
scruffy—not clean shaven, and his sparkling hazel eyes that once
captivated her, were now dull and washed-out.

“
Why did you leave me? And
how did you ever find me? And why did you not wait until a decent
hour and just come and ask for me?” Sierra couldn’t stop herself
from rolling out the questions. Jason had already left her behind
once in Jadesville with a slew unanswered; leaving a hole in her
heart that had taken all too long to heal.

“
And take the risk of you
refusing to see me, or better yet turning McCalister loose on me?
No thank you. I thought I’d take my chances on finding you this
way,” Jason said. “How well do you really know this man? By his
reputation, he is not someone a woman can trust. Did you know that
he often duels?” Jason raised his brow.

“
And the poor gents he goes
up against are often maimed, forced to suffer the rest of their
lives disfigured. It is a fate worse than death, and his influence
is also far reaching.” Jason narrowed his eyes at
Sierra.

“
He could make me disappear
if he wanted to, and no one would be any the wiser. I had to think
twice just to risk coming to see you, but I had to.” Jason snorted,
rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. He noticed Sierra’s
look of repulsion.

“
You didn’t answer my
questions,” Sierra spat, refusing to acknowledge Jason’s vilifying
description of Drake. “Why did you leave me?” she asked
persistently while shifting in the bed uncomfortably.