Microsoft Word - Jenny dreamed (47 page)

Jenny felt as though she'd been doused by a bucket of icy water. At the very moment when she had anticipated being carried to bed by an urgent, impassioned lover, she had been suddenly rejected in favor of a good night's rest! A procession of emotions paraded across her face; frustration succeeded shocked disbelief, with resentment hounding its heels. Dev couldn't stir her desires to the boiling point and then suddenly announce that he was tired!

Yet that was exactly what he had done, without any apparent concern for her feelings.

Damn him anyway! she thought irritably, watching him through narrowed eyes. Seemingly unaware of her observation, Dev stood in the halo of golden light cast by the lamp on his nightstand and stripped off his robe, carefully folding it and laying it across the back of a nearby chair. Then, with the lamp reflecting every sinew and corded muscle of his naked body, Dev stretched with the slow, measured grace of a jungle cat and finally climbed beneath the covers. "

That was the last straw! Not only was she to go to bed with her frustrations, but she was treated to an exhibition of the very instrument that might have satisfied her. Without thinking, Jenny seized the brush from the floor and hurled it at Dev with all her might.

Despite the fact that he appeared to have been ignoring her, Dev had actually kept a close watch on her increasing show of agitation. The brush whizzed past his right temple, too close for comfort's sake. "What was that for?" he inquired with a tone of a beleaguered innocent.

Things were proceeding according to plan, and if she did not surprise him by crashing one of the lamps over his head, he would remain in full command of the situation.

Hands on hips, Jenny stomped across the room with righteous fury fueling every step. "You know very well what it was for," she asserted, climbing onto the bed to kneel beside him.

She settled back on her heels, crossed her arms, and dared Dev to deny that he knew what she'd referred to.

Dev took a moment to measure the depth of her anger, studying the emotional responses that raced across her exotically beautiful face. A soft diffusion of rose dusted her high cheekbones, emphasizing the intriguing hollows beneath them. "You're not tired, then?" He continued to gaze into her eyes while watching for any warning that she might strike out at him. "Oh, Jenny, my Jenny ... beneath that warm, woman's body you're still so--" A slight widening of her eyes warned him to use caution in what he said, but he had meant to cut off his statement abruptly, anyway.

"So, what? So much a child ... is that what you intended to say? Finish telling me, Devlan Cantrell, or we'll not share the same bed tonight, I promise you that." Jenny glared at him, her lips forming a tiny, set line.

"Really, "darling, I don't know how we got started on this. You shouldn't work yourself into one of these moods. Forget I said ..."

"I have not worked myself into this 'mood' as you call it; you have put me into it, and I demand to know why!" She leaned her head to one side, a sheen of unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "You are deliberately being mean to me."

"All right, I was going to say you were childish. If you don't believe me, go and glance in your mirror. Your mouth is beginning to pout because you haven't had your way. Any moment now you'll break into tears and have a tantrum." Dev reached out and gently stroked the side of her face, but Jenny refused to be comforted by. the very person who had caused her distress; she pushed his hand away.

"The truth, Dev. I know you well enough to guess that you have a definite purpose in mind.

Otherwise, why would you act the ardent lover and then decide you were tired?" She was openly nervous now, twisting a strand of hair around her fingertips and beginning to feel like the child Dev had named her.

Dev hadn't meant to push her this far, only to illustrate the way in which she usually manipulated his responses. It was time to stop playing and tell her exactly how he felt. "I simply used some of the tricks I picked up from you, Jen. As I said earlier, you were romantic tonight, yet I had to be the one to bring up the subject. There are a thousand little ways that you communicate your needs to me, all subtle and indirect. You're a mother and carrying my child now. Why should your modesty prevent you from telling me what you want?"

He wasn't sure how she was taking this; Jenny's head was bowed, and the dark veil of hair that had cascaded forward hid her expression. Beneath the lace bodice of her white gown her breasts rose and fell in a tantalizing display of inner agitation. He hadn't expected her to accept his claims easily, but what had he really gained by pressing his point?

Perhaps they would end the night in separate beds. Jenny looked so very vulnerable at this moment, he knew the cold, sleepless night would not only be his fault, it would be his loss.

Well, so much for those who claimed it was a man's world-they had obviously never met a woman like his Jenny.

Finally she raised her head. She didn't glare as he'd expected, but there was a flickering of burning resentment in her blue-gray eyes. "You have your faults, too," Jenny asserted defensively. "There are times when you're so stubborn I could scream!"

"Don't you mean there are times when I refuse to let you have your way?" Though he knew it would add fuel to the fire of her antagonism, Dev couldn't suppress a grin. "Come now, Jen

... admit that even you can't always be right. The most spoiled child must, at one time or another, heed the voice of authority."

Jenny gritted her teeth in outrage. So she was spoiled and he was in "authority?" She could not think of a properly scathing reply, one that would put him in his place. Willing herself to be calm, she stared past him, ignoring his presence with a haughty grandeur that would have thoroughly chilled any man but the one beside her.

Even as he admired her attitude, Dev was determined to keep the upper hand. God help him if she ever decided he could be swayed by either tantrums or icy rejection! Catching her by surprise, he seized her shoulders firmly and flipped her onto her back. By the time rebellion sparked in her eyes, she was his captive, lying pinioned in his arms against the mattress.

"No, I haven't forgotten you're with child, Jenny," he stated, forestalling her accusation even as she opened her mouth to protest. For a few seconds she wriggled, straining to escape the grip of his hands until Dev snapped, "Lie still, girl! I don't want to hurt you, just finish our talk. If you're going to be mad, we might as well get it all said in one night."

Even though it scraped at her pride, Jenny could no longer hold back the angry flood of tears. Her stoic expression crumbled with a tiny sob that would have softened the hardest of hearts, adding to her husband's increasing exasperation with himself for having begun the long argument. Dev's heavy, impatient sigh sounded like a condemnation of her weakness to Jenny, and she turned her head away, letting the scalding flow of tears wash her face in misery.

The silence that followed was broken only by an occasional shuddering sob that Jenny could not hold back. Though her first reaction had been disbelief and self-pity, now that their major confrontation was over, Jenny's mind turned over the possibility that Dev was right.

Had she really used her sex, taken advantage of it to gain ascendency? Never consciously, she protested silently. Thinking about her parents, though, she could see Dev's point. Her mother did manage quite a few of the family decisions, but Papa, who seemed a paragon of strength, had never objected as Dev had now done.

Times were changing, though, weren't they? Women were crying for more freedom, demanding more equality between the sexes. Still, as Dev had pointed out, women possessed a natural arsenal of "gentle" weapons they used for their survival. Hadn't women needed them, though, in answer to the centuries-old domination of men?

Dear Lord, thought Jenny, the more she considered the aspects of the problem, the more confused she became! As clearly as she could see the issue between herself and Dev, what she'd been doing had come as naturally to her as sleeping or breathing, but, of course, that did not make it right. If a change was what Dev wanted, then she would try. That was all she could promise him.

Jenny turned to face him now, unsure how to begin. Her breathing was still ragged, but the tears had slowed to a trickle. "Dev, I ... I've been thinking about what you said, and ..." Oh, but it was hard to make an apology! And I am sorry if I've tried to manage everything my way. I truly didn't mean to, I didn't even know ..."

Already the importance of the point he'd tried to make was beginning to look very minor in comparison with Jenny's distress. He pulled her against his chest and held her close for minutes before he replied. "It's something your mother taught you, baby ... and she probably got it from her mother. Guess it's an endless cycle unless somebody like me, stubborn as a mule, objects."

Jenny was content at last. Everything would be all right now that Dev held her again. The future seemed infinitely brighter than it had minutes ago. She nestled closer, running her hand lightly over Dev's chest and tracing the pale scars that were a legacy of his participation in the Sun Dance. As though they had burned her fingertips, Jenny pulled her hand abruptly away and then circled his neck with it. The scars were a remembrance of things past; she would not look back when there was so much love in the future.

Dev smiled, rubbing his chin against the soft silk of Jenny's hair. With his every breath, the sweet, familiar scent of Jenny's perfume touched his senses. Gardeniathe essence of that pale, creamy flower was Jenny, it suited her so perfectly. He could feel his desire rising to match its earlier level. Just holding her near was enough to start his senses pounding. Did she feel the same?

Jenny was feeling the same, though she wasn't quite sure how to tell him. Devhad told her to be more forward in stating her desires. Now was as good a time to start as ever, but how should she broach the subect? Various phrases floated through her mind, but all sounded ridiculous to her. Hungry? No, Dev would think she wanted a late snack. Hot? No, that sounded as though she wanted the window opened! Finally she grew frustrated with searching for the perfect phrase. Rising up, she leaned on her elbow and stared down at Dev. He raised one golden brow in-a questioning manner, and Jenny plunged ahead before she lost her nerve. "I want you to make love to me; mad, passionate love, the kind that makes me shiver and moan and beg for more. Please?"

"Any man who could refuse a request like that has got to be crazy, and darlin', I never felt more sane in all my life!"

In a matter of seconds Dev had pulled the ribboned tie that secured Jenny's negligee and tugged the satin material down until it lay in a soft shimmering pool about her narrow waist.

With the first blush of pregnancy, her. breasts were full and tender; she had never looked more desirable. Her gaze was loving, tenderness underscored by passion, as she watched him reach out to brush his fingertips across the soft points of her nipples.

She couldn't suppress a shiver that tingled along her spine in a race with her heartbeat.

Though the hour was late, it was clear that Dev meant to take his time. Briefly, it occurred to her that she might be the one to give in to impatience.

Now she stopped thinking, giving herself up completely to the gentle, skilled siege of Dev's lips and hands. Closing her eyes, she heard the first, faint strains of a love song echo in her mind, a slow, measured prelude that would build in tempo with her passion. Time seemed to spin out by degrees, and all of their actions were drawn out to match its slow passage.

Power and beauty met in equal grace as Dev directed their lovemaking with the skill of a master choreographer. On the wide, soft bed that was their stage, the two danced to the age-old rhythms of a lover's ballet. Jenny felt her limbs grow light and fluid with purpose as she luxuriated in the golden aura of sensuality that emanated from their naked glory.

The music kept pace with Jenny's rising desires, and she began to move in restless anticipation. Dev was in command of her soul, as well as her body; he, alone, held the key that could open the floodgates and loose the tides of passion they contained. She could not help the eager answer of her flesh as his mouth captured an aching, swollen nipple and drew it between his teeth, nibbling at the blossoming point while his hard, pulsating member moved against her thigh with a life of its own. His fingers grazed her skin like tongues of fire, seeking out the dark, secret recesses as well as the rounded curves of her body.

Jenny's breath came in short, hungering gasps, and her tongue flicked out to ease the dryness of her lips. Then Dev's mouth covered hers, seeking the honeyed sweetness that lay within. Even as she stirred beneath the driving assault of his tongue, Dev was seeking other ways to delight her. His hand slid over the gentle curve of her belly to caress the rose-velvet mound of flesh that sheltered the hidden valley of her fertility. Jenny moaned against his lips, awash with a warm melting sensation as his fingers entered her, then withdrew to stroke the tiny, perfect bud of womanhood that nestled beneath a cover of soft, ebony curls.

As a dew-touched rose responds to the sun's caress, so the center of Jenny's passion blossomed with sweet-musk perfume of desire.

Intent upon the throbbing sensations that radiated from the midst of her trembling thighs, Jenny was unaware that Dev had even moved. Suddenly the warmth of his mouth replaced the light pressure of his fingers. She started with surprise, then relaxed and surrendered as his tongue teased and encircled the vulnerable spot, drawing the wild, tumultuous feeings to a climax that left her shaken with its power. Cymbals clashed and a drumbeat pounded to a crescendo within her. With the waves of heat that rippled across her bare flesh, Jenny knew the blessed relief of unleashed passion.

Lost in the dreamy contentment of release, Jenny curled against Dev, clinging to him with her eyes tightly closed while she savored every moment of receding pleasure. Her desires were not as sharp now, but as Dev held her close and pressed tiny, nibbling kisses against her throat, she began to emerge from the languor that had seized her limbs.