Rebel Heart (24 page)

"Don't be afraid. There is nothing here, nothing that would harm you."

She was amazed at the tenderness and the consideration he obviously felt for her plight; his hand nearly twice the size of hers, calloused yet holding hers as if she were made of the most fragile porcelain. Despite the chill from the cave and the trembling of her body, despite the fortress she'd tried to build around her heart and soul, she felt the warmth of his hand penetrate her defenses, and she had not expected that. She had not thought to care for this man, wanting desperately to put her fear aside.

She knew he studied her, realized also that he was not letting go of her hand, but then he surprised her with his sudden harshness. "What do you have against Dr. Savage?"

She lowered her lashes, reluctant to meet his gaze then slowly pulled her hand from his as if the contact burned. Pausing a moment, accessing the situation and her words, she wondered again who the devil she was speaking to and what she dared tell him.

"He's a barbarian and a thieftaker...Savage," she said suddenly, wary of this man.

"You're prejudiced," he said pointedly.

"Hardly," she told him cryptically. Then she added hastily, "I met him once," but then she wished she hadn't blurted that out. She did not like admitting or recounting that fiasco, nor did she intend to admit it to this man. "He is brash and far too bold. He refuses to see or even listen to someone else's opinion, thinking he knows the way of it. He holds women in the lowest regard possible."

"All that?" he asked sounding amused, now that she'd vented her anger and her frustrations. Yet she heard a dangerous edge to his voice, almost as if he accused her of the same horrible characteristics.

"You're wrong, Victoria. He cares deeply for women. He holds them in the highest esteem."

Tori felt uneasy, curious that this man could read her thoughts, somehow knowing that she'd barely touched on her real reason for disliking Cameron Savage. She looked longingly at the opening of the cave.

She had never been inside a real cave before and she shuddered to think of the bats and the other gruesome things that might lurk in the shadows. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm not going to marry Savage."

"Because he's a barbarian?"

She held her hand at her throat, swallowing convulsively and doing her very best to hide her fear and to keep her body from shaking. "No... Because he flaunts it."

"He's renowned in his field. They say that he will find the serum before the year is out."

"Trust me, he won't. Doesn't have a clue as to the one vital ingredient. A chemical so rare yet as ageless as time itself, it has eluded all the scientists. One must go back before the war, before the division of the people, to discover its full potential."

"If you know the chemical, then why haven't you synthesized the serum?"

"It isn't that easy. Besides, the serum is only a temporary answer. I've almost perfected and formulated a long-term solution. My research..."

"Yet you want nothing to do with a man who could aide you in every way possible. If the two of you put your minds together, then--the possibilities are limitless, aren't they?"

She swallowed hard again. "Can we talk about this--out there? I really would like to move closer to the mouth of the cave."

"It's too dangerous. Listen."

At first Tori heard nothing. Yet, even as she began to hear little noises inside the cave, a squeak, a scurry, she heard other sounds too. The hum of an engine, the hiss of laser beams searing foliage as they penetrated the dense undergrowth in their search mission. In the interim he had clasped her hand in his, sensing her fear, seeing the signs of distress in her eyes, in her expression. "Your glider?" she asked, suddenly fearing its discovery.

"It's protected. They won't find it with either laser or infrared." He squeezed her hand gently then slowly lifted it to place a tender kiss in the heart of her palm.

"Are you trying to divert our conversation in regard to your aversion to Cameron Savage?"

"Diversion be damned. I will not marry him. Or work with him, for that matter. He would never understand or accept me the way I am and I could never change enough to suit his intolerant nature."

"But it's your father's wish!"

She looked away, almost forgetting her strange loathing of the cave. The once gentle hands holding hers tightened.

He suddenly dropped her hand as if it were a hot coal. "Excuse me." He rose and walked to the rear of the cave. "I've food and drink in the basket. Whatever the future holds, something in our stomachs should make everything a little better. If you stay near the front, it might be easier for you, but don't go to the opening," he warned. "The tracking beams will detect your heat signature."

Tori paused two feet from the entrance. He was right, of course. Her trembling had slowed and her heart no longer raced so horribly out of control. Her irrational fear didn't seem so strong, and as she kept insisting to herself that nothing would hurt her as long as he was with her, she breathed a little easier. It was her stubborn nature, she thought wryly, that finally banished the bizarre fright to the back of her mind. She was still clammy; probably very pale, and she was certain that if he touched her again, she'd surely crumble.

And she didn't know how or when but he intended to take her to Savage. He had rescued her from the filthy vile hands of Quentin Morray only to hand her over to another man. Savage was a man like no other.

Save, perhaps, The Phantom.

She needed to find a way down from this mountain, was desperate to reach Jonathan. Jonathan could never hide her, because too much was at risk with his life and career. He walked a tightrope all his own.

Drake would help her, but his territory was far to the east and in the mountains so high she'd never make it without the use of a glider.

She stared at The Phantom, at the towering stranger in his all-enclosing leather mask. She could imagine long black hair inside the mask, maybe long enough to touch his shoulders, or even long enough to spill down his back. She imagined a gold earring in his left ear. Or perhaps his right... She imagined... She stiffened, wondering if she dared try to escape him again. His presence filled the small cave. His every movement spoke of his love for life, his strength and his courage of conviction and being. She had felt the force of his muscled form, had known the power of his will.

"Take me to the mountains," she said, watching him as he set the pitcher of juice on a rock.

He turned to her and she felt the force of his gaze once again.

"Take you to the mountains?"

She stood then cautiously approached him. She put her hands on his arms and looked pleadingly into his eyes. "Please. I can do more good for the people if I'm allowed to work. I know things--I think, well, with just a little more time I can make it like it used to be--before the wars."

"Don't delude yourself. It will never be the same."

"You're wrong. I'm so very close to the answer. I've found an allele...the genetic code differs only slightly. I..." She broke off, suddenly realizing she might have said too much. He was a warrior, a guard probably, but still, there were many who would sell the information she'd just given him. Or worse, he might decide to sell her to the highest bidder. If he believed her, she thought bitterly.

"I'll find a way there myself."

"Ah, I suppose you could walk. It's only a couple thousand miles. Oh, babe, that wouldn't be chivalrous now would it?"

"Chivalry is dead. Besides, I'm telling you, I can get there on my own. And if you let me borrow your glider, I would see you were well compensated for your efforts. I have a trust--money of my own."

"And would the money mean anything if I had Savage after me?"

"He wouldn't care."

"You say he is such a despicable man. That his fiancée's welfare does not mean anything to him? I say you're wrong."

She smiled, as enchantingly, as innocently, as she could manage. "Perhaps he is not so bad. Perhaps he would not care what happens to me. Then there is the possibility he would be relieved to find me gone."

"Hmm," he murmured thoughtfully. "You underestimate him. He would not be happy if I failed him."

"Please," she begged softly, rising on her toes, her eyes wide, her whisper feminine and seductive. Jonathan had told her once that she was beautiful, told her also she could probably seduce a saint. "Let me go."

She had never believed Jonathan, but for just this once, let it be true.

"Please..." she repeated, just as softly and provocatively as she could manage.

The man in front of her touched her chin with his thumb and forefinger, gently lifting it so he could study her--or look at her, she wasn't sure. The calloused pad of his thumb moved lightly over her lips.

Who was seducing whom?

She watched him, not once attempting to hide her confusion. Her heart was instantly pounding too swiftly, too hard. A flush of warmth was growing within her, and a spiraling heat she could not tap down was spreading outward and inward too.

"I would repay you," she whispered softly. Yes, that was just the right touch. The slight trembling added to the vision she was trying to paint. Yet the trembling came because he was so very close and because he was caressing her, touching her.

I am seducing him, she scolded herself furiously, in a futile attempt to control her emotions. The heat remained within, and the quivering sensation very deep inside. "Just name your price." She caught hold of his callused hand, her fingers tracing the palm and the fingers, all the while keeping her eyes riveted to his.

"I know that you want the researchers to find the cures as much as anyone. I would give..." her voice trailed away seductively.

He removed his hand from hers. His mask hiding his expression, she had no idea what he must be thinking. She tried to take advantage of the moment. Her smile, she hoped, was sexy and provocative, a smile that would tempt even The Phantom--especially The Phantom.

"Just what are you offering?" he whispered. The husky timber of his voice sent shivers down her spine.

"A letter of recommendation to the council," she promised, "for a job well done."

"What if that's not enough?"

She moistened her lips, realizing she had assumed far too much, knowing too late she'd maneuvered herself into a precarious spot. This was a dangerous sport and she played it with a dangerous man.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't like games. I'm a man. Tell me, Victoria, just what exactly are you willing to give up? A kiss perhaps? Or more? Because that's what I would demand--sex--my cock inside you."

Astonished at the surge of desire, of heat flashing through her body, she stepped back, "Maybe, once I had your promise--if I knew that you'd honor my request."

"A kiss...? Or intimacy?"

She nodded, her chin tilting upward.

"I should sell out a man, a friend for this promise--a promise of what exactly? What, Victoria, are you willing to give up?" he queried softly.

"What do you mean?" she faltered.

She moistened her lips, her brows narrowed in concentration. When she looked at him, she could see a taunting curl to his lips.

"You wound me, babe. No.... I believe I'll set the price and the manner of payment."

"Excuse me. You'll have nothing to say--" she began.

He was laughing now, laughing as if this was one gigantic jest. His fingers tightened around her arms then he all but thrust her away from him. "I'll have everything to say in what you and I do. At least until Savage claims you. And at this point it cannot be soon enough."

"I hate you," she whispered fiercely mortified at his rejection and what she had just offered. He was backing away, but she was on him suddenly, pounding her fists against his chest, in such a blur of energy she didn't even realize the futility of it all.

She didn't comprehend his strength and his power until he caught hold of her, his arms immobilizing her own. Suddenly he had gripped her so tightly she could barely breathe. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to hold still, to relax within the iron- like grip he held her with. Finally, he eased his hold, and wound his fingers around her waist, holding her away from him.

"Victoria, you don't know what you just did, or implied. It may be a long time, a very long time before Dr. Savage can forgive this. You are engaged and yet you act like a common whore plying her charms for a good fuck. Now stay put! If you value the future you might have with Cameron Savage, I suggest strongly that you keep your mouth shut."

It was a command she thought wise to obey, but for some mysterious reason she didn't. "I will escape you," she said politely. "I will escape you and the thieftaker."