Rebel Heart (35 page)

Indeed, she didn't know what the future would bring. The Phantom had managed to capture her heart but it was supposed to belong to another. She had the memory of his kisses to hold on to, and the warmth of his touch still lingered against her flesh. And she couldn't forget him despite herself because The Phantom was Savage and no matter what he didn't say, she knew he'd keep her from the hands of Morray. She understood it was his honor, keeping him from loving her. He was a man of honor and she respected that, but...

Eventually, she dozed but her sleep was restless. The sun rose; the forest came to life. Snuggling deeply into the blanket, she pulled on the quilt. She didn't know why but she knew someone was in the room, standing in front of the bed. She felt the presence before she opened her eyes, even before she was awake.

When she opened her eyes, there was no one by the bed.

Her eyes adjusted slowly to the light and the strange sense of foreboding that was filling her. Sitting up in the bed, she searched the room but saw nothing. From another room she heard a soft humming, a man singing softly as if he were trying to be quiet, yet unwilling to stop the noise. His voice was a pleasant, deep baritone.

She pushed her hair back from her eyes and slipped her legs from beneath the covers, straining all the while to see into the other room.

She adjusted her shirt, securing all the buttons.

"Good morning," the pleasant voice said as he stepped into the doorway.

Her eyes cast down in dread, she hesitated a moment before taking one cautious step. A thousand reasons not to look at the figure in the doorway swept through her. But as her gaze finally fell upon him, she fought to keep her hammering heart still. It was Cameron Savage. The Phantom was gone. She remembered every word she'd spoken to the Phantom, and she could not take them back. Savage would remember last night all too well, but she was innocent in this betrayal. If he would have only been honest with her.

As he stood in the doorway, the size and strength of him startled her, even though she knew it so well. She stood there, staring blankly at the image, her hair still a wild tangle around her shoulders. She was trying to settle her nerves and deal with her anger. A hammer beat a horrible cadence inside her head, and as she rubbed her temples, she closed her eyes for a second.

Even with her eyes closed, she knew he was staring at her, raking her from head to toe, as if he knew all. He did know her. She reminded herself she was a DeMontville. She straightened and returned the stare, taking good measure of her adversary. From head to toe, she let her eyes wander. And the realization of who he was hit her once again with full impact.

Tall and broad shouldered, he filled the doorway, and he stood in front of her as if he meant to command.

All she wanted was his love. His hair was black as night, his skin clean-shaven. He was clad in brown leggings and a soft white shirt, one not so different from the one she wore herself. Handsome. Self-assured.

"The Phantom is gone," he said glibly. "He left an hour ago. He has told me you are well, even though you have had a trying couple of days. You slept, I take it?"

"You bastard," she barked softly. "The Phantom. The barbarian. One and the same. And the joke is on me. I'm sure you are very happy. Be sure to give my compliments to your alter ego."

A smile played upon his lips, his eyes dancing with humor, or perhaps something else. She wasn't sure. A wave of longing swept through her. Suddenly, she remembered the day in the forest, the tempest, the strange sensations she felt at his touch, sensations not so different from those she felt when he touched her last night.

She shook her head, wondering, lost in thought. What in the hell was she going to do now?

Damn Savage. Damn the Phantom. He was too suave, arrogant, and sure of himself. He carried on as if nothing had happened between them. She gritted her teeth. "I hate what you did," she whispered with a ferocity that surprised her.

"Come, Victoria, relax. You know, I'd like to get to know you better. I'd like this meeting to be--different..." He let that one word hang in the air, implying so much, telling her he remembered everything that happened that day so long ago. It told her he didn't have to use his imagination to know what she looked like beneath the shirt. He knew everything about her.

She would not back down. "Even though my father suggested we marry--" she began, but Savage interrupted.

"Suggested? It was a command, babe, nothing more, nothing less. Neither of us have much of a choice. I plan to honor the arrangement, and I plan to hold you to it also."

You fell in love with him, a small voice sang out in her head.

"I fell in love with the Phantom," she said. "Who the hell are you?"

"I've arranged the marriage. You will come to know who I am, a man not so different from the Phantom." His voice was steel and his eyes harder still.

Cameron

It had all felt like a dream. Cameron swiftly and very efficiently ushered Tori from the cabin into a waiting land glider. This glider was nothing as spectacular as the one he had used when he had been The Phantom. But it was comfortable. When she expected to be wrenched skyward, they instead floated lazily only a few thousand feet above the earth.

The time they spent together in the glider did little to relieve her trembling or the rapid beat of her heart. She needed time alone to reflect on the fact that she'd seduced this man--her soon-to-be fiancé.

When the hours passed and she realized he wasn't traveling into the wilderness, she slowly began to relax. When they arrived back at her research center, with Nessa standing casually at the front door, she breathed her first deep breath since Savage's appearance.

Savage had played the gentleman with finesse, surprising her. He had opened the door of the glider and escorted her up the front steps, stopping to speak with Nessa; Nessa was all smiles. Then he continued through all the unlocked security gates to the tower stairs until they were in front of Tori's rooms. Nessa had remained behind. Hoped thumped her tail happily in greeting.

Morray and Sheridan were gone, and her sister owed her some answers. Although she knew neither Morray nor Sheridan could secure the lab without her, she wanted to know why they had left so quickly.

But her thoughts snapped back to her own particular set of circumstances. She was back in her room, high above the City. When she tried the hidden door, it still failed to open, and when she peered out the window, the rungs of the tower ladder were no longer in place.

Dazed, she sat down on the bed and watched her sister hustle around the room, talking non-stop. It was not like Nessa to be a chatterbox.

What the devil was she going to do now? She cursed the Phantom to a dozen gory fates, still unable to grasp the fact that she'd come to love him, and he'd lied to her without even blinking. Her heart was frozen now, and a terrible sense of loss swept through her.

Savage had remained silent the long ride home. He had not even glanced her way. She had been alternately furious then terrified of the future.

Now she sat in front of her computer, mesmerized by a crudely programmed, old computer game she'd found in the archives. The constant drone of the music and the little figures whirling around on the screen helped her forget her tenuous predicament. Deceit and lies had an uncanny way of multiplying. Savage was exploring all the rooms of the lab, familiarizing himself with her operation and her notes. She could hear each door open then close when he left the room.

Sometime in her mesmerized state, Nessa must have slipped inside her room. She felt her presence and perhaps her disapproval. It seemed that no one had an unpleasant thing to say about him.

She turned and there was Nessa, slightly pale but still smiling. "Tori," she said softly, holding her arms out to her. Tori rose, hesitated a moment then rushed into her sister's arms. Tears were in her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"I was so worried, Tori. No, terrified. We had no idea if you'd escaped." Nessa paused, holding her twin by the shoulders.

Tori thought wryly that Nessa was the strong one. All the while she'd been gone it was Nessa who kept everything running.

"For that I'm sorry, but I had no way of letting you know."

"I saw the glider take off. I prayed you were in it. Then it seemed as if the sky lit up. Ten--maybe twenty fighters followed. It was Morray. When it seemed you had escaped, he was like a man possessed. He ordered the City guards and his own men to follow."

"Ah, Nessa, you've had to put up with me for so very long. It's not right."

Nessa grinned. "It was fun. I jammed the computer scanning signals. You know that long range interceptor we had put in a month ago?"

Tori nodded. "Yes..."

"I used that. Hammond gave me the idea. Anyway, it worked, and the fighters returned about a half hour later, thoroughly lost."

"It was you," she breathed. "I didn't think--oh but the man was arrogant. He thought it was his expert flying skills."

Nessa laughed then. "It was probably both--his skill and my retractor beam." She hesitated again, paling once more. "I don't like bearing this news. And Tori, I don't want you to play the martyr. Not for me. But if you do intend to marry Dr. Savage, you have only an hour to get ready."

Tori whirled, walking quickly to the window where she'd made her hasty escape. With both hands gripping the ledge, she stared down. The ground was so very far away. Her head reeled and she stepped back, her hand at her throat. "I have no choice."

"Oh, Tori, but you do. Please don't marry him if you don't love him. Father--"

"Father wouldn't care," Tori whispered bitterly.

"How can you say that?"

Tori lifted her chin, defiant and passionately resolved to sacrifice herself. "He forgot what it is like to fall in love." Her voice cracked and in the end Nessa had to lean forward to hear her last words.

"And you know about love?" Nessa's eyes were wide with curiosity, and Tori longed to tell her yes. She had been so close to love--she'd thought--but it wasn't love. She knew that now. A man she could fall in love with could not have made love to her so tenderly in the moonlight then let her go so easily without telling her his secret.

"No, I don't know. Come now, enough of this nonsense. A shower first then you'll help me figure out what to wear."

"I already know. I found Mother's dress--packed away. Oh, Tori, truly you have to wear it. It is so beautiful. It's so elegant, it would become you. Please, say you'll wear it. If you don't--"

"It would be a sacrilege," Tori whispered.

"You're wrong." Nessa's voice was strong, determined, almost as if she was trying to convince her.

"Am I?"

"Yes!" Nessa returned vehemently.

"That remains to be seen." Tori stared at her, dismayed at the shiver that rippled down her spine, and resolved that she must find a way to survive this relationship which had started out so badly. Savage might not be Morray, but he was still a threat, a very viable danger to her heart and soul. His hair, black-as-midnight, touched his shoulders and curled somewhat where it lay against him. His face was handsome, clean-shaven, with an aristocratic nose and determined jaw line. But his eyes were what she remembered vividly. Steel-hard, a gaze that riveted, holding its prey with a deep, threatening menace. He was so very different from the man she had known as The Phantom. But he was also very much the same.

Nessa opened the door to leave.

Savage stood before her, preparing to knock, his hand raised.

"Excuse me." Nessa slipped quietly from the room.

Tori tilted her chin regally, suddenly realizing they were alone and Savage had stepped into her room. The door clicked shut behind him. In truth she knew not what to think. As he stared at her, she began to shake. It seemed he could see inside her soul, her heart. With every breath she felt emotions she couldn't begin to comprehend. She trembled so hard she thought her knees would not hold her. But she could not break down in front of him; not on the eve of their wedding.

"Will there be a wedding?" he asked.

"Yes." She was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.

"I know you are less than willing."

"I-I've changed my mind. I would like to try."

He stood in front of her, the epitome of all that is masculine, his arms crossed formidably over his chest. "Understand this, Victoria, I will not wed you unless you come willingly. If you do, you will not renege. I will hold you to the marriage vows, and I will have you for a wife. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she whispered softly. "But I would negotiate."

He cocked an eyebrow, amusement touching his stern features. "With what?"

"I would like your word. I want to continue my research. I must."