Rebel Heart (47 page)

"I'm waiting, sweetheart, and as you well know I'm not a patient man."

Her tongue was tied in knots. Left speechless, she stumbled with monosyllables, her lashes sweeping her cheeks, her lips dry. She moistened them with the tip of her tongue. "Nessa--Nessa will vouch for me."

"She will not."

She gasped because he had risen. Terrified that he wanted her to fall prey to Sheridan, she could think of no other reason that he would not allow her sister to stand up for her. She rose, following him, unmindful of her nakedness. "What did you tell her?"

He turned on her, his grin wolfish as his eyes raked over her. She stopped, suddenly realizing she had nothing on. Wrenching the towel from the floor, she wrapped it around her.

"I told her what happened."

"She would never go against me," she insisted.

"Ah, Tori, Nessa has a mind of her own now. She knows right from wrong-- prudence from wild recklessness. She will no longer tell lies for you." He leaned against the wall now, watching her with interest.

"I-I never meant it that way," she murmured nervously, stepping backward only to meet the side of the bed. She sat. "What is it you want of me?"

"Well...perhaps then...what I have to offer will get you out of this scrape. What happened at the assembly is between you, me, and no one else. I will help you out of this, but I will have another promise."

She looked away from him, still holding her towel around her as if it could protect her. "You cannot possibly give the assembly an alibi when you were there yourself. Everyone heard you."

"But The Phantom wasn't there. Perhaps he...and...my wife had a secret liaison. Perhaps they have been lovers for weeks. What would you say to that?"

"You're a fool if you think I would go along with your scheme."

His smile was mocking, his eyes narrowed. "But then what?" he questioned. "You would be brought before the tribunal to stand trial. Are you so eager to be accused of treason--of plotting against the state?"

"I--"

"I didn't think so," he cut her off. "Then you will go along with this?"

"You ask too much," tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Then the only other choice is to remove you. It is time to get you away from here--out of danger and safe. I cannot carry on when I'm in constant fear of just where you might turn up next."

"Remove me?"

"See to your safety. It's what we'll do. I've seen to the assembly of the medical apparatus in Reding. I cannot work here with Sheridan breathing down my neck. After the assembly, there may be war. The two sides are violently opposed."

"War?"

"Sheridan will try to fight this. If it is not vetoed, he will rise against the assembly. Sheridan is a power, a force the City cannot overlook."

"You will side with Jonathan," she murmured.

"I will do what I believe is right," he told her.

Her lashes lowered against her cheek as she looked at him. "I knew you were a physician first and foremost."

"Yet you doubt me."

She swallowed hard. "I didn't know you."

"And now you do?"

Her cheeks burned. "Much better than before. Of course...I'm sure...I don't know everything..." Her voice trailed away. She looked at him again. "You should go to Reding. I can send you all the information you might need via the computers. We can correspond. If you have any questions, I'll be here to answer them."

A smile was curling his lips as he moved closer to her. One finger gently lifted her chin so their eyes met. "How very intriguing but completely out of the question. I would not dare leave you here."

"I would not be alone," she countered, wrenching her chin from his hold. "Nessa and..."

"Nessa is going with me as well as Luke."

"I can do more for the cause here!"

"Not if you're in prison awaiting trial," he assured her. "You don't understand the consequences of what you did yesterday. No one can protect you unless you are gone from the City. Since no one except Jonathan has seen you, we will simply claim I sent you on ahead of me. You'll like it in Reding. It's close to the sea. The mountains stand high above the valley. Forests surround the lab. I'll let you come and go as you please. You'll have as much freedom as you crave."

"This is my home. I don't want to go." But she knew in her heart there was no other choice. Sickness swept over her for she alone had created this hell.

He turned from her and walked to the tower window. For a very long time he stood there, gazing out over the City. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back. She didn't dare breathe, afraid his anger was so great that he was having a hard time controlling himself. Finally, he turned.

"What would you give?"

His voice was low and strangely tender. She wasn't at all sure what to think, but with his words her heart leapt with a small ray of hope.

"I don't understand."

"Of course you do."

She wavered, unsure of herself and unsure what he meant as well. Did she dare hope? Then she moistened her lips and wondered if she could give him something, some small favor. His expression was bland, revealing nothing.

She waved her hand airily then approached him. Trembling, she touched his cheek, his lips then rose on her toes to put her arms around his neck. The towel slipped from her and she was naked against him. "All I have to give stands before you now. I have nothing else."

She let her hands drop to her sides then stepped back. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and his expression was no longer bland. He looked down at her, a slow smile curling his lip. She took his hand and turned. Guiding him to the bed, she beckoned him to sit down. He did.

She followed, tilting her head to one side then slowly lowering her lashes. She could barely breathe, but she was determined to go through with this. She looked up again, her lower lip caught between her teeth. His eyes were so warm, and they snared her own, trapping her she was sure. She knew what he wanted. She rose to her knees. Unmindful of her naked state she encouraged him to look at her and after a few moments, she began to unbutton his shirt. Purposely she allowed her fingertips to graze his shoulders, and when she was done, she ran her fingers up and across his chest, across his shoulder as she slowly pushed away the fabric.

She feathered a kiss against his lips, brushed his cheek with her kiss then his earlobe with her lips and tongue. Then she stopped, and sitting back on her legs, she looked at him. His eyes were filled with passion, and she trembled as she rose against him one more time, pressing her breasts against him.

He did not move. His hands were still at his sides. She ran her hands down his arms and picking up one of his hands, she brought it to her mouth. Gently, she kissed each finger then she sat back once more.

He studied her again, his eyes raking over her and she inhaled deeply. "Tori," he breathed, and his arms encircled her. Less than a heartbeat later, he had her on her back and he was stripping off his pants. His lips curled in a wolfish grin, his whisper heated. "What else?" he asked. "What else will you surrender?"

She closed her eyes again, this time trying desperately to think. She dare not tell him she loved him, she reminded herself. She opened her eyes. "I might...." She nearly choked on the words.

"Yes," he whispered softly encouraging her.

There were not so very many choices. She pressed her lips to his naked shoulder, then his neck. She licked then stroked with her tongue just as he had once taught her. "I wish to please you."

His groan was a primal sound. It registered deep within her, tantalizing, in an ancient dance of mystery and magic. Suddenly, she knew her words were true. She did want to please him. It was seductive to touch him, to have him within her sphere of power. It was thrilling to feel the pulse of his life beneath her fingertips.

He spread her hair out so that it lay across the pillows. He ran his fingers through the length of it then whispered in her ear, the hot touch of his breath sending a wave of heat sweeping within her, embracing all of her. He rose above her. A smile curved his lips. The wicked glint in his eyes told her she was entwined in the intoxicating power that was his alone.

"Indeed, Cameron, I wish to make your life one of ease. I would grant your every wish."

This time his lips came down on hers, gently at first then harshly, ravishing the sweetness inside, molding and melding hers with his.

She smiled to herself, even as her body began to respond. Recklessly she slipped her hand down his back, his sides, and lower still until she found the hot hard length of him and wrapped her fingers around his cock.

She heard the sharp swift intake of his breath as she surprised him with her boldness. She heard the low deep groan of pleasure as she tentatively stroked and explored his erection with her fingers.

"Do you like this?" she asked. Her whisper was soft and she meant it to be evocative.

"Ah, babe--I do. I like it like this. Just like this." He shuddered hard as if he had been gripped by exquisite seizures, and she was overwhelmed by the influence she held over him, overwhelmed by the passion she so easily enticed from him. She was elated by the strength of her discovery.

She met his gaze, and the scorching heat of the fervor within them caused her own passion to explode.

"Victoria," he breathed.

She moistened her lips and stared at him, intoxicated with her own power, and in awe too, at the sweet craving that abided within her. Moving away from him, she trailed her fingertips up the length of his torso. "How about..."

He swore, and swept her quickly into his arms.

She cried out in ecstasy when he entered into her, hard, dynamic, completely impassioned. Then she closed her eyes for she was instantly encompassed in the enchantment and the storm of the very magic she had generated, and she was following her hearts desire, riding the tempest to a new crescendo. She could no longer think while he drove her to new heights. Soft sounds, cries of desire, of craving, magical and eternal were escaping from her, and she buried her head against his chest, clinging to the source of enchantment. Still the tempest raged. Then it seemed that the earth shattered. Her breaths came in short little gasps. He murmured something into her ear, cradling her in his strength and his care.

Her body relaxed into his, giving and receiving the tenderness he was capable of. He stroked her. It astonished her to be so satisfied, so calm here with him. She had sworn to hate him, to deny him. Far too easily as the days wore on and the nights were filled with his passion and his tenderness, other feelings evolved. Feelings she wanted desperately to push to far recess of her mind and heart.

"Perhaps I..." she whispered softly, and she soaked in the warmth and the vibrancy that was this man, her lover. When she looked at him, he closed his eyes. He held one arm behind his head, still holding her with the other. She lay her head on his chest.

"Perhaps what?" he asked her quietly.

"Perhaps then you will not require my presence," she murmured.

"Perhaps not." He was shaking his head, his expression grim. But his voice was very hard. "You've given me much tonight, but I would never bargain away your safety. Once I've made up my mind, it takes a great deal more than a little sex to sway me. I intend to get you out of harm's way. Tonight."

"I'm in no danger here." A lone tear slipped down Tori's cheek. She couldn't help herself. Everything, every emotion, every tender thought she'd just experienced, vanished. She had truly thought that he would let her stay. He had led her on, made her believe.

"You're in danger everywhere. It follows you like a puppy dog."

"You don't understand," she stated calmly. "My home is here. All my equipment--papers…"

His long weary sigh followed. "Tori, I know you will fight me. You've always fought me. I'm not stupid enough to think you'd change. Like it or not, you will accompany me."

"Accompany you," she repeated incredulously. She pushed herself off his chest, her hands still resting on him. She suddenly swung away from him, stumbling from the bed until she sat naked on the floor. Swiftly he rose to his knees. With cat-like agility, she rose then threw herself at him, pounding his chest. "I thought--damn you Savage, I thought--"

He caught her hands, pulling them behind her back. She was flush against him then, breathing heavily--furious.

"It doesn't matter what you thought or what you did. It doesn't matter that you thought to seduce me for your own gain. You didn't."

"You've no idea," she shouted, struggling against him. She was in such rage she nearly managed to elude his grasp. "I will never--never again. Don't even try to touch me or I swear..."

"Swear what?" he demanded, pushing her away from him. His eyes simmered. "Oh, I'll touch you again, count on it. Did you do this once before? Think to seduce a man from his honor?