Rebel Heart (52 page)

That was all the time Cameron needed. She had left herself unguarded for the split second it would take. His hand closed over her wrist and he easily wrestled the gun from her while the monitor cleared. "Stop it, Cameron! There are no bullets in the gun! There are no bullets in the damn gun!"

"Victoria!"

Victoria looked at the monitor.

"You must stop this foolishness. This is Cameron's decision, not yours," Jonathan said.

"You've been listening?"

"He has brought the equipment for the allele transplant. He has planned it all along."

"He can't--"

"But he has!" Cameron whispered threateningly at her ear. His hands confined her arms at her sides, keeping her from turning around.

Untamed emotions radiated from her. She instantly tried to struggle from his hold, but he was too strong for her. He pulled her back against his chest, holding her firmly and very intimately. "If you'll excuse us, Jonathan? I mean to finish this discussion with my wife alone." With that, Jonathan blacked out the telemonitor.

"Let me go!" Victoria cried out.

In a desperate panic, Tori tried once more to pull free. He held her strongly, giving her no room to maneuver. Her hair fell around her, cascading over her shoulder in wild disarray.

"Are not the rules the same for the both of us? Is not your life any less dear than mine?"

"Damn it, Cameron. This isn't funny--"

"True enough. But you see, I like the odds a little better now and I intend to see I get my way. Perhaps a little tit-for-tat."

"We have patients to see and you're wasting time!"

"Ah, so purification is a waste of time now." His fingers loosened the buttons of her tunic, one by one. He turned her then and even if he'd wanted to, he couldn't have hidden his smile. Dropping his hands from her, he stepped back then using the point of the gun, he gently slid the material of her shirt from her shoulders. "I believe we should even this up a bit more. Take the rest of your clothes off, little one."

"No."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Then I'll have to help. Won't I?"

"When I've got you just as naked as the day you were born, then I could give you the purification rights. After that--um, let me see."

"Cameron Savage--you've no idea what is happening one floor above us. People are dying, people--"

"Are contagious," he reminded her politely. "All the more reason to make sure neither one of us catches this miserable virus. Now, I'm sure I won't. But my little rebel--" He paused letting his words trail off while his gaze traveled the length of her. "Your leggings, Victoria. Now."

She turned her back on him, stripping, then letting out an indignant little snort of disapproval when he stepped in front of her and took them away from her. "What now," she asked primly.

"Purification, of course. After you?"

"I won't. I don't deserve this. It will be for no good reason. I..."

He felt his heart lurch and his good sense suddenly prevail. He'd achieved his goal and more. He didn't like himself very much right now. Reaching out he lifted a tear from her cheek, and he hated himself for his callous disregard. "Are you truly that afraid?"

"I've been through it once." Her chin went up then she swallowed.

"And that was enough," he said flatly.

"Yes!"

He paused a moment then held out her clothes. She grabbed the leggings he handed her then hastily slipped the shirt on, defiantly turning her back to him once more. He put his own clothing on. "I didn't like finding your assistant in the lab, peering over my notes, my work. Research you wouldn't even let me touch without your being there. And the way she spoke of you, you slept with her."

"I never--"

"Liar. She knows too much about you."

"Tori, I know about Romeo and Juliet. I know about the bugs you've planted and the decoys you've built into the computer system."

"You--"

She was tantalizingly exquisite.

"I would remind you our entire relationship has been based on falsehood."

"Really...then tell me why you wore the uniform of a thieftaker."

"I was...am a double agent. I was seeking proof to disband a powerful overlord."

"You lied to me."

"I neglected to tell you certain information," he corrected.

Her need to fight him pushed them both toward the purification mechanism. He caught hold of her shoulders just as her momentum sent them both sprawling onto the floor. She was out of control, a furious tempest of exploding anger and pain. But he finally pinned her down, restraining her flailing arms and legs, pressing her back and straddling her.

"The woman means nothing to me and I have never slept with her. I might have but Drake called me away to give me the very pleasant news that I was to wed you."

"Why did you let her see all your notes?"

"Ah, Tori, I had no idea what she was doing there."

"That is not like you, Cameron. You always know...where were your spies? Ah, guarding me, I suppose."

"You should not have come to Roseland."

"I have never been sick a day in my life."

"Let's not tempt fate."

"Get off me you baboon, the apparatus..." she cried out only moments too late. The hum echoed in the little cubicle and the silence that surrounded them now was terrifying. A soft hiss emanated from above and clarifying steam began to whirl from the numerous ducts above them. "This is a sterilization chamber," she said with great surprise. "Look what you've done now! Get off me!"

He shook his head. "What I've done?" he echoed. "At least we are not about to be purified."

She pushed at him, her eyes narrowing defiantly. He slowly stood then extended a hand to her. She grasped on to it and let him pull her from the floor.

"Yes, what you've done."

She stepped away from him, assuming a defiant posture then studying the cell they had fallen into.

"I don't suppose you can get us out of here before it's too late. Even if you planned this for me, I know you didn't intend to sterilize yourself."

The steam stopped suddenly then the door moved slowly to the side. Jonathan's voice came over the monitors.

"Isn't that cozy? But in case the two of you haven't noticed, I'm swamped up here and I could sure use your help."

"Be there in a minute," Tori called out.

But Cameron grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Listen to me, Tori. Jonathan needs our help and I'm letting you go with me on one condition."

"What?"

"Get out of Roseland if I tell you to."

"What if I disagree?" she questioned, trying to step by him. In her haste to dress, not all of the buttons on her tunic had been fastened and the gaps left some of her flesh bare. Her hair cascaded all around her in a curtain of brandy, and he was reminded of their time in the cave. Then she had been in similar disarray, yet she was beautiful to him. She pleaded with him, trying to convince him of something he wanted desperately to deny her. Yet he knew he could not.

This woman of his could be restrained, mellowed, but he had already decided against that.

He would not change Tori. In doing so, he would take away the most vibrant, vital part of her. He couldn't stand to see her chained in any way. All he could do was love her.

"Cameron!" she protested softly and her voice was earnest. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes simmered with unshed tears as she gazed at him. "I've not lied to you. I have immunity from most diseases just as the Outsiders. My mother was a physician, not really an Outsider, but she was never acclimated into the City, nor were her parents before her. So you see--"

"Tori, yes, I understand and I won't deny you access to the patients. Only I would see you use caution and if it becomes life threatening, I want your promise. I want you out of the city away from the sickness and the death."

"What about you? I thought you had no immunity, yet you plan to be in the middle of it all."

"Hush, you heard wrong. I've never been tested but I know my system is fully functional and completely barbarian. There now, are you satisfied or must I waste valuable time convincing you more thoroughly?" Gazing at her, Cameron felt such horrible misgivings and a terrifying pain in his heart. She was so stubborn, damn her sweet little hide, and way too courageous. This wasn't necessary, he knew, and she knew it too if she would stop to think. "I'm going to use the machine on everyone who asks for the treatment. And when I do, all hell will break loose. There will be war, and I'm afraid, terribly afraid for what it will bring. But for now, we're going upstairs to meet Jonathan."

She had an incredibly stunned look on her face. Perhaps this time she had listened to his words, perhaps she understood he didn't mean to take anything away from her. He only meant to protect her.

Tenderly, he touched her cheek with the tip of his finger. He felt her warmth and the softness that he loved so well. Then he adjusted her clothes, repositioning the buttons. "Will you heed my warnings?" he asked her. "Will you give your heart and soul for this cause yet always keep your own well-being first and foremost in your thoughts? If nothing else, Tori, will you please protect yourself when I cannot!"

She paused, brought her chin up, and nodded slightly.

He caught her arms and brought her swiftly against his chest. His mouth touched her eyes, the tip of her nose. The heat of her flesh seared his own. Her scent filled him.

A spring meadow..." he murmured. "You always smell so sweet and delicate, my love. You remind me of dancing wildflowers, and a soft summer breeze, unrestrained, unfettered, carefree. And I promise I will never take that from you.

There was a hesitant cough on the telemonitor. Tori pushed away from him in dismay.

Jonathan laughed. "Does this mean all your differences are resolved?"

"Not yet," Tori whispered softly and Jonathan leaned closer to the screen as if that would help him hear. "But we're working on it."

"I thought I turned you off."

"Well, you didn't," Jonathan said, laughing. "But you two need to hurry. I've patients up here who have volunteered for the transplant and they don't have much time left. As you both know, once the virus reaches its tertiary stage there isn't much hope or time. Hurry."

"I'll get my equipment and be right there," Cameron told him. His eye remained on Tori. For the first time in their relationship, they hid behind no elusive barriers.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

By the urgency required, the kiss was swift. Yet with it he tried to convey the hungry desire and passion he felt for her, a blazing liquid heat and the promise he'd given her.

She pulled away and whispered. "Go and see to the patients and send Luke up to help. I'll get the equipment."

"I'm a very good physician," he told her seriously.

She smiled and met his gaze. "Yes, everyone I've come in contact with sings your praises. But still, you are mortal, my dear Phantom."

"You care?"

"Perhaps," she told him, but the love he saw in her eyes told him the truth.

He didn't want to let her go. He pulled her close. He wanted so much more from her. "Tell me, Tori. Tell me that what has gone on before this day doesn't matter. Tell me you don't care that I lied to you, deceived you, because you played the same game. Tori--tell me you love me."

His mouth found hers in a tender kiss, so soft and light he prayed she would be unable to resist, prayed she would surrender her love but not her soul. "I never loved the fairy tale, never loved The Phantom," she explained. Then her words fell to an innocent whisper. "I love you, Cameron, because you are real, not a myth. I love you because you care so deeply. You are my hero and my lover. My husband too. I love you, Dr. Cameron Savage."

"I never thought..." His mouth touched hers again then he was grinning at her. "I'm sure Jonathan heard all of this and has already sent Luke ahead. Go on now. Bring the equipment and we'll see what we can accomplish here."

He let her go, and she whirled from him, almost racing to the outside corridor.

But when she reached the entrance to the room, she hesitated. She didn't turn all the way, and her words remained soft, but they meant the world to him.

"Thank you. I won't let you down and I will protect myself at all cost, but you must also promise to do the same."

"Of course," he murmured, and watched her go

Aisling