Sweet Silken Bondage (48 page)

As they entered the lobby and approached the
desk, Clay knew what he had to do. He could not
spend another night sharing the same bed with
Reina. He'd gotten no rest at all the night before in
Chagres when he'd returned to their room. He'd
lain wide awake by her side all night long, remembering the desire that had overwhelmed them both
earlier that day and wondering at its force. It was
true that he needed to keep a close watch over her,
but he also needed to get some sleep.

Reina, too, had been thinking about the previous
night when she'd cried herself into an exhausted
sleep. She put a firm, restraining hand on Clay's
arm as they neared the desk, stopping him. He
looked over at her, his expression curious. This was
the first time she'd willingly touched him all day.

"I want separate rooms," she demanded haughtily.
"There's no longer any reason to keep up the charade of marriage, since no one knows us here."

Clay's regard turned cool as he listened to her,
and then he shrugged as if it was of little importance to him. He turned to the clerk and ordered,
"I'd like two connecting rooms, please."

"Yes, sir," he answered respectfully, turning the
registration book for him to sign.

It annoyed her that their rooms were adjoining, but she rejoiced in the thought that at least she
would have some privacy tonight and a small
chance of escape.

Clay inquired about ships departing for California, and the clerk informed him that there was a
ship leaving the following afternoon and that the
last he'd heard, there were still vacancies. When he
offered to get the tickets for them, Clay accepted,
giving him the money for the fares and telling him
that he would pick them up for them later when
they came down for dinner.

"Miss Alvarez, Mr. Cordell... enjoy your stay."

They thanked him and, taking their keys, started
upstairs. Clay unlocked Reina's room first and went
in. This hotel was a vast improvement over the one
in Chagres. The bedroom was spacious, very clean
and quite comfortably furnished. Reina was more
than pleased with her accommodations for it was
located very close to the top of the stairs. All she
had to do was figure out a way to sneak out
without him catching her. Once she made it downstairs to the lobby, it would be simple to lose herself
in the crowded town and in the process lose Clay.

Clay was paying little attention to Reina as he
opened the connecting door and went into his own
room. It was almost identical to hers, and he was
satisfied. He strode to the window and brushed the
curtain aside. The view was not the best, just what
must have been the roof of the side porch and a
patio below. He let the curtain drop back down and
went to check on Reina.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No, not at all. I'd really just like to have some
privacy and rest for a while."

He regarded her suspiciously, his gaze searching
her lovely features for some sign of guile. When he could detect nothing, he agreed to leave her alone.
"All right. I'll be next door."

"Fine." She could hardly wait for him to get out.
When he'd passed through the connecting door once
more, she shut it firmly behind him. She would
have locked it, too, but she discovered that he'd
taken all the keys with him. To her dismay, a
second later she heard the lock on her bedroom
door turn from the outside. She ran to it, twisting
the doorknob in an effort to make it open, but it
was securely locked. In a fit of frustration, she
called him every vile name she could think of,
muttering under her breath about the legitimacy of
his birth. The man was impossible!

Clay heard her try the door and called out to her
with a low chuckle, "Enjoy your rest. We'll have a
late dinner." He returned to his own room and
stretched out on the bed to relax for a while.

Reina heard the satisfaction in his voice, and she
stormed to the window, looking for another avenue
of escape. To her complete and utter disappointment, it was a straight drop to the ground, a full
two stories. Thwarted, she sat down on the side of
her bed to think.

For weeks now, she had managed to keep
thoughts of Nathan at bay, but trapped as she was,
with nothing else to distract her, images of him
flooded her mind. She remembered his kiss and
touch, and she couldn't stop the quiver of revulsion
that wracked her at the memory. She wondered how
she would ever be able to bear his children if she
couldn't even tolerate being near him.

Reina just knew that the rest of her life would be
a living hell if she didn't find a way out of this
mess. Again she paced to the window, searching for
some way out. She'd been a tomboy in her youth and was not afraid to take a chance if it meant
freedom. Even so, there was nothing even remotely
close by that she could climb down. She was stuck.

There was absolutely nothing else she could do
right now, so Reina lay down fully dressed and
pulled the covers over her. She was tired, but she
was also keyed up and really didn't expect to fall
asleep. She only intended to rest for a while.

It was dark when Clay awoke to the sound of
music coming from the patio below. It surprised
him to find that he'd slept so soundly, and he was a
little groggy when he sat up. After a moment, he
left the bed and strode to the window to see what
all the noise was about. There seemed to be a
celebration of some kind going on, for bright, colorful hanging lamps illuminated the patio, musicians
were playing lively, festive tunes and the people
seemed lighthearted and carefree as they mingled
and danced. It looked like it might be a good party,
but he couldn't think of that. He had Reina to
worry about.

At the thought of her, he immediately worried
that he might have been so deeply asleep that she
had managed to slip away without disturbing him.
Needing to check and make sure she was still there,
he hurriedly lit a lamp and opened the connecting
door. Lamp in hand, he moved quietly into her
room and was both relieved and pleased to find her
sleeping peacefully in her bed.

Clay stared down at her in the dark, studying
her, committing her beauty to his memory - her
dark hair, flawless complexion, the soft curve of her
mouth that just seemed to beg to be kissed. Heat
stirred within him, but he fought it down. Still, his gaze would not be torn away.

He remembered the time when he'd thought her
to be Sister Mary Regina and how he'd wished he'd
found her before she'd taken her vows. That wish
had come true for him. He had found her, and she
hadn't been a nun. Reluctantly, he admitted to
himself that she had been a virgin, not the wanton
he'd suspected her of being, and that he'd taken her
innocence.

Reminding himself of her actions, Clay tried to
tell himself that it didn't matter. He told himself
that though she might look like an angel while she
was sleeping, when she was awake she was much
closer to being the opposite.

He was tempted to wake her, but didn't. He
decided to let her rest, instead. Backing from her
room, he closed the connecting door, satisfied that
locking the hall doors from the outside was sufficient to keep her safely captive.

Clay took a few minutes to get cleaned up, then
left his room, making sure to lock his door, too. He
wanted to insure that she would be there when he
returned. His hunger driving him, he went downstairs to get something to eat.

Reina waited, eyes closed, until she heard the
connecting door shut. Wanting to be completely
safe, she hesitated longer, listening to every sound,
trying to judge just where Clay was. The sound of
the music kept her from being certain about his
moves, but she was almost positive that the footsteps
she heard in the hall were his.

Time was of the essence, so she got up without
delay. It was dark, but that was fine with her. She
went to the door to his room and pressed her ear against it, hoping to hear if he was still in the other
room moving around. When only the vibrant
strains of the music came to her, she knew she had
to try. The worst that could happen would be that
he would still be there, and if he was, she would
tell him that she'd just waked up and was ready to
eat.

With utmost caution, Reina turned the knob, and
she was thrilled when it moved. An inch at a time,
she drew the door slowly open. There was a lamp
burning low on the nightstand, and to her complete
delight, there was no sign of Clay anywhere. He
was gone! She was alone!

Unable to restrain herself, she bolted for his hall
door. Her moment of excitement was short-lived. It
ended abruptly in defeat when she discovered that
he'd outsmarted her again. He'd locked his own
door from the outside, too!

Reina was so furious she was tempted to start
banging on the door and screaming that she'd been
kidnapped. Cool liar that Clay was, though, she
was certain he would come up with a very believable tale to tell whoever came to her rescue. He'd
probably tell whoever tried that she was his crazy
cousin or something, she thought: angrily, and that
he needed to keep her locked up for her own
safekeeping.

Stalking around his room, she felt almost crazy.
This was it...her last chance. She had to do
something! Though she was short-tempered and
about to scream in frustration, the sound of music
and laughter below drew her to Clay's window. As
she brushed the curtain back and saw the porch
roof right outside, a slow, conspiratory smile curved
her lips. She was going to make it after all!

Reina rushed back to her own room to get the small purse that held her money, and she stuffed it
in the pocket of her dress. Afraid that Clay might
return at any second, she ran back and unlocked
the window. Bundling her skirts up, she climbed out
onto the roof.

Reina stayed down low as she moved carefully
toward the most secluded side. She breathed a huge
sigh of relief when she saw the drain pipe attached
to the corner there. Encouraged because everyone
on the patio was too busy enjoying themselves to
look up, she daringly hiked her skirts, got a firm
grip on the pipe and maneuvered herself over the
edge of the roof.

Mickey Barton, a short, wiry, ugly little man,
was standing back against the building with his
friend Leo Collier, drinking a cheap whiskey and
watching all the dancing and celebrating, when he
saw her. At first, he couldn't believe his eyes, and
he blinked twice just to make sure. Once he was
sure he wasn't dreaming, he stood, staring in astonishment at the sight of a pretty young woman,
climbing off the porch roof onto the drain pipe.

"Leo! Look!" He grabbed his companion's arm
and pointed in the right direction.

"What the...?" Leo turned and didn't say a
word as they exchanged shocked looks. They automatically assumed that she was not the most virtuous of women if she was sneaking out of some
man's room, and they rushed over to the drain to
watch her descent.

Reina was feeling confident. She was making
great progress. She was better than half-way down
when it happened. One of the brackets holding the
pipe let loose, and she lost her hold and started to
fall.

Leo, a tall, bearded, bad-smelling man of massive proportions just happened to be in the right place
at the right time, and Reina tumbled like a gift
from the gods right into his big, brawny arms.

"Whoa, there little senorita, where ya goin' in
such a hurry?" Leo was laughing as he held her
deftly.

Reina didn't know if she was more embarrassed
or angry. Would anything in her life ever go right
again? It took her only a second to recover. She was
grateful she hadn't landed on the hard ground, but
she was not at all thrilled to find herself in the
clutches of this stranger.

"Thank you for helping me," she said sweetly, "but
could you put me down now?"

Leo didn't budge. He wasn't about to let go of
her yet. "Tell me your name first, chica," he cajoled,
keeping a firm grip on his prize. Mickey was looking on avidly.

Reina's temper was frayed, but she managed to
sound calm. "My name's Isabel."

"That's a right pretty name for a right pretty
lady," he said, but instead of releasing her, he just
let her legs down and kept her crushed against him.
"Where were you going, sneaking out like that?"

Reina tried to pull away, but his hands were
biting into her flesh, bruising her as he held her
with an almost brutal force. Realizing that there
was little she could do right except play along, she
figured she would try to keep them happy by dancing and talking with them. Then when they got
drunk, she'd be able to get away from them. It had
never occurred to her that they might turn mean
and nasty or that they could very easily overpower
her and do whatever they wanted to with her.

"Why, I heard all the music and laughter and
wanted to join the party," she said lightly, gazing up at him with a rapt expression that Clay would have
immediately recognized as trouble.

Leo and Mickey thought she was probably lying,
but they didn't really care.

"Well, let's go," Leo said, still keeping her firmly
at his side.

Reina was wild to get free of his grip, yet she
bided her time, waiting for the opportunity she was
sure would eventually come.

"What're your names?" she asked, wanting them
to believe she was interested in them.

"I'm Leo," he told her proudly. He was fool
enough to think she really cared.

"And I'm Mickey," he joined in, refusing to be left
out.

"Well, Leo and Mickey, do you want to dance? I
just love to dance," she cooed.

The thought of spending the evening with a
beautiful woman excited them both. They assumed
she was a whore out for a good time, and they
meant to oblige. It didn't occur to them that she
was dressed like a lady. It didn't matter. They
merely thought that their luck was finally changing
for the better. It had been quite a while since they'd
been with a woman, and they didn't mind sharing
her between them at all.