Night Winds

by Gwyneth Atlee

  “Oh, please, Ethan. My life is crumbling to pieces, and you act as if your manhood just made the morning headlines. You were right before. I had nowhere else to go.”

  She stiffened as he leaned over and grabbed her shoulders with both hands, then crushed his mouth against hers. Jasper snarled and leapt onto Shae’s lap, prompting a retreat.

  “Soon, I plan to make you glad of that necessity. Now take your bath and change clothes. I want you clean when I return. And if he gets in the way, he can find another place to stow his flea-bitten hide,” Ethan promised, gesturing toward the dog.

  Disgusted and afraid, she wiped his saliva from her mouth. “What about Lucius? Will you help me find out what I need to know?”

  She flinched as he ran his fingers through her tangled hair.

  “Can’t you see?” he asked. “That was another lifetime. I’m all that matters to you now. I’ll be back soon, very soon. I’m going to see to it that your father’s carriage is returned before he has the police on you. And then, under the circumstances, I don’t believe it’s too early to buy a whole case of champagne.”

  *

  Long rollers crashed on the beach, reminding Phillip of the mutterings he heard predicting stormy weather. On the bay side of the peninsula, where the fishermen were talking, nothing seemed amiss, but here, along the gulf shore, the water seemed unusually rough. Phillip had lived all his life in Port Providence. He’d seen the tropical storms of the warm months often enough to know they could be dangerous. Overflows were common in the lower portions of the city, and places near the beach, like this, could be destroyed. Even his family home, on relatively high ground, ought to be prepared, let alone the warehouses where the cotton bales were stored.

  If he planned to do anything about Shae Rowan, he had to decide now. While there was still time to prepare, and before Ethan had a chance to ruin that poor girl

  Phillip shook his head. For all he knew, Shae wanted Ethan. She hadn’t seemed to object to the way his hands roamed over her.

  Or was that fair to say? She’d fled Ethan earlier. Did her return, bloody and battered, signal anything but desperation? Whatever could have happened to her, and why had she not thought to come to him instead of Ethan?

  Help her, Phillip. He could hear Justine as clearly as if she sat behind him on Cure’s back.

  Before he could decide whether to dismount, Ethan left the apartment alone. For the first time that day, Phillip smiled. He’d hoped he might have the chance to catch Ethan by himself. Phillip nudged his gelding forward with a heel.

  The appearance of another man and boy both gave Phillip pause. He asked himself again why he should risk so much for revenge and a young woman that he barely knew.

  He couldn’t begin to think of a satisfactory answer.

  *

  Shae locked the door, although she could not imagine why. Just now, the one person she wanted most to bar from this place held the key. And even if Ethan didn’t, this close to his goal, he’d charge right through that flimsy barricade.

  She rubbed the back of her forearm across her mouth, in a vain attempt to rub off the taste of him. Imagining him kissing her, touching her, crawling on top of her sent revulsion rippling through her body. How could she ever learn to bear his lust?

  She’d been such an idiot to come here. Ethan had made it very clear he couldn’t care less about her concerns regarding Lucius. He had no intention of helping her only himself.

  Roused from her lethargy, she stripped off her filthy clothing, then filled the sink with cool water. As quickly as she could, she scrubbed the sweat and grime off her body. Without taking the time to dry, she strode toward the bedroom.

  As she stood in the doorway, Shae felt the warm breeze pass from window to window through the prison cell of an apartment. The bedroom looked no less forlorn than the other rooms. Cobwebs fuzzed the angle formed by one bed leg and the frame. A washstand with a chipped bowl stood empty not far from the door, and beside it towered a tall wardrobe, which had inexplicably been painted a dim blue. Now that error of judgment had peeled and bubbled, perhaps with this past summer’s heat.

  Besides the dilapidated wardrobe, the only measure of brightness in the bedroom was the quilt on the old bed. Its cheerful pattern drew Shae nearer, made her lean over it to take in the blue and red triangles that seemed to tumble across a three-dimensional field of artfully puffed white. Someone’s grandmother had sewn this, Shae imagined as she fingered careful stitching. Someone must have loved it once. Whatever young woman Ethan had last kept here must have left in a terrible hurry, to abandon such a lovely piece of work.

  Nausea roiled in her stomach as Shae thought of Ethan sweeping aside this same quilt to take her on this bed. How many other women had he soiled in this place?

  Hurriedly, she crossed the floor to the blue wardrobe and flung open the doors. As Ethan had predicted, several dresses hung inside. She rooted through a box and found some underthings as well. Though the apparel looked too large, she thought she’d just as well make do as pull on her soiled garments. Or worse yet, let Ethan catch her naked.

  She shuddered, then donned the clothes as quickly as possible. She had no intention of being here when he returned. The underclothing posed no problem she could not correct by adjusting ties and lacings, but the pale beige summer dress hung loose as a slack sail. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror inside the wardrobe door, Shae decided she looked like a child playing dress-up in her mother’s clothes. Even the lace neckline hung limp at her chest.

  The metallic scraping of a key in the front door reminded her of a far more pressing worry. Ethan had returned and all too soon!

  Shae grabbed an old shoe from the bottom of the wardrobe and wedged it beneath the closed bedroom door. Glancing at her own shoes, she decided not to even take the time to put them on. Instead, she rushed to the bedroom window and tried to force it farther open. Like everything else about this damnable apartment, the window sash was in poor repair. The window stuck tight; only about six inches of open space remained far short of what she needed to escape. Outside, she could see the empty street and the sand dunes beyond it. Below her loomed a drop of perhaps twenty feet to the hard-packed sand where Delilah and the phaeton had been earlier.

  She wondered if she could jump from the window without further injuring herself. A broken ankle or arm seemed all too possible. A broken neck was not out of the question.

  Outside the bedroom, the front lock turned with a rusty clacking. The door creaked, and she made her decision. She would risk the fall.

  “Shae? I paid a boy to take back the carriage and no tales. I decided the champagne could wait for now.” Ethan’s voice was jovial. No doubt he thought she was happily preparing herself to be deflowered.

  Her knees nearly unhinged at the thought of what he’d do.

  “I’m trying to find a dress that I can wear,” she called, stalling for more time. “I won’t be long.”

  His laughter raised the fine hairs on her arms. “Why bother?” he asked. “You won’t be in it but a minute. Then I’ll buy you the finest dresses this city has to offer.”

  Shae put her right shoulder beneath the open window and used her knees along with both hands to push up. With bruising pressure, the window squealed two inches higher before sticking fast.

  The bedroom doorknob rattled.

  “Shae? What are you doing?”

  “I just need a little air. It’s so hot in here.” The words sounded weak and false, even to her ears.

  She struggled to get more leverage against the stubborn window, then looked around for something she might use to break it out. Beside her, Jasper whined insistently.

  With a crash the bedroom door flew open. Ethan’s face shone red with fury, reminding her of King.

  “What in God’s name are you doing?” he demanded.

  Shaking from head to toe, Shae forced herself to stand straight, to look him in the eye.

  “I’m leaving. I’ve made a
terrible mistake. I came to you for help, and it’s obvious that I won’t find it here.”

  Ethan’s handsome features twisted into ugliness. “You little slut! I’m through playing pretty games. You’re no better than that whoring mother of yours, yet you taunt me like a scheming debutante. I wanted you enough to marry you, you, a filthy immigrant’s child, but were you grateful? Even after you humiliated me, I offered to keep you, and now you have the nerve to say you’ve changed your mind?”

  She shrieked as he strode toward her, but the bed blocked her escape. In an instant, he grabbed her by the hair and flung her to the quilt. Straddling her with both knees, he tried to pin her by the shoulders. Jasper barked ferociously, then yelped.

  Heart hammering with terror, Shae flailed her arms at her attacker. Her first blows bounced harmlessly off Ethan’s chest, so she clawed at his eyes until he howled with pain. As he brought his hands up to protect his eyes, the heel of Shae’s hand caught his nose. She felt a crunching, and his blood erupted instantly to spatter her tan dress.

  “You bitch!” Ethan wailed as he toppled off the bed.

  At the front door, Shae heard someone pounding. Ignoring the sound, Ethan stood and leapt at her. But by this time, Shae had darted off the bed and was racing toward the front door and the hope of safety.

  She had nearly reached it when he tackled her. Shae slammed to the bare floor and grunted as the impact of Ethan’s body atop hers forced the air out of her lungs.

  The pounding at the front door grew louder, and Shae thought she heard shouting. She couldn’t answer with a cry for help, couldn’t do anything but struggle to refill her empty lungs.

  Ethan’s mouth assaulted hers; his fingers squeezed her breast in punishment, not passion. Where he had intended to make love to her at one time, Shae knew that he now meant to take her by force. He meant to hurt her for thwarting his will. His hand grasped the loose cloth near her waist, then pulled as if he meant to tear the dress off.

  The door exploded off its hinges just as her starved lungs at last drew breath. Abruptly, Ethan’s bulk was lifted from her.

  Looking up, she recognized Phillip Payton, his face so full of rage that he looked as if he meant to murder. His fist struck Ethan on the jaw and felled him like a tree.

  Ethan groaned and rubbed his mouth, smearing bright red blood across his chin. “You son of a bitch! What the devil do you think you’re doing?”

  Payton’s answer was to grab Lowell by the collar and haul him to his feet. “I would think that’s obvious,” he said. “I’m thrashing you and taking her.”

  Ethan blocked his next punch and stepped behind Shae, who was scrambling to her feet, her head reeling with a rush of terror.

  “Get the hell out of here! I’ll ruin you for this! I’ll bring down Payton Enterprises even if it kills you!” Lowell swore. He grabbed Shae and swung her around in front of him to block Phillip’s attempt at a clear shot.

  “I’m not about to leave her with a beast like you!” Phillip answered over Shae’s shriek of protest.

  Though Ethan had his arm crooked around her neck, Shae managed to stamp the arch of his foot with her bare heel. With a shout of surprise, he let go of her, and she darted toward the bedroom.

  Phillip leapt at Ethan, and she heard heavy grunts as she retrieved her missing shoes. She needed them to run as far and fast as possible. Without pausing to put the shoes on, she scooped up Jasper in her arms.

  Coming out of the bedroom, she saw Ethan and Phillip slowly circling the sofa, Phillip still obviously intent on beating his old friend. She profoundly hoped that he succeeded.

  Terrified that Ethan might yet win the upper hand, Shae rushed toward the door. She hesitated, remembering the carpetbag she had left on the cushion.

  “You came to me, Shae!” Ethan lunged toward her. “You’re mine now!”

  She swallowed past what felt like a peach pit in her throat, then avoided him and grabbed the carpetbag off of the sofa.

  “I’ll find you!” Ethan swung at her head, but Phillip shoved him off-balance, and the blow fell short.

  In her panic, Shae bolted through the door. The last thing she heard from inside was Ethan. “I hope she’s worth it, Phillip! Because you already know what this will cost”

  The two men’s grunts and curses continued as she hobbled quickly toward the steps. Sick with fear, Shae tried to hurry, but her painful bare foot slowed her. She heard footsteps gaining on her and screamed when a man’s arms swept her off her feet. Still in her embrace, Jasper yipped, alarmed by the sudden shift in his position.

  “Put me down!” Struggling desperately, Shae finally noticed it was Phillip she was fighting. She froze, unsure of what to do.

  Ignoring her demand, he carried her downstairs.

  “Please I’m all right now,” she told him, though her voice still shook with emotion. “You can put me down.”

  Instead of listening, he strode toward where Cure stood tied. “We’re leaving here, before he decides that two punches aren’t enough to stop him.”

  Her brain spun with raw terror. In that dizzying rush, she thought of King, of Ethan, always trying to make all her decisions, always trying to rule her. She couldn’t let another man, not even Phillip, claim that role.

  “No!” she said. “I won’t let you think for me. I don’t belong to you.”

  He dropped his arm and set her feet to hard-packed sand. “Fine. You’re down. But you’re not going back to him. Not until you know the truth.”

  “If you think I’d go back to Ethan Lowell after what he tried”

  “ If you thought you had some choice, you wouldn’t have been there in the first place. He’s stolen Rachel, my fiancée; he means to marry her.”

  She stared. “And that was why you came after him?”

  A strong breeze ruffled his jet hair. As he shook his head, his dark eyes burned with resentment. “No. No, he was right. I wasn’t sure myself at first, but I did come for you.”

  She stared at him, her annoyance nearly overwhelmed by

  . . . something. Was it hope or disbelief? His gaze was too intense, and she had to turn hers to the surf.

  “That’s ridiculous,” she muttered. Jasper wriggled impatiently, but she held him tightly. “We don’t even know each other. You you’re just upset about your fiancée.”

  Phillip touched her gently on the cheek.

  “Let me help you, Shae.” His voice was barely audible over crashing rollers. “I think we need each other.”

  She glanced back at him, and found his face blurred by the tears filling her eyes. “How can I be certain I can trust you?”

  Angrily, he untied his horse and climbed into the saddle. “If you can’t tell by now, then go back upstairs. Ethan is expecting you. After he’s done licking his wounds, he’ll be more than happy to finish what he started. Do you think I didn’t see you trying to get out that window? Do you think I couldn’t hear you crying out for help? Help has come, Shae, if you’re bold enough to take it.”

  When she didn’t answer, he continued. “If last night’s kiss meant nothing, if you didn’t feel when I touched you, stay here.”

  She stared up at him, then reached for his hand. After putting a foot in the left stirrup, she let him pull her up behind him on his horse.

  As he nudged the animal into an easy lope, she held tightly, to Jasper and to him. And she prayed with all her heart that she was doing the right thing.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Phillip wondered if he had lost his mind. Or did choosing to steal away Shae Rowan, choosing the rashest path of his entire life, signify only a momentary lapse in judgment rather than insanity?

  Conscious as he was of her body pressed so close behind him, he almost hoped that it was madness. For he didn’t want to end this unexpected ride. Instead of regretting his impulsive action, he wondered at the thrill of it, the ridiculous surge of strength and joy.

  Shaeand reality spoiled his elation.

  “P
lease slow down! I’ll fall.” Her voice sounded more unsure than truly fearful.

  He checked Cure’s gait to a walk and listened to the neat hooves crush white shell beneath them. As they rode past houses raised on stilts against the threat of flooding, he noticed white curtains stir as women inside watched. He glimpsed a furtive smile. Children interrupted a game of stickball on the street to let them pass and stared in honest curiosity. Although no respectable couple would ride together in such a fashion, Phillip suspected they would be granted a leeway Port Providence reserved for young lovers near the beach. For now, at any rate.

  “I’m taking you to my home.” Phillip decided as he spoke. “Then we can sort out this mess.”

  “You would you would take me there? What of your family? What will they think of me?”

  “More than if they learned we were slinking about clandestinely. At the moment, you’re simply the daughter of an unreasonable man. If you behave in a decent manner, they’ll have no cause to suspect you”

  “ Since when has anyone required cause? But never mind. I don’t care about that now. Not if we can talk in private. I went to Ethan to ask for help he would never give. I still need it, desperately. I need your word you’ll listen.”

  “What else would I do? Attack you in my house, with both my sisters’ ears pressed to the door? I tell you, I’m not Ethan.”

  She leaned even closer to him, with a sigh much older than her years. “I believe you. I need to. But it’s not easy. I’ve been so wrong before.”

  Phillip wanted to reassure her once again, but he sensed she didn’t need words now. Only the promise of security represented by their progress toward his home.

  Thank God, at least, his mother wasn’t there. As it was, she’d likely beat the train back to Port Providence if Lydia related details. He was planning how to keep his meddlesome sister from her stationery when a flash of sunlight off metal caught his eye, from just behind a hedge of oleanders near a raised, gray house.

  He felt Cure’s lurch almost before suspicion formed, almost before the sound of gunfire reached his ear. The black gelding stumbled, then went down, pitching Phillip, Shae, and the little dog she held into the shell-covered street.