"But you don't think I have any morals, either!"
"That's not true. I merely believe you're eager to see how much influence you have now that the ugly duckling has become a swan."
"Are you blind?" Shivering with rage, she wanted to slap him. But hurting him was beyond her comprehension. "Are you blind?" she repeated softly, brokenly, and turned away, leaning her head against the wall. She laughed wearily. "Again, I'm some kind of bird to you. Right now I feel like one who's crashed. Leave me alone."
"I'll say your good nights for you. I think we've both accomplished what we intended for this party. Different goals, unfortunately. But it's over. Take the back staircase and go up to your suite."
He walked away without giving her a chance to answer, to tell him she was no child to be ordered to her room, that he was proud, stupid, and had no right to be jealous or judgmental. After he left she decided dignity wouldn't let her use the back stairs. She returned to the main hall, intending to head for the staircase in the front foyer.
"Elgiva, it's all right. Please, calm down."
"I'll get Douglas."
Elena halted, listening to the anxious female voices. They came from a sitting room tucked into an alcove at the other end of the hall. She went to it as quickly as she could, using the wall for balance. Sara, Kyle's wife, hurried out of the alcove and almost bumped into her. Elena took her arm. "What's wrong?"
"Elgiva may be having a miscarriage. I'm going to find Douglas."
In the alcove Tess sat on the floor next to a small couch, where Elgiva lay, her head propped on the armrest, her knees bent and bare feet braced against the opposite armrest. Her beautiful blue gown was a stark contrast against her ashen skin. Tears streaked her face. She had both hands on her abdomen.
"I started having terrible cramps a few minutes ago," she whispered, as Elena sank to the floor beside her. "And I'm bleeding a little. I'm going to lose the only bairn I've ever had--the only one Douglas and I might ever have, for all I know."
Elena felt as if her bones would turn to soft wax at any second. This was the last thing she ought to do, after such a tiring night. The other things had been nothing but parlor tricks, compared to this. She thought about the danger for the length of time it took her to gently push Elgiva's hands away and put hers in their place.
Audubon was in his study, brooding, a glass of cognac in hand, when Jeopard found him. They ran to the alcove, where Elena was unconscious on the floor. Tess Surprise held her head and Elgiva held one of her hands, while Douglas knelt beside Elgiva, an arm around her. One of the other wives, a physician, was checking Elena's pulse. The rest of the crowd waited quietly in the hall.
Audubon groaned under his breath when he saw Elena's face. It was nearly as pale as the ivory carpet. He sank down and took her hand from Elgiva. It was limp and cold.
"Her pulse is very weak," the physician said. "I think she should go to a hospital."
Audubon pulled her into his arms. Her head fell loosely, terrifying him. She was as fluid as a dream in his arms, and as difficult to hold. "Elena," he begged in a hoarse whisper. "Come back." He tucked her head against his shoulder and held her fiercely. "What happened?"
He listened in a daze as Elgiva explained. She choked on tears. All she knew was that she wasn't in pain anymore. Oh, God, he understood now. But why had it put Elena in this desperate state? She hadn't been like this after saving his life, and that couldn't have been easier.
Elgiva touched Elena reverently. "The last thing she said was, 'Your baby is fine now. I promise.' Audubon, what did she do?"
"She healed you. If she said the baby is fine, then you can believe her. She's a healer." He rocked her and couldn't keep his voice from breaking. "She's incredibly special."
There were soft gasps and murmurs from the people crowded around them; men who were shocked by nothing were asking each other and their wives questions about what they'd felt when Elena touched them. Audubon was so frightened that he heard their voices through a veil of shock; inside it were only he and Elena, and everything was quiet except for the barely perceptible sound of her breathing.
"Come back," he whispered into her ear, urgently. "This isn't freedom. Don't go alone. Come back. Stay with me."
"Her pulse is a little stronger," the physician noted. "But not good."
Audubon slid an arm under Elena's legs. "Someone call Mac to meet us at the helicopter. That will be faster."
But before he could pick her up, she murmured his name and moved a little. His heart racing, he grasped her chin and tilted her head back so he could study her. Her coppery lashes flickered, then lifted. Even the strange, faded blue that he'd seen before couldn't make her eyes any less glorious to him. She seemed barely able to hold her lids open, but she looked at him with recognition--and love. "I'm taking you to a hospital," he said gently.
Her lips moved just enough to let faint sounds through. "No... only rest. Nothing else... helps."
"Are you sure?" He stroked her face with his fingertips, trying to give back the mysterious force she had said everyone shared. "It will be safe. No one will find you. I swear."
"No good. Only... sleep."
"This has happened to her before?" the doctor asked.
"Yes, but not this severely."
"I still think she should be examined in a hospital."
"Audubon." Her voice was so weak that he had to put his ear close to her lips to hear it. "Don't want... strangers... testing me... anymore. Please."
"I'm not going to let anyone humiliate you. But I'm afraid that you need medical care."
"No. I swear. Sleep."
His chest was tight with fear, but the pleading look in her eyes tore him apart. "No hospital, then."
He carried her upstairs to his suite. Her breathing was more normal, but she remained slumped in his arms. In the soft light of a Tiffany lamp beside his bed, her skin looked rosier than before, but he wasn't sure if it was just the lamp's illusion. She sank into the silk sheets and large pillows with a grateful sigh.
Audubon sat beside her, holding her hand tightly and caressing her forehead with his fingertips. "This is what Kriloff meant. You could destroy yourself unless you're careful. And you know that. Why did you push the limits all night?"
Her face seemed small and fragile inside the frame of blond hair and ivory pillow. Blinking slowly, her eyelids threatening to stay shut each time, she still managed to look determined. "It's all I have to give. My value."
He bent his head and held her hand to his cheek. "No. It's only one part of what makes you special. You don't have to use it to be loved."
"Had to help Elgiva."
"But the others--no. They would have been drawn to you anyway."
"I wasn't... trying to draw the men... the way you thought."
Audubon shut his eyes and kissed her upturned palm. Her fingers feathered gently over his cheek. The terrible coldness was fading from them. "Forgive me," he whispered. "I didn't want to share you with them."
Her whimper was the sweetest note of an inner song. "I love you. No matter... what happens."
Stunned, he cleared his throat and said gruffly, "Nothing bad will happen. You're going to rest. I'll be right here, all night." Forever. "Try to sleep."
He reached beneath her and unfastened the top buttons of her bodice, pulled it down her shoulders, and stroked his spread hand along her neck. He wanted to draw her pulse to the surface of her skin, bring her strength back, promise her life. Her eyes opened a little wider, solemn and trusting. With his fingers resting just above her breasts he gauged her slowly moving chest, and every breath of his own was in sync with hers. He leaned down and kissed her. "Do you know? Can you tell? Have you been blind all this time, yourself?"
The blue of her eyes became more vivid as he watched. Small miracles were taking place every second. "Yes," she whispered. "But would you say it out loud for me?"
"I love you, Elena. I love you, dear dove. And no one is ever going to take you away from me."
She smiled and fell asleep. Audubon watched her with tears on his face. Promises were planted like flower seeds between them.
* * *
Chapter Eight
She woke the next morning with his arm wrapped snugly around her waist, and the delicious angles and textures of his body only a wish away. Coining out of many hours of leaden sleep caused by her exhaustion, she let his nearness and the fresh day's anticipation soar through her blood, but she lay still, not turning her head to look at him yet enjoying the moment with her eyes shut, recreating what she remembered.
I love you, dear dove.
During the night she'd awakened enough to know that he was removing her clothes down to nothing but her full-length white slip and panties. She remembered his hands on her thighs as he removed her garter belt and hose, then his fingers gently tugging her bra from under the slip. His touch had been sensual, but not sexual. He didn't linger or coax--there was nothing self-serving about his attention--but he imprinted his tenderness on her skin.
Then he'd kissed her forehead and gotten into bed beside her. Naked? Even now she didn't know. His body wasn't quite touching hers, except for his arm. Listening to him breathe was a small delight in itself. The great Audubon asleep! It hardly seemed possible the man indulged in something that made him so defenseless, so vulnerable to dreams and temptations. She loved him with a fierce ache in the center of her chest. The future would be wonderful. She was determined.
She made herself wait to look at him. Deliberately she trained her eyes on the white ceiling and its elaborate wood molding, then on the riot of sinfully plush pillows, tapestries, and upholstered chairs, which oddly enough produced a nestlike security. It made his bedroom the most peaceful den she could imagine. The outside world was muffled by the heavy drapes. She had awakened in a glorious cocoon, with the best companion in the world.
Slowly she turned her head to look at him. They shared a pillow; he was so close, she could count each dark brown eyelash and smile at the natural curl of the tips. His mouth was solemn, unfrivolous territory with a sensual lower lip that made exploration irresistible. Every sculpted angle and line of maturity proclaimed the vital, primitive sexuality of the male face.
Would everything be all right between them this morning? She hadn't imagined his words last night. She knew they'd torn down the most important barrier both he and she had built. But this was an enormous leap forward in hopes, in dreams.
Breathless, she turned on her side and closed the small distance between them, mewing softly when her body settled against his. The contact was even more affecting than she'd thought, and she began trembling inside, her senses threatening to dance over the edge.
Even still asleep he was aware of her explosive invitation. He shifted languidly, then his topmost leg curled over both of hers, his arm snaked farther around her waist, and to her delight she found herself captured inside a provocative, full-length embrace. Every tender emotion and fierce need met in an uncontrollable reaction; she arched against him and shuddered, biting her lip to keep from crying out in joy and astonishment. Her body writhed with out really moving, held still by shock and willpower, but her restraint only sent the sweet ache deeper, where it pulsed.
She was dazed and panting when the sensations withdrew to a safe distance, but they lingered there without fading completely, a marvelous storm that could shift toward her again with the slightest change of currents.
The man was still asleep! She was pleasantly embarrassed by what had happened. He hadn't touched her, kissed her, or even looked at her, but here she lay in the afterglow of making love to him.
And wanting, already, to do it again.
Flushed, quivering, wide-eyed, she huddled against the restless little movements he began to make. He wore pajama bottoms. She smiled. He was such a gentleman. Her smile turned into a silent, ecstatic oh! when he swiftly became aroused inside their silk confines. Even asleep, he prodded her belly with lusty welcome. The best kind of gentleman.
He gave a long, slow, sigh of pleasure--such an enticing sound, half-exhalation, halfgrowl--that she shivered in happy response. Elena nuzzled the crook of his neck. The sumptuous, brocaded bedcover, silk sheets, and fluffy pillow contrasted and conspired with his hard, lean body. She felt the lovely turbulence gliding back.
Incredible. Disturbing. He was going to wake up in the midst of all this and think her strange, desperate, or at least self-centered. She was to the point where she didn't know if she cared about appearances as long as he wanted her immediately. Elena angled her face up to his and sank both a moan and a kiss onto his slightly parted lips.
Awareness rippled through him. Suddenly the heavy, quiet muscles flexed and woke. Suddenly his eyes opened and stared directly into hers. He lifted his head, dragged at her lips as he left them, and looked down at her in shock. "What's wrong? Elena!" He was on his knees instantly, pulling the covers back, staring anxiously at her, cupping her face in his hands. "You're burning up. Make it stop. Darling, you can control this. Concentrate. Don't let it hurt you."
"Nothing's wrong, Audubon." Dismayed, she stroked his shoulders. "Don't be afraid. I'm all right."
"Your face is so damned flushed." He ran his fingertips over the damp skin of her throat and chest. "You're breathing like a bellows and you're so damp that your slip is sticking to you. Dammit, listen to me. Turn it off. I love you. Why are you letting this thing take over? Fight it, for my sake, at least. You don't need to prove anything to me. No more exploding flowers. No more hotwired psychic massages. They aren't necessary."
"Oh, Audubon, it's not what you think. Please, calm down. Come here. Please. I can barely make sense right now, but believe me, I'm perfectly all right."
He went very still, scrutinizing her. "Don't keep any more secrets from me, Elena."
She chuckled shakily. "Touch me, and you'll learn the truth."
"I am touching you, and it's practically burning my hands. I was a fool for not taking you to the hospital last night." He rubbed his hands over her bare shoulders, snagging the slip's thin straps in his hurried examination. She whimpered as the lacy bodice scrubbed her breasts. He grabbed her shoulders roughly. "Why didn't you tell me that you wouldn't be well by morning?"
She gave up on rational conversation. "There's only one way that you can make me feel better."
He crouched over her, ready. "What is it?"
Elena licked her lips nervously and tried to sound convincing. "The energy flow must be disrupted. You must use your energy to break the pattern. Put your hands on my sides."
Audubon clamped his hands to her waist. "Here?"
"Yes. Now, very slowly, slide them down my hips. Make certain that all of your fingers press firmly."
The delicious compliance of his hands made her shut her eyes. Looking at him as he followed her instructions was too much temptation. She must stop this immediately and try to make him understand that she was suffering only from a sweet yearning for him. He was worried about her.
"Now what?" he asked. He gripped the outsides of her thighs.
"Audubon," she said with gentle rebuke, "there's realty no need for all this concern."
"Either tell me what to do next, or I'm taking you to the hospital."
Shed tried to be honest, hadn't she? With gracious defeat she whispered, "Flatten your hands on my stomach and slide them upward to my chest."
His face set in serious lines, he did as she asked. She struggled not to make a sound. "Now back down the same path. Slowly. Yes. That's right. The energy is... following your hands. Distracted."
He stopped with his hands spread on her lower abdomen, the backs of his thumbs lightly resting against the feminine crest behind them. "What's happening to you?" he demanded grimly. "You've started quivering."
"It's just the effect of your hands on my energy patterns. It means you're doing exactly the right thing. Draw your fingertips down my thighs, please."
She felt the creamy slip pucker and tighten under his lar
ge, gentle fingers. She felt the indentation of every finger on her inner thighs. Rivulets of pleasure ran upward and converged inside her belly. "You're only feeling hotter to me," he said anxiously. "Love, please try to concentrate. I feel so damned helpless."
Elena looked at him tenderly. "Audubon, stop." The sublime passion mingled with increasing guilt. This wonderful, caring man was frightened for her, while she enjoyed herself at his expense.
"No, I'm not convinced that it's safe." He molded his hands to her stomach and rubbed small circles. "Maybe closer contact would accomplish more." He jerked the slip up to her thighs and put his hands underneath. Her protests dissolved in helpless gasps. "Elena, I'm being serious. Relax."
Relax? She was caught as before in spontaneous and overwhelming sensation. Dimly she realized she was calling his name, while she turned her face toward the pillow and let waves of release twist her body under his hands.
Audubon's surprise was followed by quick exploration of an intimate nature that would tell feminine secrets to any experienced male. When his hand slid under her panties, she moaned in soft, unbroken supplication.
He murmured a curse filled with relief and shock. Abruptly his exploration became a skilled caress, a little rough in rebuke, designed to taunt her with the pleasure he knew his touch provided. He caught her chin in one hand and made her look at him.
Elena was limp and trembling, unable to do anything but cling to the fierceness in his green eyes. There was also dark sensuality in them, as the situation sank in, but mostly anger. "I tried to tell you," she whispered. "More than once."
"I can't remember when anyone's manipulated me so blatantly. Me! The master of manipulation."
"Don't be hurt. That's the last thing I intended."
"I thought you were about to burn out like a candle. But you were getting your jollies. You hooked me like a trout."
Silver Fox and Red Hot Dove Page 13
