She recoiled as if he had slapped her. Her gaze dropped to the floor. Had she been so starved for affection that she had believed his profession of love? Unwilling to believe what she had just heard, Jade covered her ears with her hands. But her logical mind could not be silenced. Of course he did not love her. She should have seen it sooner. Why would a man like Jason Harrington—a man who could have any woman he wanted with just a smile—want her? Suddenly ashamed, she wished he would go, wished he would walk out of her life and never come back. She would do nothing further to stop him.
The scent of her perfume assailed him in the narrow hallway. J.T. stood staring down at the crown of her head, looked upon hair as vibrant as a red-golden flame. She still wore the wreath of flowers—white, fragile, as delicate and innocent as he once thought she was. Her ivory skin still intrigued him. He still wanted to touch it. The pearls and emeralds at her ears and throat glistened in the lamplight, further testimony of the depths to which he had fallen for her.
He watched her breasts rise and fall with every breath. She was poised there before him, unable to look at him, unwilling, it seemed, to argue anymore.
She was waiting for him to leave her.
As he stared at her, Jason realized he could no more leave Jade tonight than he could admit aloud that he still loved her.
She was his wife.
He was the only man who could lay claim to her now. The only man who had the right to bed her. He was her husband, for better or worse. She might not care anything for him now, but he fully intended to make certain that by morning she would feel something for him.
Even if it was hatred.
“Do you have all your things?” he asked abruptly.
She looked up then, her tear-filled eyes reflecting hope. Her voice trembled. “It’s right here. Babs?”
Silk rustled behind him. He watched as Jade reached out and took her valise from the other woman. Babs silently stepped aside and waited. Jade shifted the heavy bag in her hands. Jason took it from her with one hand while he grabbed her wrist with the other.
“Jade?” Babs called softly. “I’m so sorry.”
Jade turned her back on Babs and set out to go with Jason. Always before she had forgiven her friend—called upon the past to forgive the present. But Babs had gone too far this time. No memory could erase what she had done to Jade, or more importantly, to Jason. Jade was determined to prove her sincerity to Jason, even if it meant never speaking to Babs again.
She tried to keep up as Jason tugged her down the hallway without a backward glance.
When her foot caught in the hem of her heavy gown, she almost tripped headlong down the stairway. Jason pulled her to her feet. She tried to keep up. At the foot of the stairs he flung open the front door and half-carried her down the steps to his waiting carriage. He tossed her inside and barked orders to the driver of the hired hack.
Jade dragged herself to a sitting position, scooted away from Jason, and tried to straighten her clothing. The mended sleeve and bodice had torn anew, exposing her white shoulder and the curve of her breast. Her garland of flowers sat crookedly. With trembling fingers she reached up and drew it off, the travesty of the last few moments made mockery of the touch of wedding finery.
She stared over at Jason. His jaw was set, his lips thinned, his eyes hooded and narrowed as he gazed out the window to avoid looking at her.
Her voice was calm and steady, her sure tone belying her inner turmoil. “If you’ll just listen to me for a moment—”
He turned on her viciously. She refused to turn away. “I am warning you, Jade. Hold your tongue.”
The October air was heavy with dampness. Without a wrap of any kind, she was soon shivering. Jade crossed her arms and hugged them to herself. She tried to convince herself that she was not frightened of Jason, for after all, he had never given her reason to be, and that she was only shaking from cold.
Out of the corner of his eye, J.T. saw her shivering like a wounded animal on the far side of the seat and had to battle the urge to tug off his coat and wrap it around her shoulders.
The greedy little witch deserved to quake with cold and fear. His emotions were leashed on a tight rein in the confines of the small carriage. To put her out of his thoughts, he stared out the window and watched as block after block of the city swept past. The carriage lurched as the driver began the steep ascent up Nob Hill. J.T. refused to look at her, but he was more aware of Jade at that moment than he had ever been before.
As the carriage hurried toward their destination, thoughts raced pell-mell through Jade’s mind. She berated herself for ever agreeing to marry a man she did not really know. How could she have foreseen the rage he had exhibited tonight? What if it grew worse? Not even love could force her to stay with a man like her father, and if Jason proved to be as ruthless or as cruel, she would sooner leave him forever. She would annul the marriage and forget her dream of love before she led the life her mother had. She should never have agreed to this marriage, she concluded. She knew that now.
But it was still not too late to make up for her mistake.
When the carriage drew up beside the curb, Jason opened the door. Rather than step out ahead of her and offer her his hand, he simply commanded, “Get out.”
She voiced no argument, afraid that he was mad enough to shove her out if need be. Jade stepped down and waited for him on the curb. He grabbed her valise, paid the driver, and then marched up the stairs ahead of her.
Jade refused to follow him like a wounded puppy with its tail between its legs.
Jason turned at the top step and stared down at her. Silhouetted by the lamplight behind him, he was an imposing figure. Still, she screwed up her courage and stood her ground. “I refuse to go in there with you.”
“You’re my wife. You’ll do anything I say.”
“Absolutely not—”
He was off the steps in seconds. He grabbed her about her hips and threw her over his shoulder, then bent and picked up her valise. He held her tight, even as she struggled, fumbled with the key, and then kicked open the door. Jade squirmed and screamed. She pounded his back with her fists. J.T. carried her as if she weighed nothing. Once he had dropped her valise and locked the door behind them, he set her down.
“Get upstairs.”
“Jason, get out of the way. I’m walking out of here now, and tomorrow I’ll have this marriage annulled. If you aren’t willing to calm down and listen, I refuse to stay here with you.”
“You want me to listen to more of your lies? You think I’ll swallow them as easily as I did everything else ?” He raked his fingers through his hair and leaned back against the door, emphasizing his unwillingness to let her go. His angry expression faded as he stared down at her, and for a moment he allowed his disappointment and hurt to show. “I guess I was a pretty easy mark for you and your friend, huh. Jade?”
“I never lied to you.” She denied his words with a shake of her head.
Jason did not heed her. “If you needed money, why didn’t you just take a tumble with me and then ask for it? I’m used to dealing with women who get paid for it, Jade. Santa Fe is full of them. But that wouldn’t have been enough, would it? You wanted it all.” He shook his head and said half to himself, “And I thought Nettie was bad.” Gazing back down at her, he said, “No, Jade. I was the fool. I believed your innocent act, I felt protective, possessive . . . Do you do this all the time, Jade? Just how many men have you duped with your innocent act? How many?”
“I’ve never . . . None, Jason! None.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I—”
“How many men have you spread your legs for in order to get at their bank accounts?”
The shock of his words ripped through her, erasing her pain and fear. Anger quickly settled in their place. He thought the worst of her. Al
l she wanted was out, now that she knew Jason was determined not to believe her. Why should she try to convince him any differently? He was still blocking the door. She wondered if she made him angry enough would he change his mind and throw her out.
Pushed to the limit, she let her own brewing anger erupt. Her head came up. Her eyes blazed with fury. “Hundreds!” she screamed at him. “I’ve been with hundreds of men. Thousands! You won’t listen, so why should I even bother to explain?”
She could see that for a moment he was taken aback. He stared at her in stunned silence. Then, his face darkened. He became the predator she had so feared.
J.T. shoved away from the door. “I think I deserve having the pleasure of your company for at least one night.”
She watched him until he stood directly in front of her. He reached out and wrapped her hair about his hands and pulled her up close. She tried to hold him off but failed. All too clearly Jade realized that the night he had proposed and she had held him at bay in the carriage it had not been because of her strength, but because he did not press her. Now she knew that she was no match for his great strength. Before she could utter a word of protest, his head came down and he ground his lips against hers.
Dipping with his weight and the force behind his kiss, she was soon draped over his arm. He pressed her hips to his with his free hand and continued the onslaught of the kiss until Jade was forced to open her lips and receive his marauding tongue. Her traitorous body betrayed her as it had every time he had kissed her; she felt a burning heat radiate outward from the secret place between her thighs until it became all-consuming. Seeking release, she involuntarily pressed her lips to his in answer to his demands.
“That’s it. Jade,” he said against her lips, “drop the innocent pretense. It’s time we got down to business.”
She tried to pull back, to argue, but he covered her mouth with his. Finally, once he had rendered her breathless, Jason scooped her up and carried her upstairs.
He shoved open the door to the master bedroom. The room was pitch dark, the moonless night adding nothing to the gloom. Jade struggled in earnest, trying to break his hold. Finally he set her down.
“Hold still! I don’t want to hurt you, Jade. I’m sure you’re much better at this than you let on, so why play the offended virgin now?”
Over the pounding of her heart, Jade tried to reason with him one more time. “Jason, don’t say or do anything you are going to regret—”
“The only regret I have is ever having found you on my doorstep.”
It infuriated her when her eyes flooded with tears. She looked away and bit her bottom lip to still its uncontrollable trembling. Her brief, golden dream of love was gone, ended when Jason’s love for her had been shattered by Babs’s incriminating confession. Jason was innocent of the whole affair, and now he was demanding no more than what he thought he deserved. In his eyes she was a cheat—a woman who had schemed and manipulated to get his money.
Before he touched her again, before he kissed her into acquiescence, she had to escape.
Jason tried to see her finely sculpted features in the darkness. He sensed her hesitation and wondered why she was playing coy. He had married her, and even though the sun would have to burn itself out before he ever told her he loved her again, he knew it would be a long time until he got her out of his blood. And after all, he thought, this was his wedding night.
He intended to have her.
Jade made the slightest movement and he lunged for her as she tried to run past him. Hampered by darkness, he misjudged her close proximity and crashed into her, his forward momentum carrying them both to the ground. As they fell backward, Jason tried to spare her his weight and twisted until he was nearly beneath her, much the same as he had done when they fell down the stairs at the Palace.
Jade instinctively clutched his sleeves. She felt his muscles bunch beneath the fabric, knew he had not meant to harm her, and after they hit the floor, she tried to relax and catch her breath.
He could feel her breath, warm and enticing on his neck. He kissed her before he knew what he was doing. Jade was still too stunned to resist. Their tongues warred with each other—sparring, striking, receding. Jason grasped her face between his hands and held her immobile as he deepened the kiss. Jade arched, trying to shake him off, but only succeeded in arousing him more. He pressed her down until he was more on her than off, and she was nearly paralyzed beneath his greater weight. She could feel his erection, the height of his passion, and her fear of giving into him mounted.
She gasped for air as he pulled away long enough to tear off his jacket and work at the waistband of his pants.
Realizing his intent, Jade struggled to sit up.
“No!” He barked out the harsh command. “Stay where you are.”
She shoved at him.
He reached down and slid her torn dress and chemise off of one breast. Without pausing, he lifted her breasts and began to knead them until she moaned. His lips were everywhere, kissing her ear, sliding along the column of her neck, playing across her breasts until they found a puckered nipple. His mouth and tongue were never still as his hands continued to remove her gown. The mended side seam was soon rent all the way down. He pulled the garment aside, exposing her frilly chemise.
Jade tried to ignore the myriad sensations that swept over her in wave after uncontrollable wave. Thoughts jumbled one on the other. As hard as she wanted to fight, she still she could not deny the fact that this man was no stranger. It was Jason. She loved him. The sensations he was evoking, the pleasurable pain of his exquisite torture, was unlike anything she had ever imagined.
If only he still loved me, she thought. If only the gentle, caring man she had known over the past few days was the one ministering to her now instead of using her body to vent his rage and hurt. But as hard as Jade tried to deny it, she still loved him. Still wanted him.
Realizing as much, she could do nothing to stop him. The only power she could use against him now was her love.
Once he had captured her full, ripe breasts in his hands, Jason knew there was no way he could stop until he had buried himself inside her. Maybe then he could get her out of his heart. But he had never raped a woman and he would be damned if he did now.
He continued to kiss her, kept his hands roving over her full, lush breasts. She moaned low in her throat and soon he felt her relax beneath him, felt her return the kiss. He heard her moan with need and in his twisted thoughts he easily convinced himself that if she truly was innocent, she would fight him to the end.
Before he took his own pleasure, he would be certain he brought her to heights she had never reached before. That way, at least he would have the satisfaction of knowing that she would never forget him.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to see this my way,” he whispered into her ear before he bent his head, drew one nipple between his teeth and bit it gently. He heard her moan again and swelled with power. He ground his hips against her.
Jade felt him hard and heavy as he nudged his hips against her pelvis. She tried not to let herself feel, for if he knew the power he held over her she would be all that much more vulnerable, but she was failing miserably.
It was their wedding night. A nightmare of a night, but the first and last they would share if she could not salvage some part of what they had.
J.T. felt her heart beating like a captured sparrow beneath his hand. He slipped his hand between her tightly closed legs, played his fingertips up her thighs past the silken garters that held her stockings, up her bare leg, until he reached the short pantaloons she wore. He shoved his hand into the waistband and soon found the warm recesses he sought. She was hot, wet, and ready for him.
Gentleness was not something he had intended to show her this night, but he gently delved deep inside her dewy moistness until she could not help but follow the rhythm of his ha
nd, her hips writhing in imitation of his movements. Soon she was panting again, and he doubted if Jade even knew what she was doing when she reached up and clung to his shoulders.
He braced himself on one hand and let go of her long enough to tear open the buttons on his trousers and drawers. Gathering her ponderous skirts in his hand, he shoved them up about her waist and then, without preamble, he plunged inside her.
Jade held tight to his arms and pressed her face against his starched, pristine shirtfront. The diamond shirt studs were rough against her cheek, but they did not even bear notice when, before she expected it, he drove his shaft into her. She felt the length and weight of him invading her, plunging to the very mouth of her womb. As he broke through her virgin wall, she bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying out.
It was too late to cry. Tears would be a foolish waste of time. Just as he had refused to hear her out earlier, she reckoned he would not heed her tears now.
By the time Jason realized what he had done, it was too late. Her body’s virginal resistance and the way her tight sheath enfolded him was all the proof he needed. Despite what he had thought, he was the first man to have known her intimately.
Shame washed over him, followed close on its heels by anger. He was furious with himself for what he had done.
Except for an occasional shudder, she was as still as a stone beneath him now, her face hidden in the hollow of his neck, her hands clutching his sleeves. Her hair was spread out on the carpet around them. Jason almost pulled away from her, intent on starting over. It would be so easy to draw her into his embrace, to gentle her, to beg her to forgive him as he carried her to the bed. But she had deceived him.
And he had gone too far to turn back now.
Besides, she and her friend had tricked him into this marriage, and he’d be damned if he’d let her know he still cared for her.
For now, she was tight and hot and his. He began to move his hips, to seek his own release. He quickened his pace and grasped her hips, tilting her to receive his seed. He heard her catch her breath and moan and a thunderous climax roared through him.
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