by Kay Hooper
“As the only blood Kilbourne left?”
“That’s the way David wanted it.” Daniel shrugged, adding, “And that brings us all the way back to where we started—with how Amelia would feel about us. Remember?”
“We didn’t get that far off track,” Laura murmured.
His hands tightened on her shoulders, but he didn’t pull her closer. “Maybe not. It just took a while to explain why Amelia might be pleased by this. In any case, I think she just might be.”
“But what if she isn’t?” Laura looked up at him steadily. “And what about the others? I’m in an awkward position here, you know that. Even if the others believe I didn’t kill Peter, I was still suspected of it—and of being his mistress. Then within a matter of days I—I end up in your bed? Jeez, it sounds awful even to me.”
He did pull her close then. “Never mind how it sounds. How does it feel?”
She caught her breath, avoiding his intense gaze. “Daniel, don’t.”
“Why? Because you can’t think clearly? Because you can’t be sensible and rational? Neither can I.” As he had in the attic, he framed her face with his hands to make her look at him. “I want you, Laura. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. And I don’t really give a damn who knows that.”
Without her conscious volition, Laura’s hands lifted to rest on his chest. She could feel the intensity in him, the determination, and the force of it was almost overwhelming. Almost. “I just need a little time.” Her voice was unsteady despite all her efforts, and she knew she sounded shaken. “Please, Daniel. Everything’s happened so fast, I—”
He kissed her with a sudden, startling gentleness, and when he raised his head again, the intensity was gone—or hidden. He was smiling a bit ruefully. “I guess eleven years of battles with Amelia have taken their toll; I can’t seem to stop trying to get my way. I’m sorry, Laura. Of course you need some time to get used to this, I know that. I think we can manage to be discreet, at least for a while.”
She was a little surprised that he’d given in, but grateful too. “I just think … it might only take one more straw to break this family. I don’t want to be it.”
His thumbs brushed across her cheekbones caressingly, and then Daniel let her go. “We’re not so fragile as you think, but never mind. It’s probably a good idea to keep this to ourselves right now. Look, it’s getting late, and I have some calls to make. Why don’t I leave you to your painting?”
Laura nodded, conscious of feeling bereft when she forced her hands to drop from his chest. She didn’t say anything until he turned away and went toward the doorway. “Daniel?”
He paused and half turned to look back at her, his brows lifting questioningly.
“You said Amelia might have warned me to … draw out the chase. To keep us apart as long as possible in order to distract you. How did she know? I mean, how could she be so sure you even wanted me?” Since I sure as hell never guessed.
Daniel smiled faintly. “Secrets don’t live long in this house, Laura. It’s something to keep in mind. I’ll see you at dinner.”
She stared after him for several minutes, frowning, grappling with the uneasy possibility that this afternoon Daniel had moved the most vital chess piece in the entire game. Was that why he had followed her up to the attic? He wanted her, yes, Laura didn’t doubt that—but he wouldn’t be the first man to combine a pleasurable sexual conquest with some other deliberate purpose. And though his explanation of the power struggle between him and Amelia certainly rang true, there was more to it, Laura was sure. Something else was going on between those two, something far more dangerous than Daniel was willing to admit.
And Laura still felt herself very much a pawn.
It would be devastating, she knew, if she found out that the interlude in the attic and everything after it had only been a means to an end, a deliberate move by Daniel to accomplish God only knew what result in his struggle with Amelia. That was the kind of thing that could destroy a woman, especially if she felt too much for the man using her as a pawn.…
She pushed it all into the back of her mind and turned to her painting, desperate for something, anything, to keep her distracted, if only for a while. Her gaze fixed on that lower corner, where Daniel had indicated the forgotten house, and after a moment she found herself reaching for her paints and brush. When she tried to decide consciously what kind of house belonged there by the lake, her mind was maddeningly unhelpful. Finally she drew a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, then just dabbed her brush in some paint and began painting without thinking at all.
A small gray house took shape beneath her brush. A stone house. It had a thatched roof, and smoke curled from the stone chimney. There was a small garden plot, she realized, almost hidden from this angle by the little house; the edge of it could just be seen. And a woodpile off to the side. And there was a path down to the lake, where you went several times a day to draw water. And another path, much fainter, that led off through the woods to the nearest neighbors, miles away. And you couldn’t see the barn, because the angle was wrong, but it was over there past that big rock.…
Laura shook her head, a little dazed, and stared at the painting. I know this place. I’ve been here. But how could she, if it was in Scotland?
“Hi, Laura. Hey—didn’t mean to startle you.”
She looked at Josie and managed a smile as her heartbeat returned to normal. Jumpy. I’m getting so damned jumpy. “Sometimes my imagination takes me … far away. Are you just now back from your walk? I thought you must have gone back into the house by now.”
Josie smiled. “I needed to think about a few things, so I just sat in the gazebo. Didn’t realize how long I’d been out there until I looked at my watch a few minutes ago. Is Amelia back yet?”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t seen her.”
“Good, then I can be working busily when she gets home.” Josie looked at Laura’s painting, and if she thought the addition of the little stone house was a small amount of work to have completed in the hours since lunchtime, she didn’t say so. Instead she said, “I like the house. Looks old, but sturdy.”
“I … thought that corner needed something,” was all Laura could manage.
“I think you’re right. But it’s perfect now.” Josie smiled. “I’d say you’re ready to start Amelia’s portrait.”
“I don’t feel ready,” Laura confessed.
Josie laughed. “Take it from me, when it comes to dealing with Amelia, you don’t think about it—you just do it. You’ll be fine, Laura. And the portrait will be fine.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get myself to the library, where I can be blamelessly working when Amelia gets home.”
“I hear that.” Laura wasn’t going to ask, but heard herself speak before Josie could do more than walk past her. “Josie? Has Daniel ever been out of the country?”
Josie paused, surprise crossing her expressive face. “He went to Hong Kong a few years ago on business. That’s it, I think.”
“He’s never been to Scotland?”
Curiosity joined surprise on Josie’s face. She shook her head. “No, not that I know of. Certainly not since I’ve been here. Why?”
“No reason. Just … something he said once. It’s not important.”
Josie didn’t look particularly convinced of that latter statement, but accepted it. “Okay. See you at dinner.”
“See you.”
Laura turned her gaze back to her painting, faking absorption, but when she was alone once more in the conservatory, she stopped pretending. She was so confused she couldn’t even think straight, and all her frustration and uneasiness found voice in a single murmured question.
“Damn you, Daniel, what are you trying to do to me?”
HE DIDN’T EXPECT Amelia to catch on to the change in his relationship with Laura right away. Laura, for all her expressiveness, could keep her secrets when she w
anted to, he thought—and he knew damned well he could. So they had a bit of grace, a little time before the careful balance in this house would shift yet again.
Daniel stared down at a stack of financial reports on his desk, frowning, hardly conscious of Josie working quietly on the other side of the room. Had he revealed too much to Laura in telling her about his struggle with Amelia? It was difficult to know. He might have jumped the gun, but he had felt sure she was already on his side of the battle lines—and not just because they had become lovers.
Lovers. He felt his breathing deepen at the simple thought of that, his heart thud heavily in his chest, and closed his eyes, remembering her reflection in the mirror as she had watched him come toward her. There had been shock in her eyes, and recognition, and longing. And no hesitation. She had responded to him instantly, her sweet yearning tearing at his heart even as her sensuality stole his breath and clouded his mind.
He breathed in slowly, her haunting, arousing scent as real to him as though he were back in that attic, and felt the warm silk of her flesh beneath his lips and fingers. Gazed into green eyes alight with heated desire. Heard his name murmured in a voice husky with passion. Felt her arms around him, her body welcome him with its slick, searing heat and unbearable pleasure.
Dear God, it had been so long.…
“Daniel?”
He opened his eyes, focused on the papers lying before him. Breathed out slowly. When he looked up and across the room at Josie, he was in control. “Yes?” Only Laura could shatter his control. Only Laura.
“Are you all right? You looked a little … strange.”
He felt a flicker of mild curiosity as to what she’d seen on his face, but dismissed it. He wasn’t worried about what Josie knew, or guessed. She was discreet, and would no more tell his business to Amelia than she would Amelia’s business to him. Besides which, she had her own concerns at the moment, her own secrets to keep. “I’m fine,” he said.
She nodded a bit uncertainly, then pushed back her chair and rose. “Just thought I’d mention that it’s nearly five. Since Amelia’s upstairs resting, I told her I’d check on dinner before I go up and change.”
Daniel nodded. “All right. I think I’ll call it a day as well.” Not that he’d gotten a damned thing done all the while he’d been sitting here, but there were a few advantages to being the boss, and one was not having people look over your shoulder to make sure you were being productive.
He waited a few minutes after Josie left, giving her time to check on the evening meal and head toward her own room, then locked the financial reports in the center drawer of his desk and left the library. He hadn’t gone out to greet his mother and Amelia when they had returned an hour ago, though Josie had, and he had only spoken a brief greeting to Alex when he had arrived home not long ago. Since there was no music wafting out from the music room, he assumed Kerry was upstairs getting ready, as the others likely were.
He climbed the stairs, wondering if Anne would show her face tonight or continue to come and go like an unhappy wraith, avoiding all of them. Daniel felt a bit sorry for Anne, but at the same time knew that most of her troubles were all her own doing. She was too full of anger and resentment to be rational sometimes, and maybe it wasn’t surprising that she snapped at every hand held out to her. Except for Peter’s hand, which she had obviously accepted …
Reaching the second floor, Daniel paused and stared at Laura’s door. Four guest suites in the main section of the house, and Amelia had put Laura in the one Daniel had to pass every time he went to his own bedroom. Coincidence? Hardly. That old woman would have made a fine inquisitor a few hundred years ago, he thought with grim amusement. She had a keen understanding of exactly how to torture her victims without shedding a single drop of blood.
He intended to walk past Laura’s door and go on to his own room. He fully intended to do that. But he found himself instead going directly to her door and knocking softly.
She opened the door a moment later, a little flushed and damp from her shower, her glorious hair loose around her shoulders and the silky green robe she wore clinging lovingly to her slender body. It took a space of several quickening heartbeats before Daniel could speak, and when he did he wasn’t at all surprised that his voice rasped.
“Are you all right?”
Laura was surprised, by his presence and the question, and her eyes looked warily past him for an instant before she said, “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Good question.
“May I come in for a moment?” And when she hesitated, he added quietly, “Nobody will know, Laura. Everyone’s in their rooms getting dressed.”
She stepped back, pulling the door open far enough for him to come into the sitting room, then closed it behind him. She didn’t move away from the door but stood there, a bit stiffly. She was nervous, and Daniel didn’t like it.
Crossing the space between them, he lifted a hand to cup her cheek and said, “Don’t look at me like that. Why are you wary of me, Laura? What have I done?”
She hesitated, those green eyes uncertain as they searched his face, then shook her head a little. “Nothing. I guess I’m just jumpy with everybody back in the house.” She eased away from him and moved restlessly across the room, stopping only when she stood before an elegant little side table with a gilded mirror hanging on the wall above it.
Their eyes met in the mirror, and Daniel moved toward her without consciously making the decision to do so. When he reached her, he put his hands on her waist and drew her slowly back against him. His hands moved over her flat middle slowly, the slide of silk over her skin warm and sensuous. He watched the reflection of her eyes darken, saw her lips part, and wondered if she could feel his heart pounding. He knew she could feel his desire for her.
He bent his head and pressed his lips to her shoulder, then nuzzled the side of her neck, breathing in her unique scent, and murmured, “Are you upset with me because we didn’t use protection when we made love?” He saw surprise flicker in her darkened eyes when he raised his head, and thought she was startled because that fact was not something she had considered.
After a moment, she said a little huskily, “I’m on the pill.”
“That didn’t answer my question.” He rubbed his jaw slowly against her soft hair, watching her face intently in the mirror.
“No, I’m not upset,” she said finally. “I—I hadn’t thought about it.”
“And now that you have thought about it? We can use added protection if you want, Laura. But there’s no reason for you to worry if we don’t. I’m healthy and not infected with anything. Except you.”
Her eyes flickered again, but her hands came up to cover his where they rested just beneath her breasts. “I’m healthy too. So I guess neither of us has to worry.”
“Good.” He didn’t have to look at the clock on the nearby mantel to know that he was running out of time, but he hated to let go of her. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in being late for dinner?” he asked, hearing the wryness in his own voice.
She smiled. “Interested, yes. But I imagine Amelia would find it suspicious if both of us turned up late, don’t you?”
“Yes. Dammit.” He shifted his hold on her, turning her so that he could kiss her. It wasn’t enough to satisfy his hunger for her; if anything, this taste of her just made the ache worse. But he had no idea when he would be able to hold her or kiss her again, and couldn’t ignore this opportunity.
When he finally raised his head, they were both breathing raggedly, and the heated sheen of desire in her eyes almost made him sweep her up and carry her off to her bedroom—and to hell with Amelia. But the clock on her mantel softly chimed the half hour just then, and the sound of reality brought him back to his senses.
Reluctantly he eased back away from her. “I’d better go. Come and check the hall for me—make sure it’s clear.”
Laura nodded slowly and went with him back to the door. She opened it cautiously and looked outside to make
sure no one would see him leave, then drew back and nodded. “It’s clear.” Her voice was a little husky.
“Sneaking around at my age. If anyone else had asked it of me …” He kissed her one last time, hating the necessity of leaving her, then slipped out of her room and headed for his own.
When he drew abreast of Alex’s room, the door opened, and the lawyer came out into the hall. He looked at Daniel, mildly surprised, and said, “You’re running late. It’s nearly six.”
“I lost track of the time,” Daniel said.
Alex glanced around them quickly and said in a lowered voice, “It’s just as well I caught you. We need to talk.”
“You’ve found something?”
“Maybe. You’ll have to judge for yourself.”
“Is it urgent?” Daniel asked.
Alex pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Well, no more urgent than the situation. I should think it’d keep until tomorrow.”
“All right. Can you get away in the morning?”
“Sure. Can you?”
Daniel chose to take that question as an inquiry into the schedule of his usually busy Saturday mornings rather than something more personal—even though Alex’s half smile told him that he apparently wasn’t quite as good at hiding his feelings as he had thought. Or else Laura had somehow left her mark on him, visible for all the world to see.
He didn’t ask, just said calmly, “I have some time around ten. Where can we meet?”
“Better make it my office. Something I want to show you.”
Daniel felt his pulse quicken and looked at Alex with a narrowed gaze. “Something we can use?”
Alex was noncommittal. “Like I said, you’ll have to judge for yourself.”
Daniel knew the younger man too well to push, so he merely nodded and went on to his bedroom. He stripped rapidly and got into the shower, shivering under the near-icy water but making no effort to adjust the temperature. Cold showers at his age. And, adding insult to injury, it didn’t help anyway.
