by Andrea Kane
To her amazement, Jacqui felt the pulsing ache between her thighs begin anew and she reached for Dane, pulling him down to her.
He needed no coercion, but wrapped himself around her and began to make love to her slowly, possessing her with his mouth and hands, muttering dark, forbidden promises against her skin. With tormenting patience, he claimed the warm, silky weight of her breasts, the tight, hard buds of her nipples, the trembling wetness between her thighs.
“I love you, Jacqui,” he said, looking directly into her passion-glazed eyes. “So much … too much. It astounds me how little control I have when we’re together.” He cupped her face with shaking palms. “See? Can you feel how badly I want you, need you?” He caught her hand in his, bringing it down to close around his throbbing erection. “Can you, my breathtaking wife?”
Jacqui whimpered, all sensation concentrated beneath her discovering hand. She took over the motion herself, curled her fingers around him, caressing gently, feeling the enormous power beneath her touch.
Dane groaned deep in his throat, throwing back his head, his breath coming in harsh pants. He withstood the exquisite torture as long as he could. When it became unendurable, he caught Jacqui’s wrist. “I can’t … no more.” He shook his head wildly, silver lightning ablaze in his eyes.
But when he would have moved to take her, Jacqui slid down the length of him, exploring the taut planes of his abdomen, the flat male nipples that stiffened beneath her touch, the pulsing hardness that quivered in her hand. She bent to taste him, to bring him the same excruciating pleasure he had brought her. Surrounding him with her mouth, she learned him as she never before had, until Dane made a hoarse, anguished sound of primal male need, dragging her away mere seconds before it was too late.
Mindless with arousal, he rolled her beneath him and buried himself inside her, grinding their hips together until he could go no deeper. Hungrily, he repeated the motion, clenching his fists in the pillow beside her head, forcing her to meet the ravenous heat of his gaze.
“Love me,” he commanded, a harsh, guttural sound. “Don’t ever leave me, or frighten me, like that again.”
Drawn by the desperate tone of his voice, the naked longing in his eyes, Jacqui whispered, “I won’t. …” She clutched the bunched muscles of his shoulders, lifting her hips to meet the erotic motion of his.
“Love me,” he repeated, this time a gentle ripple, a reverent prayer breathed into her open mouth.
Jacqui wound herself around him, arms and legs drawing him close, inner muscles clasping him tightly within her. “I do.”
The long-awaited declaration pushed him over the edge.
Control having evaporated, Dane plunged deep inside his wife, joining their bodies in a poignant confirmation of her words, withdrawing only to immerse himself again.
The bed groaned with each staggering thrust, the vortex of sensation coiling tighter, tighter still. Jacqui clung to him, ascended to dizzying heights, and teetered there … waiting, absorbing the frenzied pounding of Dane’s body over hers, in hers.
Then … time stopped, the world tilted askew.
Release came as a stunning explosion, tearing through them both simultaneously, coursing through their bodies in crashing waves, making them both lunge forward and cry out.
When the waves receded, they lay dazed and drenched, in the wake of something more powerful than either of them had ever fathomed.
“Say it again.” Dane raised his head and looked solemnly down at Jacqui, brushing damp strands of hair from her flushed face and lowered lashes. “I want to hear it, not in passion, but in truth. Say it, Jacqui. Lord knows I’ve waited an eternity to hear it.”
Jacqui’s lids fluttered and Dane caught his breath at the look of intense emotion he saw glowing in the midnight of her eyes. She hesitated, a flash of fear and vulnerability flickering there but for a moment. Then she lay her hand against his strong jaw. “I love you,” she whispered, astounded that she had the courage to say aloud what she’d known in her heart for months. “It terrifies me, but it’s true nonetheless. I love you, Dane.”
Dane turned his face to kiss her palm, his expression humble. “Don’t be terrified, mon chaton colereux. I’ll never leave you. What we have is forever.” He brushed her lips softly with his. “Now listen to me say the words: I love you, Jacqui. Always. And, just as you belong to me, I belong to you.”
CHAPTER
19
WILL IT ALWAYS BE so wondrous?” Jacqui murmured, awed and sated in the glorious aftermath of their long night of lovemaking.
“Always, chaton. Forever.” Dane brought a handful of her hair to his lips, marveling at the way the first golden rays of dawn shimmered on the satiny tresses.
Jacqui fell silent.
“Jacqueline.” Dane looked down at her. “I know how afraid you are to believe in forever. I even know why.” He answered her startled, questioning look with the truth. “Your father and I talked … about your childhood, and your mother.”
Jacqui lowered her lashes, but Dane refused to let her retreat from him. Catching her chin with his forefinger, he gently forced her to meet his gaze. “I know how devastating her death must have been for you. I wish I’d been there to hold you in my arms and tell you the pain would pass, to promise you I’d never leave you, that you’d never have to endure so staggering a loss again. But I wasn’t. So I’m telling you now. I love you, Jacqueline. My love is something you can count on, for it is yours, unconditionally and always. I’m strong, I’m healthy … and I’m very sure of my feelings.”
He caressed her cheek with his thumb, determined to erase the lingering filaments of doubt from her mind. “Did I lie when I told you I’d always accept you as you are and never try to change you?”
“No.” Her voice was small.
“Nor am I lying to you now.” He interlaced her fingers with his, placed their joined hands over his heart. “Fate created us for each other, darling, and nothing is going to separate us or alter my feelings. You have my word.”
Jacqui smiled faintly. “Your word as a gentleman?”
He chuckled, tracing her kiss-swollen lips. “No. My word as your husband; which is guaranteed to be infinitely more reliable than my word as a gentleman.”
“I’m glad,” Jacqui returned, her voice breaking as she battled to regain her self-control. “Since the past months have not shown you to be much in the way of a gentleman.”
“That is because you, chaton, make me forget all my good intentions. You’re a constant challenge, in and out of bed.” His eyes twinkled.
“Speaking of which, you did vow to murder me,” she reminded him.
Dane nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I did, didn’t I?” He scowled, recalling the events that led up to that threat. “You scared the bloody hell out of me yesterday.”
Jacqui propped her chin on his chest. “I know. And I’m truly sorry. Next time I promise to be more careful.”
Dane shot up like a bullet, nearly knocking Jacqui to the floor. “Next time?”
Baffled, Jacqui gathered up the bedcovers and wrapped them around her. “Well, of course, next time,” she returned, totally exasperated. “I told you, my captor is obviously one of the traitors for whom Secretary Hamilton is searching. Unfortunately, he escaped into the woods before you could apprehend him. Therefore, we must think of a plan that will expose not only him, but his accomplices as well. And since Laffey seems to be the likely target—”
“Over my dead body!” Dane exploded, silencing her words. He bounded from the bed and began pacing back and forth, oblivious to his nakedness. “After what occurred yesterday,” he berated Jacqui, angry and incredulous, “how can you even suggest using Laffey’s column again as bait for our trap?”
“But, Dane, I wouldn’t—”
“No!” Dane halted at the foot of the bed, grim-faced, shaking his head vehemently. “The idea is unthinkable!”
“It’s a splendid idea.”
The Secretary of the Treasury nodded
decisively as he spoke.
“Are you as insane as my wife, Alexander?” Dane demanded.
“I thought you might agree,” Jacqui was saying, ignoring her husband’s remark. “It is our only logical alternative, given the circumstances.”
Dane slammed his fists on Hamilton’s desk. “If you permit another column such as the last, you are inviting a repeat of Jacqueline’s abduction.” His eyes blazed silver fire. “And that I will not allow. Friendship be damned. Patriotism be damned.” He jerked around to glare at Jacqui. “Promises be damned. This time the answer is no, Jacqueline. You will not write that column.”
Jacqui marched up to him and raised her chin mutinously. “Are you forbidding me to write my column?”
“I bloody well am.”
“And I’m refusing to accept your husbandly dictate.”
“May I intercede?” Hamilton put in mildly, trying to hide his amusement at watching this tiny slip of a girl brazenly confront the invincible Dane Westbrooke. “What I was going to suggest, prior to your marital dispute, was a different approach for Laffey to take. One that would compel our traitors to act, yet not endanger Jacqueline in any way. Would you care to hear the details?” A flash of humor crossed his face. “Or would you both prefer to remain as you are, stubbornly glowering at each other?”
Dane’s rigid expression did not change, nor did he tear his unyielding gaze from Jacqui’s. “I’m listening.”
Jacqui’s chin came up another notch. “So am I.”
“I can see that you are.” Alexander chuckled, sitting on the edge of his desk and folding his arms. “In her last column Jacqueline alluded to the new set of conditions I was drafting for Grenville.”
“That’s right. It nearly got her killed,” Dane challenged.
“Agreed. But suppose Laffey’s next column were to inform his readers that the new Jay document had been completed and was awaiting immediate transport to England. Further, suppose Laffey openly stated that neither he nor anyone else had knowledge of the specific terms of the new proposal. Anyone else, that is, except the one person who drafted it”
“You.” Jacqui turned to Alexander, interest and admiration flickering in her eyes.
“Precisely.” Hamilton inclined his head perceptively. “Interrogating you, Jacqueline, would no longer benefit our culprits: first, because this new Laffey column will convince them that, despite your dual identity, you were being truthful when you feigned ignorance of the Jay negotiations to your captor; and second, because another abduction would be too risky for them, especially since Dane’s appearance at the cabin means they would have him to contend with as well as you.”
“Where does that leave you, Alexander?”
For the first time, Dane also turned to face his friend.
“Quite safe, actually.” Hamilton smiled faintly. “Since Laffey’s column will cleverly reveal that the document in question is well hidden in my office, I will be spending a greater portion of my workday at home. Dane, you and I can alternate keeping a discreet watch outside my office.”
“But will the traitors believe the information I provide?” Jacqui asked.
“They will if you make it convincing yet subtle,” the Secretary replied, a sparkle in his eyes. “You did boast that you were the finest of writers, did you not?”
“I did, sir,” Jacqui agreed at once. Then she frowned. “But if your plan succeeds, the felons will break into your office searching for the papers.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“But Mr. Secretary”—Jacqui looked perplexed—“there are no papers.”
“Ah, but there will be.” Hamilton strolled around to the back of his desk and waved an intricately penned page in the air. “By the time your column has been written and printed, the narrow drawer in my side table will discreetly hold a letter whose tone bears no resemblance to the one Jay is currently using in his negotiations with Grenville.”
Jacqui approached Hamilton’s desk, her confrontation with Dane eclipsed by her interest in the Secretary’s plan. “You intend to instruct Jay to change his negotiating tactics?”
“No. I plan to mislead the traitors into believing I am instructing Jay to change his tactics,” Hamilton corrected. “Remember, Jacqueline, if this letter does not differ drastically from its predecessor, we cannot be assured the culprits will take immediate action. We want to apprehend them, yes, but we also want to learn for whom they are working, England or France.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “In my original document, I urged Jay to demand indemnification for the British-seized American ships and to ensure protection for American vessels as well as improved commercial terms with Britain. In the letter I am drafting, I will advise Jay to maintain peace with the British at all costs, to concede on any point necessary in order to avoid war.”
“If the traitors are British, they will be elated,” Dane responded. “They’ll smuggle a copy of the letter on board the first ship leaving Philadelphia for England. Once Grenville has read the document, he will assume America is prepared to yield her position. He will, therefore, be unbending in his demands.”
“And if the traitors are French,” Jacqui jumped in, “they will act just as swiftly, hastening the letter off to France and advising their government to initiate an immediate plan to subvert the alliance between America and England.” Jacqui’s heart sank as she contemplated the ease with which this feat could be accomplished. For a respectable sum, any number of English privateers could be hired to seize American ships, severing the fine thread of peace still bridging America and England and drawing the two nations into war.
“Precisely,” Hamilton agreed. “Therefore, whether our traitors are pro-English or pro-French, we will disclose not only their identities but their mission as well.” He gave Jacqui and Dane a questioning look. “So, shall we attempt it?”
Jacqui turned around to meet Dane’s piercing gaze. “Yes.” She waited.
“Yes.” Dane surprised her by concurring. “With certain conditions,” he added quickly.
Jacqui sighed. “There always are.”
Dane held up his hand, counting off on his fingers. “The first condition is that I write this column with you, Jacqueline. I don’t doubt your capabilities; however, not only am I more thoroughly versed in the Jay matter, I am also a good deal warier than you. So I want equal input. Second”—he didn’t wait for her response—“until the culprits are safely apprehended, I want your word that you will not leave the house alone, nor open the door to anyone you don’t know.” He gave her a meaningful look. “And third,” he concluded, “I want it understood that only Alexander and I will be responsible for keeping vigil at his office; he during the hours he is at work, and I when he is away. No one else.” Dane’s pause was poignant. “Now, my obstinate Mr. Laffey, is your answer still yes?”
Jacqui’s mind warred between autonomy and reason. Dane’s points were well taken, his motives noble. But still … could she allow him a voice in her work?
“Compromise, chaton,” Dane reminded her softly, reading her thoughts. With solemn tenderness, he extended his open palm. “I want to care … not to control.” He waited, holding his breath, wondering if his wife was ready to take this all-important step.
Jacqui’s mouth curved slowly upward as she placed her fingers in his. “Yes, Dane, the answer is still yes.”
Dane massaged his neck vigorously, flexing his shoulders forward and back. For the fifth time that night he shifted his weight, trying to find a way to remain squatting yet comfortable in a damp cluster of trees on a humid August night. He peered across the semidarkened street to Hamilton’s office, which remained peacefully deserted.
With a stifled sigh, Dane rubbed his bleary eyes. Since Laffey’s article had appeared in print three days past, sleep had become nonexistent and worry rampant. Every waking hour Dane spent either glued to the corner of Third and Chestnut Street scrutinizing Alexander’s empty office or, when relieved at his post by the Secretary’s arrival, glued to Ja
cqui’s side, assuring himself of his wife’s safety.
Hamilton’s plan was rapidly losing its appeal.
A warning instinct brought Dane up short. He tensed, eyes narrowed on the empty street. Someone was approaching.
Ready to spring ahead, Dane was completely unprepared for the muffled sound and rustle of movement from behind him. He recovered rapidly. With lightning speed, he whipped around and lunged at the shadowy figure, snapping his arm about the intruder’s throat and dragging the pliant body against the rock-hard wall of his own chest. “Who are you?” he demanded, knocking the concealing hat from the now-struggling stranger’s head.
Masses of mahogany curls tumbled down over Dane’s elbow, while slender fingers tugged at his forearm. “Dane … you’re choking me!”
“Jacqui?” Dane released her and, in one sharp motion, yanked her to the grass beside him, forcing her head down so their presence would remain undetected. “Damn you, Jacqueline!” Dane’s clenched teeth muted the roar erupting deep within his chest to a loud hiss. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Jacqui rubbed her throat gingerly and settled herself on the damp ground. “You haven’t slept in three days. I merely came to offer my assistance. I heeded all your stipulations exactly.”
“Jacqueline …” Unconvinced, he crouched over her, reminding her of an enraged panther ready to strike.
“I didn’t leave the house alone,” Jacqui plunged on. “Greta accompanied me. We didn’t even walk,” she added as thunder erupted in Dane’s eyes. “We took the carriage. I instructed our driver to drop me at the corner of Walnut Street, one block from here. He was then to escort Greta back home.” Jacqui took a breath, dejectedly noting the clenching and unclenching of Dane’s jaw. “I know, I know,” she said with a resigned sigh. “I violated condition three: only you and Secretary Hamilton are to keep vigil at his office.” She flashed Dane a small, hopeful smile. “Complying with two of your three stipulations isn’t bad, is it?”
