She closed her eyes, her nails digging into his shoulders again, for his shaft was suddenly inside her so very far that she was sure he touched the heart of her.
There was only pleasure.
Her eyes had been closed. She opened them. Their eyes clashed.
She trembled. Even then she knew he condemned her for her indiscretions with him. How dare he expect something of her he wasn't willing to give himself? It was a double-edged sword.
He pretended anger. His eyes were a heated amber. Then it no longer seemed to matter. He began to move within her, slowly at first then gaining speed. Still she wanted to battle, longed to cry out that she loathed the double standard, detested it; that he was a hypocrite to think ill of her. But she didn't.
He had pursued relentlessly. Now he possessed completely, allowing no protest from her.
Passion swept within her, magically, enchantingly. She matched his rhythm, demanding everything he could give. A wildness was created within her and her muscles strained to keep time with his. A fine sheen of perspiration covered her.
It was fire and ice, tempest and soft breeze, and even as the elements warred for supremacy, his cock drove into her deeper and deeper, over and over.
The time to fight had ended. He laid claim to her and the prisms of light that washed over her far outshone any other concern. She was so close. It seemed so elusive. She reached for the stars.
She was one with him. Her body rode the storm, absorbing all that he was, his future--his past. His lips covered hers as he moved, commanding her response to spiral and rise then explode beneath him.
She had never imagined anything like this, so all consuming, so exacting--wanton, savage. A wild keening rose around her and she realized it was her own voice. The climax shattered within her. Magic touched her. Enchantment enveloped her. Tremors wracked her body until slowly the room stopped whirling, and the light was no longer hazy.
The weight of him pressed upon her. The scent of him, of them, permeated her dazed mind, the heat still touching her.
When she opened her eyes, he was watching her, studying her.
He rolled from her, but still he touched her, claimed her. His hand lay possessively on her belly.
She felt torn between so many emotions. Her head pounded with the questions and the answers that she knew he had for her. So she waited with her lashes lowered slightly, desperately wishing there was some way to forestall him.
She knew he would confront her just as she knew he had no right to. He was as guilty as she was.
"I think you may have protested a bit too much."
Her gaze shifted to his, her spine stiffened. He had no right to condemn her, she resolved. “You know what I...what we did before the marriage,” she said softly.
“Ah, but I, Cameron Savage, was not really part of it,” he told her quickly.
He had no right to taunt her so.
"You've no manners." She turned from him, or tried to. He pulled her back.
"You will tell me who." He chuckled.
"Damn you, Savage."
"Tell me."
"Stop this silliness. You could have told me who you were. You could have saved us all this mistrust between us." She pushed away from him, glaring at him, detesting his arrogance in this matter. He truly had no claim to her virtue if she didn't entrust it to him.
"I was testing you, Tori. I wanted to know if you would save yourself for me." His voice hardened.
"I was innocent until you had the audacity to seduce me. You could have told me who you were."
To her astonishment, he chuckled softly. He moved closer to her, a breath away. "I did intend to seduce you. And it was so very easy."
With those words, the intercom crackled to life.
She gasped and with great haste, she pulled the blanket up to cover her.
"Sorry, Dr. Savage, but you have company. Is it all right to turn the camera on now?"
She had been too busy worrying about him and what he would do. Now she was shockingly aware of everything, every sound, the little red light on the camera pointed at them. It had not been on until just now. She breathed a deep sigh of relief. But then relief vanished.
The sound of arguing, of disagreement came loudly through the intercom and on her own monitor she saw Sheridan--Morray.
Luke was in the middle of it all, holding them back, calming them with words of peace.
She stared at the monitor with a certain alarm. The angry voices penetrated the room.
Sheridan--he wouldn't dare come here.
"No." She searched the room, her eyes wild with fear. She trembled beneath the covers.
"What do they want?" she asked, panic in her voice.
"Only proof, Victoria. They will not accept our marriage until they see it first hand."
"No!" she cried out again. "That's barbaric, it's..."
His brow lifted in sardonic amusement. "I thought I was the only barbarian around here. Ah, but I do remember now. I'm a barbarian but I'm also an Outsider. I suppose there is a difference--albeit subtle."
"You have to make them go away."
"No, babe!" he said smiling once more. "As much as I deplore this, it is a necessity. Cover yourself well."
"But..."
"Now."
The sounds coming from below were loud and clear. He sat up, leaning against the headboard, his hands resting behind his head. He let the covers settle around his waist, his bronzed chest glowing with the sheen of their lovemaking.
Suddenly Sheridan was talking.
"Savage!" Sheridan fumed as he stared at them. Tori dared to peek above the covers she'd pulled over her head. Sheridan was furious--thwarted, and he knew it.
"I came to make sure Victoria was sending out the serum to the cities in distress. I am here to see that the laboratory is secured with a capable man. I meant to have Morray marry her, today. But I find you in bed with her."
"You're too late." Cameron said quietly, but Tori heard the steel in his voice, the resolve. "I married her a few hours ago. The laboratory is secure and if I might be so humble, in excellent hands. The new serum is, as we speak, on its way to Reding and from my lab there are gliders waiting to express it wherever it is needed. Surely Luke told you."
"Luke told me all was well. What's that supposed to mean? And when I couldn't find Victoria, I was afraid for her."
"Afraid?" One eyebrow rose mockingly once more. "Mrs. Savage and I are otherwise engaged. You're intruding," Savage said, coldly.
Even Tori, now that she'd spent so much time with him, could read so many things in the small nuances of his speech. While he might seem cordial at times, the tone of his voice reflected nothing of the gentleman. Savage did not seem to forget that Sheridan was head of the disease control center, and as the head had untold power over anyone working in this field.
"This is not over yet, Savage. It won't matter if Victoria is pregnant with your bastard. If this was not done legally, I will see you forfeit everything."
Pregnant, Tori thought? Then she felt the deep, hot blush of color that rushed to her face. "Damn, you all," she whispered furiously. "Could you please just leave, all of you? Turn it off."
"She is right, you know. This is all quite intimate, and having the whole world share our bedroom is not quite my idea of a wedding night. Tori is mine, now and forever," Cameron said firmly, never taking his eyes from the camera--from Sheridan. She wanted to punish them all, yet just as she thought it would all end, Morray pushed away Luke and Sheridan.
Quentin Morray directed his comments to Cameron Savage. His eyes glowed with hatred, and his jaw was set and even before he spoke. He held a fisted hand in front of the camera. "Savage!" he seethed, "one of these days you will go too far!"
Sheridan stepped in front of the camera, effectively silencing Morray and blocking him from view. "For now, this is over."
The crowd in front of the monitors slowly disappeared. "They're gone now," Luke's quiet voice reverberated over the intercom. "I'm tur
ning all apparatus off."
He did then.
It was so very silent--peaceful.
Tori stared at the blank screens. She shivered, remembering the subtle threats and promises given by both parties.
"What happens now?" she asked softly. Then she realized she had tossed off the covers and she was naked. His gaze focused on her and it seemed as if his eyes lit with fire. She felt color suffuse her cheeks again, knowing full well what he must be thinking. She caught her lower lip between her teeth, not quite sure how she should react, or what he expected of her.
He smiled and gazed at her. "Ah, I wish we didn't need to but we'd best dress ourselves. We do, indeed, have a long night ahead of us."
"Dress?" She pulled the covers up around her neck, searching wildly for her tunic that lay ripped and torn across the room. "I--"
"You will show me your code and I will have access to your pins."
"So that's what this is all about. The pins, power. I should have known."
"Tori, you cannot begin to understand how I feel. This is about so much more than your damn research, but someday, maybe... Please, do it quickly."
"It's my work. I--"
"Please, people are dying."
He hesitated a moment, then he slipped on his pants. "I will discover it with or without your help. I promise."
"No," she said, resolutely. "I will do it."
"Good, it will save time and lives if you show me, and I don't have to spend the rest of the night playing guessing games with the computer system."
"I want your promise."
He laughed, pulling her from the bed, sweeping her hard into his arms. "I give none. You know that. I seek your help, nothing more. And babe, I don't want you involved in anything that would put you in danger."
Cameron
Loud blaring noises as well as the stench of garbage and decay permeated the air in the alley. Cameron, dressed in nondescript clothing, waited patiently in an old run-down section of town. Jonathan was due here five minutes ago. Cameron paced then ran his fingers through his hair, his brows narrowed.
What he had to say was controversial at best, treasonous at its worst.
Yet the more he had studied Victoria's pins the more convinced he became that it was the only solution. This could cost Jonathan his career, and it could cost him his life.
The genetic procedure he was advocating had been banned--not once, but five times throughout the course of their history.
Although many of the representatives had not really understood its potential, they had voted against the lifesaving measure. No matter how he studied the situation, how he looked at the history of it, he could see no reason for the outcome except that the counselors meant to maintain the status quo.
Prejudice had played a major factor.
Counselor DeMontville had brought it up again only about seven years ago and it must have been then that Victoria unearthed some of the information. He had to give her credit though. She had delved and delved until she had every piece, every scrap of information available.
But Tori had run into a brick wall. Her knowledge alone could save no one, and alone she did not have the expertise to put the information to work. She could never run the expensive and very intricate processes that were required in this. Perhaps Nessa could, but Victoria would never risk her sister's life.
Cameron didn't doubt for a minute Victoria knew what the penalties were.
Although he'd like to forget the penalties, forget the sickness that devoured the earth and think only of his wife, that luxury was not allowed him.
He was furious with her half of the time, it seemed, and obsessed the rest. No matter what small skirmishes he won from her, no matter how he tried through a battle of wills to manage her, she continued to fight him still.
She had worked with him for days, never complaining of the exhaustion he knew threatened her. She had courage and determination. She cared deeply He admired her, yet he could not, would not let her continue the work she'd begun. He would not allow her in the field either. He would not allow his wife to go into danger, even though he agreed with her, even though her extensive knowledge could speed the process up--if they were given leave to use it. That was where Jonathan and his beguiling, ever-persuasive way with words entered into this picture. That was why he was here in this broken down part of town, waiting secretly for the golden-tongued orator.
He would use Jonathan. Use him to convince his wife and use him, also, to convince the representatives.
Now she was his wife, Mrs. Cameron Savage. Tori would do well to remember that. Morray had left no doubt in his mind that he still intended to have and hold Victoria as well as the center. She was at great risk.
Victoria. He would never know what made her mind spin or what made her turn his world into chaos.
No woman needed an instruction guide to come with her more than she did, yet no woman could have worked harder or been more dedicated through the long hours of the mornings, afternoons, and even into the late evenings. An entire week had come and gone before they'd finished. This morning he left her asleep in their bed. But when she woke, she would do it with a vengeance, he determined, battling still. It mattered not that he had touched something vibrant and alive inside her. He knew he had touched the depths of her passion. It mattered not that he wanted her, again and again, just watching as she worked next to him.
He knew it had not been easy for her.
She decoded every pin, offering necessary pieces of information about her research and the operation, telling stories about the first humans to have the transplant, making him believe that it could be done.
Not that he had been difficult to convince. Though truly no man could have come to know a wife more intimately, she still guarded her feelings, keeping a distance between them he did not know how to penetrate. She never let the wall between them crack.
Ah, babe! he thought. You will learn to accept me. It was all for her own good, her safety. He would do it without changing her too much for he did love the wild, unleashed woman she could be.
He remembered her words when he demanded the pins and the codes. She hated him, resented his appearance in her life and her work. In a strange way he understood, even sympathized with her plight. But he would not change his mind. Yet he did want to keep her close if only to see her smile. Oh...and when she did smile, he could feel the explosion and the fever deep inside his body, causing his muscles to contract. He desired her again and again because she was part of him now, one with him, and just the thought of her left him delirious with wanting. Despite his firm resolve to hold himself back, he wanted her--all of her.
He could tell himself, time and again, that this marriage was arranged, that he didn't love her. Perhaps he was becoming fond of her. He had easily confessed that he admired her courage, the strength of her passion. She challenged him--provoked him--battled him.
But she did not love him.
Ah, perhaps, she was right. She had given everything and he had only taken from her. If he had it to do over again, he would change nothing.
Now, though, the course he sought was filled with danger. A hot wind swirled around his feet, lifting the dust from the street and the trash that littered it. It whined around the corners of the huge stone building, ominously predicting foreboding. And pain. Many would die before this was finished. Tori would not be one of them.
She was too confident and far too proud. She did not admit, even to herself, that she was vulnerable. She had professed that unlike other City Dwellers, she had the ability to produce white blood cells. She proclaimed vehemently she could not get sick. But no one could claim that.
When he'd pointed that out to her, she'd denied him fervently. He thought back on his last conversation with her, remembering it so vividly.
"I've never been sick. Not a day in my life."
"Victoria, you've been lucky. Do not dwell on this. Protect yourself."
Her lashes fell as innocently as an angel's, and
as sweetly as Eve's must have fallen when presenting Adam with the apple. "I want to help," she murmured.
"You're finished. Promise me. Do not concern yourself any further." She looked at him then, her eyes deep simmering pools of anger. Shivers suddenly wracked his body as he feared for her, and the terrifying ungodly fear caused an ache deep inside him.
"Promise me."
"I--"
"Promise!"
"All right, I promise."
She had not--not really. It was all he could do not to shake some sense into her--the little fool. If he turned his back on her, she'd be in the middle of the fray.
Rebel Heart Page 32
