Rebel Heart
Page 35
"You only misunderstand," he whispered.
She gasped at his intended meaning, struggling against his hold. "Let me go!"
"Never." But he suddenly loosened his grip, thrusting her away as if he could not bear to touch her. "Go home, Victoria. Do it now. I'm sending word to Luke to expect you. If you aren't there, I will find you. And Victoria, I warned him that I expected him to follow you everywhere, even into your room if necessary."
"I don't want to--"
"Go home?" he interrupted.
"You have no desire to go home?"
"I have business to attend to."
She closed her eyes for a long moment. No, it wasn't love. It couldn't be.
He was the one who lay down beside her at night, held her, and loved her with such sweet passion.
Cameron Savage was silently staring into her eyes. He touched her hand, clasping it in his then lifted it to his mouth. He brushed her palm with his lips then let it down. Then he turned her around by her shoulders and set her in his glider.
"You do know how to fly this thing?" he asked.
She nodded.
Luke had been nervously pacing at the door to the visitor's center, ready to watch over Cameron's wife, when Tori roared into the parking structure. Luke stepped forward the second he heard the engine then waited patiently for her to open the door so he could help her out. "I'm sorry," he said.
"I thought you were loyal to him," Tori said defensively, but of course he was, and far more obedient than she was.
Luke motioned for the attendant to come taxi the glider back to the hangar and warned Tori, "You know I am. It doesn't mean that I don't care what happens to you. Even though I don't like it, I've been told not to let you out of my sight. He doesn't trust you, Mrs. Savage, and I don't blame him."
He looked at her pointedly and she felt a moment's guilt, but then she shook it off, tilting her chin. She swung her legs around and gave Luke her hand, letting him help her from the low seat.
When she looked up, she froze. Nessa was standing behind him, her eyes narrowed in disapproval.
"Cameron has never trusted me," she murmured uneasily. He was always suspicious, too. But then he had dealt with her gently, even when he discovered her in the closet. When she could see the rage in his eyes, he had touched her carefully. She shuddered suddenly, thinking that she might well be in serious trouble. She should have been honest with him--told him the truth. Perhaps he would have believed her if she'd told him it was an accident. She had truly never meant to blurt out that "no."
But she had already done so, and he knew it.
She couldn't dwell on it any longer. Little particles of dust blended with the fine sheen of sweat covering her, and she itched. She longed for a bath but wondered if Luke would decide he had to follow her into the bathing room.
"How could you?" Nessa stepped forward. "I thought you had more sense. I thought you had changed."
Tori ignored her sister's question, moving swiftly through the doors of the center. She hesitated for a moment then turned toward the stairs that lead to her tower. When she reached the door, she paused, hands clenched tightly, and waited for Luke. She had no key, no way to gain entrance to her rooms without permission and once there, she would be locked in. Her head pounded and she closed her eyes.
"It's open. Go on."
The door swung open, and the three of them ascended the steps, moving quickly through each level until they were at the top. Luke opened the door and stepped inside with them.
It was deathly silent. Ominously so. Panic swept through her, every nerve ending tingled. Tori walked through her rooms in a daze, her entourage following. This was all a nightmare that would end soon, she told herself, but she knew it wouldn't. His belongings were scattered around the rooms--a book here, shoes there. Notes he'd taken from her research were stacked neatly in her office. He had forbidden her entrance to that room.
It was annoying. It was aggravating. She swept quickly through the room in a childish fit, lifting papers and books from the desk, her desk, then dropping them. No one said anything to her. She heard a soft gasp but that was all.
When she turned, Luke was leaning casually against the doorframe.
"I suppose he deserves that," he said with a chuckle. "But if I were you, I'd straighten the mess up before he gets back."
"I'm not you," she retorted in a huff then exited.
She heard his laughter. It echoed inside her mind long after he'd stopped. She wanted somewhere to go, somewhere quiet, somewhere she could be alone.
But she had no place of privacy. Now she had two shadows, and when Cameron returned home...
That thought propelled her to action. She turned on her chaperones. "I'm going to take a bath. Do I get an audience for that too?"
Luke turned a deep crimson and choked on his laughter. Nessa stepped forward, nodding to Luke then taking her sister by the arm.
"No, you can do that in private. But, Tori, we'll both be outside the door. Don't try anything," Nessa warned.
Don't try anything--what could she try? The only way out was through the bookshelves. And Nessa knew that. She didn't have to act so condescending Tori closed the door softly, sealing her sister and her new bodyguard out. She stripped off her clothes and quickly stuffed the garments in the laundry.
For a second, she hesitated, finding herself feeling very faint. She sat on a stool near the tub, waiting for the sensation to fade.
She needed to get more rest, she reminded herself. Yet, besides the dizziness, she felt as if she was going to lose the contents of her stomach.
Her head pounded mercilessly. She closed her eyes. The sickness eased somewhat, but when she stood, it returned full force. Ignoring it the best she could, she moved toward the huge bath. She turned on the faucet and let the soothing feeling of the warm water rush over her hands.
Even before it was full, she sank neck deep into the water. It was hot and relaxing. The water would shut off automatically. She leaned her head against the back of the tub then shut her eyes. Sleep came to her.
Tori was certain she dreamt. An old woman came to her. The woman stood over her, watching her, and after a few seconds she smiled. When she touched her cheek gently with a gnarled finger, Tori felt an unbidden warmth flow through her. The moment passed, and when the woman stood her eyes narrowed, and Tori felt a chill sweep through her. The woman was trying to tell her something, and it took awhile for Tori to understand.
"Tell him..." she seemed to say. "Don't betray him."
Even while her image began to fade, she continued to repeat the words.
In her sleep, Tori trembled. "I won't...dear Lord...I won't betray him."
She slept again and when she woke, the water was cold. She turned on the hot water and let it pour into the tub, replacing that which she drained. The heat did not wash away the chill or the horrible feeling of doom that saturated her.
The roof of her mouth was so very dry. Someone was trying to open the locked door then there was a loud knocking.
"Victoria!"
She couldn't speak. She stuttered. "I--I--" The words seemed to be stuck in her throat. "Open the door, Victoria."
She was shivering. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to leave her sanctuary. Not yet. She didn't want him to catch her in the bath either.
"No," she cried out. "Leave me be."
The sound of a key, the distinct click of the door unlocking, came to her.
"I was afraid for you," he said as he stepped into the room.
She gasped again then slumped deep into the water, holding a cloth against her nakedness. "I'm bathing."
"Now that I see you have not drowned, perhaps I'd like to join you. What of this false modesty? I've managed to see you undressed on numerous occasions."
A slow devilish grin curled on Cameron's lip. Then he kicked the door closed. He watched her carefully and thoughtfully, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Bathing before breakfast, sweetheart?" h
e inquired studiously.
Something in his tone made her flinch and turn her head away. Despite her apprehension or possibly because of it, Tori sank even farther into the water, rubbing her arms as if the gesture could remove the chill that swept inside.
"I always do."
Continuing to study her, he walked around the tub. He didn't look as if he'd spent the entire night awake. He appeared refreshed. Dressed in a dark blue linen shirt and pants, it appeared as if he'd slept uninterrupted for a good eight hours. His eyes were alert and vibrant.
"You've invaded the only solitude I can find in the prison you've made for me."
He crouched down beside the tub, meeting her eye level. "No. I can't. I find that I would like to look at you a bit longer," he told her softly. He touched her collarbone and let his fingertip slowly follow its line. "How very intriguing you are. I like you like this--very much so. In fact, I'm fascinated how you can change your colors so completely, so swiftly. One moment you are a little termagant and the next you appear as innocent as a newborn babe--a true chameleon."
She watched him cautiously, wondering what he was insinuating with his little speech. His lip remained curled, his eyes wide and challenging. Once again he explored her, touching her neck, lightly stroking. She wondered how she could tense so with his touch, yet at the same time long for it desperately. Her lashes lowered, hiding all that she felt, all the desire that surfaced so rapidly when he merely looked at her. The breaths she took were ragged and short. She didn't dare meet his gaze.
"Why do you persist in this?" she murmured. "I hurt no one. You could have just left me alone."
"You don't know that. When it all cools down and Sheridan has time to think about the voice that stopped his filibuster and the commotion it caused, he will put it all together," he told her. His gaze was on hers once again.
"I pray hourly that he doesn't."
His eyes narrowed. "He will, then we will have to scramble to find a reason why you were hiding somewhere in a building forbidden to you. It could change the vote. No one will support Jonathan if he cannot even control his cousin."
"What if I told you..."
"That it was an accident?"
"Yes!"
"I'm not that gullible."
"I don't understand."
Before speaking again, he paused. "Maybe, once, I'd like it to be your way. I'd like to see you come to me, craving me, needing me with a hunger you cannot deny. I'd like to trust you."
A slow rise of color suffused her cheeks at his words and his blatant demand. "I'm tired of the battle. I don't want to fight."
"You wish for me to let you do exactly as you please and to hell with the repercussions," he whispered huskily. "I doubt if you'll ever come to me, seek me out, seducing me with wine and your gentle touch."
His breath was erotic, evoking sensations deep inside. The warmth of his voice so close to her, the brush of his lips against her flesh, all captivated and seduced, as did the heat of his gaze. But she tensed her muscles, refusing the surrender he so ardently sought. Still he touched her, caressed her, sliding his fingers down her arm, across her belly. More and more she shivered as he ran his fingers along the soft inside of her thigh, so very close to the apex.
"I would though, if..."
"If..." he prompted.
She turned on him suddenly, so swiftly that water splashed in his face. "I want The Phantom back. He was kind and caring. How can you be so different now when you were so kind then?" She stood, reaching for her towel, but he grabbed it from her to wipe the water off his face. He was laughing, she realized, and she lashed out, trying to hit him. Before she could breathe again, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Then he carried her into the bedroom. He didn't seem to care if she was wet.
"Stop it! If you've got something to say, do it, but stop tormenting--"
"Yes, I've got a lot to say," he assured her. "But first I'm going to make love to my wife. And I intend to merge The Phantom and Cameron Savage so they are both in your beautiful head." He fell with her on the bed, the towel a flimsy barrier. She closed her eyes rather than meet his. His kiss exploded with heat and desire sweeping wildly through her.
His mouth molded with hers, taunting and teasing her just as he did with his words. She fought against him and the urge within herself to hold him and caress him, giving everything he took so easily. But he was too zealous a lover. She writhed beneath him. He stripped the towel away then paused. He was holding himself on his elbows. They did not touch. But when she opened her eyes, he was staring at her and his gaze swept her, heating her just as his caress did. He held the pose for a moment only. Then he lowered his head, kissing her, his tongue licking against the peak of her breast and stroked a long trail down to her belly.
Then only cold frigid air lay between them. Her eyes had been closed. She opened them and cringed at the strange expression molded on his face.
"Cameron..." she whispered.
He traced her kiss-swollen lips. "It's time, babe. What alibi will you give Sheridan's men when they come to question you? Who will vouch for your whereabouts yesterday afternoon? All afternoon I might add, since Jonathan has so kindly told me that you had come to see him. We must tell the same story."
He stopped and it seemed she could not stop the strange trembling growing inside. He was so very right. But she didn't know the answer.
"I'm waiting, sweetheart, and as you well know I'm not a patient man."
Her tongue was tied in knots. Left speechless, she stumbled with monosyllables, her lashes sweeping her cheeks, her lips dry. She moistened them with the tip of her tongue. "Nessa--Nessa will vouch for me."
"She will not."
She gasped because he had risen. Terrified that he wanted her to fall prey to Sheridan, she could think of no other reason that he would not allow her sister to stand up for her. She rose, following him, unmindful of her nakedness. "What did you tell her?"
He turned on her, his grin wolfish as his eyes raked over her. She stopped, suddenly realizing she had nothing on. Wrenching the towel from the floor, she wrapped it around her.
"I told her what happened."
"She would never go against me," she insisted.
"Ah, Tori, Nessa has a mind of her own now. She knows right from wrong-- prudence from wild recklessness. She will no longer tell lies for you." He leaned against the wall now, watching her with interest.
"I-I never meant it that way," she murmured nervously, stepping backward only to meet the side of the bed. She sat. "What is it you want of me?"
"Well...perhaps then...what I have to offer will get you out of this scrape. What happened at the assembly is between you, me, and no one else. I will help you out of this, but I will have another promise."
She looked away from him, still holding her towel around her as if it could protect her. "You cannot possibly give the assembly an alibi when you were there yourself. Everyone heard you."
"But The Phantom wasn't there. Perhaps he...and...my wife had a secret liaison. Perhaps they have been lovers for weeks. What would you say to that?"
"You're a fool if you think I would go along with your scheme."
His smile was mocking, his eyes narrowed. "But then what?" he questioned. "You would be brought before the tribunal to stand trial. Are you so eager to be accused of treason--of plotting against the state?"
"I--"
"I didn't think so," he cut her off. "Then you will go along with this?"
"You ask too much," tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Then the only other choice is to remove you. It is time to get you away from here--out of danger and safe. I cannot carry on when I'm in constant fear of just where you might turn up next."
"Remove me?"
"See to your safety. It's what we'll do. I've seen to the assembly of the medical apparatus in Reding. I cannot work here with Sheridan breathing down my neck. After the assembly, there may be war. The two sides are violently opposed."
"War?"
"You will side with Jonathan," she murmured.
"I will do what I believe is right," he told her.
Her lashes lowered against her cheek as she looked at him. "I knew you were a physician first and foremost."
"Yet you doubt me."
She swallowed hard. "I didn't know you."
"And now you do?"