Microsoft Word - Jenny dreamed (25 page)

Briefly she wondered what was happening downstairs. There had been no loud sounds. of quarreling, so she could only assume Beau had left peaceably.

How could Dev have accused her of being unfaithful with someone like Beau Stanner?

Especially when he'd been at liberty to indulge in whatever entertainments were available in civilization while she'd been neatly tucked away in the middle of nowhere with only Sally, Isa, and Luke for company. If Dev had secured her within the confines of a walled convent, her virtue couldn't have been better protected!

He looked so different from the Dev who'd gone East twelve weeks ago. Physically, his lean, almost spare figure had filled out. No doubt due, Jenny thought irritably, to an overindulgence in rich foods and wine. He had grown a very dashing, narrow mustache that gave his face a Continental, almost rakish appeal. It was the sort of effect a woman might have suggested, a woman like the green-eyed blonde Jenny had seen in her dream the night she'd tried to test her psychic abilities.

There was something else, something about his personality that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He'd been sure of himself before he'd left, a self-reliant man if she'd ever seen one, but now he seemed more ... gentle-manly. No, that wasn't it, he'd hardly acted the gentleman downstairs just now. Polished-that was the quality she'd seen! Dev's manners, the way he carried himself, everything about him bespoke a ... A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and Jenny absently called out, "Come in," half-expecting to see Sally, come to console her about the injustice of Dev's accusations.

But it was Dev's tall, broad-shouldered figure that filled the doorway. "Mind if we have a talk?" he asked, closing the door behind himself.

"I haven't much choice, have I," Jenny replied tartly, "since you're already in. I suppose now that you've dealt with Beau Stanner, you've come to accuse me of seducing Luke!"

If Jenny hadn't been when he arrived, she was now in the mood to do battle. She looked very indignant and self-righteous, and it would take every ounce of charm he possessed to talk her out of this one. He approached the bed, suddenly noticing the pale blue flannel gown she was wearing. Flannel? On Jenny? That was rather like wrapping a diamond in a ball of cotton.

Dev couldn't help the smile that tugged at the comers of his mouth. Despite its austere design, the gown, with its small, rounded collar and row of tiny buttons fastened to her throat, made her look young and vulnerable. "You look very innocent dressed like that, almost ... virginal."

"One cannot look almost virginal," Jenny retorted stiflly, fixing her gaze at the end of the bed. "One is either a virgin, or one is not. Perhaps you meant almost virtuous, but I assure you I am not dressed this way to appear innocent in your eyes. I've no desire to convince you of my innocence."

Then, for the first time, she glanced at him, a quick flash of hauteur from wickedly narrow eyes. "The true reason, you see, is that my husband has been away for a very long time.

What good are lace and satin when the winter is cold and my bed is empty?"

Dev grinned at the saucy tone of the challenge and promptly settled next to her on the bed.

"Had I known the loss of my body heat drove you to such extremes, my dear, I'd have been home before the first snowfall. But now that I'm here, I can remedy the situation immediately."

Jenny quickly retreated to the middle of the bed and eyed him warily, poised for further flight if he should make another move. "I've grown accustomed to it now, thank you," she insisted and then observed spitefully, "If you think I care to take you back into my bed, then you'd pest take a good look in the mirror. Aside from that silly mustache you've grown, your head is swollen twice its size!"

Neither her chilling sarcasm nor Jenny's irreverent opinion of his recently grown mustache seemed to have any effect on Dev's mood of tolerant good humor. He ran a finger lightly over the neatly trimmed, pale brown whiskers and commented, "I've gotten quite a few compliments on this; you'll like it once you've had a chance to get used to it." He grinned and added an ironic, "It grows on you," then neatly turned the subject back to their relationship. "It's good to know you've missed me, Jen, Maybe it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder." His hand reached out to close over hers.

Jenny retrieved her hand and scowled. "The only thing I've become fond of is sleeping alone.

What makes you think you can just stroll back, unannounced, into my life and disrupt it?"

"Because I wasn't happy in New York, with you halfway across the country. Oh, I tried awfully hard to have a great time for myself-too hard, I think." His voice was bitterly self-critical. "When I woke each morning, I found myself wondering what you were doing. At a party I'd suddenly see your face, instead of my dancing partner's and …"

"And when you made love, I suppose it was me you held!" Jenny broke in, obviously skeptical of his sincerity.

There was no use denying it. He was guilty as hell about the liberties of the past three months; it would only show on his face if he lied. "All right, if it's a total confession you want-yes, I made love to other women. I won't try to excuse myself by reminding you that our original agreement included no loyalty oaths. I already knew by the time I'd reached New York that I was in love, but I was too damned stubborn to admit it!"

Jenny was stricken... she'd heard nothing beyond the word "women." Women, the plural form of woman. She'd resigned herself to the possibility of an affair, but Dev had admitted casually to multiple infidelities. "Don't!" she cried, turning her face away and shutting her eyes tight against the sting of tears. "I don't want to hear about your ... your women!"

Jenny had closed her mind away from hearing what he was really trying to say, that he loved her, that he'd come back to her. In desperation, Dev seized her wrists and jerked her body around until her face was only inches away from his own. Her eyes, startled open by the suddenness of the act, stared back at him in sullen resentment.

"If you're not going to listen to what I have to say, I've only got one last question, and you'd better think hard before you answer. Do you still want' an annulment?" Jenny's mouth was set tightly, sealed by stubbornness and a wild, rebellious desire to deny he existed, much less could hurt her so easily. In frustration, Dev gave her a shake, just hard enough to get her attention before he demanded, "Damn it, Jenny, do you? If so, I have the papers on me. All they need is a signature, and you'll be free of me ... if that's what you really want." He released one of her hands, dug the folded papers from the breast pocket of his coat, and tossed them past her to the bed.

Jenny admitted only one thing. In a tiny, choked voice, she said, "You're hurting my wrist."

Then she bit her lip, and as Dev gave a defeated sigh, the first of her tears splashed onto the hand he was about to release. "I ... I never wanted it to end ... I only ... thought you should have the right to be free, and, "Jenny was crying hard now, her feelings coming out in a torrent of words that ran together, broken only by short, sobbing breaths "you were honorable ... very honorable to m ... marry me when I needed you, but now that there's no rea-"

"Jen?" Dev pronounced her name in a tone as reverent as a lover's caress, gently raising her chin until her eyes were staring into his. "Forget about the baby, forget about everything but what you feel now. Do you still need me ... do you still want me?" He held his breath, waiting to hear the answer, the only answer he was willing to accept.

Jenny's mouth trembled, unable to express what she , felt. Instead, she closed her eyes and nodded. A moment later she was in his arms, and Dev's lips were kissing away the hurt and the tears and feeling of loss that had assailed her. He held her close until she grew quiet and then searched his pockets for a fresh linen handkerchief to offer her.

"I must look a fright," Jenny finally said, dabbing at the last traces of her tears. "Swollen eyes, a red nose, and a flannel nightgown-hardly the most alluring combinationl"

"You look beautiful," Dev insisted, and the look in his eyes made Jenny believe him. He reached past her to retrieve the papers and held them for a moment. "Should I put these away in case you change your mind?" he teased.

Her answer was an emphatic no. "Tear them up,"

Jenny glanced toward the fireplace and then grinned at him, "or better yet, bum them!"

"All right, Mrs. Cantrell," Dev agreed, pulling her out of bed. "You may have the honor-we'll make a ceremony out of it." Dev carefully held back the screen while Jenny tossed the legal documents into the flames. She was contentedly watching them disappear into ashes when Dev placed a small, silk-covered black box in the palm of her right hand.

"Go ahead, open it," he urged when she seemed hesitant. "It's something to commemorate the occasion."

With the delight of a child at Christmas, Jenny carefully pried open the hinged lid. There, set in the satin, was a pair of matching wide, gold wedding bands. She snapped the lid shut and began to cry again.

"You don't like them?" Dev asked, perplexed. "Jenny .. honey, don't cry, we'll pick out a new set, whatever style you like! I just thought ... well, I thought you'd like something better than what I could afford when we got married."

Jenny circled his neck with her arms, hugging him close. Against the rough wool of his coat, her voice was muffled

but audible. "I love them, silly! Dev, you'll have to learn there are many reasons for a woman's tears, or you'll never survive marriage!" She drew back, so that he could slip the ring onto her finger. When it was in place, she held her hand to the light, admiring the intricacies of the carved band, and then, with very solemn expression, pulled the matching band from the box and slipped it on his ring finger. Dev smiled, pitching the box into the fire; it had served its purpose.

The flames of the fireplace reflected tiny, golden lights in Dev's eyes as he faced Jenny and began to unfasten the row of buttons securing her gown's bodice. Despite their small size, his large fingers dextrously managed the task and when it lay open to the edge of her breasts, he pulled the gown over her head and tossed it aside. "You won't be needing this to keep you warm any longer, Mrs. Cantrell-my promise." His eyes drank in the slender perfection of her naked body before he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed.

Despite the heat given off by the fire, the room was chilly. Another winter's storm was upon them, and outside, the winds had picked up, rattling the windows and driving the frozenanow against the glass with a soft whispery rustle. With Jenny tucked beneath the covers for the moment, Dev returned to the fireplace and added several logs, stoking the glowing embers to life. Then, with impatient, jerky movements, he stripped off his coat and shirt, sat and wrenched off his boots and pants, tossing them aside, careless where they landed. He bent and lifted the lamp chimney to blowout the burning wick, leaving the room lit only by the flickering, red-orange glow of the fireplace. Jenny curled beneath the embroidered comforter, warm as a kitten, with only the top of her head and eyes peeking from beyond its edge. When Dev joined her, her body warmed his chilled flesh, and for some time he simply held her close.

As his fingers traced her soft curves, Dev questioned his past foolishness aloud. "What kind of madman have I been," he asked, "to have denied myself the sweet pleasures of possessing you?" His hand gently cupped one of her breasts and as his fingers rolled the aching point of her nipple, Jenny closed her eyes. Three months since he'd last touched her, she thought· in wonder, three months, and at the first contact of their naked bodies, she was immediately responsive and ready!

Dev felt the muscles of his groin tighten as his penis surged against the satin texture of her belly. It grew tumescent, pressing eagerly forward in a blind, instinctive search, like a newborn seeking its sustenance. He reached up, gliding along her throat with his hands until his fingers found the scented silk of her hair as he ground his mouth against hers. A moment later, as her mouth yielded to the insistent pressure, his. tongue drove past her parted lips to explore the sweet taste of her surrender.

This was what he'd dreamed of for weeks. This unceasing delight in a woman's desire for him alone was what he'd longed for, not the overaggressive lust of a rutting bitch who could be had by any male who'd scented the musky odor of her heat. That kind of woman sucked the life out of a man, giving little but the most minimal physical satisfaction in return. In these last few minutes of closeness, Jenny had given him more pleasure than the possession of a thousand Cathys.

Jenny shivered, though the feeling had little to do with the room's temperature. Her skin tingled under the possessiveness of his touch, pulsed with a yearning need the driving urgency of his tongue had inspired. After so long a separation, she wanted the rampant length of him inside of her, needed the fulfillment of being joined to him.

Aware of nothing except that she had to sate this wild craving, Jenny reached down and boldly took hold of him. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, and the wiry, golden hairs covering it teased her enflamed nipples to hard points. Dev sucked in a hard breath as she slid her fingers from the base of his engorged member to its tip, then repeated the action several times until his hand stopped her.

"Sweet Jesus, that's enough!" Dev protested hoarsely as he drew her hand away and pulled it up to press a kiss on her captive fingertips. "You haven't yet learned that too much pleasure, too soon, makes for a very short evening!" For the few minutes it took him to gain control over the rising flood of feeling, his lips trailed little nibbling kisses along her throat and down the valley that divided her firm, milk-white breasts.

Jenny moved restlessly under the assault, her hips twisting against his loins in an unconsciously seductive invitation. This fluttering deep within the darkness of her womb, this urgent call to passion had taken command of her will, and she was its prisoner as well as its prison. Freedom could only come through Dev, and Jenny knew .a moment's brief despair as he drew away from her, then a spiraling exaltation as he knelt between her thighs. The head of his shaft touched the downy softness of her nether curls and parted them to probe the moist division of welcoming flesh with the gentle pressure of a lover's first, shy kiss.