Perfect in My Sight (25 page)

“Ruth,” he said, surging up from his chair, trying to reason with her, but she bolted
out the door. “Ruth!” he shouted, wanting to reassure her, but she didn’t stop and
he let her go.

He wanted to assure her that he would not fail them again, but he couldn’t blame her
for being afraid. His gaze fell to the glass of port sitting before him on the desk
and he lifted it up and hurled it against the wall, contents and all, shattering glass
and spraying sweet liquor with such force that a droplet landed on his lip. He didn’t
lick it off, but swiped it away angrily.

Damn, but he would not fail them again.

CHAPTER
27

Sarah had been sitting, staring blankly for the past half hour, trying to find an
outlet for her anger, rather than allowing herself to feel the weight of defeat.

Two days after the funeral, they had received another visit from the police department,
bearing news that they had closed the investigation into Mel
’
s murder without bothering to try to find her murderer.

How could they possibly do such a thing?

Did it suddenly no longer matter who the murderer was now that Peter had an alibi?

Was it only a valid investigation if the defendant was someone of Peter
’
s means?

Did Mellie
’
s life simply not matter because her family name was not Belmont or Vanderbilt?

They had concluded that M
el was the victim of a break-in... just as they had with Mary...
because the bloody window had been left unlocked and open for anyone to come in. Sarah
wanted to know what thief came in and suffocated a woman, and then turned again to
go, leaving everything of value still in its place!

What bloody sense was there in that?

How could they leave it at that so easily?

The injustice of it all staggered and angered her beyond words.

Peter was watching her, frowning.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
he offered.
“
I know she was dear to you.
”

Sarah nodded.

It was difficult to look him in the eyes just now, knowing she must go.

There wasn
’
t anything left for her to do here. Peter was innocent, she had no doubt. He was aware
of any danger to Christopher now, and he would guard his son well, she had no doubt.

It was the most difficult decision she had ever made.

Uncomfortable with his scrutiny, she stared down at the bed.

“
I
’
m leaving, Peter.
”

“
Leaving!
”

“
Yes,
”
Sarah said, and her eyes stung.
“I think, perhaps, I should go
...
”

Why did it hurt so badly even to think of leaving?

Why did she suddenly wish she
’
d never met him at all?

Why did it feel like her life was over?

It was certainly not!

What was wrong with her?

“
Sarah,
”
he said, and stepped forward, then froze.
“
Don
’
t go
...”

Sarah swallowed and looked up into his eyes. And in that instant it was like peering
into a looking glass, so familiar were the emotions evident there.

Their gazes held, locked.

He couldn
’
t let her go.

He
’
d be damned if he
’
d simply stand here and watch her walk out of his life.

His gut wrenched at the mere possibility of losing her.

Never in his life had he needed someone more
—
needed! And that realization scared the holy hell out of him. Not even facing his
inquisition years before had terrified him more. In the short time he had known her,
Sarah had become a
vital part of his home and more
... his heart.

He
’
d be damned if he
’
d just let her go without a bloody fight.

He wasn
’
t certain what came over him in that instant, but he shrugged out of his coat, all
the while staring at her. He wanted her to know how much he loved her—how much he
needed her. He unbuttoned his collar, then the rest of his shirt, and pulled it off
with purpose. He threw it on the floor.

“
What are you doing?
”

“
What does it appear?
”

“
It appears to me you have gone wholly mad!
”

Probably.

But he didn
’
t give a bloody damn.

“
Peter!
”
she shrieked as he moved toward her. She sprang up from the bed.

“
Mary is dead,
”
he told her cruelly,
“
and I am not.
”
He damned well wasn
’
t going to allow her to use that as a barrier between them.

“
Peter!
”
she cried out as he closed the distance between them.

She turned to scramble over the bed.

He caught her and took her into his arms.
“
And neither are you,
”
he told her, catching her at the back of the neck and cradling her face in his hands,
forcing her to look him in the eyes.

“
We mustn
’
t!
”

“
Why? Tell me why we mustn
’
t. And it damned well better be for better reason than because of Mary, because Mary
is dead!
”

She stood silently, staring up at him, her eyes filling with tears.

Christ, he wanted to kiss them away, wanted to make love to her more than he
’
d ever wanted anything in his whole damned life.

“
Tell me why!
”
he demanded, and bent to kiss her beautiful mouth, just a gentle peck, but he couldn
’
t seem to help himself. He craved the taste of her fiercely.

“
Sarah,
”
he beseeched her.

Tears stung Sarah
’
s eyes.

His grip on her hair was just a little too tight and his embrace a little too rough,
but she couldn
’
t voice an objection to save her life. With the mere memory of his kisses, she melted
into his arms and silently begged for him to take them once more. She couldn
’
t give them, didn
’
t dare, but she yearned for the touch of his mouth on her own, gentle but insistent.

“
Don
’
t go,
”
he begged her, and Sarah closed her eyes, ignoring the pull of her heart.

She didn
’
t want to go.

She never wanted to go.

Craving his kiss, she dared to turn her lips up to his, silently begging him to taste
her mouth.

He didn
’
t disappoint her.

Sarah cried at the feel of his mouth. The touch of his lips was like manna to her
soul. Tilting her head, she parted her lips and dared to slide her hands up and about
his neck, clinging to him.

“
Peter,
”
she said, and whimpered softly as he deepened the kiss.

His response was a low moan deep in the back of his throat, and Sarah
’
s heart leapt at the raw sound of it. That he wanted her was unmistakable; she could
feel his desire clearly in the hardness of his body.

She didn
’
t protest—couldn
’
t—when his hand went about her waist and he laid her back on the bed, following her
down.

She couldn
’
t stop it.

Didn
’
t want to.

She hadn
’
t the will.

Her body convulsed, begging for a lover
’
s embrace as he laid his body down upon her, pressing her into the bed. And Sarah
moaned with delight at the feel of him covering her so possessively.

“I need you, Sarah
...
”

He pressed his arousal against her, making his meaning clear, and the words spewed
from Sarah
’
s lips.
“
I need you, too,
”
she whispered, and cried out softly as he increased the pressure of his hips.
“
I do...
”

That was all Peter needed to hear.

He hadn
’
t gotten to this point in life by letting opportunities pass him by—and this was one
such opportunity for which he
’
d rather die trying than lose.

He wanted to make her his, wholly his.

Sarah was everything he had ever wanted in a woman and more. He wasn
’
t going to give her up, not unless she chose to go, and he didn
’
t intend to let her choose without a battle.

And he wasn
’
t going to fight fairly.

His hands stroked the curve of her thighs, her hips, encircled her waist, reveling
in every beautiful inch of her lovely body, while his mouth ravaged her lips with
a hunger he could not contain.

Sweet, beautiful lips
...

The taste of her dizzied him.

T
he scent of her intoxicated him...
drove him to the brink of madness.

Like a man possessed, he traced every curve and every hollow of her body, wanting
to know her. He made promises with every touch, and hoped she read them with her heart.

If she left him, he was going to make damned certain she never forgot him.

And if she stayed
... he would be sure she never regretted it for an instant she breathed.

He pressed his lips against her brow, and whispered,
“I think I love you, Sarah.”

Sarah
’
s heart jolted.

The beat of her heart thundered in her ears. Her hands trembled as she reached out
to cup his face and hold it in her hands. He had spoken it so low, barely a whisper
... so she couldn
’
t know for sure.

Had she only imagined it?

Dare she believe it was true?

He took both her wrists in one hand and drew them away from his face, smiling down
at her. Releasing her hands, he moved to one side of her and urged her over onto her
stomach, then pinned her hands to the bed above her head. Sarah thought she would
die when he bent to nibble on the back of her neck, tiny kisses interspersed with
bites and a caress of his tongue to soothe it. Her hair was still in pins, but she
didn
’
t care that he mussed it...

Didn
’
t care about anything at all...

All she cared about this instant was his breath so hot against her flesh. When he
released her hands to unfasten the buttons at her back, Sarah didn
’
t move ... didn
’
t dare ... She lay frozen upon the bed, her breath coming in soft pants, her heart
hammering so fiercely she thought it might burst.

I think I love you, Sarah
...

The echo of his words made her heart leap yet again.

Unlike the first time in the library, his hands were gentle as they worked the buttons
of her dress, and he bent to kiss her bare skin after he loosened each one, peeling
back her dress slowly, sending shivers down her spine with every touch of his hot
lips against her skin.

When he had her fully unbuttoned, he slid the bodice from her shoulders and drew it
from beneath her. Sarah gasped at the feel of it as it slid off her arms, and beneath
her. Her breasts spilled free from her corset, and then he started to work on the
lower buttons at her back. One by one he unfastened them, and Sarah swallowed convulsively
as he bared her.

The first time he had undressed her it had been under a cloak of shadows, but just
now, he revealed her flesh to the light. Sarah held her breath at the wicked pleasure
it gave her to give herself to him so fully.

“
So beautiful,
”
he murmured at her back, and it sent quivers down Sarah
’
s spine. She gasped as he pulled off her dress at last, sliding it from her, and then
her undergarments—so skillfully and efficiently, as though he
’
d removed a thousand before.