Rapture's Rendezvous (33 page)

“My representatives. They have ways of hearing things.”

“But.. . there are probably many men whose name is . . . Hopper,” she said, swallowing hard.

“That's the problem,” he grumbled, placing his pistol on the table next to him. “No one has yet found out this bastard's first name. When we do … he will no longer be.”

“You . .. would actually … be guilty of such a violence as . .. murder .. . ?” Maria gasped, clutching the stem of the glass, envisioning Michael, so handsome, so sweet, possibly now in total danger.

“No one would know the deed was done,” he laughed. “My coal mine has ways of hiding bodies. No
one would ever even know what happened to this man named Hopper.”

Maria's eyes lowered. If this was Michael Nathan was speaking of, then she had to find a way to warn him. Her mind was swirling, trying to remember what Ruby had said about Michael. She
had
said that Michael had a “true purpose” for being in the Hawkinsville area. And hadn't Alberto said that Michael had been dressed as one down on his luck? Her heart thumped wildly. Yes. Alberto had said that Michael was dressed as one who was poor. God! This was Michael's way of disguising himself. He
was
the man Nathan was speaking of. After arriving in Saint Louis, she
had
to find him. Warn him.

“And now, Maria,” Nathan spoke from in front of her, unbuttoning his breeches. “We have delayed long enough. Like I said before, undress. You are now going to become my wife. We will secure the necessary papers upon arrival to Saint Louis.”

“Please. . . .” Maria whimpered.

Nathan knocked the glass from her hand then yanked her roughly up from the chair. “Now you do as you are told,” he snarled. “Get undressed and get on that bed. No one defies Nathan Hawkins. Especially not a woman soon to become my wife.”

Sobbing, Maria unbuttoned her dress and stepped out of it, then her underthings and shoes, all the while watching Nathan as he undressed fully in front of her. When he moved toward her, she felt a sickness rolling inside her. He was nothing like she remembered Michael being. This man was small, shriveled up, most undesirable to look at, much less be touched by. She
recoiled when he touched her on a breast, then shoved her roughly onto the bed.

She closed her eyes, whimpering as he stretched out atop her and lunged his manhood deeply inside her and began to move his body in and out, grunting like a wild animal. She lay there, unresponsive, chewing her lower lip, feeling used, degraded. When his body began to tremble, she tensed, feeling his hands grab at her buttocks to lift her closer to him, then clasped her hands into two fists as he drew his complete pleasure from her body until he was finished and lay panting next to her.

He laughed a bit. “I thought I was marrying an innocent one?” he said, reaching over to pinch a breast. “But I found out that you've been used.”

Maria's eyes widened. “What do you mean?” she gasped.

“Don't you know that a man has a way of knowing?”
“I still don't “

Nathan's hands traveled over her body. “I don't really mind,” he said. “It even makes you more exciting to me. To know that you aren't so innocent? It means I can have even more fun with you.”

“What… do … you … mean … ?”

“Time will tell. Time will tell,” he chuckled, then rolled away from her and left the bed. He went and poured himself another glass of wine, then sat down on a chair, still completely nude. “Yes. Our life together will be quite interesting,” he added, smiling crookedly.

Maria reached down and pulled the spread over her body, feeling hate grow to even greater intensity inside her for this man who would soon be her husband.

But in name only,
she thought darkly to herself.
You will never see me gel pleasure from your body. Never. Never.

She let her thoughts wander to Michael. . . and how she might find him when she arrived in Saint Louis. She must warn him … she must. . . .

Two full days and nights had passed since the necessary words had been spoken between Maria and Nathan to make them man and wife. Since that time, Nathan had kept Maria caught up in a whirlwind of shopping for a wardrobe befitting his new wife, making her now appear a picture of fashion, even more statu-esquely beautiful than the models who had pranced across the raised platform at one of Saint Louis's finest department stores, Nugent's.

Nathan had done the choosing. It hadn't taken long for Maria to see his ways of taking over. Though small in voice and stature, when he spoke, everyone seemed to move quickly to do as he bid. So Maria could now boast of having the fanciest hats in the great city of Saint Louis and the necessary attire needed for all occasions.

Hating her newly fitted tight corset, Maria squirmed a bit as she and Nathan moved through the large entranceway at the Planter's House Hotel. Attired in her Eton suit of blue broadcloth, trimmed with folds of matching velvet, and her evening hat in flowered silk and plaited chiffon, Maria could feel many gentlemen's gazes moving along with her.

Tilting her chin up into the air and checking to see if
her hair was still upswept neatly beneath her hat, she moved on toward the staircase. She wasn't yet accustomed to such attention. She only hungered for attention from one man. Michael. And she hadn't yet succeeded in finding out where his residence might be. Nathan hadn't let her move from his sight, not for even one moment.

As they moved next to one another up the staircase, Maria glanced at Nathan. He had spoken earlier of being tired and of needing added rest this night before taking the train back to Hawkinsville the very next morning. She smiled to herself, knowing that she didn't require the added rest and would sneak from the room as soon as Nathan's snores became long and lazy.

She had already decided to ask assistance from the desk clerk to show her how to use the telephone that she had seen in the lobby of the hotel. She knew that Michael surely had to own this new invention, if he was indeed as rich as he was said to be.

Nathan reached for Maria's hand. “I'm bone-weary, Maria.” he murmured, coughing a bit. “I guess my age is catching up with me.” He looked over at her, licking his lips, making the tip of his moustache glisten from the wetness. “I guess your young body is a bit much for my old heart. Tonight I think I'll just leave you be. Now that should make you happy. Eh?”

Maria's eyes lowered. She could feel her cheeks grow hot under his steady gaze. She knew that he had felt her tension each time he had mounted her, panting heavily until his passion had been fulfilled. She was glad that it didn't require much time before he was spent. At least she would know this to be true now whenever he ordered her to stretch out atop the bed, unclothed.
open-legged to his demands. But it couldn't erase the thoughts from her mind each time he did mount her, that she was being used, degraded, all over again.

“I must rest also, Nathan,” she said, fluttering her lashes nervously, knowing that she had just spoken a nontruth. But it was necessary. All the lies she would ever have to tell Nathan would be necessary. “I'm also tired,” she added. “I'm not used to such a fast pace of life as we have had since our arrival in Saint Louis.”

“But you do approve of the wardrobe I have chosen for you, don't you?” he asked, sounding even kind. Maria was relieved to see this slight change in his personality. She wondered how long it would last. In Hawkinsville, he had appeared to be the devil himself. In Saint Louis, she had been able to breathe more easily, seeing how much more relaxed his eyes and his mouth had become.

“Yes. It's all very. . . .” she began, then as she looked upward, seeing the man she was going to pass on the stairs, her words seemed to freeze in her throat. She felt a racing of her heartbeat and a giddiness in her head when he moved down several more steps closer to her. Pulling her hand free from Nathan, she covered her mouth, whispering Michael's name. . . .

Nathan stopped and reached for her, placing his arm around her waist. “Maria? What is it? Are you faint?”

Maria looked anxiously about her, knowing that if Michael saw her, he would speak her name as she would his. This couldn't happen. If introductions became necessary, and Nathan heard the name Hopper, and then … his name … his
first
name . . . Michael, then Nathan would have found the Hopper who he planned to do away with.

Maria touched her forehead lightly, feigning further dizziness. “Yes,” she murmured, moving to lean downward against Nathan, hiding her face against his shoulder. “I am a bit lightheaded. Please hold me.”

Wrapping his arms around her, Nathan stepped aside so the tall blonde-haired fellow could move on past them. “Maria, I'll get you on to the room,” he said, much too loudly, as his shrill voice was so wont to be at times.

Maria tensed, knowing that Michael's footsteps had hesitated. He had heard her name being spoken.. . .

“Maria? Is that you ?”

When Maria heard his voice, her heart urged her to turn to face him. He was standing two steps below her, looking upward, from Maria, then to Nathan, his face screwed up with amazed puzzlement. “Maria, what the … ?” Michael uttered softly, running his fingers through his hair, seeing her attire, so expensive and so stylish.. .. and in Saint Louis? With the likes of Nathan Hawkins? None of it made any sense.

Maria's face flushed crimson. She fidgeted with her hat, speechless. Then she quickly blurted, “Michael
Hampton,
this is Nathan Hawkins.” She smiled coyly from one to the other.

Michael's face drained of color. His brows furrowed as he studied Maria's expression. There were traces of fear in her eyes as they gently wavered. Surely there was a reason for her little name game. He quickly extended a hand toward Nathan Hawkins, saying, “Nice to meet you, sir.”

Nathan shook Michael's hand cautiously. “And how do you know my wife, sir?” Nathan asked, licking his lips nervously.

Michael's handshake went limp, as well as his knees. His heartbeat faltered. “Did you say . .. wife . . . ?” he blurted, eyeing Maria confusedly.

“Correct. Wife,” Nathan said. “Now, how do you know her?”

Michael's hand went to his hair once again, then to a suit pocket to remove a cigar from it. “Briefly, upon passing at the train depot in New York,” he quickly an-swered, lighting his cigar, still studying Maria with a raised brow. He could see the red rimming her eyes and knew that tears were near, so he knew that there was something sinister about this marriage. He knew Maria loo well. He knew her sweetness, her kindness. He knew that she wouldn't marry such a man willingly.

Nathan laughed sardonically. “Yes. I can imagine a brief encounter such as that. No man could ever forget Maria,” he said, taking her hand. “Come, Maria. We must go to our room. I do need that rest I spoke of earlier.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance, sir,” Michael said, then more softly, “and nice to see you again . . . Maria….”

Nathan ignored Michael and began guiding Maria on up the stairs. “Yes, nice,” Maria said, glancing back at Michael, feeling her heart thundering inside herself, hating being led from the man she truly loved, would always love. When he turned his back to her and moved on down the staircase, she felt bits and pieces of her heart breaking, wanting so badly to run after him. She not only wanted to fall into his arms to profess her love for him, but she had to warn him against Nathan's representatives. Now it was even more risky for Michael to return to Hawkinsville. Nathan had seen
him. No amount of disguise would keep the truth from Nathan Hawkins now. He was smart enough to put two and two together, if given even the smallest of clues.

“Damn strange-acting man,” Nathan grumbled, readying his key as he and Maria moved toward one of the many doors that lined this long, narrow hallway of the second' floor of the Planter's House Hotel. “If I didn't know better, I would think there was more than just a casual meeting in New York between you and that man.” Nathan eyed Maria with his gray eyes that were no longer empty, but accusing. Then he turned and thrust the key into the lock and opened the door with one quick turn of the knob.

Maria moved past him, glad that they had left a dim light burning on the nightstand. She still dreaded dark rooms . .. and Nathan Hawkins. This was a combination she would never get used to. In the dark, he became all hands.

Reaching up, she pulled the hatpin from the plaited chiffon folds of her hat, then lifted the lid of a hatbox and gently placed the hat inside it. She eyed the stacks of hatboxes next to her. At least she was proud to think that at least one of her dreams had come true. She could so vividly remember the many different styles of hats that she had seen worn by the women in New York. Now Maria felt she could look just as beautiful.

Swinging around, she saw that Nathan was already unclothed to just his underthings and stockings, and moving toward the huge canopied bed. Maria didn't know what to do now. If she undressed, it would be more difficult to escape from the room when he was
asleep. If she didn't undress, he would suspect something. So she went to the bed and stretched across it, sighing heavily. “Nathan, I am too tired to undress just yet,” she said. “After I get my breath, I shall then climb from the bed and unclothe.”

She eyed him with fluttering eyelashes. Smiling enticingly, she said further. “And I shall be sure not to make any noise to disturb you. I promise.”

Nathan leaned down over her, touching her brow. “Are you ill? You are so pale. Has the trip been too much for you?” he asked, surprising Maria by actually acting concerned about her welfare.

“I am a bit exhausted,” she said, putting a hand to her own brow, closing her eyes.

“Then you just lie still and don't worry about a thing,” Nathan said, climbing on the bed beside her. “Whenever you are rested enough, just you get up and undress and then turn the lights out. Tomorrow we will return home and I will show you the duties of a wife all over again.”