Redemption Rains (9 page)

The dress was long and flowing, in a
shade of gold that reflected the highlights in her hair, which she
left down. The waist was cinched with a wide belt that brought even
more attention to her robust figure. The sleeves were made from a
lighter, sheerer fabric than the bodice and reached down to touch
her wrists. The neckline was rounded and revealed the tops of her
breasts and a hint of cleavage. Slipping her feet into matching
sandals made from the softest leather, Elizabeth turned around to
admire her reflection. She looked good. She felt good. Amazing what
a little bit of makeup would do for your self-esteem.

As she heard the key turn in the lock,
she turned to see Devin enter the room followed by a bellboy
pushing a trolley. He had not noticed her yet. She moved closer to
them, smelling the aroma of food coming from the covered dishes.
She couldn’t remember when she had eaten last and suddenly was
ravenous. Walking up to the table where the bellboy was putting the
different dishes, Elizabeth lifted the cover and inhaled the fresh
eggs and bacon sitting on the plate. As she moved to inspect the
next dish, she paused realizing that both the bellboy and Devin had
frozen in their movements and were looking at her.

The bellboy’s look of appreciation
brought a slight flush to Elizabeth’s cheeks. She noticed that he
seemed to be staring at her breasts; he couldn’t seem to take his
eyes off of them in fact. She smiled prettily and turned to Devin
for a little assistance in this embarrassing situation. The look
she saw there brought her up short.

Devin was looking at her with that
black, passion filled expression that he had worn the other night
when he had laid her on the bed. His face was flushed and his
breathing shallow, she noticed the little tick was back in his jaw.
Elizabeth felt the hot liquid flow through her and set her entire
body on fire. The slight flush brought on by the bellboy’s open
appraisal had blown into a raging inferno with the look she was
receiving from Devin. Who was she kidding? Just one look from this
man could set her world on its axis. He didn’t have to touch her
with anything but those raging blue eyes to turn into a mass of
wanton flesh. Unable to take much more of this heat, Elizabeth
reached up and patted her cheek.

“This was very kind of you Devin to
have this brought up. How did you know that I was starving?” She
turned to the bellboy.

“Thank you, but I think that I can set
everything up now. I will ring when we are ready for you to pick
this up.” She smiled at the dumbfounded bellboy. He was quite
unable to remove his eyes from her breasts peeking out above her
neckline.

She turned once more to Devin for
help. “Darling, would you take care of him?”

He came out of his trance. Shaking his
head slightly, he looked at the bellboy for the first time and
noticed the amorous look he was giving Elizabeth.

“Okay,” Devin took the boy by the arm
and turned him toward the door. “I think that you have seen enough
of my wife for one day.”

Elizabeth heard the controlled fury in
Devin’s voice. She watched as he almost threw the boy over the
threshold. Shutting the door, Devin took a deep breath before
turning and walking over to her. The fire in his eyes still burned,
but he seemed more in control of himself. His gaze traveled her
body starting at her feet, clinging to her legs and waist and then
pausing at her breasts. Elizabeth felt her knees go week and grew
angry at the way he literally undressed her with his
gaze.

“The audience has left detective,” she
said calmly, crossing her arms over her chest. “You can stop ogling
me with your eyes.”

“Ogling, hmm.” his smile was teasing.
“That’s not what I would call it.”

Elizabeth didn’t want to get into
another discussion like this. She was sure she would never survive.
She huffed showing her disapproval and sat down in the chair he
held out for her. She tried to remain aloof. She quietly ate her
food, every now and then feeling his gaze resting on her. She
looked up noticing that he had not touched his plate of
food.

“Are you not hungry?” she lifted her
eyes to his face, his lids lowered and he looked at her through his
long lashes.

“I’m quite ravenous, your highness.”
Devin’s lips moved into a slight smile, but it seemed strained to
her. He picked up his fork and started to eat. “How is your
breakfast?”

Elizabeth was relieved to be on a safe
subject. They talked politely to each other throughout the meal.
Not like strangers, but not like friends. She felt sad that she
could not draw this man out of his dark shell. She wanted to ask
him so many questions, but couldn’t figure out how to do it without
sounding like a snoop. Just as she was going to give up, Devin
raised his head and looked at her for a long moment. Feeling as if
she were under a microscope, Elizabeth squirmed in her
chair.

“What are you staring at?” her
frustrated question seemed to shock him out of his
perusal.

“I’m sorry. I did not realize that I
was staring,” Devin raised his palms up lifting his shoulders in an
apologetic shrug. His eyes did not deter from their exploration of
her face though and this unnerved Elizabeth more. Throwing her
napkin down, she pushed her chair back and stood.

“I think that being locked in this
room is going to drive me crazy. I am normally a compliant person,
who enjoys being alone and quiet, but for some reason I have cabin
fever and feel the need to get out of here.” She paced the floor as
she spoke, not realizing how her actions reflected her tense
feelings.

“I don’t see any reason why we can’t
go stroll around the place. How would you feel about a walk in the
garden? I hear that you can see the ocean from there.” Devin rose
from the table.

“I think that would be great.” Relief
and happiness overflowed as she went to call and let the service
know they could pick up their breakfast anytime. She turned ready
to walk out the door.

“Don’t you want a jacket or
something?” the question caught her by surprise.

“Is it cool outside? I couldn’t tell
with the sun shining.” she looked toward the window. “I think that
I’ll be all right, thank you.”

His eyes were once again roving over
her figure. She could see he was struggling with something. Not
wanting to delay the outing with a discussion that would lead to an
argument, Elizabeth opened the door. Devin paused for a moment and
then followed her out of the room.

They explored the garden for over an
hour. The fresh air and sunshine did wonders for Elizabeth’s mood,
but not for Devin. As the day grew brighter he became more brooding
in his manner. He followed Elizabeth around the resort all sullen,
with his hands shoved in his pockets, jaw clenched, and nostrils
flaring. She didn’t know the cause of his ire, but she wasn’t going
to let it ruin her exploration of the grounds.

They were walking toward the patio
that led to the pool and spa area. The path narrowed so Devin
allowed Elizabeth to step in front and take the lead. The path was
so narrow there was barely enough room for a normal size person to
pass comfortably. Elizabeth looked up and saw several men walking
toward her; she felt the dread that always came to her when she was
forced to be in close contact with another person. It always made
her so self-conscious of her weight and size. Mentally preparing
herself for the look she was sure the men would give her, she
raised her chin and straightened her shoulders, placing a cool
smile on her lips.

The first gentleman looked to be in
his late twenties, tall with blonde hair. As he raised his head to
look at her, Elizabeth noticed that his eyes seemed to pause,
resting on her breasts before he looked up into her eyes. When they
met on the path, he smiled slightly and turned to pass by.
Elizabeth was shocked to feel the young man’s hand on her arm. It
was an attempt to move past without touching, but his body seemed
to do the opposite. She felt him press his chest against her, and
looked up in shock. He was wearing a teasing little smile and his
eyes glowed with pleasure.

“Pardon me,” his voice was soft and
well mannered. He had raised his other hand and placed it on
Elizabeth’s waist to steady her. “Are you all right?” The whole
party had stopped. She felt three pairs of eyes resting on
her.

“Yes. Thank you.” Elizabeth stammered
uncomfortable with the attention.

“I’m James,” the young man introduced
himself. His hands lingered on her before he withdrew and turned to
introduce his companions.

After the short introductions, James
explained that they were attending a conference being held at the
resort and were just on their way to have lunch on the patio. He
boldly turned toward her, taking her arm.

“Would you care to join the three of
us?” Elizabeth was caught off guard by his proposition. She
hesitated in her reply. James squeezed her arm slightly, “Or maybe
you would care to join me for dinner tonight, alone?” She was
shocked at the proposition.

“Elizabeth, aren’t you going to
introduce us?” Devin’s voice brought Elizabeth out of her haze. She
turned toward him, noticing the piercing eyes flashing anger at
James.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “This is my
husband,” she almost choked on the word, but was saved when Devin
reached up and withdrew the young man’s hand from her arm. James
looked dutifully put out as he stepped back.

“Sorry, old boy,” James shrugged his
shoulders. “But you can’t blame me for admiring such beauty, can
you?”

James turned to Elizabeth once again
taking her hand and raising it to his lips. His eyes glowed with
admiration and a hint of something else. “It was a pleasure meeting
you Elizabeth. Maybe we will bump into each other
again?”

Devin’s control broke as he grabbed
her hand and pushed her past the three men. She stumbled slightly
and would have lost her footing if Devin hadn’t had such a tight
grip on her waist.

“We are going back to the room.”
Elizabeth looked over her shoulder and saw the anger in his eyes
and the muscle twitching in his jaw. He was very angry with her.
Elizabeth was not sure she wanted to be in that room alone with him
while he was this angry.

Her mind worked overtime as they made
their way back to the suite. The encounter was strange. She had
never experienced men approaching her in that way before. Had she
done something to provoke this situation? She ran back over the
scene in her head. No. She was sure that she had done nothing.
Maybe she could have spoken up sooner, not allowing James to assume
that she was single. But she was just so taken aback by the whole
thing she was dumbstruck. Wasn’t Devin always teasing her about
being a virgin? Always going on about how she had never come into
close contact with a man. How can he think that she would know what
to do when men hit on her?

Devin opening the door to the suite
and pulling her in, slamming it closed behind them broke her train
of thought. She had not seen him this angry before. The fight went
out of her, replaced with fear. He paced the floor, running his
hands through his hair in a frustrated manner. Elizabeth was afraid
to speak, so she just stood there waiting for him to unleash his
anger on her.

“I knew we should not have gone
traipsing around the place,” he shook his head. “Especially with
you dressed like that,” he paused in his pacing and raised his hand
in her direction. Elizabeth took offence to this statement and
opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.

“Every man within a two mile radius
was drooling over you. I thought I was going to have beat them off
with a stick,” he began pacing again.

“What do you mean “every man was
drooling”? There was no drooling. No one noticed me. They never
notice me,” Elizabeth’s voice was shocked. “You must be mistaken
Detective Kane. Men do not drool over me. They look at me with
shock and nudge their buddy to make a joke,” Elizabeth lost
control. She could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks, but she
could do nothing to stop them. “You are definitely mistaken,” she
sobbed and turned with the intention of running and hiding in the
bathroom but he blocked her escape.

“You are wrong.” Devin’s voice was
filled with anger and a touch of jealousy. “That young man was so
turned on I thought I was going to have to dump him in the pool.
And what about the bellboy and the concierge; don’t tell me you are
that naive? All you have to is smile and blush and men fall over
you.”

Not Devin though, Elizabeth thought.
Her eyes reflected her emotions like a mirror, allowing him to see
her skepticism at his words.

“You really don’t know the effect you
have on men, do you?” his voice was filled with
disbelief.

“In that dress, you can bring a man to
his knees.” His lips turned up in an ironic smile. Slowly he raised
his finger to trace a tear on her cheek.

“You are a voluptuous woman whose
assets are only magnified ten times in that outfit.” Elizabeth felt
confused and embarrassed. When she put on the dress this morning
she did feel different, and he was right about the bellboy and
concierge but she was too confused to believe what Devin was
saying. The word he used was voluptuous, which translated in her
mind as a nice way of calling her fat. She turned away from him,
angry with herself.