Ride the Tiger (18 page)

“I can't believe it! There's hope, Gib. Real hope!”

“That's the best news yet,” he agreed, hailing another cab as they stepped onto the sidewalk. Gib didn't want to ruin Dany's happy mood. She deserved to hope. Gib was all too aware that Gerard had delicately walked around what the embassy might honestly be able to do to protect Dany's land from Vietnamese and U.S. government encroachment. Still, Gib prayed that there really was reason to hope. Gerard had promised to begin making inquiries with both the U.S. consulate and the Vietnam government on her behalf. Only time would tell.

Inside the cab on their way back to the hotel, Dany confessed, “I feel like celebrating now!”

He grinned. “Anything the lady wants.”

Dany clapped her hands. “I'd love to go dancing, Gib. The Caravelle has a wonderful ballroom. Did you see it?”

His smile broadened. “Sure did. You like to dance?” Gib guessed that with her tall, willowy body she'd be a sensuous dancer, and an ache automatically seized him. Dany would be like liquid sunlight in his hands. He knew it with every fiber of his being.

“I love to dance! Did I tell you that
Maman
had me study ballet since I was six years old?” Dany playfully made several graceful movements with her hands and arms. Gib's eyes narrowed on her, making her feel suddenly giddy and reckless. With a silent laugh, Dany tucked her hands back in her lap. “Well, that was a long time ago. I studied ballet at the Sorbonne, too, but my degree in economics won out. The dance master at the university said I could make ballet my life, that I had just enough talent to be part of the corps de ballet, but nothing beyond that. He didn't feel I had what it took to be a prima ballerina.” With a wrinkle of her nose, Dany smiled. “I didn't like the idea of being stuck forever in the corps, so I graciously declined his offer. The last few years I've strayed from serious bar work, but I still try to do my stretching exercises. I guess I'll always love the dance—it's part of my soul.”

“You're number one in my book in everything,” Gib said huskily.

“Are you good at dancing?”

“I'm about as coordinated as a bull in a china shop, honey.”

Laughing delightedly, Dany leaned up and kissed his damp cheek. She could smell the light hint of spicy cologne on his skin and feel the prickle of his beard although he'd obviously shaved this morning. Gib was one of those men who would always have five o'clock shadow. In Dany's eyes, it only made him more alluring.

Her chaste kiss caught Gib off guard, but he liked her sudden spontaneity. For the first time, he was getting a taste of her childlike side. Capturing her hand, he smiled down at her. “We'll do some heavy celebrating tonight, honey. That's a promise.”

“And I brought such a lovely dress—just in case,” Dany confided excitedly.

“First I'll take you to dinner, and then we'll dance.”

Dany gripped his arm, sudden joy shimmering through her. “I'm so happy the ambassador's assistant has agreed to help. This whole trip gives me hope for saving the plantation. Tonight will be like a fairy tale come true for me, Gib—getting to spend time with you, getting to dance!”

“Well,” Gib promised her thickly, brushing her flushed cheek with his thumb, “we'll dance until we fall exhausted into each other's arms.”

Her eyes shone with happiness. “I can hardly wait,” she breathed softly.

G
ib couldn't contain his reaction to Dany as she walked—no, floated—toward him as he waited by the maâitre d's station. Every man in the Caravelle Hotel seemed to stop what he was doing and stare at Dany as she moved through the lobby. Her silk skirt was ballet length, clinging and flowing with each of her boneless movements, the color shimmering from pale lavender to deep red-violet beneath the chandelier lights. The blouse had a scooped neck, and the long dolman sleeves were like wings caught in a gentle breeze as she moved. A delicate gold chain captured the silk fabric at her waist, emphasizing her slenderness, her beauty. Certainly, Gib felt that right now she
was
a prima ballerina, moving with such breathtaking grace.

Her ebony hair was caught up in a French twist, glinting with bluish highlights, while tendrils softly touched her temples. Small gold earrings and a gold choker at the base of her sculpted throat finished her elegant outfit, and Gib felt a mixture of awe, desire and pride as he watched her approach.

As she neared him, her cheeks flushed and she held out her hand with a smile. Smiling confidently in return, Gib captured her fingers in his own.

“You look stunning,” he rasped, and leaned down to kiss her cheek lightly in welcome. The heady scent of her lily-of-the-valley perfume enveloped him, and Gib drank deeply of the combination of it with the natural fragrance of her dusky golden skin.

Feeling breathless, Dany smiled hesitantly, thrilled by Gib's attention, his warm welcome and unexpected kiss. “I didn't realize I'd cause such a stir,” she began softly, surprise in her tone. “Did you see all those men staring at me? I was just hoping I wouldn't trip and fall on my face and embarrass myself!”

With a grin, Gib cupped her elbow and followed the maâitre d'. “Honey, you're a good-looking woman and there isn't a man among them who doesn't appreciate it. They paid you a compliment.” He was struck by Dany's innocence. Some women were very aware of how they affected men, exaggerating the sway of their hips, dressing for attention. But Dany was genuinely surprised by male attention, not realizing her power over them—or him. Perhaps it was her old-fashioned upbringing or the plantation's remoteness that had protected Dany. Whatever was responsible, Gib couldn't have been happier watching her discover her femininity, her uniqueness as a woman and the impact it had on him and others.

“This is something new to me, Gib.” She laughed delightedly, the sound like an alto bell, clear and pristine, flowing from her throat. “Really, don't you think they'd stare in horror instead, if they saw me barefoot and in my cotton work clothes at the plantation?”

Gib pulled out a chair for her. Their table was in a choice corner with a view of Saigon's twinkling lights out either panel of windows. “They'd do a double take,” he agreed with a grin. “But I saw your beauty no matter what you wore,” he added conspiratorially. He liked the way she didn't let the attention go to her head. Above all, Dany was practical—another of her traits that appealed strongly to him. It also told him that Dany saw herself as plain, honestly not realizing her outward beauty. Gib wanted to be the man to make her aware of not only the beauty she carried in her generous heart, but of her physical beauty and how much she affected him as a man.

Gib's last statement was true, Dany conceded, warming to his compliment. He'd seen the real Dany Villard back at the plantation. Tonight she felt like a fairy princess who had been granted one wish—a wonderful wish of spending time alone with Gib, getting to know him better under less dangerous and strained circumstances. As he took his seat next to her, she thought how handsome he looked in his dark brown slacks and tan sports jacket. He wore a conservative white silk shirt and dark brown paisley tie, the colors emphasizing his dark tan and the vaguely dangerous quality that was always with him. Picking up her white linen napkin, Dany whispered, “I can hardly wait to dance!”

“Just remember,” Gib warned her dryly, “that this Texan has two left feet. But I'll do my best not to step all over your dainty little toes.”

* * *

The hotel orchestra was composed mainly of stringed instruments and a grand piano. Dany had long since shed her heels in favor of dancing barefoot. She wished out loud for a pair of simple ballet slippers, but nylon would just have to do, she'd decided with a winsome smile. It was nearly one in the morning, but the dance floor was still filled with couples. Dany sighed contentedly, her head resting against Gib's chest, his arms tight around her as they flowed with the slow, quiet music.

Lifting her chin, Dany smiled up into his shadowed face. “I don't want this night ever to end,” she confided softly. After dinner they had gone directly into the ballroom, where the orchestra had begun playing 1950s music. The dance floor was highly polished golden teak, and at first Gib had been awkward dancing with Dany. But finally they'd discovered their own personal rhythm, a style of expression with each other, melting into a oneness that Dany loved. Gib hadn't stepped on her feet, and he was a much better dancer than he'd let on.

Gib hadn't been able to get control of his racing pulse all night. Each time Dany pressed herself artlessly against him as they danced, his heart began hammering counterpoint. She was soft and willowy against his harder, less graceful form, fitting and flowing like warm honey with him as each tune was played. For the first time in his life, Gib understood how music could enter one's soul and set it on fire. The way Dany moved and flowed with the beat had taught him that tonight. It was as if she hadn't a bone in her body, just an incredible suppleness as she entrusted herself to him letting the music express itself through her. Never had Gib felt so humbled, nor had he cherished a woman more. She was priceless.

Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her temple. Her sweet, fragrant scent entered his nostrils, and he murmured next to her ear, “The night doesn't have to end, Dany. We can watch the sun rise tomorrow morning—together.” His heartbeat seemed suspended as he lifted his head to watch her expression in response to his suggestion. For the first time since meeting her, Gib felt that this time, this moment, could truly signal the beginning of a long-term relationship. One that he hoped would end in marriage to her. Never had he wanted anything more in life than he wanted Dany now—and this evening with her to continue without interruption. He wished the night never had to end, but if it did, he wanted her in his arms to watch the first rays of sunlight bathe the jungle stillness of Saigon's dawn.

Dany's lips parted as she assimilated Gib's suggestion. The burning look in his eyes scalded her with new awareness of herself as a woman, and she felt without question that she wanted and needed him more than she ever had anything in her life. The tension in his body, a fine quiver that always seemed to be a part of him, coursed through her in that moment, and she absorbed his look, his need.

Dany knew that in the end she would be left behind and forgotten. But this night was so magical that she had to remain a part of it. If only for one night, she would fully experience Gib's need of her, and she could finally share her harbored feelings and longings. “Yes,” she whispered up at him. “Yes, I want to see the sun rise with you, Gib.”

As the song came to an end, Gib slowly eased her off the dance floor. He retrieved her heels and purse from the table where they'd been sitting, then, paying the bar bill, he smiled at Dany and slipped his arm around her shoulders. He'd never felt lighter or happier in his life. Was he in a dream? Was he really back at Marble Mountain dreaming all this while he slept on his hard, uncomfortable bunk? As they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, then padded down the carpeted hall to his room, Gib no longer cared where reality and dreams met and overlapped.

Moonlight streamed through the open sliding glass door, filling the room with velvet radiance as Dany halted near the entrance to the balcony. She let her purse and heels drop carelessly to the floor as Gib approached her, in turn dropping his sports coat to the carpet beside them. Dany smiled softly up at him in welcome. Lifting her arms, she glided into his embrace, pressed against him and felt the heavy beat of his heart against her breasts. His lips pressed a series of kisses against her hair, her cheek, and finally captured and worshipped her awaiting mouth.

A soft moan rose in her as Gib kissed her tenderly, almost as if she were fragile and might break. His hands left her shoulders and slowly, gently, began to ease one pin after another from her captive tresses. In moments, her hair tumbled around her shoulders, and she felt him tremble as he shifted his hands through the silky cascade, a look of deep satisfaction softening his features.

Each touch, each kiss drew her more deeply into the spun magic of him as a man whose reverence for her seemed more unmistakable with each caress. Dany trembled as Gib's fingers brushed the buttons at the back of her blouse, and she leaned against him, her arms fitting around his waist as he freed the buttons one by one. The blouse opened and Dany stepped back to allow him to slip it off her.

She felt no embarrassment as she lifted her lashes, melting beneath his narrowed, intent gaze as the blouse drifted to the carpet at their feet. The skirt fell away next, and she stood before him in a full-length pink slip that barely brushed her knees.

“My God,” Gib breathed unsteadily, “you are so beautiful, Dany, so perfect,” and he slid his fingers beneath the straps of the slip. It too slipped down her body, exposing her tall, slender form, so proud and feminine that it made him quiver.

Her smile was shy as she reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. “No less beautiful are you in my eyes,” she whispered. His shirt came off and pooled beside her skirt and blouse. When Dany slid her fingers beneath his white cotton T-shirt, grazing his hard belly, she felt Gib tense, his breath suspended almost as if he were in pain. She tilted her head up to look at him, and he framed her face with his hands.

“Your touch is like fire, honey. Hot, liquid fire to me.”

His words, dark and vibrating, rippled through her, and she moved the fabric upward, feeling each of his muscles tense as her fingers slid lightly over his skin. The T-shirt was removed, and Dany rested her hand against the dark mat of hair on his powerful chest. There was such a dangerous quality to Gib as he stood before her in his bare feet, the only barriers left between them his slacks and her lingerie. Suddenly shaky, Dany tried to unbuckle his belt, but her fingers had lost their coordination.