The Reluctant Lark (11 page)

“Be still,” Rand growled, pressing her head firmly to his chest. “These damn teasing petting sessions are driving me up the wall. Do you know that I didn’t sleep until nearly dawn last night?”

Sheena refused to admit to him that she had been in a similar state when they had parted the night before. She had burned with an aching hunger that had caused her to toss restlessly for hours.

“I’m certainly not forcing you to make love to me,” she said tartly, making a motion to slip off his lap.

“Just be still,” he ordered. “I’m well aware our present status quo is my own choice, but it doesn’t make it any easier when I have to let you go. Just give me a minute to cool down.”

She lay quietly in his arms, intimidated for the moment by the hunger in his voice.

She was fully aware that he was entirely correct in his statement. She had admitted to herself some time ago that Challon could have taken her anytime in the last week, and she wouldn’t have uttered a single protest. She smiled ruefully as she realized what a gross understatement that was. There had been moments in this last week when she had been not only eager but frantic for him to carry on with his lovemaking to its final conclusion. Sometimes she had been in a positive fury of frustration and had unconsciously tried to tempt him into breaking that tightly leashed control, but to no avail. Challon’s steely determination had never wavered, even in the face of that physical chemistry that was like an electric force field surrounding them.

The past week had been the strangest one that Sheena had ever known. Balanced on the fine edge of desire, the days had still possessed a warm, tranquil contentment. Challon had possessed every moment of her waking day with a sweeping arrogance that she found curiously comforting. There were no troublesome decisions to make because he made them for her,
and she had no option but to flow in Challon’s turbulent wake. There were long walks every morning that she found highly enjoyable, hours of companionable conversation and equally companionable silences. In the afternoons they usually lunched with Laura Bradford and then played chess until time to change for dinner.

In the evenings Laura conveniently disappeared to her room after dinner, and then Challon had initiated Sheena into the intricacies of poker. Claiming that the game lacked zest with the gambling element removed, Challon had instituted forfeits into the game that were as heady as they were enjoyable. This inevitably led to their lingering in each other’s arms until they could bear no more of the addictive caresses without committing their bodies totally.

Sheena unconsciously nestled closer to Challon’s hard body as she remembered the heated pleasure he gave her so effortlessly. As she had noticed previously, he was a very tactile man, and even when he was not making love to her, he seemed to take great pleasure in just holding her hand or stroking her throat as he conversed lazily with her. She found she took equal pleasure in the cuddling and casual touching and found herself reaching out with equal eagerness to take his hand or tentatively touch the hard swell of the muscles in his forearm.

Sheena had never thought herself a particularly passionate woman, but Rand seemed to be able to set her on fire with only that curiously intimate smile or simply by running his fingers casually from the curve of her elbow to her wrist.

At times she wondered why she accepted her captivity with such passivity after her initial fury and indignation. She decided that the answer must lie in the odd sense of unreality that pervaded her stay in this beautiful place. The experience was so far removed from her ordinary life that it had a curious dreamlike quality. Everything, that is, but her relationship with
Rand Challon. Nothing could be more vividly real than this golden lion man, and he made sure that she was fully conscious of the fact.

“If you’ve gone to sleep on me, I’m going to be most annoyed with you, love.” Challon’s amused voice broke through her reverie. “It’s bad enough trying to keep myself from sampling that lovely body of yours, without the very insulting knowledge that I’ve bored you to sleep!”

She had been vaguely aware of the gradual loosening of the hard tension of Rand’s body and that his arms were now cuddling her with the almost sexless affection of a small boy with his favorite teddy bear.

“Oh, you managed to keep me awake,” she said demurely, as she snuggled her head in her favorite hollow by his collarbone. “Barely.”

She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. “God, you’ve gotten saucy. I can hardly recognize you as the shy little gypsy I snatched two weeks ago. You’ve got me reeling most of the time these days from one cause or another. Either it’s that stinging nettle of a tongue or that delightfully passionate responsiveness.”

“I haven’t noticed any obvious lapse of control,” she said, a hint of huffiness in her voice.

“That’s because I’m a very devious fellow. I assure you that I’ve been walking on hot coals all week, but I wasn’t about to let you have the benefit of my virile young body without being sure that you respected me. How could I know that you wouldn’t just take me and cast me aside in the morning?”

Sheena gave a derisive snort that caused him to chuckle once again. Playing with her dark curls, he said softly, “But it won’t be long now, dove. I can feel you coming closer to me all the time. You’ll say the words I want to hear soon, won’t you?”

She leaned back in his arms to regard him with troubled dark eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered confidingly. “I’m so confused that I don’t know what I’m feeling. I know that there’s something between us
that I’ve never felt before. But is that the emotion you’re asking from me?”

There was a flicker of disappointment in the depths of Challon’s eyes as he kissed her lightly on the nose. “I’m rushing things again,” he said with forced lightness. “Take all the time you need, dove. I can wait.” He pushed her off his lap and stood up. “Now, I’d better send you off to bed. I want you to be rested for tomorrow. We’re going to have visitors.”

“Visitors?” Sheena whirled to face him, her eyes wide with surprise.

Rand nodded, as he slipped his arm around her waist and propelled her gently toward the staircase. “My secretary, Marcy Lovett, is flying in with some contracts that I have to sign. I arranged for Dr. Knowleton to come at the same time to give you a final check-up. You’ve never gotten over that little cough you developed after your chill.”

“But I feel fine,” she protested. The knowledge of the sudden intrusion on their privacy disturbed her for some unknown reason. She had been aware that Challon was in constant radio contact with his home base. She supposed she should have known that a powerful economic figure such as Challon could not remain isolated for long from his business interests, yet she was experiencing an odd dissatisfaction at the thought that she must now share Challon’s attention with his work. “Aren’t you afraid that I might appeal to your secretary or Dr. Knowleton to rescue me?” she asked tartly, tossing her head. “Or have you bought their loyalty, too?”

Challon shook his head, a frown darkening his face. “Some people can’t be bought. But,” he added with deliberate ruthlessness, “they can be destroyed. I don’t think you’d want to put me in a position of having to defend myself.” His lips twisted bitterly. “The killer instinct, remember?”

Sheena shivered involuntarily as she remembered his granite-hard face that evening in the firelight. No,
she would hesitate to expose anyone to that brutally dangerous side of Rand Challon.

Rand noticed the involuntary withdrawal, for he immediately set about restoring her confidence and compliance in a way that was both enjoyable and eminently successful. When he raised his head from her lips, he and Sheena were both flushed and breathing hard. “Don’t ever be afraid of me, Sheena,” he said quietly. “I’ll never be a threat to you. On the contrary, my entire resources will always be available to protect you and make your way smoother.”

“Except when you decide otherwise,” she murmured, a spark of mischief in her enormous black eyes. “I don’t know whether to trust you or not, Rand Challon. Tonight you revealed your true colors. You had no compunction at all about cheating a poor, naive Irish lass. How do I know you won’t do it again?”

Challon grinned. “I’m a reasonably honest man unless the temptation is totally irresistible. And you happen to be the only prize that constitutes that much of a challenge for me. Besides, now that you’re on to my tricks, I wouldn’t dare try to manipulate you, dove.”

Sheena regarded his innocent expression and dancing golden eyes suspiciously. “You’d dare anything,” she stated flatly. “And you were entirely too good at your ‘tricks’ to be a complete novice. Where did you learn to cheat at cards, Rand?”

“Well, now that you mention it, there was a time in my disreputable past when I was a blackjack dealer at a casino in Nassau.”

“Rand Challon, you’re a black-hearted rogue with no principles whatever! Have you no scruples at all? I trusted you!”

“You can always trust me in anything important, dove. I just decided that in this particular wager, it would be to our mutual advantage for me to emerge the victor. Now, up you go. I can feel my willpower eroding very rapidly.”

He turned her around and started her up the steps
with a firm slap on her derriere. “I’ll see you at breakfast at eight. The plane won’t be here until ten, so we’ll have time for our walk before Knowleton and Marcy arrive. Sleep well, dove.”

The Lear jet was descending with the screaming grace of a predatory eagle when Sheena and Challon emerged from the woods and made their way leisurely toward the runway where the jet would touch down. By the time the sleek, streamlined bird had rolled to a stop, they were standing waiting by the hangar.

As the passenger door opened and the automatic steps emerged, Sheena waited with a tinge of curiosity for her first sight of Rand’s secretary. Whenever he had mentioned Marcy Lovett in the past week, it had been with respect and admiration, and Sheena had received an impression of a superefficient dynamo with computerlike accuracy.

The woman who came hurrying down the steps looked more like a college girl than the paragon of Challon’s description. Dressed in buttercup yellow pants and ski jacket, Marcy Lovett was a tall, slim woman with short, curly brown hair and a turned-up nose that was liberally dusted with freckles. Her hazel eyes were apprehensive as she hastily crossed the tarmac to stand before Challon, and there was a sheepish smile on her pleasant face. “You’re going to murder me,” she announced, grimacing. “But, so help me God, I couldn’t help it. The woman practically shanghaied me.”

“Simmer down, Marcy,” Rand said. “Who shanghaied you?”

Marcy Lovett cast an uncomfortable glance at Sheena, her gaze moving down to Challon’s large hand linked with Sheena’s. “Donna Scott,” she finally said reluctantly. “I did everything I could to deter her, but the woman is a positive bloodhound. She’s been on your trail for over three months, and I don’t know how she found out I was coming here today.”

“I hope you’re not saying what I think you’re saying,” Rand said, his voice dangerously soft. “You brought her with you?”

Marcy Lovett nodded unhappily. “I told you that you were going to murder me. But there was no way I could get out of it, short of pushing her out of the plane without a parachute. She was already at the airport when I arrived this morning at five.” She distractedly ran her hand through her short, curly hair. “I didn’t think glamour girls like her ever got up before noon. God, I’m sorry, Rand.”

“It’s okay,” Rand said. “I’ll take care of it. I know how determined Donna can be when she zeroes in on something. Where is she now?”

“She and Dr. Knowleton are still on the plane.” The secretary grimaced. “She wouldn’t get off until she repaired the ravages of the trip on that beautiful face, and Dr. Knowleton wouldn’t leave her side. She’s been sharpening her technique on him since we left Houston.” There was a definite note of warning in Marcy Lovett’s voice.

“Donna has no more technique than a steamroller,” Rand said dryly. “Someone told her as a child that persistence always wins the day, and she’s subscribed to the maxim ever since. I suppose I’d better go rescue Knowleton before she makes him so dizzy he’ll be useless to us.”

He dropped Sheena’s hand and started for the plane. “Take care of Sheena, Marcy.”

Sheena bristled momentarily at this offhand dismissal, and she met Marcy Lovett’s tentative smile with a distinctly cool one of her own.

“Look, I’m really sorry about this,” the secretary said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to bring that blond vamp down on both of you.” She bit her lip worriedly. “Rand was so upset that he didn’t bother to introduce us. I’m Marcy Lovett. I’ve been Rand’s secretary for the past four years.”

“How do you do,” Sheena said politely. “I’m Sheena Reardon.”

“Yes, I know,” Marcy said frankly, smiling. “I think it’s so romantic that you and Rand are back together again after all this time. I wouldn’t have had anything spoil your reunion for worlds.”

“Back together?” Sheena asked bewilderedly.

Marcy nodded. “I’ve been seeing your pictures ever since the day Rand hired me. I’m glad you’ve settled your differences and are a twosome again.”

Sheena shook her head at the secretary’s misconception. Marcy Lovett obviously thought that she and Rand had had a lover’s quarrel and broken up before her arrival on the scene. It was a natural conclusion under the circumstances and far more believable than the true story. “Thank you,” Sheena said. “You’re very kind.” Then unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she asked. “Who is Miss Scott?”

Marcy Lovett covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, Lord, I was afraid you didn’t know about her.” She groaned. “I’ll be lucky if I get out of this with my job intact.” Her hazel eyes were earnest as she said comfortingly, “Don’t worry, he hasn’t seen Donna Scott in over four months. I’m sure that he’s finished with her. She just thinks she’s so irresistible that she can’t believe it.” She made a face. “The lady’s IQ isn’t nearly as devastating as her looks.”

“And is she that irresistible?” Sheena asked slowly, her eyes on Challon’s lean figure as he quickly crossed the tarmac.