Tread Softly (4 page)

At
this part of the memory Cady always squirmed, knowing that Rafe had given her a
warning right then and there that she had not heeded. So what right had she now
to resent the parties he went to without her?

"I
think I would be faithful to a woman I loved and respected, but I don't
know." He gave her a lopsided smile, his long finger touching her nose.
"If I had someone like you, I don't think I'd want to risk losing her,
but I'm also old enough to have had varied experiences with women and to want
more." One dark brow rose as he studied her. "Have I shocked you,
angel?"

"No. How
old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."
*

Cady
nodded. "And what do you do for a living? I suppose at one time you were
here at the university and Father taught you?"

"Right. Then
I went into the service for a while. When I came out I went to law school in
Washington, and now I'm a congressman from downstate."

"Oh. Do you
like it?"

"Very much.
In fact, I'm thinking of running for the Senate next year."

"Really?
Then I'll help you campaign." Cady wiped some moisture from her lashes.
"I'd like that. And my minor is political science, my father's field, so
perhaps I could be an asset to your campaign."

"Maybe you
could help me find a wife first. My advisers tell me a wife is a great
asset."

Cady laughed at
his expression. "All right, I can do that for you."

"Be my
wife, you mean." Rafe leaned toward her, one lazy finger running down her
cheek.

Cady
felt as though someone had pan-fried her skin. She tried to be as cool as he
was. "Sure, if that's what you want. I can be terribly ladylike at
times." She tried to hold his gaze, but her breathing was becoming constricted,
so she looked away.

"I'll tell
you what we'll do. Let's have dinner together with your father, then we'll take
a walk and talk some more. But let's wait a bit before we join your father. I'd
like to get to know you better, lady."

They had talked
for a long time, skipping from topic to topic with the ease of long-time
friends.

Not only had Cady never had the inclination to have men
friends in her room, she was also sure that her solicitous father would not
have approved. Yet she and Rafe sat on her bed and chatted in the most relaxed
way, and she had felt no discomfort at all.

Finally,
after she had laughed over a story he had told about his own clumsiness when he
was first a congressman, Rafe leaned over and took her hand. "We've been
up here quite a while, and I'm sure your father is wondering what's keeping
me." He grinned at her. "You're easy to talk to, lady."

"Thank
you." Cady grinned back, feeling a strange surge of power all at once.

Rafe
looked down at the small hand almost lost in his long, graceful fingers. Then
he looked up at her, his smile fading. "Your fall break is coming up,
isn't it? Perhaps you and your father would like to join me at my place on
Santo Tomas Island. I have a house there where I intended to unwind after the
election. Do you think you would like to spend your vacation there?"

"Yes,"
Cady had answered promptly, then took his hand, rose from the bed, and
accompanied him downstairs.

Dinner had been
fun. She hadn't expected Rafe to be so knowledgeable of campus goings-on, but
every time she told him about some antics she and her friends had participated
in, he would relate some even more outrageous deeds that he and his friends
had tried. Even her absentminded father was soon laughing.

They
had walked after dinner and had not returned to the house until midnight. Cady
felt as though she had known Congressman Rafe Densmore forever.

In the darkened
living room of the old house, Cady had reached for the light switch.

"No,
don't turn it on. There's enough light from the dying fire," Rafe had
whispered, then he had pulled her down onto his lap. "You're fragile and
too young," Rafe had whispered into her neck. "I don't know what's
the matter with me." He muttered as though he were speaking to himself,
but still he didn't release her. His hands were wandering seductively,
caressing her neck, her shoulders, her breasts. "Does Todd touch you like
this?" he said against her mouth as he pushed her back into the cushions.

"Sometimes."
Cady gasped, not telling him that Todd had never made her body feel as though
it were splintering into white-hot shards.

"Don't let
him." Rafe's hands tightened on her. "I'm leaving early, before you
get up, Cady, and if you're smart you'll tell me to go to my room now."
His hands pushed under her sweater. "God, you should wear a bra.. .but I'm
glad you don't." When he pushed the sweater up further and his mouth took
hold of her nipple, Cady cried out, her body leaping in response to his.

"Easy,
darling," Rafe had croaked. "I'm losing control."

"I don't
care," Cady had moaned, her hands clutching him, wanting to belong to him.

"Cady." Rafe's mouth crashed into hers. His hands
soothed her, aroused her, set her on fire.

When Rafe surged
to his feet and set her away from him, Cady could only stand there open-mouthed
as he tugged her sweater down in front, the slight tremor in his hands
surprising her. "Get to bed right now," he said hoarsely. "I'll
call you."

"Rafe,"
Cady had wailed.

"Now, Cady.
Go to bed."

She had set her
alarm so she would be up in time to see him, but he was already gone when she
raced down the stairs at six o'clock the next morning.

"There's a
crucial vote in the House today," her father had informed her in his
placid way as the housekeeper poured his coffee. "Rafe's a good man. He
was a good student, too." Professor Nesbitt sipped his coffee. "Ahhh.
That's good. Doesn't need to work so hard, either, but he does."

"Are the
Densmores rich, Father?"

"Yes.
Rafe's father is in banking. A very shrewd, tough man is old Emmett Densmore.
Runs his family as he does his business, with an iron hand. Rafe has two
sisters and twin brothers. He's the oldest."

Cady
didn't dare pump her father anymore about Rafe. He was absentminded, but he was
quite bright at reading people, and she didn't want him to see the effect that
the downstate congressman had had on his daughter.

After the first
week without a telephone call, Cady realized that Rafe wasn't going to phone.
She fought despondency, throwing herself into the lab work and classwork that
would let her forget sky-blue eyes and dark brown hair.

One afternoon,
head down, hair whipping across her face, she headed across the quad, gold and
russet maple leaves drifting to the ground, when suddenly someone took her arm.
She squinted sideways to see who it was and nearly dropped her books.

"Hello,
Cady." Rafe reached for the teetering books and slipped them under one
arm, taking hold of her with the other. "Can we still get a cup of coffee
in here?" he asked, pushing open the door of the Student Union.

The
laughter, shouts, and clanking dishes faded to quiet for Cady as Rafe sat in
front of her, a cup cradled in his hands. "What are you doing here?"
she asked. She took too big a swallow of the coffee and coughed.

"Have
you missed me?" He gave her a lopsided grin. "I missed you. I can
only stay a few minutes; then I have to get back to my constituency." He
shot out his wrist, looking at his gold wristwatch. "I have a plane
standing by." He looked at her again, taking hold of one of her slender
hands. "Tiny lady, I've missed you. I've arranged to have you and your
father come down to Santo Tomas with me the day after the election." His
smile turned her heart over. "So you see, you'll either have to commiserate
with me or celebrate with me."

"I know you'll win." She had been breathless when
he had squeezed her shoulders while he helped her on with the down vest she was
wearing as they were leaving.

Several
people spoke to her, and she responded, but she could never have said who they
were a few moments later.

Rafe sheltered
her with his arm when they were on the quad again and the wind whistled around
them. She saw the Mercedes with a chauffeur behind the wheel parked near the
stone wall. She looked up at Rafe, one eyebrow raised.

"A
rented car," he answered her look before assisting her into the car and
giving the chauffeur the directions to her house. When he enfolded her in his arms
and began kissing her, she had no defense. Her parted lips welcomed his
searching tongue as though she had been waiting for it all her life.
"Lord, Cady, have you been practicing?" Rafe's voice was hoarse.

She shook her
head, reveling in the feel of the crisp, dark hair at the nape of his neck.
"It just comes natural with you." She giggled.

"Make
sure it's just me," he muttered into her mouth as one hand loosened her
jacket and felt for her breast. "Damn this election for keeping me from
you." The car stopped and he looked at her long and hard. "I won't
see you before we leave for Santo Tomas Island. Don't forget me."

She
shook her head as he helped her from the car, gave her a hard kiss, and then
sped off down the street. She was still shaking her head when she walked up the
sidewalk and into her house.

That
night Todd called her. "How about a beer at the Union?" Cady didn't
hesitate. "I'm busy." She had no desire even to talk to Todd, much
less meet him for a beer.

"Busy with
that old man I saw you with in the Union this afternoon?" Todd sneered.

"Drop
dead." Cady slammed down the phone.

Rafe
had won, not by a landslide but still by a big margin. The trip to New York was
throat-choking because she knew that Rafe would meet them there. It had been a
wrenching disappointment when they received the message that Rafe would join
them on Santo Tomas a little later and that they were to go ahead.

Her first day on
Santo Tomas Island was like a first day in paradise. The sand was white, the
sea was blue. It was a private island, and Rafe's bungalow seemed to be the
only one.

She
swam while her father read, but she was just marking time until Rafe came.

By the time he
arrived the next day, Cady had begun to feel uncomfortable and was wishing that
she hadn't come. Her father had been content as soon as he found the
well-stocked library.

At first Cady
wouldn't look at Rafe when he arrived. He had another man with him, Bruno
Trabold, whom he described as a special assistant to his father. "And he's
been invaluable to me in this election." Rafe had slapped the man on the
back and grinned at him companionably. He hadn't seemed to notice Bruno's
hot-eyed assessment of Cady in her pink bikini. She had felt very uncomfortable.

Rafe
had taken her by the hand and pulled her up the stairs to his bedroom, calling
to Bruno to introduce himself to Professor Nesbitt in the library.

"Before
your suspicious little soul rebels at being up here, let me tell you that I
have every intention of changing and showering in my bathroom while you remain
here." He wrapped her in his arms as soon as he closed the bedroom door.
"But I want to feel you close to me," he mumbled into her hair.
"I've missed you, angel."

"Congratulations,"
Cady squeaked, feeling all her uncomfortable sensations at his tardiness
fading away, wanting him to continue to stroke her breast. "I like being
up here with you. I miss you, too."

Rafe
lifted her onto his bed, then stretched out beside her. "It feels very
right, having you here like this," his voice rasped against her cheek,
before his mouth nibbled its way to hers. "Kiss me, Cady."

Her
mouth flowered open under his, her hands straining her to him. Her body made
restless motions under his as his hands pushed at the scraps of cloth covering
her.

All at once he
rolled over and sat upon the bed, taking deep gulps of air. "I have to
take a shower. Don't move."

"Rafe."
Feeling languid, Cady lifted her arms.

"No."
He strode toward the bathroom, only looking back when he stood in the doorway.
"Just wait there for me, Cady. I won't be ten minutes. I have something I
want to ask you and I won't be able to concentrate very well as it is."
His smile was a derisive twist of his mouth, but his eyes were hot as they
roved over her body.