James, Stephanie (24 page)

Heaving himself slightly away, he yanked at the knot of his tie and then, as she watched from beneath

slumberous lids, he pulled at the buttons of his shirt.

In another moment he was pushing off the remainder of his clothing, his fully aroused body feeling

magnificently free and primitively aggressive. Tabby raised her fingertips to snarl them lovingly in the

curling hair on his chest and he sucked in his breath as she let her hand follow the line of hair down below

his waist.

“You’re driving me wild, honey,” he managed shakily. The waistband of her pantyhose gave easily

beneath the assault of his fingers. Too easily, he realized ruefully an instant later as the delicate nylon

abruptly tore. Almost immediately he forgot the small disaster, losing patience altogether with the

tight-fitting fabric. Swiftly he yanked the garment off, leaving it in tatters on the floor. Along with the

pantyhose came her scrap of silky panties. At last she was lying naked and open, waiting for him.

“Love me, Tabby,” he begged hoarsely as he stretched out along the length of her in slow delight. “Take

me inside of you and warm me with your fire. Let me have all of you tonight. I need you, sweetheart.

God, how I need you!”

In answer she wrapped him close, her arms circling his neck and her legs parting to allow him between

her thighs. He heard his name on her lips as she kissed his throat and the crooning, inviting sound

exploded the last of his restraint.

Gripping her shoulders, he surged against her, about to bury himself in her softness, when suddenly he

remembered the way she had hesitated, the first time they made love, before accepting the full force of

his masculinity. Above all he did not want to hurt her.

“Tabby?” he rasped.

“Yes, Dev, oh, yes, please!” She sank her nails into his shoulders, urging him to complete the union. Her

eyes slitted almost shut.

Dev tried to go slowly, to ease himself into her, but the passion in him was too strong to allow for any

further restraint. The need to possess her completely was overwhelming him and he succumbed to it with

a fierce, driving energy.

She gasped as he forged deeply into her satiny warmth, but she made no move to resist or draw back.

Instead she gripped him more violently than ever and lifted herself to meet the passionate, rhythmic

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power of his body.

Dev lost himself in the reckless, spinning emotions which enveloped them both. On some level he wanted

to master her completely and on another he desired only to give himself up to the loving sensuality she

offered. On and on he surged, ricocheting back and forth between the two equally powerful, equally

sensual demands, and then he felt her responsive body tighten in that special, magical way.

“That’s it, honey,” he encouraged savagely, “give yourself to me completely. Let go and come to me. I’ll

hold you. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Dev!”

Her body shuddered delicately beneath his, gripping him more tightly than ever and pulling him into the

vortex with her. Together they fought the last battle and won and then they were cascading down, down

through the night, collapsing onto the sheepskin rug in a damp tangle. Dev kept her tightly against him,

knowing he would never, ever let her go. She was his.

It was a long time before she stirred slightly beneath him, her lashes flickering open to reveal the drowsy,

remembered sensuality in her eyes. He braced himself on his elbows, a faint smile edging his mouth as he

returned the knowing, intimate gaze.

“You’re magnificent, Tabby. Utterly magnificent.”

“So are you, dragon. Arrogant and demanding but quite magnificent.” Her voice was soft and slurred,

and Dev’s smile widened affectionately.

“Sleepy?”

“Umm. You exhaust me. First you wrestle me to the floor and then you ravish me. It’s very exhausting,

you know.”

“I’m a little tired myself,” he confessed dryly.

“Amazing.”

“I think it’s time we went to bed.”

“Yes.”

The firelight faded into flickering embers as the two people on the sheepskin rug got slowly to their feet,

clinging tightly to each other. Together they walked, arms entwined, down the hall to the bedroom.

“I guess I should sweep you off your feet and carry you to bed,” Dev sighed, “but the truth is, if I tried it,

I’d probably lose my balance and we’d both wind up on the floor. This damn leg of mine…”

“I didn’t notice that leg of yours slowing you down any tonight,” Tabby drawled. “I never stood a

chance, did I?”

“A chance of escaping me? No,” he admitted flatly as they reached the bedroom. “I could never let you

go, Tabby.” he turned to her as she started to pull down the satin comforter that covered the bed.

“Tabby?”

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“What is it, Dev?”

“Promise me you’ll never let me go, either,” he rasped with a renewed sense of urgency.

“I don’t seem to have much choice in the matter, do I?” she mused. “Come to bed, Dev.”

He hesitated, watching her slide naked between the snowy sheets, and then he followed, reaching out to

fold her close. What was wrong with him? he wondered restlessly as he lay in the darkness, absently

stroking her shoulder. Why was he still getting those uneasy, prickling sensations? He had Tabby in his

arms. He had been so sure that taking her would quiet his anxiety.

But now that his body was no longer clamoring with desire, the old, uneasy feeling was back in full force.

What the hell was wrong? He gripped Tabby more tightly, seeking comfort. She moved against him in

her sleep, offering that which he needed, and he sighed and fell asleep beside her.

Ten

«^

For the second time that week Tabitha found herself waking up to the sound of an imperious knock on

her front door. At least this time she wasn’t waking up with a pounding headache to go with it, she

thought wryly, floundering to a sitting position beside the still-sleeping man in her bed.

God, he was magnificent, she thought, drinking in the sight of him as he lay there amid the white sheets.

Hard and lean and sleek. If he had a dragon’s scales, they would be gleaming in the morning sunlight. As

it was, his bronzed skin was dark and tantalizing against the bedclothes. And she loved him. Once he had

decided to claim her last night there could have been no other possible outcome to the evening other than

the one he had planned. How could she have gone on resisting the man she loved?

The knock came again and with a muttered groan Tabitha pushed aside the sheets and padded to the

closet to find her Chinese silk dressing gown, the one with the dragon embroidered down the back and

around the hem. Strange that Dev hadn’t awakened. His senses were normally so much more acute than

her own. Perhaps he hadn’t gone to sleep immediately last night. She had awakened once or twice and

found him rather restless beside her. When she had put her arm around him he had drifted back into a

deeper slumber. Tabitha had taken a subtle pleasure in offering the small comfort. He seemed to need her

as well as desire her.

Surely from such roots love could grow?

Hurrying out into the living room, she wrenched open the front door just as a thin, gray-haired man in a

dark three-piece suit raised his hand to knock again. His thin, patrician features were set in remote lines.

For an instant they simply stared at each other without any trace of recognition. Then the older man

smiled politely, his hazel eyes cool and aloof.

“Good morning. You must be Tabitha. I’m John Delaney.”

“Delaney.” Tabitha narrowed her eyes, sweeping the line of his conservative suit and the hard, chillingly

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polite expression on his face. “From Washington, D.C.”

He arched one heavy, gray brow. “I see you know of me.”

Tabitha abruptly started to close the door in his face. “Go away, John Delaney. You’re in the wrong

place. This is Washington, state of. Go back to D.C.”

He shoved one polished, black shoe over the threshold, blocking the door. “I gather you know why I’m

here.”

She lifted her chin with fierce determination, her hand clenching into a small fist. “He’s not going back

with you, Mr. Delaney. He belongs here now. He belongs to me.”

“Come now, Tabitha,” Delaney murmured. “If you know Dev Colter at all well, you know he doesn’t

belong to anyone.”

“He does now!” She pushed at the door again but the black shoe didn’t move.

“What the hell?” Dev’s question cracked across the room and Tabitha whirled to see him standing in the

hall doorway. He was wearing only his slacks, which he must have just grabbed off the floor. He was still

fastening the belt and yanking up the zipper. “Delaney,” he muttered, coming forward far enough to see

who stood on the threshold. “I should have known. No wonder I couldn’t get that damn uneasy feeling

out of my system last night. My instincts were right. As usual.”

Delaney smiled, a speculative gleam in his hazel eyes. “Your instincts have always bordered on the

precognitive. That’s one of the things which makes you so valuable.”

Tabitha gasped. “You’re clairvoyant?” she demanded in astonishment, staring at Dev as if she hadn’t

quite seen him clearly before.

He frowned in annoyance. “No, of course not. I just get these hunches occasionally. Usually when

something is about to go wrong. I had a feeling something was about to go wrong last night, but I

thought…” He broke off. “Well, why are you here, Delaney? Just happen to be on the West Coast?”

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact,” John Delaney began soothingly, inching his way through the door.

“Don’t believe him,” Tabitha ordered Dev. “He’s here to get you back to Washington, D.C.” She glared

at Delaney, who took no notice.

“The little jaunt to the Caribbean should have reassured you that you’ve still got what it takes, Dev,”

Delaney murmured smoothly, focusing all his attention on the other man. “You not only got the film for us,

you took care of Waverly, too. We knew there was a new independent working the Caribbean region,

but we had been unable to smoke him out. Handing him over to us was a nice bonus from you, Dev. We

appreciate it.”

“Your gratitude overwhelms me.”

Tabitha switched her glare from Delaney to Dev. What was the matter with him? Why wasn’t he telling

the other man to get lost? Dev had made his decision.

Hadn’t he?

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All of a sudden fear lurched within her stomach. Had Dev only been playing with her? Had he been using

her as a pleasant interlude before returning to a job with John Delaney?
Why wasn’t he kicking Delaney

out of the house?

“Come now, Dev, you know it’s time you stopped fooling around with that travel agency bit and with

attractive, young women like Miss Graham. It’s time you came back to work, back to what you do

best.”

Dev looked at him, his face totally unreadable. Tabitha waited in an agony of suspense. Was he really

considering going back to Delaney’s horrible department?

“No!” she burst out furiously. Dev swung his unreadable gaze to her tense face. “You’re not going with

him, Dev.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re a
travel
agent now, not a…a
secret
agent, remember?”

“Actually,” Delaney interrupted easily, “his travel agency work makes an excellent cover…”

“It’s not a cover!” Tabitha stormed, advancing on the older man with her hands curled violently at her

sides. “It’s his job! His career! Furthermore, he’s going to be a married man, soon. He can’t be running

around doing your dirty work for you. Not anymore!”

Delaney eyed her as if she was finally beginning to pose a mild threat. “Married?”

“That’s right. I’m marrying him, Mr. Delaney, and I will not allow him to go on risking his life in dark

alleys and mazes…”

“Mazes?” Delaney looked a little blank.

“Or anywhere else, for that matter! He’s going to open a nice little shop next to my bookstore and he’s

going to sell airline tickets and cruise ship tours and that’s all! He will be home every night, sitting right

here in front of my hearth wearing slippers and sipping sherry. He’s most definitely not going to be

running your stupid errands or risking his neck. Do I make myself very clear, Mr. Delaney?”

Delaney stared at her now as if she were some strange, new animal. Then he glanced at Dev. “Where

the hell did you find her?”

“I didn’t find her. She found me. She rescued me from an alley on St. Regis.”

“I found him and I’m going to keep him!” Tabitha blazed.

“Are you?” Delaney flicked another speculative glance at her, and then he pinned Dev with a cool,

probing glance. “She seems quite determined to rescue you again. This time from me.” There was a

significant pause and then the older man asked almost gently, “Do you really want to be rescued from

me, Dev?”

Tabitha, stricken, stared at Dev, too. There was not much she could do if Dev Colter didn’t want to be

rescued this time. Her heart raced anxiously as she held her breath. Her whole future hung in the balance.