“Burrows!”
“Excellent,” Jed said, grinning at the butler. “Could you stop by my place and get me some clothes?”
“I believe I could, sir.”
Furious with the two of them for teasing her, Rae jumped to her feet. “That is enough! If it makes you so damn happy, Jed, then consider yourself kidnapped.” She shook her finger at him. “But you damn well better be on that phone, really trying to find a new site for the complex. And you damn well better find one!”
She whirled on her heel and stalked out of the room.
After breakfast, Jed eventually found her in the music room. He assumed it was the music room, since a grand piano sat in regal majesty in one corner, a harp reposed in another, and gleaming white shelves held stacks of sheet music.
He stood in the doorway and watched her as she sat motionless on a chesterfield sofa and gazed out the French doors to the terrace. Her chin was thrust out in stubborness, and her eyes were wide and unfocused. Her slender body was relaxed, yet there was an inner tension about her. Lord, she was beautiful, he thought. Outwardly cool and elegant, but inside all fire that ignited a man until he burned out of control.
With a silent chuckle, he remembered his shock of the night before when he realized she was actually serious about kidnapping him. He still couldn’t quite believe that he had been shut up in a huge room full of stuffed game animals and one live spider in a glass aquarium. The only other pieces of furniture had been two sets of bunk beds. Burrows told him the game animals were the victims of Merriman’s hunting days and the bunks were for Rae’s nephews who occasionally stayed overnight. Jed grinned, thinking that thousands of boys would have traded their Rambo toys for a night in that room. Likewise, he wouldn’t trade a night in the trophy room for a month at the Warwick—unless, of course, Rae was with him.
Sobering, he wondered if Rae’s initial anger had cooled, or if it was still boiling. Maybe he shouldn’t have waited until after breakfast to go looking for her. At the time, though, it had seemed better to let her be alone for a while. She had to accept that he was staying put. A man would be a fool to walk away from such a beautiful and intriguing kidnapper.
She turned suddenly to face him. Immediately, he smiled and walked into the room. “Burrows
is leaving to get the car. Any last-minute instructions?”
“I can think of several,” she said in a dry tone. “None of them repeatable in mixed company.”
“I should be the one to be angry, Rae,” he said, taking a seat next to her on the sofa. He made no comment when she adjusted her body none too subtly away from his. Instead he added. “I was the one who was kidnapped, not you. And I’m going to stay kidnapped.”
She frowned at him. “You’re not behaving like a proper kidnap victim, Jed.”
“I must have skipped the etiquette chapter in the Kidnap Handbook,” he replied.
“No kidding. Well, since you insist on staying, you are now considered a guest.” She made a face. “You might as well be, after the breakfast you had. You may come and go as you please, and the sooner you please to go will suit me fine. I feel like I just let the enemy into the general’s tent.”
“Rae, you can’t change the game plan halfway through the first quarter,” Jed said, not sure he liked being thought of as a guest. As a kidnappee, there would be all sorts of possibilities to be negotiated. But as a guest, the rules for good manners were already laid out. The last thing he wanted to be with her was on his best behavior.
She gave him a sugary smile. “Jed, I am the kidnapper, and as such I am the one who decides how the victim will be treated. I firmly believe my victims should be given all the comforts of home, with as little intrusion on my part as possible. I’m sure you’ll find everything you could possibly want or need.” She rose to her feet. “Oh, and feel free to use the phone. For anything.”
He reached out and pulled her down onto his lap. He grinned as she squirmed to free herself from his tight embrace. “Keep that up, and I know the first thing I’m going to require.”
She froze, but there was an angry green fire in her eyes. “Why do I have the feeling you’re going to be as hard to get rid of as ‘Red Chief’?”
“Why do you keep trying to walk away in the middle of a discussion?” he asked in return. “The Rae I remember couldn’t stop talking. I’d be clipping hedges, and you’d be right beside me jabbering away about anything and everything.”
“Maybe I’m all talked out,” she said, arching an eyebrow.
“Maybe you’re lonely,” he countered, gazing around the room. Ten people could have lived in it, he thought, and never touched each other once. “Was that why you hung around so much whenever I was working here? You were lonely?”
“
I
was being friendly!” she exclaimed indignantly. “And believe me, Jed, you looked like you needed a friend.”
“More than likely,” he admitted. “I was one of those moody teenagers. You grew up on an estate like this one, didn’t you?”
She frowned at him. “I did a lot of growing up here, Jed.”
“So you did.” He wondered what it was like to grow up with such wealth and luxury. His parents had had a comfortable house in a development, where the homes came in only three styles and the streets were named after the fifty states and their capitals. True suburbia, and worlds away from her, he acknowledged. Or maybe not. Despite
their differing backgrounds, they’d both been lonely children.
“Could I get up now?” she asked, breaking into his musings.
He gazed into her eyes for a long moment. “No.”
His sudden kiss took her by surprise. His mouth was warm and coaxing, and Rae found herself responding to it just as she had the night before. His arms were around her, safe and comforting, and she forgot everything—the estate, her anger, his slick ways. Her lips parted at his tongue’s tender invasion, and a languid heat started deep inside her belly and spread outward along her veins. She wound her arms around his neck, plowing her hands through his thick hair. She moaned into his mouth as his palm cradled her breast, and his demanding fingers brought it to a hard aching peak. Clutching at him, she moaned again in supplication. The kiss turned white-hot, and she dimly realized that she wanted more and was terrified, all at the same time.
The want and fear fought each other for a brief instant, but before the outcome could be resolved Jed gently broke the kiss.
“I don’t think I want to get ransomed,” he murmured.
In spite of the panic she felt roiling inside, a giggle escaped her. Deep down, though, she knew she was in trouble. She shouldn’t be enjoying his company. Worse, she shouldn’t be so attracted to him. This time when she tried to get up, he let her go. She headed for temporary refuge by the piano. Somehow, she had to put even more space between them, and telling herself over and over
how his every move was designed to get her to sell her home didn’t seem to help. She needed something more.
A feeling of excitement mixed with dread washed over her, as she watched him rise from the sofa and come toward her. She told her feet to move, but a sensual anticipation kept her traitorous body rooted to the spot. No man had ever affected her like this, she thought wildly.
When he stopped in front of her, she finally found her voice. “I’d better find Burrows and get him to pick up a few things while he’s out.”
“Coward,” he said softly, as she slipped by him and hurried toward the door.
“With a big yellow stripe down my back,” she muttered to herself, her feet racing even faster across the Brussels carpet. In the safety of the hallway she decided that after she found Burrows, she’d call the dogs inside. She would need all the help she could get to stay away from Jed. Then she’d call her brother and borrow her nephews for the weekend.
It was definitely time for a meeting of the Barkeley Club.
“You heard right, Ross. I’m staying at the Barkeley estate.”
Jed chuckled into the telephone as his acquisitions manager excitedly shot questions at him. He finally broke through the rapid-fire quizzing. “You’d never believe me if I told you, so I won’t bother. Listen, Ross, I’m sorry to be calling on a Saturday, but there are a few things I want you to do for me before Monday.”
“Go ahead.”
Jed knew the man was still brimming with curiosity, and he appreciated that Ross didn’t pursue the subject. Leaning back against the kitchen counter, he said, “I need copies sent here of all the Delaware River property preliminary reports. Also the cost effectiveness grids Janine worked up for them.”
“Okay, but you know we’ve gone over and over them this past week.”
“I know. Send them anyway, and send the phone numbers of the realtors we deal with in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. I want everybody aggressively looking for a new site, Ross. Make sure they understand that. I don’t know when I’ll be back at the office, but if you need to reach me call me here.” As he gave Ross Rae’s telephone number, he heard a rhythmic ticking sound behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Rae’s monstrous dogs trotting into the kitchen, their nails clicking against the tile floor. “I’ve got to go, Ross. Oh, and tell Henry I’m checking out a site in … Harrisburg.”
“Harrisburg? Henry won’t like it.”
Jed grinned as the animals sat down several feet away from him and stared. “How I wish Henry were here right now.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Talk to you later, Ross.” He hung up the phone and turned to face the Great Danes. He smiled. “Hi, guys.”
The dogs just stared. They were going to be a problem, Jed decided, if they didn’t stop their guardian angel act. Somehow he would have to make friends with them. Somehow …
Spying a possible solution, he took two steps to his left. The Danes didn’t move. Taking a deep breath, he casually sauntered to the refrigerator and said, “I bet you two are hungry.”
Opening the refrigerator door, he searched until he found a small brick of cheese. He pulled it out and removed the plastic covering. Holding it up, he grinned at the animals whose eyes now ignored him for the food. “How about some cheese?
Nice delicious cheese for …” He racked his brain to remember the dogs’ names. They were named something biblical … Adam and Eve? He chuckled, finally remembering. “Samson and Delilah.”
Both dogs perked up their ears, but the one on the right craned its neck forward, its black nose testing the air. Jed tossed the cheese to it. The dog caught the brick in midflight and wolfed it down, then looked up in anticipation.
“There’s more where that came from,” he assured the animal, then leaned sideways to check its sex. “Samson. More cheese, Samson? It beats the hell out of kibble.”
The dog’s tail wagged briskly in answer. Jed squatted in front of the open refrigerator and began rummaging around for more goodies. Suddenly he felt hot breath on his neck. He froze. Turning his head, he found Samson looming over his shoulder. The animal’s cavernous jaws were open and a large pink tongue licked at gleaming teeth. Fortunately, the dog’s eyes were trained on the brimming contents of the refrigerator.
“You’re some guard dog,” Jed murmured, pulling out a long package that he assumed contained deli meat. He opened it and smiled when he saw a hefty quantity of sliced corned beef. He proceeded to feed Samson two slices at a time, being careful to keep his fingers out of harm’s way. Once the meat was gone, he decided it was now or never and held out his hand palm down. Wagging his tail happily, Samson licked Jed’s hand. “You’re a pussycat at heart, aren’t you, pal?”
Finding a huge hambone in the back of the fridge, he gave it to Samson to gnaw on. He picked
up another wedge of cheese and, rising to his feet, turned his attention to Delilah. The female still hadn’t moved. He tossed her the cheese. It landed on the floor at her feet, and though she glanced down at it, she never touched it.
Jed sighed. “You are as stubborn as your beautiful owner.”
Delilah growled in agreement.
He tried some leftover duck, more deli meats, even a hunk of lamb roast smothered in mint sauce. The dog never budged. Jed acknowledged that there was no sense risking his hand when she wouldn’t even take his bribes from a distance. Samson, enticed by the varying smells, left his bone and wandered over. Delilah immediately snapped at her companion in warning and covered her growing pile of doggie delights with one paw. Jed cringed at the messy sight.
“What the hell is this?” Rae demanded, stepping into the kitchen.
“A get-acquainted party,” Jed quipped, inwardly wincing at being caught trying to subvert her dogs.
Delilah yipped like a puppy, drawing her owner’s attention. Jed wasn’t sure whether the dog was asking permission to eat or ratting on him and Samson.
“Good Lord! That’s expensive deli meat!” Rae exclaimed, running her hands through her hair. “And half a lamb roast! And the Stilton! Burrows is going to have a fit!” She turned to him, anger glowing hotly in her eyes. “Jed! How could you?”
“They looked hungry, Rae,” he said innocently. Samson trotted back to him and nudged his hand,
obviously hoping for more food. He absently caressed the dog’s head.
Rae gaped in astonishment at them. “Samson, you traitor! Corner!”
At her command, the dog slunk away, his tail between his legs. Then, he slunk back and picked up the bone, before continuing to the nearest corner. Settling on his haunches, his back to his audience, the dog dropped the bone on the floor and stared at it. A wave of guilt overtook Jed at the dog’s dejected look. He joined Samson in the corner, patted his massive head again in commiseration, then faced the wall too.
There was silence in the room. Finally, Jed heard low obviously reluctant chuckles behind him. He grinned.
“What are you doing?” Rae finally asked.
“I been bad, too, Ma,” he drawled over his shoulder.
She erupted into laughter. Jed and his fellow convict turned together to watch her amusement. Samson, evidently taking it as a sign that he was off the hook, lay down on the floor and began working on the bone.
“Don’t make me laugh, Jed,” she said, as her mirth subsided.
“Why?” he asked, thrusting his hands into his pockets and leaning against the wall.