Authors: Jayne Castle
"I call you little, I suppose, because you're so much smaller than I am. Rest assured I find you perfectly sized,'' Adam gave her a smile. "Now that you've finally found the courage to look at me let's continue our, uh, discussion on your fear of being taken against your will."
Janna shivered but remained staring at him, waiting for his justification. Did he think she would really believe that he had no violent intentions?
"I would never force myself on you, Janna," he promised quietly, the piercing gaze which seemed able to see inside her, holding her eyes. "Do you believe me?"
A second earlier J anna had told herself she would never believe his justification for an act of violence. Now he denied any such intention. Confused, she blinked long lashes and moistened her lips, wondering what he was trying to say.
"You swear you won't...won't..." It was a hard, ugly word, Janna discovered.
"I give you my word of honor I would never rape you," he said deliberately. "Do you believe me?" he asked again. For some reason he seemed to think it was important that she trusted him on this issue, Janna realized. She met the grey-green eyes for a long second and then nodded slowly. In spite of all the warnings to herself, she knew she did trust Adam Halleck. He had given his word and he would abide by it. How she could suddenly be so certain of that, she didn't know, but there were no doubts in her mind. Adam had been rough with her, outspoken, even threatening. But he had never lied to her as she had once lied to him.
"Good." Adam moved in the seat and Janna shrank back a fraction. But he was only reaching into the back seat for a brown paper bag. "Would you like a peanut butter sandwich?" he invited, removing a plastic-wrapped object. "It's the chunky kind," he added encouragingly, handing it to her.
"The chunky kind?" Janna felt an unexpected wave of humor and relief begin to wash through her, replacing the anger and fear of the past hour. How could this man go from a serious discussion on rape to a chat about peanut butter? She accepted the sandwich carefully, unwrapping it slowly while he helped himself to one. "I didn't know I had any peanut butter in the apartment," she commented, eyeing the large sandwich before taking a bite.
"You didn't," he informed her, half of his snack disappearing into his mouth in one chomp. "I had to walk down to the store on the corner."
"Oh, my God!" It was more than Janna's sense of humor could stand. Helplessly, she began to laugh, trying to get the sticky peanut butter down without choking at the same time.
"What's so funny?" Adam retorted, eyes alight with laughter as he chewed enthusiastically.
"The thought of you calmly walking into a store for peanut butter while you're plotting the most embarrassing, frightening evening of my life!" she told him roundly. "How could you even be bothered with details like that?"
"I don't know," he replied, sounding interested in the discussion. "I've always been like that, I think."
"You've done a lot of kidnapping in your time?" she asked archly, beginning to enjoy the sandwich. It had been several hours since dinner.
"No, you're my first experiment with abduction," he admitted. "But I've always been aware of details even while I was working out the big picture."
"You're fortunate," she told him, surprising herself with the remark. "I'm the sort of person who makes quick decisions and then rushes through to the conclusion without spending much time on the groundwork."
"It's called thinking intuitively instead of logically," he said, taking another bite which demolished the sandwich.
"It is?" Janna glanced at him in astonishment. She might have expected such a comment from a student in philosophy but not from a construction worker!
He grinned. "Lack of a formal degree doesn't mean I don't know how to read," he mocked gently.
Janna blushed. It occurred to her that she had made a great many unwarranted remarks about Adam's lack of a college education. The differences in their backgrounds had been one of the few defenses she had been able to use against him, she realized. But there had never been any doubt about Adam's basic intelligence and she knew, if she were honest with herself, that she wouldn't be able to get much more mileage out of this particular bulwark.
"There's nothing wrong with knowing a fact or making a decision intuitively. That's the manner in which I recognized you belong to me when I first saw you in the restaurant."
Janna flinched at the coolly stated reason why she had found herself trapped in the Continental.
"But after I realized you weren't going to spring to the same intuitive conclusion, I got busy with details. In the end it's the details which make important plans work, you see." Adam mashed the paper bag into a small wad and stuffed it into the car's trash container. "We'd better get started." he added. "There's a long way to go yet." He turned toward the wheel and then paused, hand on the ignition, and looked at her again.
"Come here and kiss me, Janna," he ordered softly. "But...but I've got chunky peanut butter between my teeth," she squeaked, giving the first excuse which came to mind. At his command all of the relief she had been feeling disappeared. They were back to square one.
"So have I," he smiled, but the glitter in his eye wasn't all that humorous. Adam was letting the steel show through the velvet again. When she still hesitated, fixing him with a wide-eyed glare, he went on,' 'Just because I've promised not to rape you, little queen, don't get the idea that I won't make you obey me when it suits me!"
Janna watched him carefully, trying to assess his mood. By removing the threat of rape he had removed the primary weapon he held over her. So why was she seriously considering obeying him? What was it about this man that made her inner self want to stop fighting him and acknowledge his mastery? No other man had ever had such an effect on her! In spite of herself, Janna remembered the undeniable excitement she experienced on the occasions when Adam had held her. What was the matter with her? Why couldn't she meet his domineering ways with cool refusal? What made her confrontations with him so emotional? Even now as he calmly ordered her to kiss him, she couldn't find the resolve to defy Adam. Telling herself that obeying was the simplest means of avoiding a showdown, Janna slid hesitantly across the expanse of leather seat until she was close to him. He said nothing as she put one hand on his shoulder to brace herself and then, very quickly, touched his lips with hers. An instant later she was back on her side of the car, waiting for his reaction.
"Next time," Adam announced as if making an important decision, "I think I'll experiment with raspberry instead of strawberry jam in the sandwiches! Perhaps a different flavor would encourage you to prolong the kiss!"
Janna stared at him for a fraction of a second and then a smile she was totally unable to restrain lifted the corner of her lips. She turned away immediately so that he wouldn't see it, but she had a hunch she'd been too late. Damn the man! How could he threaten her one minute and make her laugh the next?
To her utter surprise, Janna drifted off to sleep during the last hour of the journey and when she finally opened her eyes it was to find Adam slowing the big car in preparation for turning off the winding coast highway.
"Where are we?" she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her drowsy lids with the back of one hand in an unconsciously childish gesture. It was too dark to see much but there certainly was no sign of Carmel or any other town.
"Almost home," Adam told her, concentrating on the narrow road. "Have a good nap?"
"I thought you said your house was near Carmel?" Janna protested, realizing she had been banking rather heavily on the information. She'd formed no brilliant plan of escape yet, but knowing they would be in or near a town had been important because the location was bound to provide more opportunities.
"Carmel is several miles down the road," he explained quietly, not looking at her strained expression which she was hoping the darkness would hide.
"How many miles?" Janna demanded.
"An easy drive," he retorted, "but not within walking distance!"
Janna bit her lip and sank deeply into the seat, watching the windswept landscape flicker in and out of the car's headlights and silently cursing herself for falling asleep. If she'd remained alert she'd have a better idea of exactly where she was.
At last Adam pulled into the drive of a one-story house which sat alone, facing the sea. Janna could hear the sound of crashing waves in the distance as she climbed slowly out of the car and stood waiting, her hands folded under her arms against the chill. It was too dark to see much yet, but in the pale moonlight she had the impression that the lines of the house were vaguely Spanish in style.
"Welcome to your home for the next few days, Janna," Adam murmured, coming up behind her with two suitcases he had removed from the trunk. "Do you like it?" he added when she failed to respond. He started toward the arched doorway.
"It's one of the more attractive prisons around," she admitted flippantly, trailing slowly behind him. That stopped him. Setting down the suitcases, he turned, one foot on the tiled entranceway and faced her.
"It will only be as much a prison as you choose to make it," he told her, sounding distant, almost grim. Then he fished a key out of his pocket and opened the large, carved, wooden door and flipped on a light. A beautiful foyer in Spanish tiles was revealed and beyond Janna had a glimpse of the classic cream walls and heavy wooden beams typical of the architectural style. Not liking the new, sober expression on his hard features, she prudently obeyed his silent gesture to enter.
"The living room is that way," Adam said, nodding toward the front of the house where Janna could see huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dark ocean. "And your bedroom is this way," he added, striding off down a wide hall. Janna breathed a small sigh of relief at the way he had indicated the bedroom would be hers, alone. True, he had promised not to force himself on her but she wasn't certain how much privacy he intended to allow. Head high as her spirits lifted, she walked regally into the room he explained was hers. And halted. Adam switched on a light and it warmed the beautiful room, exposing the walls of glass, the wooden floors with their textured rugs and a huge, carved bed.
"I'm glad you like it," Adam said drily, carrying her suitcase into the room and Janna, who hadn't said a word, realized her expression must have spoken for her. There was no point in denying her reaction, she decided with an inner shrug.
"It's a lovely room as you know full well," she agreed, walking over to the windows to view the ocean. There appeared to be a rocky cliff leading down to it because from this vantage point she couldn't see any gleam of sand.
"I thought so when I'd finished it." "You built this place?" Janna swung around in surprise and then told herself that had been a stupid thing to say. Of course he'd probably built it. He was in construction, wasn't he?
"Yes." Adam walked over to stand beside her at the window, not touching her stiff, proud figure. "Tomorrow we'll go down to the beach and I'll show you around the area. "We have a great deal of privacy here..."
"In other words, I'm miles from help?" Janna concluded in a cutting tone meant to hide her nervousness.
For an instant Adam was very still and then he moved, closing one hard hand around each of her shoulders and hauling her closer to face him. The metallic gleam in the now-grey eyes told her all she needed to know.
"Let's get a few things straight," Adam began deliberately, his fingers sinking into the tender flesh of her shoulders beneath the red jersey dress. "I will treat you like a guest as long as you choose to behave like one. To assist you in deciding how comfortable you wish to be during the next few days let me point out one or two factors you should consider." Janna didn't care for the dry, almost cruel way he spoke.
"Number one, you should know, I suppose, just how bad I could make the situation if you give me cause. I could lock you in this room and only allow you out when I'm around to accompany you. Think about what that would mean, before you tell me how you want to be treated."
Janna winced at the thought of having her activities so
curtailed.
"Your alternative, number two, is a reasonable degree of freedom in exchange for your promise not to wander off in search of assistance. And before you leap into a rash lie, promising to obey, let me add that if you did accept alternative number two and then break your word there would be hell to pay. I've already demonstrated that I will come after you if you run off and drag you home over my shoulder. I'm hoping you have enough common sense to find one example sufficient. If I were put to the trouble of doing it again, I would not be as gentle with you as I was this time!"
Janna met his eyes and knew with every quivering bone in her body that he meant what he said. She knew that no matter how far she ran or how well she hid, he would find her. Her punishment next time would be far worse. She could see it in his face; feel it in his hands. No, there was no doubting his intentions, so why did she find herself responding to the brief flash of emotion in the depths of his eyes rather than to his threats? Because when she finally managed an answer, it was that look as much as anything else which drew her wary, nervous agreement.
"I won't run away if you'll promise not to lock me in here, Adam," Janna whispered. "At least," she added with a touch of her old scorn. "Not tonight!"