"Do I?"
Devina appeared to consider his response. An unexpected smile suddenly curving her lips, she shook her head. "Yes, you do… so why do I like you so much?"
"Because I'm so incredibly likable."
"Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to say that."
Laughter beginning to well inside him once more, Charles reached out to give Devina a spontaneous hug. "You are a dear girl, Devina."
Devina looked startled. "No one has ever said that to me before, Charles."
"No?" Charles was genuinely surprised. "Perhaps that's why you like me, because I have an unusual appreciation for… for"
"For unusual people? Charles, are you calling me 'odd'?"
"Devina, dear…" Leaning down, Charles brushed her lips with a kiss. "I'll pick you up on Saturday. And I must honestly say, I avidly anticipate the evening."
Devina found herself nodding, her smile genuine. "I do, too, Charles. "
Turning to the door, Devina pushed it open and stepped into the well-lit foyer. Giving Charles a warm parting glance, she closed the door behind her and turned toward Molly with a strong feeling of well-being. She suspected she could become fond of Charles Carter. And perhaps Charles was right. Perhaps she should be more generous, more charitable in her treatment of others. She hesitated a moment. She supposed that included Father.
Realizing Molly was still hovering behind her, she turned abruptly. "Molly, is Father in the den? I should like to let him know I've arrived home safely."
"Your father, ma'am? He's gone out. He left right after you, and I don't know when he'll be back."
Annoyance, flashed across Devina's mind. So much for her father's deep concern, and so much for her own generosity and charity. Her head high, Devina turned to the staircase.
Harvey Dale strove to catch his breath. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest, and his skin was covered with a thin veil of perspiration. He attempted to raise himself from the warm body beneath him, but his arms were too weak to support him. Deciding to give himself another few minutes to regain his strength, he turned his cheek, resting it lightly against the satin black of Lily's hair.
Concentrate… Concentrate… Breathe deeply
, Harvey's mind coached him, guiding his actions. His breathing was beginning to return to normal when a thought hit him for the first time: Damn! She had done it again. Lily had all but brought him to his knees.
His strength fast returning, Harvey lifted his chest from Lily's small breasts. Holding himself there, he perused the exotic features of the woman who lay so still beneath him.
She showed none of the signs of the passion he had felt rack her body only minutes before. She was composed, quiet. True, the flawless gold of her complexion bore a light flush, and her lips were parted to allow easier breathing, but she was perfectly composed, showing not a shadow of his own agitation.
Closed, Lily's eyes were dark slashes against the creamy perfection of her skin, and as he watched, the heavily fringed eyelids parted. Deep and glittering black, her eyes were unfathomable as her gaze moved over his face. A strange, unrecognized emotion stirred inside him, conflicting with his anger. He paused to consider it.
Tenderness… it was tenderness. It occurred to him that he had taken a beautiful, inexperienced virgin and molded her into a totally exciting, captivating woman. The child that Lily had been when he had first taken her to his bed was gone. The Lily he now held in his arms had used his tutelage well and had progressed far beyond his expectations. For all of her submissiveness and her pleasing ways, Lily had become a truly formidable woman.
How long had Lily been his own private courtesan? He was uncertain. Was it a year? He suspected it was even longer; perhaps his mind refused to acknowledge the extended term of their liaison. In truth, he had not expected his interest in her to exceed a few visits. Instead, he had become a steady visitor to the room at the top of the winding staircase, and his bemusement was complete.
Harvey felt a flicker of annoyance cross his mind. Unfortunately, Lily was beginning to forget her place. She was attempting to step up from her subservience to stand on his level. His beautiful Oriental flower was beginning to develop hidden thorns, but he had no intention of allowing her to turn the tables on him. His own weakened condition at that moment proved he had allowed her to push him past his limits again. Once more she had demonstrated her power over him, and she had done it in a most intimate way.
Strange, how conflicting were his feelings for Lily. She was an enigma, hating him and satisfying his intimate desires so completely. He supposed his fascination for her was of a similar bent. He despised her for the control she had gained over him, but he could no more walk away from her than he could give up the air he breathed.
Separating himself from her at last, Harvey rolled away from Lily's slenderness. He drew himself to a sitting position, aware that her eyes followed his movements. He rose from the bed and stood towering over her for long moments. Lily's eyes roamed his body, and Harvey allowed her heady perusal. He was proud of his physical attributes, aware of his seasoned male beauty.
As he watched, Lily also rose from the bed and drew herself to her feet. She raised her hands to run her long, graceful fingers through the silver-gray of his hair, to touch his face, to tantalize his lips. She slid her soft palms down his neck, across the full width of his shoulders. She moved her fingers over his muscular chest and through the sparse gray mat that covered it. With a single finger she traced the dwindling line of silver that trailed down his chest to the sparse curls at his pelvis. She took his manhood in her hand, fondled it, cooing low in her throat as she held his eyes. His will was fast slipping away, and Harvey was suddenly conscious of his peril. He need make an effort now to gain control, or it would be lost to him forever.
Curling a hand around Lily's narrow wrist, Harvey stayed her erotic caress. He smiled, hoping its forced quality did not show as he whispered smoothly, ''You've told me you'll give me anything I desire, haven't you, Lily?"
Lily's smile was full, but Harvey saw the suspicion behind its beauty. "Yes, Mr. Dale, I have always met your desires, have I not?"
"Yes, you have. And you have, at times, exceeded them. But now I have a different request to make of you."
The wariness in Lily's gaze did not match the serenity of her tone. "You have but to ask what you wish of me."
"I want you to talk to me."
"To talk, Mr. Dale?"
"Yes, to tell me how it feels, how it feels to make love to a man you despise."
Lily feigned denial. "But I do not despise you, Mr. Dale. I experience joy in your passion."
Harvey's laugh was harsh, grating. His expression was suddenly mocking. "Joy! Lily, please. Don't take me for a fool. I know your feelings for me. I've known since the first time you met me naked and quaking with fear."
Lily's beautiful smile became stiff. "If that is so, why do you ask a question for which you already have the answer?"
"Because I want to hear you speak the words, Lily. You said you would give me anything I want. Well, I want this. I want you to tell me how you feel when I come at my leisure to your room, when I summon you to service my body."
Lily's eyes narrowed revealingly, and Harvey felt a surge of adrenaline move through him. He was reaching her, getting Past her reserve, her calm. He was gaining the advantage, and he pressed her further.
"How does it feel when you realize it was I and I alone who took you from the pedestal on which your mother had raised you out of the muck in which the rest of your people live? Are you filled with bitterness when you realize that the glorious future she had in store for you must be held in abeyance while I use you as my personal whore?"
A dark light flickered in Lily's eyes, and Harvey felt victory within his grasp.
"And how does it feel when you must turn away the man you hoped to love, turn him away and come to me, a man who considers your people beneath him, no more than dirt under his feet?"
Lily was shaking, and Harvey paused for the last supreme thrust. "How does it make you feel to know that I use your body at my convenience, allow you to pleasure me, when I have no more regard for you as a person than I have for a dog following at my heels, waiting for whatever crumbs I can spare? How does it feel, Lily? Tell me."
Lily hesitated, and he demanded again,
"Tell me!"
As Harvey's demand filled the silence of the room, Lily's clear skin colored harshly and she attempted to pull her hand from his grasp. He held it fast, a sneer on his lips. His voice was a low warning hiss, "Tell me, Lily!"
"Yes! Yes, I will tell you how I feel!" Her high, clear voice cutting the air like cracks of a silken whip, Lily held Harvey's gaze steadily with her own.
"I hate you, Harvey Dale. I hate you with all the strength in my body. I hate you for the power you hold over my mother, and I hate you for the degrading way you use me. I have hated you since the moment I saw you, and I will despise you, even in memory, until I cease to exist."
Victory pumped hot and clear through Harvey's veins. One more step and it would be as it should be. He would be in total control.
Still smiling, Harvey looked down into Lily's hate-filled countenance, his mind marveling that she was beautiful, magnificently so, even now. "So you hate me, Lily…"
"With all the strength within me."
"That is unfortunate, isn't it?"
Harvey released Lily's wrist, then stayed her attempt to snatch her hand away from his body with a softly voiced admonition: "No… no, Lily. I want you to please me."
Rage flashed in Lily's eyes, and she stepped away from him. "No!"
"You don't mean that, Lily. You know what your mother will suffer if I turn certain papers over to the authorities."
"No!"
"You
will
please me, Lily, and will do so
now
. Come, I'll make it easy for you."
Taking Lily's arms, Harvey placed them around his neck. He pulled her slenderness against him, hiding the jolt of hunger that moved through him as her sweet flesh touched his.
"Kiss me, Lily. Remember the repercussions if you refuse. Remember you are a virgin no longer, and you can never return to what you were. Remember you are what I have made of you, and you belong to me for as long as I choose to hold you as my whore. Remember all I have taught you. And then remember the pleasure you feel when I bring you to climax… the pleasure you deny so heatedly in your mind but with which your body betrays you. Remember, and give yourself to me. I'm waiting."
The dark eyes so close to his glowed with suppressed emotions as he concluded speaking. He saw fury in their obsidian depths, passion, hatred. And then he saw a brief flicker as Lily began to regain control. He felt the resurgence of her will, its power returning to her body. She saw its reassertion transform her as she slowly raised her mouth toward his. He felt his passion soar at the wonder of this woman, her strength, her determination.
Lily's arms tightened around his neck as her lips covered his. Her tongue stabbed into his mouth and he gasped. Unable to withstand the force of his own emotions any longer, he snapped his arms around her, binding her to him with blinding passion.
She was his again; his matchless Oriental flower, his Lily.
Still smiling, Charles directed a last backward glance toward the door that had just closed behind Devina Dale, then started toward the front steps. His feet touched the street, and he glanced up toward the flickering of the gas streetlamp. He paused, lifting his gaze to a clear night sky filled with stars. His smile slowly dropped away as a vague restlessness began to assail him.
Heading toward Allen Street, he reviewed the long and eventful evening in his mind. His smile returned. Devina Dale was not the average woman. She was as far removed from the average woman of this town as cotton was from satin. Devina Dale was definitely satin, satin and silver.
He was uncertain why Devina called those two symbols of luxury so clearly to his mind. Perhaps it was her attitude, her way of confronting the world. He knew it reflected the manner in which she had been raised, to believe she had far more to offer than the average woman. She was possessed of a keen intelligence, well educated, well traveled, and certainly more beautiful than the average woman. She was completely at ease in any social situation. This evening had been proof of that. She had been as smooth as satin in manner, as clear and flawless in beauty.
As for Devina's reminding him of silver… well, he supposed it was because she glittered in every aspect of her personal being; her abundant silver-blond hair, her pale aquamarine eyes, her ruby lips, her opalescent, almost translucent skin. She was a living, breathing symbol of all wealth had to offer, just as silver was a glowing, ever alluring symbol of wealth and success to the men of this wild country. She was as valuable as their silver, and occasionally as cold.
No longer smiling, Charles increased his pace as he reached Allen Street. He turned without conscious thought, the hollow clicking of his boots against the boardwalk resounding in his mind as he continued onward.