The Forever Dream (10 page)

"Laurentians. That's Canadian, isn't it?" She glared at him over her shoulder. "You mean I'm not even in the United States any longer?"

"You're only a few hours in flight time from New York," he said soothingly. "The senator decided the chateau's seclusion would be safer for Ryker. Not many people are even aware that he owns it. He inherited the property from his great-grandmother, who was French-Canadian, and he thinks it's more politically advantageous to stress his American antecedents."

"It may not be as safe as he thinks," she said grimly. "And you don't have to worry about my being cold, Mr. McCord. At the moment I'm generating enough heat to

melt the snow off those damned mountain peaks out there." This time the door's closing was definitely a slam.

By the time she'd crossed the courtyard and the extensive formal gardens, Tania was even more enraged. McCord should have furnished her with a road map. She'd lost her way twice in the chateau's winding corridors before she'd found her way down that sweeping staircase that would have done justice to a czarist palace. At least the paths in the garden had been laid in a more orderly pattern.

The birch trees were bare of foliage, their white branches lifting with stark asceticism against the azure of the sky. The little grove appeared to be on the very edge of the mountain itself, and offered a spectacular view of the valley below. There was a tranquil beauty here that would have been soothing under other circumstances. Now she scarcely noticed her surroundings, her attention focused on the slender, graceful figure of the man who was seated on the ground, leaning against the trunk of a birch tree.

He didn't see her, his head turned toward the valley below. The preoccupied expression on his brutally powerful face gave her a little jolt of shock. She hadn't allowed herself to think of Ryker's actual physical presence since the moment she'd regained consciousness. Now, like a double exposure, she had a brief searing memory of Ryker's expression as it had been only a short time ago, his eyes glazed and hot, his face heavy with sensuality, his naked muscular body hard with desire. Superimposed against that vision was the Jared Ryker before her now, his expression almost as coolly ascetic as his surroundings. Faded jeans molded the strong line of his thighs as he sat with his knees drawn up, his arms linked loosely around them. A dark blue flight jacket that was zipped halfway revealed the cream-colored sweatshirt beneath.

Warm color flooded her cheeks as she had a sudden memory of him pulling that sweatshirt over his head and throwing it carelessly aside. It was possible he felt the emotional turbulence that thought was generating, for suddenly stiffened as if she had spoken, his crystal-gray gaze flicking warily to where she was standing. "Hello," he murmured. There was no surprise in his face. "I thought you'd be here a long time ago. Kevin must have been more eloquent than I'd thought possible to keep you from venting your righteous rage on me before this. Come and sit down."

His manner was as calm as if he were inviting a chance acquaintance out for a sociable drink! The swift indignation that surged through her immediately dispersed the odd shakiness that had afflicted her at the sight of him. She strode swiftly to stand before him. "It would take more than McCords 'eloquence' to do that," she said, her voice trembling with anger. "How can you sit there so calmly after what you've done to me? Don't you have the least notion of right and wrong?"

His eyes were regarding her gravely. "I'm sure Kevin made it plain to you that I had no prior knowledge that you were being brought here. It was a complete surprise to me to find you in that bed this morning."

"But it didn't stop you from taking advantage of the situation," she said hotly. She bit her lip vexedly as she saw his mouth curve in an amused smile. She hadn't meant to mention those blindingly sensual hours she had spent in his arms. She'd wanted to confine their conversation to a straight demand for her immediate release. Yet she hadn't been in the man's presence for two minutes before her unruly tongue had placed them both on exactly the terms of intimacy she'd wished to avoid.

"I didn't take advantage of you, little Piper," he drawled. "As Betz would say, I did what was necessary.

And I hope to God I never have to do anything that painful again. I must have walked ten miles after I left you, just to forget the taste of your breasts and the way you felt cuddled against me."

"Necessary?" She felt her cheeks burn with shock at the casualness with which he referred to those intimacies. "I'm afraid I can't agree with you. I don't think many people would regard taking sexual license with an unwilling woman as necessary."

"Sit down." He reached up, grasped her hand, and pulled her to her knees beside him. "That's better. All I could see from that angle was the pert little thrust of your breasts beneath your oversized sweater. I assume the sweater was meant to discourage my lust? I'm still in no condition to withstand any provocation, intentional or otherwise." His glance lingered on her breasts before returning to her face. "The whole point is that you weren't unwilling, sweet. That was what made the whole episode so damnable." His expression became grim. "That idiot Betz had you injected with paradynoline."

"Paradynoline?"

"A drug whose side effects are like an aphrodisiac," he supplied tersely. "Betz wanted to make sure you kept me happy and eminently satisfied while he was away from the chateau."

To her amazement her first reaction to this disclosure wasn't anger, but relief. She hadn't wanted to admit even to herself that the needs of her body could turn her into the voluptuary whom she remembered with uncomfortable clarity. The knowledge of her physical dependence on Ryker during those hours chafed unbearably at her sense of independence. It was much easier to accept the fact it had been a chemical, rather than the man himself, that was responsible for that sensual enslavement. It even served to lessen her anger toward him.

"Charming," she said caustically. "Is that his usual method of assuring you of your mistresses' compliance?"

"No, he usually finds money to be the most potent aphrodisiac. I understand he tried that first with you." She nodded. "I thought you were some rich, perverted old recluse." She tossed her head. "Two out of four isn't bad."

"Actually, you did better than that," he drawled. "Though not in the same class as Corbett, I'm considered moderately wealthy." There was a glint in the icy gray of his eyes that might have been a twinkle. "As for be other designations, many scientists have a tendency to be recluses, and I certainly can't deny I've had any number of lewd thoughts since that night I saw you dance The Piper." "I've been told that my performance arouses a number of interesting reactions, but I never thought it would inspire a kidnapping," she said lightly. Suddenly she realized she was actually indulging in a form of playful verbal sparring with the man who had, if not actually kidnapped her, certainly been the catalyst! She belligerently squared her shoulders. "Since you claim that all of this was done against your wishes, perhaps you'll tell me how you're going to make amends. According to your 'eloquent' friend, McCord, you're the one who has everyone bowing and scraping at your every command. Why don't you just tell them to let me go back to New York?"

"I can't do that. Even if I succeeded in convincing Corbett that security could still be maintained if we let you go, it just might be more dangerous for you. At least I can keep an eye on you here." He shrugged. "No security system is fail-safe. If there were a leak, there are certain parties who might decide it would be very advantageous to have a lever in the form of a woman I'd displayed an interest in." His lips tightened grimly.

"There's no way I'm going to let that happen to you, Tania." For a moment there was a glint of ruthlessness so savage in his eyes that it caused a little shiver to run through her. The next moment it was gone, replaced by quick concern. He straightened, his hand going to the zipper of his jacket. "You're cold," he said, frowning. "Why the hell didn't McCord see that you were properly dressed before he let you go?" He was slipping out of the jacket. Ignoring her protests, he draped it over her shoulders and thrust her arms into the sleeves. There was a curious tenderness in the little smile that touched his lips as he zipped it to her chin and carefully turned up the collar. "We wouldn't want you to risk getting sick, would we? Kidnapping is a serious enough crime. Causing you to come down with a cold in the head would be completely unforgivable."

"Completely," she agreed softly, her gaze fixed in compulsive fascination on Ryker's face. Why was that face so compelling? she wondered absently. It wasn't so much the bold prominence of the bone structure, but the vitality that pierced the guarded wariness of his expression. She shook her head to clear it and edged away from him. "You're absolutely refusing to release me, then?"

"I told you why I couldn't do that," he said. He paused. "But even if your safety weren't in question, I probably wouldn't let you go now."

"But you said—"

"I said a lot of things that were coolly logical," he interrupted, a trace of weary impatience shadowing his face. "What I didn't say was that, while Betz may have jumped the gun, it probably would have come down to this anyway. It was only a matter of time before I came for you." His gaze was steady on her bewildered face. "For once, Betz had the perception to read me correctly. I am obsessed by you."

Tania inhaled sharply. A wave of heat coupled with a liquid languor—that sensation she'd known only a few hours before—surged through her. No, it had been the drug, she thought frantically, it had been that para— something or other. She would not let herself be dominated sexually by Jared Ryker. "You want to go to bed with me?" she asked, keeping her voice steady.

Ryker's lips quirked with amusement. "Actually, that particular euphemism isn't quite explicit enough in this case. I've already been to bed with you." His voice became velvet-soft. "I want to be inside you. I want to hear you gasp with pleasure every time I thrust in and out. I want to feel you tighten around me and hold me as if you never want to let me go."

Tania could feel her nipples harden beneath the wool sweater as she listened. Her mouth was dry, and she moistened her lips nervously. "I think you're being more than explicit enough," she said, and to her annoyance there was a thread of shakiness in her voice. "I think I get the picture."

"No, I don't believe you do," he said. "That's only the physical aspect. If that was all there was, I might have given in to temptation this morning and taken everything I wanted from you." His slender finger reached out to touch one winged brow with great delicacy. "This isn't just a yen, little Piper. This is a full-fledged obsession."