Authors: Cheryl Gorman
Devlin
inhaled a deep breath and tapped on the door. The footsteps ceased. “Abby?”
He
heard her walk to the door. She pulled it open a crack and looked out at him.
Her eyes appeared tired, her mouth soft. A long pink nightgown hung loosely
about her body. His fingers itched to touch her. “Yes?” Her gentle voice made
him want to hold her.
He
felt like a fool. “I saw your light. Everything okay?”
She
rubbed a hand over her hair. When she raised her arm, the gown stretched over
her breasts, revealing the outline of her nipples to his gaze. The breath
caught in his lungs. “I’m fine.” She sighed. “The storm has me a bit restless.”
Abby
nervously fingered a button on the front of her nightgown. Briefly, she lowered
her gaze to the floor, then back up again to his face. “I’m really sorry about
being in your office. I’m just so worried about Miranda. I felt I had
to --”
Lightning
flashed at the window, followed by the crash of thunder. “It’s all right. I
understand.” His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
Go ahead and ask.
“Want
some company?”
She
raked her upper teeth over her lower lip, then soothed it with her tongue. Heat
bloomed in his belly. “Okay.”
Abby
opened the door for him to enter. As he stepped through, her feminine scent
enveloped him, and he inhaled deeply. Almost instantly, the restlessness inside
him eased. To keep from reaching for her, he moved to the hearth and held his
hands out in front of the crackling fire.
He
listened to her footsteps padding over the floor and turned to look at her. She
gave him a little smile and sat in the small white slipper chair. The same one
his mother sat on in the portrait. Dreams, wants, and desires he usually kept
under lock and key spread outward from his heart, threatening to choke him. He
wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat. To hide his
feelings, he returned his gaze to the fire.
“Is
something wrong?”
Yes,
damn it. Everything. “Yes -- no --” His voice broke with pent-up
emotion, and he cursed inwardly. He heard her rise from the chair and walk
toward him.
She can’t come over here. She can’t.
When
she laid her hand on his back, he tried to concentrate on the fire eating
greedily at the logs, instead of her warmth melting into his skin. He couldn’t
look at her. If he did, he would give in and touch her, hold her, kiss her.
None of those things could happen. They just couldn’t.
“What
is it? Talk to me.” Her voice coaxed, urging him to respond.
Kindness
always smoothed the rough edges of his soul, bringing his needs and yearnings
bubbling up to the surface, making him feel helpless. With everything inside
him screaming for him not to, he turned and gazed into her violet eyes.
Outside, the storm raged, yet before him stood the calm center.
Devlin
lifted his hand and touched her cheek. Questions and concern shone in her
beautiful eyes. “I wish I could tell you everything, but it’s too dangerous.”
He heard the unspoken plea for her understanding and trust in his voice. But
how could he ask her to trust him when he couldn’t tell her the truth?
“What
do you mean?”
He
couldn’t tell her that Miranda was safe with his brother, J.D., because she
would beat a path to her sister’s side for sure, and the evil on this island, a
monster with a twisted mind, might follow her. He must keep Miranda and J.D.’s
whereabouts a secret. Their lives depended on it. “I can’t answer your
questions now, but I will soon. Your sister is alive and safe. I promise.”
Lightning
flashed, followed quickly by a sharp popping sound. The lights in Abby’s room
flickered once, then blinked out. She glanced toward the window, but Devlin
caressed her soft cheek with his fingers and brought her gaze back to his.
Firelight shimmered over her face, illuminating her eyes and hair. She had
never looked more beautiful.
“Don’t
be afraid. I would never hurt you.” He murmured the words with tenderness,
hoping she would believe him. Without thought to the consequences, he lowered
his head ever so slowly and kissed her. Soft, sweet lips met his. Craving a
deeper taste, he slicked the tip of his tongue over the seam between her lips,
asking her to open for him. She parted her lips and he slipped inside.
He
lifted Abby into his arms and sat in one of the wing chairs, settling her in
his lap. With a soft caress, he explored the warm, silky skin of her neck and
teased the tops of her breasts with feather-light brushes of his fingers.
As
he sat wrapped in the aura of her warmth and the enticing scent of her skin,
the blood careened through his veins while his pulse tumbled. Liquid heat,
heavy with desire, slid between his legs, making his groin ache.
As
though sampling some juicy, ripe fruit, he nibbled on the sides of her neck and
the soft, sensitive patch of skin beneath her ear. When she tilted her head,
giving him better access, he skimmed his lips to the smooth hollow of her
throat.
He
had to touch her. Really touch her. He lightly grazed his hand up her thigh,
pushing her nightgown out of his way. She stiffened slightly when his fingers
brushed over her panties. Abby reached for his hand and tried to stop its rapid
ascent toward her breast, but the drugging scent of her skin pushed him further
into the sensual fog.
Devlin
lifted his head and stared into her passion-filled eyes. “Let me touch you,
Abby.”
The
breath shuddered from his lungs. He knew she could probably see the raw need in
his eyes, but he didn’t care. If she asked him to take his hands away, he
would, even if her request made his heart stop beating. Fear and excitement
raced through him -- fear that he might lose control, and excitement that he
could go on touching her forever.
“Please.”
Slowly,
she relaxed her body. With his eyes on hers, he slid his hand up to the
underside of one breast, moved her nightgown to the side, and exposed her
breast to his eyes. His arousal pressed against her nearly bare fanny with
exquisite pain. He wanted to take her. Now.
She
shivered against the cool air, but he chased it away with the stroke of his
rough palm over her softer skin. His thumb rubbed insistently over her nipple.
Her eyes glazed, and the uneven rhythm of her breath answered his.
The
bedroom door squeaked open.
Devlin’s
hand stilled on the soft mound of Abby’s breast as he swiveled his head toward
the door. A cool draft of air brushed over his body. He heard a metallic sound
like a tiny bell and the audible breath of someone sighing. Abby pulled her
nightgown down over her body and slid from his lap. “What was that?”
Devlin
turned to Abby and smiled. “The castle is old. Those kinds of noises aren’t
unusual.” He tried to sound unconcerned. But they
were
damned unusual.
He’d never heard anything like it.
The
wind howled outside the castle walls. Abby’s robe rustled softly as she put it
on. Something tapped on the floor in the hallway, like a pebble bouncing over
the wood. The sound of tinkling chimes drifted into the room, causing the hair
on the back of Devlin’s neck to stand on end.
Could
the sound be the Chiming Lady? Ridiculous. He was the one who had hyped the
idea about the island being haunted in the first place. No one had ever played
a trick on him. What would be the point? The villagers were behind him all the
way.
A
scrape and the distinct echo of footsteps.
That
was certainly no ghost. Devlin strode to one of the night tables in Abby’s room
and jerked open the bottom drawer. He withdrew a flashlight stored there for
guests in case of an emergency. “Wait here.” He clicked the flashlight on and
hurried out into the hall. He swept the beam to the right and then to the left,
but saw nothing unusual.
Abby
walked quickly after him. “I’m coming with you.”
Devlin
halted in his tracks and glared at her. “No. It isn’t safe. Someone could be in
the castle. Go back in your room, lock the door, and don’t open it until I get
back. Understood?”
Abby
crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin in determination. “I’m not
going to just sit here and do nothing.”
Devlin
laid a hand on her shoulder and felt the fragile bones shift beneath his
fingers. A man’s strong, unyielding grip could snap those bones like parched
twigs. A shiver of terror stabbed his heart. He would die before he allowed
anyone to harm her. With a gentle nudge against her shoulder, he pushed her
back over the threshold. “You’re going to do exactly that. Lock the door when I
leave.”
He
shut the door in her face.
When
Devlin reached the end of the hall, he stopped and looked around the corner. He
saw nothing but darkness and the occasional flash of lightning blinking in
through the hall windows. The sound of tinkling chimes faded into the distance
along with a woman’s sigh. His heart raced, and a cold sweat broke out on his
skin.
He
walked swiftly down the hallway until he came to the open door of the library.
Out of habit, he reached up and flipped the light switch on the wall by the
door, but everything remained washed in darkness. Lightning flared,
illuminating the library for only a few seconds, but it was enough time for him
to see the gruesome scene waiting for him.
Tension
bunched the muscles in his neck and shoulders while nausea swam through his
stomach. Slowly, he walked over to examine the macabre package before him.
He
knelt down in front of the bookcases and shone the beam of his flashlight on a
rabbit’s mutilated body. A set of chimes was wrapped around its small neck as
it lay on the floor in a small puddle of blood. The chimes were made entirely
of burnished copper and were identical to those sold in the village. Thin
strands of copper dangled from a star-shaped piece of metal. Tiny crystals of
different shapes and colors clung to the metal.
He
moved the beam of the flashlight over the trail of blood. It led to the bottom
edge of one of the bookcases. Hard, cold panic welled in Devlin’s chest and
pushed into his throat.
Damn it! He’s been inside the castle.
He
pushed to his feet and ran toward the door of the library, the flashlight
gripped firmly in his hand.
Abby! I have to get to Abby!
Chapter Five
By
the time Devlin reached Abby’s room, fear and dread had him breathless. He
pounded on the door. “Abby! Abby! Open the door!”
He
heard the patter of footsteps, followed by the click of the door’s lock. Abby
opened the door a crack. He raised the flashlight and shone the beam of light
into her face. She stared back at him with anxious eyes. Her skin appeared wan
and pale, her mouth creased with fear.
Gently,
he moved her back and opened the door wider, then stepped inside and closed the
door behind him. “Are you okay?”
She
nodded briskly. “I’m fine.”
He
breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Have a seat.” He motioned to a chair in
front of the hearth. With the power still out, the fire’s glow cast moving
shadows about the room.
Abby
pulled the edges of her white chenille robe together and sat in one of the
chairs. She raised a shaky hand to her brow and pushed the bangs from her
worry-filled eyes. “It feels like you’ve been gone for hours. What happened?”
He
knew that when he told her about the dead rabbit, it would frighten her even
more, but she had to know. Quickly, he related what he had found in the
library.
“Who
would do such a thing?” Despite her deceptively calm voice, her nervous fingers
twisted one end of the belt on her robe. “Aren’t you going to call the
sheriff?”
Devlin
slid into a chair opposite her. “I will, first thing in the morning. There’s no
sense getting Jake out of a warm bed on a night like this for a mutilated
animal.” He rested his head against the back of his chair and watched her.
Would she go running back to England once the reality of what he’d found set
in?
Abby
frowned. “Has this ever happened before?”
Devlin
nodded. “A few days before you got here. Then, earlier this evening, I found a
mutilated gull outside by the kitchen door.” Devlin leaned forward and rested
his forearms on his thighs. “Because of these incidents, I need you to leave.”
She
bit her lower lip. “Are you saying I might be in some kind of danger?”
Not
if he could help it. “I’m saying you need to be careful.”
“Careful
how?”
He
stood up from his chair and walked over to one of the windows. He saw nothing
beyond the pane of glass but a world washed in darkness and rain. Devlin knew
Victor was out there waiting, watching for the right moment to strike again.
Would he leave another animal, or something worse? Devlin turned and looked at
Abby, who stared at him, waiting for his answer. He didn’t want to frighten her
further, but he needed her understanding and cooperation. “I want you to stay
close to me over the next few hours. Just in case.”