The Perfect Kiss

by Amanda Stevens

And Anya felt her heart give a funny little quiver.

  “I’ve been sitting here reading your poetry,” he said, holding the volume up for her inspection. “I must say, there’s a lot here that’s over my head, but some of it…I don’t know…some of it really touches me, Anya.” He gave a short laugh. “You look surprised. No more so than I am. I’ve never considered myself the literary type, but even I can tell that you’re exceptionally talented. I know now why your writing means so much to you.” He closed the book and set it aside as he continued to watch her.

  Nervously, Anya crossed the room and stood before the fire, holding her hands out to absorb the warmth of the flames. Heat. How little she had appreciated it before. How desperately she craved it now. She could never get warm enough.

  Zach got up and came to stand beside her at the fireplace, propping one arm against the mantel as he stared down into the fire. He seemed different tonight, she thought. More internal somehow, as though he, too, had been wresting answers from his soul.

  He hesitated for a minute, then said softly, “What is the darkness inside you, Anya? You write about it over and over again, as if it’s a living, breathing entity in and of itself. What is it? Explain it to me. Make me understand.”

  “Why? What possible difference could it make to you? We come from different worlds, Zach. The sooner you understand that, the better off we’ll both be.”

  His fingers clenched into a fist on the mantel. “I don’t believe that. I believe we’re far more alike than either of us has ever realized. There’s something between us, Anya. Some kind of a bond. I don’t know how else to explain it, but I know it’s there. I feel things when I’m with you, but more important, I feel things when I’m not with you. How do you explain that?”

  She could feel his eyes on her, but Anya couldn’t look at him now. Didn’t dare. Didn’t dare risk losing even more of herself than she had already relinquished. Gershom threatened her soul; Zach threatened her heart. They each frightened her in very different ways, but at the moment, Zach seemed the most deadly gamble of all.

  “I can’t explain anything,” she said harshly. “I don’t even want to try. The bond between us is called a contract. And contracts can be broken. That’s all you have to understand.”

  “You’re wrong, Anya.” His voice was low, but there was no mistaking the anger in his tone. “I understand a hell of a lot more than that. I understand that you’re afraid of me, and I even understand why. That man—that monster from your past—hurt you badly, didn’t he? That’s why you’re afraid of me, isn’t it?”

  “Zach—”

  “Look, the other night I told you things about myself that I’ve never told another living soul. I told you about my brother, about my parents, about why it’s so important that I succeed in business. I told you all that for one very good reason—because I trusted you, Anya. I trust you. Can’t you do the same for me?”

  “You don’t understand anything,” she said bitterly. “I don’t want you to trust me. I don’t want anything from you.”

  “Well, I’m afraid it’s too late. You’ve already taken plenty from me, and now you owe me.”

  In the firelight, his eyes looked dark and grave and very intent. Anya shivered. “What do you mean?”

  “You took my faith in you—not to mention my reputation and a great deal of money—and you walked away from me without a word. At the very least, you owe me an explanation.”

  “I’ve already told you. The contract was a mistake—”

  “I’m not talking about the job,” he said. “I’m talking about him.”

  Oh, God. He was asking about Gershom, about things he could never know….

  “Why does it matter so much to you?” she whispered raggedly.

  His hand reached out and grabbed her so fiercely, she winced, not from pain but from the surprise of his move. Zach immediately loosened his grip, but he didn’t release her. Instead, he drew her toward him, his eyes raking over her, warming her with the intensity of his gaze. “Don’t be a fool, Anya,” he said. “This is why.”

  His mouth was hot against hers, and incredibly sensuous. Where her hunger had driven them both to the edge last time, Zach seemed in complete control now. When she would have pulled away, he held her. When she would have taken the lead, he stopped her.

  “My way this time,” he murmured against her mouth. His tongue teased her lips apart, then slipped inside to tangle with hers. She could feel heat flooding through her at an alarming rate, but like Zach, Anya tried to remain in control. Tried to retain a vestige of self-discipline against Zach’s deliberate, and very capable, seduction.

  It’s just a kiss, she told herself over and over. It’s just a kiss. But it was so much more than that. It was a coming together of their bodies, a mating of their minds and souls. It was a glorious prelude to the ultimate joining….

  “Zach—”

  “I love touching you,” he whispered against her ear. His lips moved over her face, gliding against her brows, the tip of her nose, the point of her chin, then downward, to the racing pulse in her throat.

  Anya tried to still her heart, but it pounded so loudly she thought Zach must surely hear it. Against Zach’s mouth, her pulse beat a dangerous rhythm. Now, now, now, it seemed to be shouting, but in spite of her excitement, in spite of the rush of desperate urges through her body, Anya held back. She closed her eyes, letting Zach take control, letting Zach make her want him more and more and more….

  For a moment, for one dazed split second, Anya didn’t recognize the new feelings Zach had aroused inside her, the almost painful pleasure seeping through her.

  She felt the tiniest sting at her neck as Zach’s teeth tugged at the sensitive skin, and then, without warning, an avalanche of sensation stormed through her. Passion exploded inside her, releasing a hunger that staggered her with its intensity. Her body pulsed with the pleasure and pain of every emotion she had ever experienced. Her blood zinged through her veins, so quick and so hot, her senses spun with mindless excitement.

  Somehow, he had sensed her needs, her deepest, darkest passions and he had used them to get to her. Like Gershom, she thought. Oh, no, just like Gershom would do…

  With every ounce of her willpower, Anya pushed herself away from Zach. She stumbled back, her fingers caressing the spot on her neck that Zach had kissed. The skin still felt hot from his mouth. Her pulse throbbed against her fingertips. “Don’t you ever do that again,” she whispered fiercely.

  His hair was slightly askew, but other than that, Zach seemed completely unmoved by her anger. “Didn’t you like it? It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  “Damn you,” she said harshly. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “Because you owe me,” he said again. “Can you pay me back the money from your advance? Will you come back to the city with me and finish up the Seduction campaign?” When she refused to answer either question, he shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll have to think of something else, won’t we?”

  “Like what?”

  “A compromise we can both live with. A little honesty might go a long way, Anya. Think about it,” he said, tapping her chin lightly with his index finger. He crossed the room to the door, then turned back toward her, his hand resting on the knob. “By the way, when do we eat around here? I’m starving all of a sudden.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It was midafternoon of the next day, and Anya had just awakened in her darkened room. She knew immediately that Zach was no longer in her house. She got out of bed and drew on a silk robe as Freida, carrying a silver tray, entered the room.

  “Where’s Zach?” Anya asked, seating herself at a small rosewood table.

  “Gone,” Freida replied, setting the tray on the table. She made a show of arranging the crystal and silverware in front of Anya.

  Anya gazed at the woman in astonishment. “What do you mean gone? Gone for good?” Her disappointment amazed her. Wasn’t this what she wanted? Last night, she’d asked hi
m to leave, had told herself over and over again that she wanted him gone, but…not like this. Not without a word. Not without at least saying goodbye.

  She turned away from the bowl Freida had uncovered before her. Anya’s appetite for the concoctions the housekeeper prepared for her was never very strong, but today the colorless liquid appealed to her even less. She had deeper appetites, darker cravings that made her shudder at the images her mind conjured up.

  Freida shook out the white linen napkin and handed it to Anya. “He hasn’t gone for good, unfortunately. He asked Karl to drive him into town early this morning to see about his car. Johnny Blanchard towed it into his garage yesterday, but Karl said the damage was pretty extensive. The repairs could take days, weeks.”

  Anya looked up in alarm. Days? Weeks? A sudden vision of the long, restive night she’d spent rose up in her mind. It had been agony to pace in her room, knowing that Zach was only a heartbeat away. It had been torment to think about him lying in bed asleep, perhaps dreaming of her, of them. It had been so very dangerous—and thrilling—to let her mind roam free, to imagine what it would be like to walk into his room, to awaken him with her touch, her whisper, her kiss….

  Anya closed her eyes, feeling the helplessness wash over her again. There was no way she could allow Zach to remain here that long, to let the temptation of his presence claw at her until the last remnants of her resolve had been eaten away. The consequences…dear God, the consequences of making love to Zach would be more than either of them had a right to risk.

  More than just their lives were at stake here. There were forces working that neither of them had a right to set in motion. Souls were involved. Eternal life. Eternal darkness. A battle of good and evil. A testament of faith.

  And Anya knew she dared not put her own will to the test.

  But what about Zach? What did he want? What would he do? Surely he couldn’t remain here indefinitely. He’d said the company was in chaos right now, and all because of her, because of what she’d done.

  Guilt stabbed through her at the thought of all the problems she’d created for Zach, but she tried to ignore it. She’d done what she’d done for a very good reason. She was trying to save his life as well as her own and so much more. She’d come back home because here was where she was the strongest. But even here her temptation grew, her resistance weakened. Anya shuddered to think what might happen if she returned to the city with Zach.

  But how could she get him to leave without her?

  There was, of course, one way to send him away forever, if she wanted to. She could tell him the truth. She could tell him everything. She could watch the doubts spring to his eyes, the dawning realization, then in the end the inevitable look of horror and revulsion. Could she stand that? Could she witness the total destruction of herself in Zach’s eyes?

  She was strong, she knew. She’d had to be strong these last ten years. But Anya doubted very much that even her mettle was that tough. There had to be another way. There had to be some way to convince Zach to leave without making him hate her. Without making him disgusted by her. But how?

  Try as she might, Anya could think of no other way but the truth. The only question that remained was when.

  * * *

  It was almost sunset by the time Anya discovered that Zach hadn’t returned with Karl. When she questioned the older man, he merely shrugged. “Said he had business to attend to.”

  “In Towering Oaks? What kind of business could he have?”

  “Didn’t say.”

  “You let him go off on his own? How could you do that?” Anya demanded.

  “I couldn’t very well handcuff him to the car, now could I?” Karl groused. “He’s asking too many questions as it is. I didn’t want to make him even more suspicious.”

  Anya sighed. “You’re right, of course, but it’ll be dark soon. He should have been back hours ago. Where was he going, did he say?”

  “He said something about the old Allison place. He heard about it in town, I guess.”

  “The Allison place?” Anya felt a shiver crawl down her back. The crumbling old mansion half a mile away had always terrified her. She hated to think of Zach there, all alone, oblivious to the dangers that lurked in the shadows. “Why in the world would he go there?” she asked, almost to herself.

  Anya rubbed her arms, trying to dismiss a sudden chill. You’re being foolish, she told herself sternly. There’s nothing in that house to be frightened of.

  Still, she couldn’t quite banish her unease. As a little girl spending summers in the country, Anya had slipped away from her grandmother’s watchful eye on several occasions to go exploring as far up the point as the Allison mansion. It had been in ruins for as long as she could remember, and Cora had made her promise never to go near the place. It had been an irresistible challenge, of course.

  Anya would stand on the cliffs, the wind ripping at her hair, the ocean crashing against rocks far below, and she would stare at the house and imagine the horrors that had been committed inside.

  There had been rumors of tragedy, whispers of ghosts, and Anya had been fascinated. The place had frightened her with its boarded-up windows and caved-in roof, its overgrown gardens and its covered cisterns. There had even been a tiny cemetery nearby. Those things had repelled her, but the faded beauty and the subtle mystery of the columned old mansion had drawn her, intrigued her, had appealed to a side of her that she hadn’t understood. Then.

  Afterward, Anya would inevitably have nightmares about that house. Strange visions had filled her sleep, dreams that had seemed almost like premonitions.

  Anya had that same sense of foreboding at this very moment.

  Karl’s deep, accented voice reminded her of his presence and drew her gaze back to him. He looked agitated, Anya thought, as though he, too, felt that something wasn’t quite right. “I don’t know why he would go there, or any other place around here. There’s not much to see. But he kept talking on that portable phone of his to someone named Hawthorne. He sounded excited. Then he got out of the car and told me not to wait around for him. He’d be back later, he said.”

  “I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all,” Anya said, turning to the shuttered window as she pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders.

  Karl hesitated, then said almost desperately, “Why are you so worried about this man? Surely if he’s gone, that’s all for the better.”

  “But he isn’t gone,” Anya whispered. “He’s out there somewhere, and it’s almost dark. Something about that place has always frightened me, Karl. More so now than ever. It’s not safe.”

  “Is it the house that’s frightening you?”

  “No,” Anya murmured. “It’s not the house that worries me now.”

  “You think he’s out there somewhere, don’t you?” Karl’s voice was low and full of dread. “You think he’s come for you.”

  Anya knew exactly who Karl was talking about. She closed her eyes. “I don’t know. I pray I’m wrong…but still…” She stared at the cloaked window as though she could peer through the shutters. She was getting nervous, edgy. Until the sun set, she couldn’t go search for Zach. He was out there somewhere, and she was trapped inside. For God’s sake, where was he?

  “I’ve been having the dreams again lately. Gershom’s voice seems so much stronger now, as though he’s close….”

  Karl’s faded eyes widened in horror. “He’s brought Gershom here. That man, Christopher, he’s brought Gershom here. You have to get rid of him, Anya. You have to get rid of Zach Christopher before it’s too late.”

  Karl’s urgency fueled Anya’s already growing panic. She stared at the window, willing the slow, torturous minutes to pass as her heart pounded a frantic rhythm. She had to find Zach. If her suspicions were true, if Gershom lurked somewhere nearby, then Zach was in terrible danger. He would be safe until sunset, but then…

  Who would find him first?

  “What time is it, Karl?”

  “Just a fe
w more minutes,” the old man said, watching her with a look that was part pity and part undisguised fear.

  * * *

  From a distance, the dilapidated mansion glistened like a rare and marvelous jewel. Backlit by a dazzling sunset, the peeling white paint, the sagging portico, even the caved-in roof were softened by brilliant rays of light that showered the upstairs windows with diamonds and gilded the graceful lines of the house with a lavish hand. The downstairs windows were all tightly boarded up, as though the house had closed itself off from the world. The lawn and gardens were overrun with brambles and weeds that made the place seem unapproachable and forgotten yet, at the same time, wildly beautiful and fragile.

  From where Zach stood at the edge of a precipice overlooking the ocean, the mansion seemed full of mystery and looked strangely inviting. It reminded him unaccountably of Anya.

  The image was an illusion, of course. When Zach had approached the house a few minutes earlier, the wear and tear, the collapsing walls and roof and a host of other dangerous pitfalls were all too apparent and not the least bit welcoming. With its heavily fortified windows and tightly barred doors, the place was impenetrable, like a fortress. Try as he might, Zach had not been able to find a way in.

  Which was just as well. Up close, the house had definitely lost its appeal. The looming trees cast deep shadows over the place, making it seem gloomy and abandoned, and the smell of decay had been almost overpowering. Zach had quickly retreated to his vantage on the cliff. Some things were better appreciated from a distance, he decided. Besides, it was the outside that interested him, anyway.

  Far below him, the mossy-colored water swirled and foamed over boulders hewn from the craggy cliffs. Spindrifts shot skyward, like a collection of dazzling prisms in the fading light. It was a breathtaking view, and the longer Zach stood there, the more convinced he became.

  This spot, with the faded beauty of the mansion in the background and the unconquerable savageness of the sea below him, was the perfect place to shoot the final installment for Seduction. It was the perfect place to end the story, the perfect place for Anya to be united with her lover.