"What brings you to New York, Mrs. Daniels?" Adam asked.
"I—I am on my way to Paris with Meagan. It is merely a stopover."
"I see. You will love Paris. Did not Mr. Daniels come with you?"
"No, he . . . Jordan, I am not . . ."
Meagan cut in, coming to Honor's rescue. "What are you doing in New York, Adam? Can it be that Miss Maxwell has something to do with it?"
"Lisa and I are friends of long standing. I try to see her whenever I am in town."
"How nice," Meagan said icily.
The food was served, but Honor tasted very little, and when dessert was served, she pushed hers aside and stood up, unable to bear sitting at the table with Adam and the beautiful Lisa another moment.
"If you will excuse me, I will bid you all good night. It has been a long day, and I am exceptionally tired. Miss Maxwell, it has been a pleasure making your acquaintance. Mr. O'Roarke, it is always nice to see you."
Adam stood up. "Surely you will not deprive us of your company so early, Mrs. Daniels?"
Honor blinked at the sarcasm she heard in Adam's voice. "Please do not think me rude, but I have an excruciating headache."
"Would you and your sister consent to having dinner with Lisa and myself tomorrow night?" Adam asked coolly.
"I cannot speak for my sister," Honor said, "But I have so much packing to do. You will, of course, accept my apology." Her heart was breaking at his cold manner, and for the moment she wanted only to retreat to her room.
"If you cannot make it for dinner, we shall go dancing in the hotel ballroom, say about eight o'clock," Adam insisted.
"We would love to," Meagan intervened before
Honor could refuse. She did not know what game Adam was playing, but at least he had come to New York. That must mean he was still interested in Honor.
Honor wanted to refuse, but Meagan had left her little choice. If she refused now it would seem as if she was purposely trying to avoid Adam.
"Meagan, will you come upstairs with me?" Honor asked.
"I have not had dessert yet. You go on ahead, I will not be long," Meagan told her, determined to have a private word with Adam.
"Allow me to accompany you, Mrs. Daniels. It would not do for a beautiful lady such as yourself to go unescorted," Adam told her. His blue eyes looked dull as they stared into her green ones.
Again Honor wanted to refuse, but good manners forbade it. Adam took her arm and escorted her across the crowded room. She felt the pressure of his hand about her waist as he maneuvered her through the crowd. Once they were inside the lift Honor leaned against the wall for support and closed her eyes.
"You never did say why your husband did not accompany you. Had I a wife such as yourself I would not allow her to go anywhere without me."
Opening her eyes, Honor wondered how she would explain to him about herself and Jordan. "Adam, I am not married to Jordan. It is a long and complicated story, and I do not wish to go into it with you just now."
"I see. How unfortunate for Daniels," Adam said harshly.
The lift seemed to be taking its time to reach the twelfth floor. Honor thought the ride would never be over.
"You need not have accompanied me to my room. Will Miss Maxwell not mind?"
Adam smiled. "Lisa is very understanding."
The lift came to a stop and two more passengers got on. Honor felt Adam's arm go around her as he pulled her close to him to allow more room for the new passengers. She could feel the length of his body pressed against hers. His breath was warm on her face, and Honor began to tremble. She wanted to look at Adam and see if he felt the same way, but she dared not. When the door slid open she almost ran into the hallway.
"You need not come any further. I can go the rest of the way alone."
"Nonsense. I will see you safely to your door."
When they reached the door to her suite, Honor fumbled in her reticule, trying to find the key. When she found it she tried to open the door, but her trembling hands made it impossible. Adam took the key from her and inserted it into the lock. Then he handed the key to her, bowed, and walked away without a word.
Honor watched him for a moment then went into her bedroom where she threw herself down on the bed and cried hysterically. She loved Adam so much, and once he had professed his love for her. There was no evidence of that love tonight, and although she did not blame him for his cold treatment of her, her heart reached out to him and the perfect love she had destroyed.
Tonight she had overreacted to seeing him. She wished she was already on board the ship and sailing for France, and she dreaded tomorrow night, when she would no doubt be forced to watch Adam dance with the lovely Miss Maxwell.
* * *
Meagan toyed with her dessert. She was trying to hide her anger from Adam's companion, but was only halfway successful. How dare Adam meet Honor in the company of another woman! It was insensitive and cruel. Meagan had seen the pain in her sister's eyes, and she intended to tell Adam just how angry she was.
"Your sister is very lovely. I can see now why Adam is in love with her," Lisa said softly.
"What! Adam told you about Honor?" Meagan asked in shocked surprise.
"He has not told me everything, but what he has left unsaid I can guess at."
"What are you and Adam to each other?" Meagan asked through stiff lips.
"I am flattered if you think we are more than friends. I have known him all his life as a friend of his sister's. I am now her sister-in-law, and I can assure you my husband Bill trusts me completely in Adam's company."
"But I thought . . ."
"I believe that is what Adam wanted your sister to think. He was terrified of seeing Honor again and he brought me along as moral support, and maybe to make Honor a little jealous. I wonder if he succeeded."
Meagan laughed. She enjoyed a good joke, and this one had completely taken her in. "I think it may have succeeded better than Adam dared hope."
Lisa smiled. "I am going to make myself scarce so you and Adam can talk. Tell Adam that I will be waiting for him in the lobby. It was a real pleasure meeting you, and I hope Adam can convince your lovely sister to marry him. He loves her a great deal, you know."
Meagan smiled. She did not usually like other women, but she found she liked Lisa Maxwell well enough. "Let us hope it will work out for the both of them."
Meagan did not have to wait very long for Adam to rejoin her. He sat down beside her and smiled slightly as she told him that Lisa had left her alone so they could talk privately.
"I was beginning to think you were not going to come, Adam. I feared if I took Honor to Paris the two of you would never see each other again."
"I damn near killed myself getting here. You knew I would come."
Meagan smiled. "You still love my sister, then?"
"How can you doubt it?"
"Adam, I want to talk to you on a personal level, and I hope you will not be offended, but I want to help you to better understand my sister. When you left this last time Honor was devastated, for she loves you a great deal. Even now I am afraid she will not marry you because she fears if anyone finds out about her background it will be detrimental to your career."
"My reputation will not suffer even if my friends and acquaintances know all there is to know about Honor. Is that why she refused to go away with me before?"
"Yes, partly."
"I should have known it would be something like that, knowing Honor as I do. But at the time I did not think. I was too upset, I suppose."
"Adam, there is more to it than that, much more. Honor is frightened of any kind of relationship with a man, and while I know she loves you, it will not be easy for you to get her to agree to marry you. Jordan just about destroyed her completely, and now she is frightened of all men, even you to a certain degree. Are you following me?"
"Yes, damn it! I know what Jordan did to her."
"Honor is frightened of a physical relationship. I pray that the damage done by Jordan
is not a lasting one. If you were to convince Honor to become your wife, you would have to ... I would hope you would be very patient and understanding with her."
"Meagan, I understand better than you think I do, and I can assure you if I can convince Honor to become my bride I will be the most patient husband. Hell, I would marry her even if she never wanted to sleep with me."
Meagan laughed. "Something tells me that Honor will not only become your bride, she will soon become your willing bed partner."
Adam smiled down at her. "Do you know, Meagan Landau Elderman, I believe I like you better than any woman I know, with the exception of my sister and yours."
Meagan grinned. "If there is a compliment in there somewhere, it is hard to recognize."
Adam took her hand and raised it to his lips. "There is a compliment there, beautiful lady."
* * *
The next day was agony for Honor. The morning seemed to pass quickly, bringing the time closer when she would have to face Adam and Lisa Maxwell. She and Meagan had dinner served in their suite, and as the waiter cleared away the dishes, Honor became more nervous and unsure of herself.
"I do not believe I shall go tonight, Meagan. I am really not feeling at all well."
"Of course you shall go. It is not the proper thing to do to cancel a date at the eleventh hour."
"Since when have you worried about what is proper?" Honor challenged her sister.
"Honor, why are you wearing that horrid dress? It is five years out of style and looks it," Meagan said in exasperation, noting the shabby appearance of the gray print gown her sister wore.
"It suits me very well," Honor said stubbornly.
"It will not do at all. You must wear the new gray and black gown. Do you want to look out of place beside the lovely Lisa Maxwell?"
"She was rather pretty, was she not?" Honor said, knowing she did not want to look shabby when Adam saw her tonight.
"She was breathtaking. Now run along to your room and change before they get here."
* * *
Honor's heart felt heavy as she studied her reflection in the full-length mirror. How could she hope to compete with Adam's beautiful lady friend? Compete? Did she want to compete? Yes! She wanted Adam to say he loved her as he once had, because she wanted him with all her heart.
Honor heard the knock at the front door. She sat down on the edge of the bed and buried her head in her hands. Now that Adam was here she was not sure she could face him. How could she act natural when her heart was breaking?
Meagan opened the door to Honor's bedroom to tell her Adam had arrived. Honor stood up and squared her shoulders, ready to meet the ordeal that awaited her. She was surprised to find that Adam was alone.
He stood up as she entered, and for a moment their eyes locked and held. "You look lovely, Honor," he told her.
She lowered her head, realizing he had not called her Mrs. Daniels as he had the night before. "Where is Miss Maxwell?" she asked.
"She is Mrs. Maxwell, and she sends her regrets that she cannot accompany us tonight. She and her husband are giving a party."
"Oh."
"If you are ready now I will be proud to be the escort of two such lovely ladies."
"I am sure Honor would love to go, Adam, but I seem to have developed a headache, and I feel dreadful," Meagan said, smiling at Adam with a hint of mischief in her blue eyes.
Honor whirled around to face her sister. She opened her mouth in protest. "Meagan, how could you?" she accused.
"It is not my fault, Honor. Do you think I invited the headache?"
"Then I shall remain to look after you," Honor said icily, knowing Meagan was deliberately throwing her and Adam together. It was such an obvious ploy that it embarrassed her.
"You will do nothing of the kind. When my head feels like it does now, I want nothing more than to be left alone in peace and quiet."
"Well, if you are sure," Adam said, taking Honor by the arm and leading her toward the door. He gave Meagan just the slightest smile. "I hope you recover quickly."
"Oh, I shall, never doubt it."
It was all Adam could do to keep from laughing out loud. Meagan was priceless. She knew how badly he wanted to be alone with Honor, so she had arranged it.
Adam led Honor into the ballroom downstairs and sat her down at one of the tables. He ordered champagne and poured a glass for her.
She had never tasted champagne before, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste after she took her first sip. Adam watched her with a smile on his face. She looked so unsure of herself that he wanted to reach out and touch her hand to give her assurance, but remembering what Meagan had told him, he decided to take it slow and easy.
Tonight he would start a slow campaign to win her. He would, in fact, start a campaign to seduce her. He felt momentary guilt because Honor was so young and inexperienced, and no match for him with his knowledge and experience in pleasing women, but the guilt did not last long. He would have his heart's desire before the night was over, he thought. He would have Honor's promise to become his bride.
He stood up and took the champagne glass from her hand. "Come, let us dance," he said as he led her to the dance floor.
The music was soft as he whirled Honor to the dance floor. For a moment Honor panicked; she had not danced in years and she was afraid she had forgotten how, but it soon became apparent that she and Adam danced well together. He led and she followed.
At first it was nothing more than two people who danced well together, but soon Honor became aware of Adam's hand around her waist as he drew her tighter against his body. His hands began to move caressingly over her waist and along her spine. His face was resting against hers and she scarcely dared to breathe.
"You smell just the way I remember, all sweet and clean," he whispered. His breath stirred in her hair, and she felt her knees go weak. "I have missed you, darling. There has not been a day gone by that I did not think of you." His lips moved over her face and she swallowed the sob that came to her throat. "I love you, Honor. I will always love you." His voice was deep and passionate.
Honor turned her face to look at him, and the music stopped.
"Let us get out of here. There are too many people around to suit me."
Honor allowed Adam to lead her out of the ballroom and out the front door of the hotel, where he handed her into a buggy that was waiting at the curb. It seemed as if she was living in a dream world. Adam had said he loved her. Where was he taking her now? It did not really matter as long as they could be together.
There was a large park across from the hotel, and
Adam instructed the driver to take them there. He held Honor's hand and looked deeply into her eyes.
Honor could no longer bear to look into his eyes, so she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She had thought she would never see him again, and yet here he was holding her in his arms. She thought of Jordan and their marriage that had turned out to be no marriage at all. What would Adam think when she told him she had lived with Jordan without benefit of marriage? No matter that she had believed herself to be Jordan's wife, she had lived in sin.
Adam asked the driver to stop, and he lifted Honor to the ground. The man was told by Adam to wait for them no matter what the cost and if he had to wait all night.
The driver smiled and assured them he would not budge. He thought to himself how beautiful young love was.
There were many couples walking about in the park, but Adam found a secluded little gazebo. When he drew Honor inside, his arms went around her and his lips crushed hers in a passionate kiss. Honor recalled how it had felt when Adam had made love to her in the apple orchard, and her body reacted by trembling.
Adam felt her lips tremble, and suddenly she was returning his kiss. His breath quickened as his lips traveled down her smooth neck to rest on the wild pulse beat he felt at the base of her throat.
Desire rose like a flame inside of him, and Adam knew he had no reason to fear that he had lost the
ability to be stirred by a beautiful woman. He was almost on the brink of madness as his mouth recaptured hers. His hands moved over her back, molding her body to his. He felt himself on dangerous ground, fearing he would frighten Honor with his raw passion. He raised his head. "Say you will marry me, Honor, I need you," he pleaded. "I am only half a man when you are not with me," he said in a passionate voice.
Honor's eyes were soft as she looked into Adam's eyes. She was on the verge of saying yes, when she remembered Jordan.
"You may not want me when I tell you about Jordan and myself."
He silenced her with his finger over her lips. "I know all about you and Jordan. Meagan wrote me. It does not make the slightest difference to me unless you do not love me."
"Oh, Adam, I do love you," she blurted out. "But are you not disgusted at the sight of me, knowing I was not married to Jordan?"
"Darling," he said softly, "I feel only love and pride for you. I want you for my wife."
Honor shook her head in disbelief. "You still want me?" she said in a small voice.
"I never stopped wanting you." He led her over to a bench and sat her down on his lap. "Darling, I want to say something to you. Please sit quietly and do not interrupt until I have finished. I am aware of the fear you have about being married. I want to assure you if you put your trust in me and agree to be my wife, I shall be a very patient husband. I would insist you sleep with me, but until you are ready and until you ask it of me, I would make no demands on you. Do you believe this?"
"Yes," she said, hiding her face against his shoulder.
"We will be no more than two people who love each other, sharing a bed. Do you trust me?"
"With all my heart," she said, looking into his eyes. "With all my heart."
"Will you marry me, darling?"
"Yes, if you want me."
He touched her face softly. "If I want you. Oh, my love, I want you so badly I ache inside."
"But Adam, what if I am never able to . . ."
"Hush darling, do not say it. Trust me when I tell you the time will come when you will beg me to make love to you. Remember how it was between us, Honor? It will be that way again, I promise." Adam lifted her face and his lips touched hers softly at first. Honor's arms went around his neck. His lips moved over her face, then sought her lips once more. Honor remembered only too well the love she had shared with Adam, and she found herself wanting him to make love to her again. She felt as if she was being transported into the heavens. "I love you, I love you," she whispered as he raised his head and stared into her eyes. Honor was surprised when she caught the glint of tears in Adam's eyes.
Rebel Temptress (Historical Romance) Page 30