Clocks all through the house chimed midnight. He dashed the empty glass into the fireplace, furious that she had pushed him this far. He stood, crossed the room, and threw the door open.
J.T. didn’t know who was the most amazed when he opened the door and found Jade on the other side, just about to knock. He could hardly believe his eyes.
“You needn’t look so shocked, Jason,” she said, trying to ease the moment. Then she bowed, much the way Tao might have. “I came to thank you for what you did tonight.”
He stepped aside and she entered. Jason watched the way the silk robe caressed her every curve. He could imagine sliding his hands inside it and touching each and every inch of her smooth, warm skin, but he stood motionless, still unable to believe she had really come to him.
Jade turned, not exactly sure how to proceed, but intent on using every ounce of intelligence she possessed to help herself.
He closed the door but stood near it warily. What exactly was she up to?
“You stood by me, Jason. You let all those people believe you were behind the museum. Because of you, Stanford’s wife has agreed to take over the whole project.”
He shrugged. “It didn’t take much doing, as my uncle would say.”
“Oh, but it did.” She walked toward him slowly, trying to emulate the movements of a cat. Jade reached up and began to unfasten the studs that held his shirtfront and cuffs closed. “In front of all those people tonight, you acted like you cared for me.”
“I’ve always had a knack for acting.”
“It was a very convincing act.”
She was right. It had been all too natural to cater to her, to stand beside her and play the adoring husband. It was too close to the way things might have turned out between them.
“Is that what you’re up to now?” He wanted to know. Had to know. “Are you acting?”
She set his diamond studs on the bedstand. “Despite what you believe, I am not a good actress, Jason. I can’t hide my feelings.”
“No?” He moved closer to her.
“No.” She licked her lips in anticipation of his kiss.
“What do you feel?” he whispered.
She whispered back, “Right now?”
“Right now.”
She felt heightened anticipation. She felt her blood singing through her veins. She felt hot and wet between her legs, and her knees felt weak. She felt as if she would die if he did not kiss her soon.
But she could not bring herself to tell him what she truly felt or what she truly wanted.
Instead, she whispered, “Let me show you.”
Jason couldn’t believe what happened any more than he could control his body’s instant response when she reached up and slipped her arms about his neck and drew his head down for her kiss.
Jason was shocked. But he did not let his amazement stand in the way of his passion. He clasped her to him and deepened the kiss, slashing his lips across hers, delving deep with his tongue. He heard her moan, felt her melt further into his embrace.
They fell upon the bed. Eager to possess her, half-afraid she would change her mind, J.T. pulled away and began ripping off his clothes.
“Wait!” Jade scrambled to her knees and pushed her hair back out of her eyes.
He stiffened. Had she changed her mind? Had the tease only been using him again?
“Let me,” she whispered, and reached out to him with shaking hands.
Jason was speechless. He rolled over and lay perfectly still as Jade tugged his shirt out of his pants and then helped him pull his arms out of the sleeves. She tossed the shirt over the side of the bed and heard him laugh aloud.
She fumbled with his waistband, thankful for the weak firelight that hid the blush staining her cheeks.
He reached down and brushed her hands aside, flicked open the buttons, and then paused. How far was she willing to go to please him? He stretched out again and waited for her to make the next move.
Jade stared down at Jason, at his bare chest covered with crisp, brown-gold hair that trailed down past his navel and then disappeared into his trousers. She wanted to play the seductress, to make this night incomparable to anything she had ever known before, but her own naïveté inhibited her. With trembling hands she reached to him, then pulled back. She hid her face in her hands.
He sat up and brushed her hair back over her shoulder.
“Jade?” His voice was hushed, his breath warm against her ear. “Are you all right?”
She drew her hands down and shook her head. “I wanted to, but I can’t.” Her voice broke on a sob. “I don’t know what to do.”
He pulled her into his embrace and rocked her back and forth. “Shh.” Pressing soft kisses against her temple, he whispered, “Hush. It’s all right.”
He kissed her tenderly, teased her lower lip with his teeth, gently rubbed her back and calmed her nervous trembling. How could she know what to do? he wondered. Their wedding night had been a disaster. He had been angry beyond thought, and she had been a virgin. She had not known real passion, had not reached fulfillment. His little scholar needed to be taught. He took her face between his hands and slowly, tenderly, began to kiss her again.
Engrossed in his kiss, she barely noticed when his hand slipped inside the silk robe and cupped the underside of her breast. He pushed the robe open and dipped his head to her nipple. Jade moaned when his teeth teased the tender bud, then clung to him when his mouth captured her breast and he suckled there. Before he was through, he had gently untied the sash and bared both breasts. He teased her nipples with his thumbs until they burst into full bloom.
Jason’s touch was scalding. Jade’s response was one of building need until she lay back and pulled him down with her. As he devoted himself to exploring every inch of her with his lips and tongue, Jade reached down and ran her hands through his rich, thick curls. When his tongue lapped a fiery trail from the base of her throat to her navel, she writhed in wild abandon that drove him on.
Need consumed her. She felt like she was on fire, but found the sensation a pleasing contrast to the cool shimmering silk robe beneath her. When his lips neared the apex of her thighs, when his warm breath teased the throbbing, secret bud hidden there, she let out a startled murmur and shook her head. “No, no Jason, don’t. Please.”
He promised himself there would come a time when she would be at ease with him, but for now all he wanted was to make up for the way he had used her on their wedding night. For now, he could wait to introduce her to all of love’s many pleasures.
“I’ll take it slow,” he whispered. “Slow.” He kissed his way back up to her breasts, brushed them again with his lips, laved them with his tongue, and then pulled back. He stared down at her in the firelight. He could not resist running his hands through her hair. The firelight had set it aglow until it spread like glowing flames he could touch as it shimmered against the velvet bedspread. “My God, you’re beautiful, my precious Jade.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “You are too, Jason.”
He laughed, but not in a way that would hurt her. She smiled up at him, her eyes warm with the glow of love. Her lips beckoned him to taste of their nectar again, but this time as he did, he slid his trousers off with his free hand.
He heard her swift intake of breath as he lay back down, this time between her thighs. He reached down and spread her legs, and then probed the moist entrance to her womanhood with his erect member.
Jade ran her hands along his ribs and back up again. She raked her fingers through the tight hair on his chest, then down to the place where their bodies touched. When he groaned, a low, soulful sound issued from deep in his throat, she arched toward him. He pressed closer, but still did not enter her completely.
She wanted all of him, but he remained poised at the opening of her heated depths,
teasing her, slowly dipping in and out, until a whimper of agony was forced from her lips.
“You want me, don’t you, Jade. You want me inside you.”
“Yes,” she moaned again. “Yes, Jason. I do. I want you.”
“Tell me what else you want.”
“I want to feel you inside me. I want you now.”
He pressed closer, becoming further enveloped inside her, yet not fully. Not yet. “How is it you always seem so cool, Jade? But you’re not, are you?”
“No,” she gasped, clinging to him, pressing her hands against his hips, trying to make him slide the rest of the way into her.
“You feel hot inside. As hot as the desert.”
“Jason . . . please,” she gasped.
“Do you love me?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Say it.”
“I love you. I love you, Jason!”
He thrust into her until they were fused together by the intensity of building pressure that was soon more than either of them could bring back under control. He began to dip and plunge and she followed his lead, arching to meet his demands until the demand for release became too great and Jade gave herself over to the blinding ecstasy that surged through her—radiating from the pulsating core of flesh that held him imprisoned—down to the very tips of her toes.
Inundated with her own pleasure, Jade heard him call out her name the moment his seed burst forth, hot and searing inside her. She held him tight, half-afraid of his ragged breathing and the way he continued to shudder with his face buried against her neck.
Stroking his smooth back, she held him close until his breathing matched her own. Finally, he raised his head and stared down at her, his gaze tender, the mask of doubt that had shadowed his expression since their wedding night gone.
He kissed her again, slowly, languidly, then rubbed his nose against hers.
Jade smiled and held him tight. He wrapped a handful of her hair about his wrist and then, lying across his wife, Jason slept.
Chapter Nineteen
In a narrow lane . . .
Beware enemies.
BEFORE THE LIGHT of dawn brought color to the shadowed corners of the master suite, Jade awoke and carefully slipped out of Jason’s arms. For a moment she thought he had awakened, then was relieved when he rolled over, hugged his pillow, and continued to sleep deeply. She smiled down at him when she recalled how sometime during the night he had awakened her, pulled her up and out of her robe, undressed himself, then tucked her into bed beside him.
She hated to leave his warm embrace, but was determined to be out before the city came to life. Each time she had awakened during the night, a growing suspicion kept her from immediately falling back to sleep; she thought she might be carrying Jason’s child.
There was no other excuse she could give for her exhaustion and general malaise. For the past three weeks, she had grown more and more lethargic. Food did not appeal to her, and nothing she had tried had eased the pounding headaches. She had to know for certain before she told Jason. Their relationship was still too tenuous to handle any shock, and a baby would definitely constitute an upheaval.
She smiled as she slipped into her robe and quietly tiptoed out of the room. Last night had been wonderful, exactly the new beginning she had hoped for. This morning, it looked as if there was a chance that her dream of love might still come true.
Hurriedly, she dressed, buttoned on her shoes and her cloak. She took the time to write Jason a hasty note and put it in her pocket. When she picked up her black reticule and hung it around her waist, she was finally ready.
Downstairs, the kitchen was quiet and cold; the fire in the stove had burned out. Tao was nowhere to be found. She quietly opened the door to his room, but he had still not returned from Little China. She hoped he wasn’t gambling away his wages.
A sleepy-eyed Quan slowly wandered into the room and stared at the cold stove. She shook her head when Jade asked if she knew how to light it. It seemed that a singsong girl did not have any useful skills besides pleasuring men. Jade let her thoughts follow one on the other and eyed Quan speculatively. Little Quan Yen would know how to pleasure Jason far better than she did. It was not a reassuring thought, but Jade was bolstered by the idea that Jason seemed to enjoy teaching her the ways of love.
Bending over the stove, she cleaned out the cold ashes herself, fed in some kindling, started a small fire, and then added more split wood. When a pot of coffee was set to boil, she gave Quan Yen instructions to make certain she gave Jason a cup when he came downstairs.
“Where you go now, missee?” Quan wanted to know. “You want tea?”
Jade shook her head. She hoped the coffee would help jolt her out of her lethargy. “I’ll just have a little coffee, Quan. Then I’m going out.”
The girl suddenly looked panicked. “Where you go? I go too. Dress chop chop and go with missee.” She started for her room.
Jade stopped her with a word. “Wait. Wait, Quan. I’m going to walk. It would be too hard for you to go along. Besides, I’m not going very far, just down the hill.”
Quan’s concern for Jade was evident in her worried expression. “Not good missee go alone. I go. I walk fast.”
“Absolutely not,” Jade insisted. “The best thing you can do is stay here and give Jason my note.” Jade handed her a quickly penned explanation. For a moment Quan looked like she would argue, then changed her mind and took the note from Jade.
Outside, the morning was windy, but not foggy. The chilly air made her shiver, an excuse to walk faster. From the top of California Street she could see all the way down to the bay and Yerba Buena Island—a low mound of land surrounded by water that seemed to be floating offshore. She walked down the street past the narrow, bay-windowed homes that lined the hill as she headed for the heart of town. Jade had not seen Doctor Adams since her mother had died, but she assumed he was still in the same office housed in three small rooms on the ground floor of his home.
The city came to life around her. Chinese street vendors passed her on their way up the hill as they set out to sell goods to the houseboys who waited to buy their wares. As she neared a busy intersection, a milk wagon and horsecar vied for room amidst the growing numbers of buggies and carriages on the street. Shop owners pulled up the shades and swept off the sidewalks that fronted the many stores that lined the street. The city pulsed with a life of its own, and like a lumbering giant, awoke slowly, stretched, and finally opened its eyes to the new day.
By the time she reached her destination, even the foot traffic on the streets had increased. Slowly, Jade climbed the stairs to the building that, thankfully, still wore a sign that advertised her doctor’s practice. A small bell hung over the door. It sang out a greeting as she entered the office.
JASON STRODE THROUGH the house at noon as mad as a bee in a bottle. It was bad enough he had awakened at dawn alone, but things only got worse as the day went on. He had no idea where his wife had gone. He woke up alone, and called her name. When there was no response, he raced down the hall to her room, which he nearly ransacked in his haste to see if she had left him for good.
There were so few clothes in her closet that for a second he thought she had left him, but as he sorted through them, he realized that she had left behind the clothes she always wore. Could it be these were all she owned? He shook his head. No wonder Jade had never worn any fancy dresses since she moved in with him. She had none.
His heart went out to her. He had few things by choice. Women, it seemed to him, needed clothing for every occasion. He thought of the way Nettie had been outfitted on the two occasions when he had seen her. But Jade had nothing more than the few sad pieces hanging in the armoire.
When he found her valise in the bottom of the closet, the tight pain around his heart eased. Curiosity made him open it. Embarrassment forced him
to snap it shut again. In the dark interior of the valise, Jade had hidden away her ruined wedding gown.
Thankfully, Quan Yen had been in the kitchen waiting for him with fresh coffee, which was all he had for breakfast. When he asked the girl where Jade was, she had shaken her head sadly and said, “Missee go out. Not home.” He asked after Tao Ling and received the same response. Frustrated, J.T. then went out to the stables to put the horses through their paces.
He spent the morning going through the motions of his work while his mind remained occupied with worry over Jade. Last night when she had finally come to him, she had given him more joy than he had ever known. He fell asleep, certain that things had changed between them. His father’s business holdings had nearly all been liquidated. A buyer was interested in the house. Soon, he could return to New Mexico. Last night, he had been certain Jade would go with him. Now, once again, he did not know what she was up to.
When he saw Tao walking up the drive alone, Jason met the houseboy halfway. When he asked after Jade, Tao suddenly looked as worried as Jason felt, and said he had no idea where she was. J.T. was ready to set out after her, but he did not even know where to start looking. It was nearly noon. He decided to give her an hour.
Before the noon meal he went upstairs to wash up. Halfway down the staircase, Jason heard a knock at the door and hurried to open it, ready to give Jade a good talking to. Instead, he stood dumbfounded when he opened the door and faced Cash Younger and his wife, Guadalupe.
“Uncle Cash?” Jason couldn’t believe they were standing there on the doorstep. “Lupita?”
“Don’t stand there gawkin’, J.T.! Open the door. We’ve come to visit.”
It was Cash Younger all right. All six feet of him. But more stooped than Jason remembered. The lines about Cash’s sun-creased skin were a bit deeper, his skin pale—as if he had not seen the sun in weeks. His uncle seemed to be favoring his left side, which led Jason to assume he had suffered another of his infamous accidents. Cash’s full head of hair was almost completely silver. The man appeared to be tired, but his blue eyes were as full of life as ever.
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