Wild Justice

by Joanna Mansell

  His gaze sharpened noticeably. 'Cassandra, why are you behaving like this?'

  'Oh, no reason at all!' she retorted with heavy sarcasm. 'I mean, I know I'm being completely unreasonable. After all, we've only been apart a couple of months. And I'm sure you've got a dozen perfectly good reasons why you didn't write, or even ring. I just can't understand why I'm not flinging myself straight into your arms, absolutely delighted to see you!'

  He didn't seem too worried about her outburst. A few seconds later, she found out why.

  'Only someone who'd missed me like hell would get so upset,' he said, with some satisfaction.

  'Oh, you are so conceited!' she said furiously.

  Jared merely grinned. 'No, not conceited. Just fairly confident about certain things.' He paused, and his dark features became more sober. 'Are you going to tell me about your father?'

  'There's been a very slight improvement,' she said at last. 'It's early days yet, but the doctor's hopeful that it'll continue.'

  'You don't go and see him very often any more.' It wasn't a question, but a statement.

  Cassandra lifted her head. 'How did you know that?'

  'I've made it my business to keep track of things over the past couple of months.'

  'You've been spying on me?'

  'Just keeping a friendly eye on the situation.'

  'Why?' she demanded.

  Jared's silver eyes narrowed a fraction. 'I thought I'd already made that perfectly clear.' He levered himself away from the doorway, and came a little further into the room. Cassandra had forgotten just how imposing he could appear at times, and she huddled down a little further in her chair.

  'I suppose you want to know why I stayed away for so long?' he went on.

  'I'm sure you've got a very plausible explanation,' Cassandra said stiffly.

  'I don't know if you'll consider it plausible, but it seems to make a lot of sense to me.' He perched on the edge of the desk, no more than a couple of feet away from her, and she tried hard not to look at him because it seemed to do funny things to her nervous system. 'After you'd left Glenveil, I couldn't see any point in coming straight after you, because you'd made your position perfectly clear. You were going to look after your father, and you just weren't interested in anything—or anyone—else.'

  'I didn't say I wasn't interested,' she interrupted in a low voice.

  'All right,' Jared agreed. 'Perhaps that was the wrong word. Let's just say that your conscience wouldn't let you stay with me. You felt a whole load of guilt over what had happened, and the only way you could try to get rid of that guilt was by "doing your duty", and being the loving, supportive daughter your father wanted you to be. Is that about it?'

  'It's a very simplified way of looking at it. But, yes, it's about right,' she admitted.

  'I thought if I gave you time, you'd eventually realise you were on the wrong track,' Jared continued. 'That you'd see your father would only get worse if you were constantly hanging around. It would just feed and strengthen his obsession for you.'

  Cassandra twisted her fingers together edgily. 'The doctor told me more or less the same thing. I only wanted to help, to put things right,' she muttered defensively. 'Was that wrong?'

  'Not wrong,' he said in an unexpectedly gentle voice. 'Just rather misguided.'

  She sighed. 'I've made such a total mess of things.'

  'You did what seemed the right thing at the time. It's all anyone can ever do. And I didn't help things by staying away too long. I should have come back before this.'

  'Why didn't you?' she asked in a subdued tone.

  'I suppose I needed some more time myself. I wanted to be sure of what I was offering you. Before I could be absolutely certain, though, I had to get my own life together again.' He gave a rather crooked smile. 'You want to know what I've been doing these last few weeks? I've been working.' He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, brightly coloured box. 'This is only a prototype, but it'll give you a good idea what the finished product will look like.'

  The first thing she saw was the name of the company, splashed across the corner of the box. Cassandra Toys.

  'I know I only meant it as a joke when I first suggested it,' Jared said, slightly apologetically. 'But it seemed as good a name as any. Do you mind?'

  'No. No, of course not,' she said a little dazedly. She lifted the lid of the box, and then stared at the small pieces of metal and plastic neatly packaged inside.

  'When you fit them all together, it becomes a spaceship, doesn't it?' she said slowly. 'The spaceship you showed me up in your workshop, at Glenveil.'

  Jared nodded. 'There are half a dozen different models—transporters, shuttlecraft, interplanetary ships. And I've finished the space station, as well. Kids will either be able to buy the models individually, or they can gradually collect them all and make them up into a much bigger playkit. And I'm working on an alien spacefleet, as well, so kids can play at repelling invaders from outer space. If everything goes well, I should be able to get them into the shops by next autumn. With some imaginative advertising, we should capture quite a chunk of the Christmas trade.'

  'I'm glad you've got your life together again.'

  'No, not quite together,' he told her, his face becoming very still. 'One large and very important part is still missing.'

  But she was growing a little wary again now. It wasn't that simple. In fact, it wasn't simple at all.

  'I couldn't ever seem to get through to you before,' she reminded him. 'You kept me locked out nearly all the time. Why should things be different now?'

  'Because being away from you for so long made me realise one thing very clearly. I don't like being separated from you. As for not getting through to me—you damned well did!' he said in a suddenly husky voice. 'It's just that I'd never admit it.'

  'But I can't simply pretend things are all right,' she said stubbornly. 'They're not.'

  In one swift movement, Jared swung himself round to her side of the desk, grasped her wrists and pulled her to her feet, and then stared at her with eyes that were suddenly very bright.

  'We can argue about this all night,' he muttered. 'But I'm getting tired of all these words. Let's try settling things in a more traditional way.'

  He didn't give her time to protest. Another quick tug on her wrists brought her up close against him. Then his mouth was hungrily exploring hers, as if they had been apart for two years instead of two months.

  Cassandra fought against him half-heartedly, knowing there was a lot more she had to say to him, but at the same time unable to resist the hard, comforting warmth of him, the delicious pressure of his lips and the sweet invasion of his tongue.

  'Mmm,' he murmured in satisfaction, a couple of minutes later. 'It's even better than I remembered. I must have been insane to have stayed away for so long. I should have come down and just carried you off.'

  'The way you did the first time?' she reminded him a little tartly.

  'At the time, I thought that was the most irrational thing I'd ever done in my entire life. Looking back, though, I think it was definitely the most sensible.' He pulled her a little closer, and this time she didn't resist. 'You've stopped fighting me,' he observed, with obvious pleasure. 'Good. I like my women willing.'

  'How many of them have you got?' she queried with mock indignation.

  He didn't even bother to answer. Instead, he bent his head to hers again, and as he subjected her to another of those long, druggingly pleasurable kisses, his hands began to move over her restlessly, impatient to reacquaint themselves with the tantalising curves of her body.

  Cassandra closed her eyes, her head dizzy with the irresistible mixture of love and pleasure. For just a few moments, she forgot that she had meant to be far more cautious than this, that there was so much that still had to be resolved.

  Then Jared's hands suddenly stopped moving, and she felt him become oddly tense. Her own head began to clear, and she remembered—too late!—that she hadn't meant to let hi
m this near to her. At least, not yet.

  She tried to pull back, but he wouldn't entirely release her. One hand still gripped her wrist, while the other ran lightly over her breasts, down to her waist and hips, and then back to her breasts again.

  Anyone watching might have thought it a lover's caress. Cassandra knew better, though. He can't know, she tried to reassure herself a little frantically. He can't!

  His silver eyes came up to meet hers, and wouldn't release her gaze again.

  'You're pregnant,' he said flatly.

  Although part of her had been expecting it, his words still came as a shock. She hadn't even got used to the idea herself yet.

  'I don't know for certain,' she muttered defensively. 'I was going to get a test after Christmas. It might be just a false alarm,' she added, with a touch of defiance.

  Jared's expression didn't change. 'You don't need a test.' He held up his hand and she gazed, a little hypnotised, at his long, strong fingers. 'I can pick up two pieces of wood,' he told her evenly, 'and just by touching them, I know if one of them is a fraction thicker than the other.' Then he let his hand return to her body again. 'You've lost weight, you're thinner,' he went on. 'I can feel the outline of your ribs. But your breasts—' his fingers drifted against their underswell '—they're fuller. Not by much—not yet—but the difference is there. And there's a very slight swell to your stomach. I know you, Cassandra,' he went on in an unexpectedly thick voice. 'I can remember what every inch of your body felt like when I touched it. Don't tell me that I'm imagining the difference I can feel in it now!'

  'You're so clever,' she flung back at him a little resentfully. 'It's a wonder you don't hire yourself out as a pregnancy testing service. You'd make a fortune!'

  He ignored her response. 'Were you going to tell me?' he demanded directly.

  'Yes—I suppose so.'

  'When?'

  'I don't know!' She glared at him angrily. 'I didn't know you were going to come marching back into my life again. I hadn't made any definite plans, I didn't know what I was going to do.'

  And that, at least, was the truth. From the day when she had first suspected her pregnancy, she had pushed it right to the back of her mind and refused to think about it. It was one more complication in her life, and she had felt she just couldn't cope with it.

  'Do you want the baby?'

  Her eyes suddenly blazed. 'Of course!' Then she was immediately surprised at her answer. It was the first time she had admitted it, even to herself.

  'Then you'd better take me along with it,' Jared told her. His face looked rather white, but his voice was quite firm.

  'What do you mean by that?'

  'It's a rather clumsy proposal of marriage.'

  Cassandra's mouth set in a stubborn line. 'That isn't necessary. I'll manage.'

  'My God,' he said in pure irritation, 'there are times when you drive me nearly crazy! I'd probably shake you, if it weren't for your condition.'

  'I just don't think it would be a good idea,' she persisted, trying to keep her own voice steady, and wishing that her knees weren't trembling quite so much.

  'Would you like to give me one valid reason why not?'

  'You got married the first time just to give your child a name and a home. And now you're going to do the same thing all over again! Self-sacrifice isn't a good basis for a marriage.'

  Jared shook his head in disbelief. 'And what exactly do you think I'd be giving up?'

  'Well—your freedom, your independence.'

  'Did I say I wanted either of those things?'

  She gave an uncertain shrug. 'I suppose not.'

  Jared sighed, and this time he did shake her, only very gently. 'Cassandra, haven't you been listening to a single thing I've been saying to you this evening? I came back because I love you and I want you. The fact that you're pregnant doesn't make the slightest bit of difference—except that I happen to be delighted about it. At least, I will be once I've got over the shock!' When she still looked unconvinced, he slid his hand into his pocket. 'I brought you a Christmas present,' he said more softly. The ring he slid on to her finger had an exquisite amethyst surrounded by small, sparkling diamonds. 'I chose the amethyst to match your eyes,' he told her. 'You can change it, if you want to.'

  Dazedly, she shook her head. 'It's perfect,' she whispered.

  'It's to remind you that you're mine,' Jared said huskily. 'At least, until I can get a gold band to go with it, and make the whole thing completely legal.'

  'I don't know what to say—' she muttered shakily.

  'That certainly makes a change!' Jared teased gently. 'But if you can't manage anything else, how about a simple "yes"?'

  She couldn't even get that out, though. Instead, she just nodded happily, her eyes suddenly very bright.

  'So—where would you like to spend Christmas?' he asked her. 'It can be anywhere you like—as long as it's with me.'

  She lifted her head and looked at him, her gaze still sparkling. 'I'd like to go back to Glenveil.' Then she almost laughed out loud at the surprise that clearly showed on his face.

  'It'll be cold and draughty,' he warned her.

  She slid her arms comfortably around his neck. 'We can stay in bed, to keep warm.'

  'There'll be no hot water when we get there.'

  'Then we'll make do with a quick wash. I definitely don't want you taking any cold showers,' she told him solemnly.

  Jared grinned back at her. 'Don't worry. It would take more than a cold shower to have any effect on the way I feel whenever you come near me.' He glanced at his watch. 'If we leave now, we can drive overnight and be there by tomorrow morning. How does that sound?'

  'Fine.' She sighed contentedly. 'It'll be very romantic, don't you think? Christmas in that big house, with crackling log fires and snow on the hills.' She looked at him a little anxiously. 'There will be snow, won't there?'

  'Of course,' he said. 'I promise it.'

  She suddenly looked a little wistful. 'I didn't get you a Christmas present.'

  Jared laid his hand against her stomach. 'Yes, you did. Although it wasn't quite the one I was expecting!'

  'Have you got over the shock yet?'

  'Just about. Do I still look pale?'

  Cassandra studied his face. 'No. In fact, you look a little bit flushed.'

  'Mmm,' he murmured. 'Well, I told you what happens every time you get close to me!' He bent his head and took one quick, fierce kiss; then he reluctantly let go of her again. 'We'd better stop right there, or I'll be in no fit state to drive!'

  'You don't mind spending Christmas at Glenveil?'

  'I don't mind spending it on the moon, as long as you're right there with me.'

  'It's funny,' she said, 'but I really hated that house at first. Now, I can hardly wait to get back there.'

  'It'll certainly be a very handy retreat whenever we want to spend some uninterrupted time together. Which will probably be quite often,' he told her huskily. He slid his hand through hers. 'Let's get going.'

  And, for once, Cassandra didn't argue with him. In fact, she was quite certain that she was going to spend the next few days doing exactly what he wanted!