by Bobbi Smith
At Reina's unexpected invitation, Clay's desire for her flamed even hotter. But knowing her for the liar that she was, he firmly believed her display of wanting him was just a put-on. He thought she might eventually try to use his passion as a tool against him, and he was not going to let that happen. He would play along with her. He would match her lies with lies of his own, but only for as long as he had to. Taking her in his arms as an ardent lover should, he claimed her lips in a commanding kiss.
Reina was enthralled that he hadn't thought her too brazen. She melted eagerly against him. This was what she'd wanted... this was what she'd been longing for.
Clay's mouth moved hungrily over hers, his tongue seeking and dueling with hers in an intimate dance of love. She returned his fervent ardor without reserve. Her hands restlessly touching him, exploring the broad width of his chest and the strength of his powerful shoulders. She wanted to get close to him, closer than she'd ever been to anyone before.
Reina's wanton, unbridled response excited Clay even against his will. She was like a fire in his blood, yet he struggled against surrendering to the need to cast fate to the wind and slake his passion for her. Her kisses really meant nothing to him, he told himself angrily. Her touch did not thrill him. This was his job. He had to be convincing.
Yet, even as Clay tried to persuade himself that that was all true, he was being swept away by a force of emotions he didn't understand. Rational thought deserted him completely at the feel of her body close to his. No matter how much he'd tried to deny it, he did want her. God, how he wanted her! Consumed by his driving need, he began to caress her.
Reina was feeling lightheaded and dizzy, and she attributed it all to Clay's exhilarating kisses. Every nerve in her body was tingling in anticipation. When he finally sought the soft roundness of her breast, a moan of pure ecstasy escaped her. Overnight, she'd pondered the intimacies she'd allowed him and how she'd been so excited by his touch. Reina had found it difficult to believe that anything could have really felt that exquisite. She'd thought that maybe she'd made it all up, imagined it all. Now, however, she knew her memory hadn't been faulty. Clay's caress was intoxicating. Why, even now, the joy of it was so great, she felt as if she might faint.
At the sound of her pleasure, Clay shifted them both down onto the blanket. Reina thought it was heaven to lie next to him and to have him stretched out full length beside her. His kisses deepened, becoming even more fervid as he began to undo the buttons on her bodice. She shivered in anticipation of his touch, and when he parted the fabric, she cried out softly to him of her eagerness.
His breathing ragged, his face flushed with excitement, Clay stared down at the beauty of Reina's bared breasts. His passion for her raged at a fever pitch. He was like a man possessed as he moved to press hot, stirring kisses to her lips, throat and then lower to the creamy mounds of her breasts.
At the caress of his lips upon her bosom, Reina arched upward in surprise. The touch of his hand had been wonderful. The touch of his mouth was pure bliss. Reina was on fire with yearning, yet she couldn't think any more. Her thoughts were a con fusing jumble. Only Clay was reality.. .only Clay.
Clay continued to arouse her with practiced expertise. When she began to move restlessly beneath his caresses, he moved up over her and sought her lips in a devouring kiss.
Breathlessly, Reina returned it full measure. She found she suddenly wanted to give him as much pleasure as he was giving her. In the way of innocents because she wasn't sure exactly what to do, she just tried to imitate his caresses. She thought it odd that her arms felt so heavy and awkward as she lifted them to him, but she was too enthralled by the erotic sensations that were throbbing through her to worry over much.
Clay began to caress her again, exploring the taut peaks and silken valleys of her breasts. Brushing aside her skirts and underthings, he sought that which made her woman. Frightened, Reina initially shied from this boldness.
"Easy, love... easy ...I won't hurt you," he promised.
Her heart swelled as she heard him call her love." She believed him. She believed he would never hurt her. She trusted him and wanted him. When he touched her so intimately again, she did not resist.
"Clay... there's something-" she started to confess all, but his lips sought hers again, and it was momentarily forgotten.
His passion was surging. His need was hot and real.
"Clay... oh, Clay," she cried as his touch created sensations within her that she'd never experienced before.
He had been intent on making love to Reina until the sound of her calling his name jolted him from his sensual reverie and chilled him to his heart. Think! Remember! his conscience screamed. Was it worth risking Dev's safety for one quick moment of sensual pleasure? For that's all this was-a flash of passion and desire, nothing else. His body throbbed with need, but he ignored it. Angry, and wanting to let her know her little charade was over, he rose above her.
"Isabel..." Clay began.
She tried to focus on him, knowing that she had something important to tell him, but she found herself befuddled. It seemed as if reality was slipping away from her. She suddenly felt very sleepy. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open, and when the fight became too much to continue she let them drift closed. The last words she heard as she drifted off were...
"Isabel," he repeated, "if I were a religious man, I'd swear I'd been blessed in finding you. You really must be a godsend"
Clay paused, waiting and watching. He'd expected her to react in some way to his words, but when Reina went limp in his arms, he was not disappointed. He smiled sharkishly, pleased that at last, the laudanum had done its work.
Clay took a deep, steadying breath, then shifted away from her. He quickly straightened her clothes, and it was an exercise in self-discipline to rebutton the bodice of her dress. Reina was lovely. It would be a hard man who could refuse her, but he considered himself a hard man. A little frustrated right now, but hard.
He carried Reina to the carriage, then made short work of cleaning up the area. He kept only the wine bottle with them. A short time later, he reached the rendezvous point he'd set up with Calvin and Jefferson, two of his father's servants. He was glad to find that they were there right on time just as he'd instructed.
"Did you hear from Jacob?"
"Yes, sir. He sent word that the name of the boat you're wanting is the Crosswinds."
"Good," Clay answered. As he'd arranged with them earlier that morning, they switched vehicles. He and Reina were now riding in the privacy of an enclosed coach with Calvin driving.
Both Hal and Jefferson exchanged worried looks as Clay placed an unconscious Reina in the carriage. They had had no idea that their special meeting with him had anything to do with stealing a woman, and they wondered why someone like Mr. Clay would have to resort to such tactics. Still, he had sworn them to secrecy that morning when he'd asked for their help, and they knew they would never breathe a word of what happened here today, even though they thought it mighty strange.
At Clay's instruction, Jefferson took the carriage that had been used for the picnic and headed off to the Delacroix house to deliver the letter to Emilie that Clay had penned the night before.
"Where we going, Mr. Clay?" Calvin asked after Jefferson had driven off.
"New Orleans, Calvin, and be quick about it. There's not a lot of time."
As the carriage moved off at a good clip, Clay settled back in the plush confines to consider his next move. Everything had to go exactly as he'd planned or he might find himself in big trouble. It wouldn't look very good in town if he was forced to carry a screaming, battling Reina up the gangplank to the Crosswinds. They had to reach the boat before she awoke from her slumber. He could only hope that she'd imbibed enough of the drugged wine.
Clay glanced over at her where she was braced awkwardly against the side of the carriage. He thought she looked miserably uncomfortable. For some unknown reason, he found himself changing seats to sit beside her. Wit
h care, Clay gently drew her across his lap. He held her there, cradled against him as they raced through the afternoon on the first leg of their desperate return journey to California.
Reina felt as if she was spiraling upward from the bottom of a deep, deep pool. She could hear, but the sounds were garbled and seemed strangely foreign to her. She struggled to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy. She tried to think of the reason why she was so tired, but she couldn't remember much of anything. Her thoughts were blurred and vaguely disconnected.
Reina attempted to move, then grew frightened when she discovered she had little control over her body. Her arms were like leaden weights at her sides. She wanted to call out for help, but could find no words to use. Tossing fitfully on the bed, she groaned in abject misery, wondering what was wrong.
Suddenly out of nowhere, strong, protective arms were around her lifting her up, pressing a cup to her lips.
"Drink, Reina. Take a deep drink," a deep, familiar voice encouraged.
Reina knew she should recognize that voice, but every time she was about to remember the man's identity, it slipped elusively away from her. The man had told her to drink from the cup he was offering her, so she obediently took a big swallow. It surprised Reina that the liquid he was offering her was wine.
"Good," the mystery man praised. "Try another."
She took another sip at his urging.
"It's a shame that you're not always this submissive," the voice said.
The man laid her back down on what she guessed was a bed, for it was soft beneath her. A comforting warmth stole over her, and reality slowly vanished. Reina was quietly unconcerned as she felt herself floating away
Reina opened her eyes, then quickly closed them again as a wave of nausea turned her stomach. She felt so ill that she remained completely still while she took a deep breath.
"Emilie?" Reina called out her friend's name and was startled to find that her voice was hoarse almost to the point of being a rasping whisper. When there was no response to her call, she figured that her friend probably hadn't heard her. Surely, Emilie was close by.
"Emilie?" Reina tried again, a little louder this time. When she heard the scrape of a chair on the floor, she relaxed a little, feeling somewhat better, knowing her friend was there. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but-"
With an effort, Reina had finally managed to open her eyes again just as she started to speak. At the sight of Clay, not Emilie, sitting beside the bed, she stopped in mid-sentence.
"Clay?" she asked in bewilderment, wondering what he was doing there in her bedroom. Her gaze swept quickly around the room, and she realized with some shock that nothing was familiar to her. It was not her bedroom. But if it was not her room, then whose was it? Where was she? Her thoughts were in turmoil as she tried to remember-tried to think.
"Glad to see that you're finally back among the living," Clay drawled as he flashed her a wide smile. He'd been sitting there at her bedside for the better part of a day just waiting for her to come around. He was glad to see that the drug had finally worn off, but he was not looking forward to the explosion of wrath he knew was about to take place.
"What happened?" Hazy memories of the picnic were spinning through her mind. "Did I get sick on our outing? Where am I?"
"You're on a boat," came his answer.
Reina was perplexed by his reply. Why would she be on a boat? Her head was pounding, and the more she tried to figure things out, the more confusing everything became. When she tried to lift one hand to rub her aching brow, she discovered to her horror that her arms were tied to the bed at her sides. It was then that everything became perfectly clear to her. It was over ...he knew! Clay knew the truth!
"You know..." she whispered.
"Oh, yes, Reina. I know," he snarled. "I knew the minute I saw you at the Randolphs'."
She almost groaned out loud in mortification. Completely humiliated, she wondered how she could have been so stupid as to believe that he really hadn't recognized her! How naive and gullible she'd been! "But you acted as if-"
"I acted, Reina, and I learned from watching a master performer-you. You really should think about giving lessons, you know," he complimented her snidely. "I was completely fooled back on the stagecoach. Wonderful disguise-Sister Mary Regina. You had me believing you were a pure, chaste young woman who'd devoted her life to doing good works and serving God. Goes to show just how wrong you can be about people sometimes."
Reina remembered then the very last thing she'd heard him say right before she'd lost consciousness. "If I were a religious man, I'd swear I'd been blessed in finding you. You really must be a godsend." She was mortified. She'd been such a fool! She should have run that night at the Randolphs' as her instincts had told her to. She should never have stayed and tried to brazen it out. Never!
"Why didn't you just drag me off that first night and be done with it? Why did you play along with me?" She was humiliated. She'd fancied herself in love with him and had thought he was falling in love with her. How could she have been so mistaken?
Clay gave a derisive laugh. "Just how far do you think I would have gotten if I'd tried to carry you off? No, no, it was far better to carry you off quietly, than to carry you off fighting and screaming. You were very quiet when I brought you on board, Reina, you were sleeping in my arms just like a baby."
"The wine!" she gasped in outraged horror. "No wonder you wouldn't drink any of it!" She recalled his statement about choosing the wine "just for her" and she remembered how special she'd felt knowing he'd been so thoughtful. Now, all she felt was sick. Lies... What she'd thought had been the beginning of a beautiful love had all been lies.
"Yes, this has turned out to be a most interesting job," he mused. "My plan worked quite well, don't you think?"
Clay sounded so smugly secure that all Reina wanted to do was hit him. Had she been untied, she would have done it. She flushed scarlet as she thought of how simple she'd made everything for him-never telling Emilie that he was her father's hired gun and then by stupidly agreeing to go on a picnic with him. She'd thought herself in love, but he'd never really wanted her at all. He'd only been doing his job! Pain stabbed at her heart.
Reina blanched as she realized that her worst fears had come to pass. Clay had found her; Clay had trapped her; Clay was taking her back against her will!
"Untie me!" she demanded, growing more furious with each and every passing minute. She wasn't sure if she was angrier with him or herself.
"Not yet," he said simply, annoying her even further.
"Not yet?" she echoed outraged. "Why not? We're on a boat, out in the middle of God knows where! What do you expect me to do? Jump overboard and swim back to shore?"
"I wouldn't put anything past you at this point, Reina, and I'm not going to let you go until I'm sure you won't cause any trouble. Right now, we're in the Gulf about six or seven hours from port, heading full steam for the Isthmus of Panama," he went on coolly, leaning back in the chair and folding his arms across his chest in a very self-confident gesture. "You're on your way home. It's my job to make sure you get there."
Reina's thoughts turned chaotic as she stared at him. For an instant tears burned her eyes, but she fought them back. She couldn't go back and marry Nathan! She just couldn't! The thought that she might break down and cry angered her even more, and she began to fight against her bonds.
"Let me up!" she snapped.
"As soon as you admit defeat and agree not to make any trouble for the rest of the trip, we'll talk about untying you."
"I hate you, Clay Cordell!" Her dark eyes flashed defiantly at him. "I'll never stop trying to get away!"
"That's your choice, and that's exactly why you're tied down. It won't inconvenience me in the least to keep you flat on your back for the rest of the voyage. In fact, it might prove interesting. You certainly were willing enough on the picnic..."
"You...!"
"Pleasant as it was at the time," Clay went on easily,
"I knew you were only acting. I never believed you for a minute."
He'd thought she'd been pretending the whole time they'd been together. Reina was devastated. "But I believed you."
She sounded so sincere that for a moment Clay was almost convinced. At the last second, though, he remembered just who he was dealing with, and he gave a derisive laugh. "Sure you did, Reina," he drawled disparagingly. "Is this some new act now? How many other lies do you want to tell me?"
Reina's spirit stiffened under the cruel onslaught of his reply. "You'll never know!"
"That's exactly why I want your word that you're going to behave yourself before I let you up. Not that I mind keeping you like this, but it might prove a bit awkward, if the captain starts wondering why you never leave our cabin."
"You're a vile, disgusting man!"
Clay shrugged off her words as if her opinion of him mattered little to him. "I'm a determined man, Miss Alvarez. Surely, you knew that a long time ago."
Fear frissoned through Reina as she tried to think. "What about Emilie? She's going to be worried about me. I'll bet the whole Delacroix family is out looking for me right now!"
"I doubt it," he answered, apparently unconcerned that a posse of Delacroixs could be scouring the area looking for her.
"Why?" Reina barely whispered, knowing that somehow he'd covered that possibility, too.
"Because Emilie got a wonderful letter from us telling her how happy we were and how we were running off together."
"You didn't...?"
"I most certainly did."
"But you don't know that she believed you!" Reina was grasping desperately for straws.
Even as she said it, though, Reina realized that Emilie probably would have believed it. After all, hadn't she teasingly told her to elope with Clay if the opportunity arose? Reina could have kicked herself for having gone along with her ridiculous suggestion at the time. If she'd balked at the idea, then Emilie might have suspected that something was wrong. Right now, her friend probably thought she was blissfully happy.