Tidewater Seduction

by Anne Mather

  Joanna’s jaw sagged. ‘But how do you know your mother was sending those letters?’

  Cole’s face hardened. ‘I confronted her with it after you’d left, and she had the nerve to tell me she’d done it for my own good.’

  ‘For your own good?’

  ‘Yes. It turns out Ma knew all about my father’s involvement with Sarah, and about Nathan, too. But there was nothing she could do about it, not without incurring my father’s wrath, so she kept it all bottled up inside her. Then, when you and Nathan got to know one another, she saw a chance to—to——’

  ‘Kill two birds with one stone,’ said Joanna shakily. ‘Oh, God, Cole! How could she? What had Nathan ever done to her?’

  ‘He existed,’ said Cole simply. ‘I didn’t realise how badly it had affected her until six weeks ago.’

  Joanna felt dazed. ‘It’s unbelievable.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Poor Nathan.’

  ‘Yes, poor Nathan.’ Cole’s mouth tightened. ‘Can you ever forgive me?’

  ‘Forgive you?’ Joanna realised she was repeating his words, but she couldn’t help it.

  ‘Yes, forgive me,’ said Cole harshly. ‘If I hadn’t been so quick to believe the worst of you, none of this need have happened.’

  Joanna hesitated. ‘And—and Sammy-Jean?’

  ‘What about Sammy-Jean?’

  ‘You—you married her.’

  ‘Yes, I married her.’ Cole’s shoulders slumped. ‘And I know that condemns me in your eyes, doesn’t it? But, when you walked out, three years ago, I didn’t care what I did any more. It was what Ma wanted,’ he added bitterly. ‘And, after what Pa had put her through, I thought she deserved a break.’

  Joanna trembled. ‘Did you love her?’

  ‘If I’d loved Sammy-Jean, I’d have married her five years ago, instead of you,’ he replied quietly.

  ‘Oh, Cole!’ Joanna moved her head in a helpless gesture, wishing he would put down his jacket and do something, instead of just standing there, staring at her. ‘So—what are you saying?’

  ‘I’d have thought that was obvious,’ replied Cole flatly, and there was a look of weary acceptance in his eyes. ‘I wanted us to be together again. But—I guess I waited too long to tell you.’

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  COLE was turning away, threading his finger through the tab of his jacket, ready to loop it over his shoulder, when Joanna came to her senses. Abandoning the unnatural detachment with which she had listened to his explanations, she flew across the room, and flung herself into his arms. ‘What took you so long?’ she choked, burying her hot face against his chest. ‘Oh, God, Cole, I’ve missed you so much!’

  His reactions were less dramatic than hers, but far more violent. With a groan of anguish, his arms closed about her, and she felt his muscles trembling as he hugged her tight against him.

  ‘I wanted to come after you right away,’ he told her unsteadily, his lips against her ear. ‘But there were things to do, things I had to see to. I wanted you to know what I was offering, before you made up your mind.’

  Joanna wound her arms about his neck. ‘Nothing’s more important than our being together,’ she whispered unsteadily. ‘And—and as long as you love me, that’s all that matters.’

  ‘No.’ Joanna looked a little anxious at his denial, but Cole pushed his fingers into the silky length of her hair, and held her face up to his. ‘No, that’s not all that matters,’ he told her huskily. ‘I thought it was once. I thought where we lived wasn’t important. I was so selfish—so jealous of your work—I wanted to absorb you into my life so completely, you wouldn’t have time for anything else.’

  ‘Cole——’

  ‘No, listen to me,’ he implored her. ‘I was wrong. I was wrong to expect you to live with my family, and I was wrong to try and stop you from continuing with your career.’ His thumb brushed an errant tear from her cheek. ‘That won’t happen again.’

  ‘Oh, Cole——’

  ‘There’s more.’ He couldn’t resist brushing her soft mouth with his, but when she would have deepened the kiss he drew back. ‘If you don’t want to go back to Tidewater, we needn’t. I’ll sell the place if you want, and move to England. It’s up to you——’

  Joanna gasped. ‘You’d sell Tidewater? But what about your father and mother?’

  ‘Since Pa had his stroke, I’ve been given his power of attorney. Besides, Pa will never go back to Tidewater, he knows that. He’s been moved to a nursing facility in Charleston, where they can monitor his condition on a day-to-day basis. And Ma? Well, she and Sandy and the twins are staying with Joe and Alicia for the time being. She knew she and I couldn’t go on living in the same house, and I guess, eventually, she’ll get a place in Beaumaris.’

  Joanna stared at him. ‘So there’s no one living at the house?’

  ‘Only Ben.’ Cole grimaced. ‘And the staff, of course. Not forgetting Henry.’

  ‘And—that’s why you waited this long before you came to see me?’

  ‘Yes.’ Cole looked rueful. ‘I wanted there to be no more misunderstandings. If—if you agree to marry me again, it’ll be on your terms, not mine. I’m not much good at relationships. I always screw up.’

  Joanna’s lips quivered. ‘I wouldn’t say that.’

  ‘I would.’ Cole drew her even closer, and she revelled in the solid feel of his hard body. ‘I’ve had plenty of time to think, and I don’t care about anything so long as we’re together. You’re all that matters to me. You always were; you always will be.’

  Some time later, Cole stepped into the shower cubicle beside her, and Joanna gulped as his damp hands curved possessively about her thighs. Drawing her back against his hips, he took over the task of soaping her breasts and stomach, and Joanna shivered uncontrollably.

  They had just spent the last couple of hours renewing their marriage vows in the most satisfying way possible, and it was amazing to feel the stirring heaviness of his arousal against her bottom. ‘You’re insatiable, do you know that?’ she whispered unevenly, as his hands slid down between her legs, and Cole chuckled as he turned her towards him.

  ‘Only where you’re concerned,’ he assured her huskily. ‘Does it bother you?’

  ‘Should it?’

  ‘Only if you’re thinking of leaving me again.’

  Joanna’s smile was gratifying. ‘I’m not.’

  ‘Honestly?’

  She wound her arms around his neck, and lifted one leg to coil it about him. ‘What do you think?’

  Cole groaned. ‘I think if we don’t get out of here pretty soon, I’m going to explode,’ he muttered thickly. ‘God, Jo, you have no idea what you do to me.’

  ‘I have a pretty good idea,’ she giggled softly, as he stepped out of the shower with her in his arms, and grabbed a towel on his way back to the bedroom. ‘Hey, you forgot to turn off the taps.’

  ‘To hell with the taps,’ retorted Cole tersely, and her laughter died beneath the hungry possession of his mouth.

  It was hunger of a different kind that eventually drove Joanna to wriggle away from Cole’s sleeping form, and slip her arms into the sleeves of her silk wrapper. For the first time since she got back to England, she felt really hungry, and she was munching her way through a dish of cornflakes when Cole appeared in the kitchen doorway. Unlike her, he didn’t have a dressing-gown to wear, and his suit trousers had evidently been pulled on in some haste.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked, eyeing the milky cereal. ‘Isn’t it a little late for breakfast? I was going to suggest taking you out for lunch.’

  ‘Mmm, that sounds interesting.’ Joanna nodded, swallowing another mouthful of the cornflakes. ‘When I’ve finished this I’ll get ready.’

  ‘When you’ve finished that, you won’t be hungry,’ retorted Cole drily, running an exploring hand over the cloud of fine hair that roughened the brown skin of his chest. ‘Don’t you have anything else we could eat?’

  ‘Not really.’ Joanna was
rueful. ‘I—I haven’t felt much like eating since I got back.’

  Cole’s eyes darkened at her words, and his mouth took on a decidedly sensual slant. ‘I’m sorry, baby,’ he said, and it took all Joanna’s determination to stop her from getting up and going to him.

  ‘Yes—well, we should talk,’ she said, pushing the almost empty dish aside, and Cole frowned.

  ‘I thought we had.’

  ‘Oh—well, yes. We have, of course.’ Joanna licked a drop of milk from her lips in unknowing provocation. ‘But—there’s something else——’

  ‘If it’s about Sammy-Jean——’

  ‘It’s not.’

  ‘You have to understand, I was sick with jealousy——’

  ‘Cole, it’s nothing to do with Sammy-Jean.’

  ‘Charley, then.’ Cole moved agitatedly about the kitchen. ‘I know what you’re going to say, but she’s too young to make that kind of a commitment.’

  Joanna looked puzzled now. ‘What kind of a commitment?’

  ‘With Billy Fenton. You do know about her and Billy Fenton, don’t you? She said you did.’

  ‘Oh——’ Joanna knew a moment’s remorse. ‘She told you.’

  ‘No, Ma did,’ said Cole flatly. ‘And, I have to say, I was probably more inclined to take Charley’s side, because of what happened to us.’

  ‘And?’ Joanna was nervously aware that she was prolonging the moment when she would have to tell Cole her suspicions about the baby.

  ‘And I’ve agreed to let her go on seeing him, but she has to go to college. I don’t want her doing anything she’s going to regret later.’

  Joanna looked up at him. ‘As you did?’

  ‘Yes. As I did,’ said Cole roughly. ‘God, Joanna, what is it? What’s wrong? There’s something, I know——’

  He broke off. ‘I’ve told you—I’ll do anything you say.’

  ‘It’s not that.’ Joanna hesitated only a moment, and then she got to her feet. ‘I don’t mind if we live at Tidewater.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. I’m sure.’ Joanna linked her hands together. ‘In fact, I think it’s only right that our—our children should be brought up there. It’s their heritage. It’s where they belong.’

  Cole’s face cleared. ‘Children,’ he said wryly. ‘You’re sure we’ll have children, then?’

  Joanna nodded. ‘I’m sure.’

  ‘Well …’ Cole came across the room and pulled her into his arms ‘… just for the record, whether we do or we don’t, I’d like to say, here and now, you’ll always be the most important thing in my life. And——’ he took a breath ‘—if you don’t want a family, I can live with it.’

  Joanna sniffed. ‘You still think I was using some kind of contraception, don’t you?’

  ‘No.’ Cole shook his head. ‘Not any more. Not after everything that’s happened. But—maybe we weren’t meant to have any children. God, we’ve got so much! Why should we be greedy and want more?’

  Joanna sniffed again. ‘But if—if we did have a baby, you wouldn’t object?’

  ‘Object?’ Cole pulled a long face. ‘Why would I object? All I’m saying is, so long as I have you——’

  ‘I think I’m pregnant!’

  The words just flipped from Joanna’s tongue, but she couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, and she watched Cole’s face change from gentle reassurance to stunned incredulity.

  ‘Say—what?’ he got out jerkily, and Joanna cupped his face between her hands, and ran the pads of her thumbs over his roughening jawline.

  ‘I think I’m pregnant,’ she said again, trembling in spite of herself. ‘I know it’s sudden, but that—that’s why I was so ill earlier. It’s just the usual morning sickness. I’m pretty sure I’m right.’

  Cole’s stunned expression was giving way to anxious concern now. ‘Have—have you seen a doctor?’ he asked, his lips turning against her palm, and she shook her head.

  ‘I just—realised myself, this morning,’ she admitted unevenly. ‘About five minutes before you rang the bell, to be exact.’

  Cole stared at her. ‘And you let me——’ He broke off, his lean face reddening. ‘God, Jo, you should have told me.’

  ‘Would that have stopped you?’ she teased, reaching up to brush his mouth with her tongue.

  ‘I—maybe,’ he muttered, still not capable of coping with the situation. ‘Oh, Jo——’

  ‘You’re pleased?’

  ‘I’m pleased.’ Cole shook his head. ‘It must have been——’

  ‘That morning on the beach,’ agreed Joanna huskily. ‘I’m so glad I made you do it.’

  ‘Made me?’ Cole groaned. ‘I don’t know how I kept my hands off you as long as I did. From the minute I walked across that patio in Nassau, I knew I was lost.’

  ‘Did you?’ Joanna was eager for more. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘Well …’ Cole parted his legs, so that he could hold her more closely against him. ‘I didn’t want to admit it, but you must have known.’

  ‘No.’ Joanna shook her head now.

  ‘Not even that night, in the back of the taxi?’ suggested Cole drily. ‘Come on, Jo, you knew what happened there. Why’d you think I was so bloody to you afterwards?’

  Joanna dimpled. ‘I thought that was your usual way—with me.’

  Cole laughed too now, softly, and somewhat disbelievingly. ‘Oh, Jo, do you have any idea how much I love you?’

  ‘About as much as I love you, I suppose,’ she whispered, but he wouldn’t have it.

  ‘At least twice as much as that,’ he assured her, burying his hot face in her neck. ‘And to think my mother almost destroyed us. I’ll never forgive her for that.’

  Joanna hugged him close. ‘I must admit, I blamed your father,’ she said. ‘But, as it happens, he was responsible for bringing us together again, wasn’t he?’

  ‘I doubt if that was his intention,’ said Cole ruefully. ‘Though, who knows? After he realised Sammy-Jean and I weren’t going to make it, he had to abandon his ideas of expanding Tidewater.’

  Joanna drew back to look at him. ‘I’m so glad you and Sammy-Jean didn’t have a baby,’ she whispered, and Cole sighed.

  ‘Believe it or not, but I didn’t sleep with Sammy-Jean until after you left Tidewater. And then—well, I guess you could say it was a kind of defence. When you sued for divorce——’

  Joanna spread her fingers over his lips. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ She managed a misty smile. ‘But you are pleased—about the baby, I mean?’

  ‘As long as you are,’ he told her gently. ‘I meant it about your work. I promise not to stand in your way.’

  ‘Hey——’ Joanna allowed a husky chuckle to escape her. ‘I’m no great artist, you know. I enjoy sketching and painting. It gives me pleasure. And it’s a great way to earn a living. But it’s not the most important thing in my life. It never was.’

  ‘Nevertheless——’

  ‘Nevertheless, nothing. The way I feel right now, I don’t care if I never see another paintbrush. I’m going to have a baby; your baby. Here. Touch me! I want us to share every minute of this miracle!’ It was another hot day at Tidewater, but Joanna was used to the heat by now. It was two years since she and Cole had got married for the second time, and she no longer wilted every time the temperature climbed into the nineties and above. Besides, she was too busy to notice what was going on with the weather. She was expecting visitors—Grace and Ray Marsden were coming to spend a few days of their belated honeymoon at Tidewater—and with an eighteen-month-old toddler underfoot, and another baby on the way, she had far too much to think about.

  But she was looking forward to seeing Grace again. Although her parents had come out for a visit the year before, and she was at last on speaking terms with her mother-in-law, it would be nice to see her old friend and colleague.

  She guessed Grace would be agitating about the new series of paintings she was engaged on, but her work was no longer the pivotal part of her life it ha
d once been. Cole, and baby Nathan, had first call on her affections, and she had never felt so fulfilled in her life.

  Of course, it hadn’t been so easy at first. In those early days, it had been hard to come back to Tidewater as its mistress, and even harder to face those members of Cole’s family who had done so much to make their lives intolerable.

  But time was an amazing healer, and, although she and his father had never actually become friends, they had achieved a grudging understanding before Ryan died.

  Cole’s mother had been a different story. Maggie had taken a long time to accept that Joanna was back at Tidewater to stay. But the baby had gone a long way towards effecting a change in her attitude—even if Joanna’s and Cole’s insistence in calling him Nathan had caused a minor upheaval.

  But that was all some time ago now, and, although Joanna knew Maggie had no conscience about what she had done, when it came to choosing between losing a son or gaining a daughter-in-law—even one she didn’t like—it was no contest.

  It had been a great thrill for Sarah, too, when they named the baby after her son. It hadn’t taken Joanna long to realise that, far from not wanting to see Joanna again, Sarah was desperate to talk to someone who had been on such close terms with her son. Of course, Cole had done what he could to make her life easier, and Joanna hadn’t been at all surprised to learn that her husband had helped Sarah open her guest house. He had been one of her first visitors, in the weeks before his mother had left Tidewater for good.

  For the rest, the twins had never really been involved in their parents’ affairs, and Sandy had been too young to understand. Even Joe’s wife, Alicia, had unbent sufficiently to offer advice about feeding the baby, and so on. Because her baby had been born a few months before Joanna’s, she tended to patronise her younger sister-in-law.

  And Joanna let her. It wasn’t important, after all. So long as she had Cole, she was content. And making him happy was all she had ever wanted after all.

  Cole came in at that moment, and found his wife arranging flowers in the guest bedroom. Her face was flushed, damp strands of night-dark hair were clinging to her cheek, and already the evidence of her five months of pregnancy were beginning to show.