He wasn’t happy. “It seems as if I have no choice.”
“I’ll help you, too,” Suzie piped up.
They both turned on her. “No!”
“I’m not leaving you to face this alone. Don’t you dare try and get rid of me. This is the adventure of a lifetime…sorry, I know it’s more serious than that, but I’m not going to leave you. I mean it.”
“Yes, you will,” Melanie retorted, unimpressed. “First sign that Pengorren has transferred his interest to you, and you’re out of here. You have two sons who love you and need you. Promise me, Suzie!”
Suzie’s mouth went mulish, but she gave a grudging, “Okay.”
It was the best Melanie could get out of her.
Nathaniel was looking down at Melanie, at her mouth, and he was no longer smiling.
Suzie cleared her throat. “Well, I think I might go back and see what Eddie’s up to.” She waited, but no one answered her. With a sigh, she turned to go.
“Stay close to the house,” Nathaniel called after her. It was an order.
Suzie turned and gave a smart salute, clicking her heels together, but no one was watching her.
“Stay close to the house,” Suzie muttered. “Who does he think he is? The lord of the manor?” And then she chuckled, because that was exactly what he was.
After Suzie was gone, Melanie told Nathaniel what she had seen Pengorren do to Dorrie, the words sour on her tongue. “You know, when we were in the ballroom upstairs I thought there was something familiar about Suzie. Now I realize what it was. I could see something of Dorrie in her. God, I hate him! I can feel his inheritance inside me—the cruelty, the violence. I’m afraid I’ll end up like him. Unless he kills me first.”
“It won’t happen,” Nathaniel said quietly. “We have to get the key from him, Melanie. Once we have that, he won’t be able to travel through time. He’ll be trapped here, where his physical body is. He’s still old and weak. We can destroy him.”
“If we knew where he was hiding.”
“It can’t be too far.”
“No, he needs to be close to me. I’m the bait, remember.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “How could I forget?”
She reached out and brushed her fingers against his cheek, and they both felt the extreme flash of emotion mixed with sexual hunger. She gazed into his eyes, unable to tear herself away. “I feel as if you’re a part of me, every fiber of my being aches for you. It hurts, Nathaniel.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“Is it real? Or is it all a lie?”
“I think the glamour has a lot to do with it…” His voice trailed off.
“But you wish it was real,” she finished, with a sad smile. “Me, too. Everyone dreams of love like this, all-consuming, all-satisfying. I want so much for it to be true.”
“We should enjoy it while it lasts. Who knows, once we’ve dealt with Pengorren, we might hate the sight of each other.”
Melanie couldn’t imagine it. This sort of love was the stuff of epic poems and romance novels—Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guinevere. Sensual and all-consuming and achingly sweet.
It was a pity that with it came the darker emotions. Cruelty and violence and pleasure from pain.
“I wish you could hold me and take the demons away,” she said. “But we can’t even do that.”
Suzie got on with Eddie like a house afire. They seemed to be able to guess what the other was going to say, which was a little scary. Suzie hadn’t laughed so much for ages, and she felt somewhat guilty about that, considering what Melanie was going through. She should, she supposed, have been wringing her hands, but she’d never been the hand-wringing type.
Eddie told her about Miss Pengorren, and she could tell he’d been fond of the old woman. They examined the portrait of the major, with his missing face, which Suzie found creepy beyond belief. “So that hung on the wall for all those years? Yuk. No wonder she took it down in the end.”
“I don’t think that was the reason,” Eddie said. “She knew Pengorren had done Nathaniel Raven out of his inheritance, and she wanted to make a statement. She had decided opinions, and she wasn’t afraid to say them aloud, but you couldn’t help but like her for it.”
Miss Pengorren was also a descendant of Major Pengorren, and she must have inherited a little of the glamour, even if it wasn’t enough to be noticeable to most people. Like mine, thought Suzie with a sigh.
“The Pengorren’s were a tragic family,” Eddie quoted. “Where’s The Raven’s Curse?” he muttered, and went to find it against the wall, where he told her Nathaniel had thrown it in disgust. When he flipped to the back, there was a family tree, abbreviated of course, but there were still an awful lot of early deaths in each generation. Far more than seemed normal despite the harsh times.
Suzie perched on the arm of Eddie’s armchair, feeling very comfortable. “They can’t have been a very healthy family,” she said, running her finger down the list. “Look, in the end there was only Miss Pengorren left. She had two brothers…they both died before they reached adulthood.”
“During the war she was a nurse for a time. When she came back there was talk of her marrying a man she’d met overseas, but it fizzled out. I don’t know why. She never told me. But I don’t think she regretted not having a family. Maybe she’d seen too much sorrow in her own.”
“Was hers one of those wartime romances that went horribly wrong? Brave and handsome officer turns out to be a right cad.”
“Women always go for the handsome ones,” Eddie said, with a stoic look.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Suzie retorted.
She wondered what Eddie saw in her face, because he blushed. Romance blossomed in the strangest places, she reminded herself.
A phone began to ring, and Suzie saw that it was Melanie’s cell phone, on the corner of the desk. She picked it up. “Hello? Melanie Jones’s phone.”
There was a pause. “Ms. Jones?” The voice was old.
“I’m sorry, she’s not here at the moment, can I take a message?”
“Forgive me, but you sound very like her.”
Suzie laughed. “Well, I am her sister. Who is this?”
“I’m sorry. This is Mr. Trewartha. I’m an antiques dealer. Your sister asked me to come to Ravenswood to help her catalog the items in the house. I’ve been trying to arrange some transport, but I’m afraid I haven’t been able to manage it. I wondered, if it wasn’t too much of an imposition, whether someone could pick me up from Launceston? She did mention her firm would be willing to meet my expenses…?”
“Oh. Hang on a sec, will you?” She turned to Eddie and covered the mouthpiece. “Mr. Trewartha? He wants a lift out here.”
“Say yes,” Eddie said.
Suzie went back to the call. “Hello, are you there? That would be okay. I’ll have to check with Melanie, of course, but if there’s a problem she can get back to you.”
“Good. Shall we say eight then? I can’t manage it any earlier. I’m at Number Six, The Close, Launceston. It’s a new estate, on your side of the town, so you won’t have to come far.”
“Eight it is.”
Suzie ended the call and rolled her eyes at Eddie. “I hope I’ve done the right thing. Evidently Melanie has been ringing him about cataloging Ravenswood’s contents.”
“Yes, the infamous Mr. Trewartha,” Eddie teased.
“Huh?”
“Sorry. He’s an antiques dealer, but he’s also an author. He wrote this book.” He held up The Raven’s Curse. “His coming here could be tricky, but that’s not our problem. Your sister will have to deal with it. So, don’t worry, you did the right thing.”
“I hope so. I can always go and get him. After all, I’m on holiday.”
“I could come with you, give you directions,” Eddie said airily. “Easy to get lost on these country lanes.”
“There, then,” Suzie smiled, “it’s settled.” Her smile slipped, and a crease wrinkled the skin between her eyebr
ows. “This probably sounds crazy, Eddie, but there was something about Mr. Trewartha’s voice…I felt as if I knew him.”
“Maybe he reminds you of your granddad.” Eddie laughed.
Suzie’s frown smoothed out. “Yeah, that’s probably it. Anyway, I don’t care what you say, he was a sweetheart, so old-fashioned and polite. A real old gentleman.”
Thirty
“You don’t have to meet him if you don’t want to.” Melanie was leaning her cheek against the cold glass of her bedroom window. “You can stay away until he goes. This will just be a preliminary look through the house, so it shouldn’t take long.”
Nathaniel sat in the chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, staring at his boots. As soon as they’d returned to the house, Suzie had told them about the phone call, and then dragged Eddie off to his cottage to give them time together.
That was a joke. Melanie was standing as far away from him as she possibly could, and she could still feel the power zapping between them like some electrical connection gone crazy.
“I’d like to meet him,” Nathaniel said, showing his teeth in what was meant to be a smile.
“No, you’d be sure to say something to piss him off. I need him. I know what he wrote was horrible and wrong, but I don’t want him here for his writing skills. I have a job to do, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
Melanie sighed. “I’m sorry. I know this is difficult for you.”
Nathaniel uncurled himself from the chair. “I can’t help wondering what things would be like, now, if Pengorren had never come to Ravenswood. Would the house still be full of my family? A living, breathing home instead of this dusty monument.”
“We’ll find him, Nathaniel. We’ll stop him. You can go back in time and make everything right.”
“But I won’t have you,” he said softly. “Will I?”
“If you’d seen what I’ve seen, you’d thank God for that!” she burst out, and moved toward the door. But as she passed, he caught her hand to stop her, pulling her off-balance. She tumbled onto his lap. It felt like a physical and emotional earthquake erupted between them. Disoriented, hurting, she couldn’t breathe.
“Dear God…” Nathaniel gave an agonized groan.
Melanie struggled, trying to get up, to push herself away from him, but everywhere she touched his skin was warm, and she wanted to kiss him, lick him, suck him. “This isn’t right,” she protested huskily.
He wrapped his arms around her, the air fizzing and sparking. She lifted her face to his. The desire between them was so powerful there was no fighting it even if they’d wanted to. His mouth came down on hers, and they kissed mindlessly, wanting only the pleasure of their bodies touching and moving together.
She felt carnal, completely wild, and Nathaniel seemed more than willing to accommodate her. She dragged at her clothing, pulling and kicking her shorts and panties down her bare legs, and ripping her top as she tugged it off. The clip on her bra wouldn’t undo, so she forced it open. Naked, she threw herself against him, dragging his ruffled shirt up over his stomach and chest, planting openmouthed kisses against his warm, salty skin.
He leaned back in the chair, letting her have her way. She fastened on his nipples, tugging them with her teeth, only just stopping herself from biting him. Because she wanted to draw blood. It seemed important to taste his blood.
Fighting her own need, trembling with the effort, she clasped his face between her hands, pressing kisses to his mouth and his jaw. She could feel his erection through his trousers and straddled him as best she could in the confined space, fitting herself to him.
His eyes sprang opened, blurred with passion, and he lifted her, stumbling, and fell onto the bed with her in his arms. Instantly Melanie tried to climb on top of him, wanting him inside her, her nails raking him. But he pushed her off, back onto the mattress, holding her there with one hand on her midriff while with the other he fumbled to unbutton his trousers. His bootheel was caught in the covers, and he cursed, letting her go so that he could free himself.
While he was distracted she launched herself at him again. She felt so strong, so primitive. A sleek, wild animal. She began to lick at him, her hands sliding down his hard stomach, under the cloth of his trousers. He jerked when her fingers closed on him and groaned when she squeezed, just enough. He was looking up at her, dazed, a forest creature caught in the snare and unable to help itself. Not wanting to help itself.
Melanie smiled into his eyes and then with a snarl she bit him, hard, just below his collarbone.
Blood filled her mouth. And it tasted good. At the same time she felt her own blood singing and her body shaking with the power surging through her.
At first she didn’t feel the pain and then her head jerked up, and she realized he’d taken a hank of her hair in his fist. He wrenched again, dragging her mouth away from his shoulder. He was hurting her, but she didn’t care. There was power in making him do this, Nathaniel who had never voluntarily caused her pain. She smiled into his face, enjoying his hard, angry expression and the glitter in his eyes.
“Say it,” she ordered him, her voice deeper and huskier than it had ever been. “Say you want me.”
Confusion flickered in his eyes.
At the same time, deep inside, Melanie knew this wasn’t right. Love wasn’t meant to be like this. But she couldn’t help it. She’d lost the ability to control herself, and if Nathaniel lost it too…She struggled to escape the dark emotions fighting for dominance inside her, but they were taking her over.
“End it,” she growled. “You have to end it, now!”
“Melanie?” he said, but he knew what she meant. She could see it in his face.
He flipped her over onto her front on the mattress. He was so strong, and she reveled in his strength, in the possibility of violence. Because power and violence fed whatever was growing inside her, that part of her she knew wasn’t mortal. Pengorren’s legacy.
He was behind her, holding her down as she snarled and fought, her nails crooked like claws. She wanted to hurt him. And then the hard length of him was pressing against her, seeking entry. Blindly she lifted her hips to give him access, barely able to breathe because he was pushing her face against the mattress. He thrust in, almost brutally, except that she was so ready for him that he couldn’t have hurt her. She heard his groan as he went deep, sheathing himself in her slippery heat.
She could lift her head. He was gripping her thighs now, holding her in place while he thrust into her. She clutched the covers with her fingers, pushing back at him with her hips. Mindless with a pleasure beyond anything she had ever known. All she could do was go with it. And then she came.
Her shouts were half-delirious, foul things she had only ever said before in anger.
Vaguely she felt him thrusting harder, faster, and she was peaking again, and then all coherent thought was lost in the explosion of ecstasy that ignited between them. Nathaniel collapsed on top of her. He was heavy, but there was something comforting in having him there. A moment later he was easing himself to one side and then he reached out an arm and dragged her limp body in safely against his.
She curled up in his arms, her pounding heart gradually returning to normal, the colored lights inside her head slowly extinguishing. She felt his warm breath on her hair and the rise and fall of his chest against her back. He kissed her nape, tenderly. The violence was gone, just like the storm, leaving them to wallow in peace.
But Melanie knew it was an illusion. The storm would be back again, and next time they might not survive it. This wasn’t how it was meant to be. And then she tasted his blood in his mouth and could have wept.
“I’m frightened,” she whispered. “I hurt you. Just like Pengorren hurt his women.”
“I’ve had worse things done to me.”
“Nathaniel, if I ever—”
But perhaps he knew what she was going to say, because he leaned forward and caught her earlobe between his teeth and nipped it, so
gently. “There,” he whispered, “now we’re even.”
“No, we’re not.”
“I love you,” he said into her hair.
She gave a shaky chuckle. “It’s the glamour, stupid.”
He kissed her again. “Probably.”
If things got worse, she vowed, she wouldn’t stay here with him. She wouldn’t risk doing to him what Pengorren had done to the women who loved him. She’d go away. Maybe she’d stand on the half-moon beach and let the tide come in and take her out to sea.
Nathaniel lay and listened to her breathing growing soft and relaxed; everything that Melanie wasn’t when she was awake. His shoulder ached where she’d bitten him, but he didn’t move to check it. He didn’t want to wake her, and it was true what he’d said, he’d had worse.
He wished he knew what was going to happen to them. A slow anger was burning in him at the unfairness of it all. To find the woman you love and want to spend your life with, and at the same time to doubt every sweet moment of it. That Pengorren was gradually destroying them both for his own ends, turning their love into something dark and evil, driven by pain and suffering.
At least they now knew that Pengorren was living in this time. He was old and weak, and he needed Melanie to stay alive. He was vulnerable.
Nathaniel pressed his face to her hair, breathing in her scent.
“I’m going to find him,” he murmured, “and I’m going to do what I should have done last time.”
He closed his eyes.
“Kill him.”
Melanie stood on the cliffs below Ravenswood. Through the storm she could see it. A ship, rolling sickeningly in a heavy swell. What remained of the rigging was tangled about her, and the hull was tilted at an impossible angle. This was a disaster, and everyone on board must know it.
The ship wallowed in the breaking waves and then she began to list to one side. All the time she was being battered by the storm and pounded against the rocks. There were voices, rising above the wind and rain, the voices she’d heard before.
Help us!
“Oh God…”
The ship was on the rocks! People…people were drowning. And she couldn’t do a thing about it.
Immortal Warriors 02 - Secrets of the Highwayman Page 23