Rebel Heart

by Young, Christine

  When the hours passed and she realized he wasn't traveling into the wilderness, she slowly began to relax. When they arrived back at her research center, with Nessa standing casually at the front door, she breathed her first deep breath since Savage's appearance.

  Savage had played the gentleman with finesse, surprising her. He had opened the door of the glider and escorted her up the front steps, stopping to speak with Nessa; Nessa was all smiles. Then he continued through all the unlocked security gates to the tower stairs until they were in front of Tori's rooms. Nessa had remained behind. Hoped thumped her tail happily in greeting.

  Morray and Sheridan were gone, and her sister owed her some answers. Although she knew neither Morray nor Sheridan could secure the lab without her, she wanted to know why they had left so quickly.

  But her thoughts snapped back to her own particular set of circumstances. She was back in her room, high above the City. When she tried the hidden door, it still failed to open, and when she peered out the window, the rungs of the tower ladder were no longer in place.

  Dazed, she sat down on the bed and watched her sister hustle around the room, talking non-stop. It was not like Nessa to be a chatterbox.

  What the devil was she going to do now? She cursed the Phantom to a dozen gory fates, still unable to grasp the fact that she'd come to love him, and he'd lied to her without even blinking. Her heart was frozen now, and a terrible sense of loss swept through her.

  Savage had remained silent the long ride home. He had not even glanced her way. She had been alternately furious then terrified of the future.

  Now she sat in front of her computer, mesmerized by a crudely programmed, old computer game she'd found in the archives. The constant drone of the music and the little figures whirling around on the screen helped her forget her tenuous predicament. Deceit and lies had an uncanny way of multiplying. Savage was exploring all the rooms of the lab, familiarizing himself with her operation and her notes. She could hear each door open then close when he left the room.

  Sometime in her mesmerized state, Nessa must have slipped inside her room. She felt her presence and perhaps her disapproval. It seemed that no one had an unpleasant thing to say about him.

  She turned and there was Nessa, slightly pale but still smiling. "Tori," she said softly, holding her arms out to her. Tori rose, hesitated a moment then rushed into her sister's arms. Tears were in her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.

  "I was so worried, Tori. No, terrified. We had no idea if you'd escaped." Nessa paused, holding her twin by the shoulders.

  Tori thought wryly that Nessa was the strong one. All the while she'd been gone it was Nessa who kept everything running.

  "For that I'm sorry, but I had no way of letting you know."

  "I saw the glider take off. I prayed you were in it. Then it seemed as if the sky lit up. Ten--maybe twenty fighters followed. It was Morray. When it seemed you had escaped, he was like a man possessed. He ordered the City guards and his own men to follow."

  "Ah, Nessa, you've had to put up with me for so very long. It's not right."

  Nessa grinned. "It was fun. I jammed the computer scanning signals. You know that long range interceptor we had put in a month ago?"

  Tori nodded. "Yes..."

  "I used that. Hammond gave me the idea. Anyway, it worked, and the fighters returned about a half hour later, thoroughly lost."

  "It was you," she breathed. "I didn't think--oh but the man was arrogant. He thought it was his expert flying skills."

  Nessa laughed then. "It was probably both--his skill and my retractor beam." She hesitated again, paling once more. "I don't like bearing this news. And Tori, I don't want you to play the martyr. Not for me. But if you do intend to marry Dr. Savage, you have only an hour to get ready."

  Tori whirled, walking quickly to the window where she'd made her hasty escape. With both hands gripping the ledge, she stared down. The ground was so very far away. Her head reeled and she stepped back, her hand at her throat. "I have no choice."

  "Oh, Tori, but you do. Please don't marry him if you don't love him. Father--"

  "Father wouldn't care," Tori whispered bitterly.

  "How can you say that?"

  Tori lifted her chin, defiant and passionately resolved to sacrifice herself. "He forgot what it is like to fall in love." Her voice cracked and in the end Nessa had to lean forward to hear her last words.

  "And you know about love?" Nessa's eyes were wide with curiosity, and Tori longed to tell her yes. She had been so close to love--she'd thought--but it wasn't love. She knew that now. A man she could fall in love with could not have made love to her so tenderly in the moonlight then let her go so easily without telling her his secret.

  "No, I don't know. Come now, enough of this nonsense. A shower first then you'll help me figure out what to wear."

  "I already know. I found Mother's dress--packed away. Oh, Tori, truly you have to wear it. It is so beautiful. It's so elegant, it would become you. Please, say you'll wear it. If you don't--"

  "It would be a sacrilege," Tori whispered.

  "You're wrong." Nessa's voice was strong, determined, almost as if she was trying to convince her.

  "Am I?"

  "Yes!" Nessa returned vehemently.

  "That remains to be seen." Tori stared at her, dismayed at the shiver that rippled down her spine, and resolved that she must find a way to survive this relationship which had started out so badly. Savage might not be Morray, but he was still a threat, a very viable danger to her heart and soul. His hair, black-as-midnight, touched his shoulders and curled somewhat where it lay against him. His face was handsome, clean-shaven, with an aristocratic nose and determined jaw line. But his eyes were what she remembered vividly. Steel-hard, a gaze that riveted, holding its prey with a deep, threatening menace. He was so very different from the man she had known as The Phantom. But he was also very much the same.

  Nessa opened the door to leave.

  Savage stood before her, preparing to knock, his hand raised.

  "Excuse me." Nessa slipped quietly from the room.

  Tori tilted her chin regally, suddenly realizing they were alone and Savage had stepped into her room. The door clicked shut behind him. In truth she knew not what to think. As he stared at her, she began to shake. It seemed he could see inside her soul, her heart. With every breath she felt emotions she couldn't begin to comprehend. She trembled so hard she thought her knees would not hold her. But she could not break down in front of him; not on the eve of their wedding.

  "Will there be a wedding?" he asked.

  "Yes." She was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.

  "I know you are less than willing."

  "I-I've changed my mind. I would like to try."

  He stood in front of her, the epitome of all that is masculine, his arms crossed formidably over his chest. "Understand this, Victoria, I will not wed you unless you come willingly. If you do, you will not renege. I will hold you to the marriage vows, and I will have you for a wife. Do you understand?"

  "Yes," she whispered softly. "But I would negotiate."

  He cocked an eyebrow, amusement touching his stern features. "With what?"

  "I would like your word. I want to continue my research. I must."

  "You have it. But, Victoria, you will not have the box back."

  "The box holds the key."

  "It is too dangerous and you are too impulsive. I am willing to concede a great deal for you but not everything."

  "Without me you'll never be able to use the knowledge that is there. You will hold the key to a door you cannot open."

  "Ah...so now you play the trump card." He stepped closer, so close she could feel his warmth and his strength. He smiled, and she remembered the feel of his arms around her. "Then we will work side by side, intimately." His breath caressed her cheek and she shivered.

  "If that is the only way."

  "And you will not renege?"

  "I will
not."

  "Then there is little left to be said. I have all the paperwork and we will be wed today, just as soon as you can get ready."

  She quickly understood that finding an Achilles heel would be very difficult.

  She stood before him defiantly, but even then her words were softly spoken. "You don't understand. I will marry you, just not today. I--"

  "I see."

  She heard the amusement in his voice and could barely tamp down the frustration that surfaced so swiftly.

  "You're trying to tell me that you need time to recover from your harrowing experience," he murmured sympathetically.

  She met his gaze. "Then you do understand."

  "Of course, but it changes nothing. The factors causing this situation still exist and the need for haste has only intensified. We are pushed on many sides: Morray--Sheridan--Drake. Then there is the little matter of our lovemaking." He paused. "Two nights alone with a man who is larger than life. You could be pregnant, Tori."

  "A child," Tori repeated, dazed and trying hard to keep the frustration from her voice. "I could not be. It happened only once," she whispered and was shocked to discover he heard.

  "I know, yes. We will be forced to lie. People will wonder if the Phantom tried to take advantage of the situation."

  She backed away from him, shaking her head. "You--"

  "If there is a child, I would not like to have him born before the requisite time."

  She looked at him, shocked at the constraint in his voice. And she was amazed that she would feel suddenly guilty, amazed also that she was very glad she had not truly betrayed him, and that The Phantom and Cameron Savage were indeed the same man.

  "No--I mean," she paused, “The Phantom--you were always the gentleman."

  "That is good to hear."

  "Really..." she began, her emotions escalating, but then she caught herself quickly.

  "You are to be my wife. I seek your comfort and your safety, nothing more. I would kill any man who touches you."

  "But...I'm not yours."

  "True, but very soon..."

  "Tomorrow."

  "Today" he corrected. "If you are not downstairs in one hour, I will get you myself. And, Victoria, need I remind you what you promised? Willing? If you are not the picture of a blushing bride, the wedding is off and of course the treasured box is gone."

  "Blackmail."

  "I see it as securing your safety," he told her bluntly. "There are too many people who would stop at nothing to possess what is inside your mysterious box. I will not allow you to possess it because I am never quite sure what you will do next."

  "But--"

  "Do you think Morray has given up his quest? He hungers for everything you have, everything you know and even the applause that will come to you when this is over. I missed the key elements seeking a momentary cure while you went after something far more valuable. But if I'm right, you don't know how to harness the energy that will unlock the genetic code and link it to another allele. To put it simply, you need me."

  "You opened the box," she whispered. "That was mine."

  "Mine now--mine when it was given to me, mine with the promise of your hand in marriage."

  "The Phantom," she said quickly. Then she fell speechless, appalled at his treachery and now deeply concerned. Could they work together?

  "No..."

  Even as the thoughts of the wedding night came to her, she felt a shivering inside. He would make love to her again. It had been so...she had no words. Tonight she would be his wife--in every way.

  "Can't we please try to work together," she told him, heedless of the fire that leaped to his eyes.

  He threw up his hands in exasperation. "You will have most everything you want. Yet I will not allow you to break the laws of the people. You will not run over the countryside at whim. I would not risk losing you. If you have truly changed and if you are capable of rational behavior, we will get along just fine. Time will tell it all."

  She fought the simmering tempest inside her. "If you want me, you have to take me the way I am and I can only promise you that I will try."

  She broke off because he had slowly backed her against the wall. His hands now rested on either side of her head. She did not understand what he was about.

  He stayed in that position for a long time, watching her, even giving her room to escape beneath his arms if she had wanted to. If she could have moved, she would have. But when her gaze met his, she froze.

  "I want every impulsive, irrational bone in your body, Victoria, but I also want to keep them safe." He lowered his head. He was so close she could feel the strength of him, the power, but he didn't touch her. "Come to me, Victoria, now. Now when there is no box between us, no blackmail. This is not coercion. All I want is one kiss freely given. Come to me," he said softly.

  She looked at him and he held her gaze with his own. She was entranced, swayed by the soft cadence of his voice. Sensations swept through her, heating her. She forgot his subversion, forgot she had vowed to hate him.

  "Willingly, right now, kiss me." Still he did not touch her, yet it seemed as if he did.

  Even when she placed her hands on his chest to push him away, she could not do it, because he held her so securely with his will and within his gaze.

  "I don't want this."

  "You'll learn to love me."

  "Arrogant man," she whispered softly. Yet she no longer meant the words. I do love him. I just don't want him to know.

  "Come to me. There will be no chains or shackles. I promise. Make a choice now."

  "I am so completely baffled."

  "I want you, Victoria."

  Of their own accord her hands slowly rose. Her fingers were on the back of his neck, pulling him closer, so close. She watched him. The need, the longing in his eyes swayed her. A tempest of desire swept through her, and she shivered with the force of it. She rose, standing on the tip of her toes, and her mouth brushed his, closing over it. Her tongue brushed his lips beckoning them to part, and she touched his teeth then his tongue. She reminded herself she could not, should not, love him.

  She retreated. He followed. Then she seized the initiative and advanced again. She made bold forays against him, savoring the moment.

  She heard him groan. He finally touched her, his hand pressing lightly on her back, urging her closer. She was next to him, and his body was like steel against her, unbending and yet in the strangest way he did bend, giving in to her needs.

  Then he ended the kiss, setting her away from him. He didn't have to tell her what she'd done, what she'd just accepted. Her hands were on her cheeks, the heat of them burning her fingertips.

  He smiled and gently brushed her fingers away, touching her there where the heat of her embarrassment pooled.

  "You have nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself to your husband--to a barbarian."

  "You are not my husband," she whispered.

  "Not yet, my love, but soon."

  Even as thoughts of bravado came to her, she felt a shivering inside. He meant to wed tonight. It was too soon... But there was no other choice.

  "You may not receive what you purchased."

  "It doesn't matter," he charged. Then in a soft voice, "I will enjoy loving you so very much, Victoria. And I pray you will find pleasure too."

  "Cameron..."

  But he did not have time to reply. The door opened.

  Nessa quickly stepped back, closing the door in front of her, leaving them alone once more. Tori heard nothing then, no sounds of Nessa running from the door.

  She gasped once more, this time in astonishment as Savage suddenly swept her up into his arms. He laughed. She clung to him to keep from falling, meeting the mischievous glitter of his eyes. She blinked, remembering this side of him was more like The Phantom, but then as if caught, he shuttered his face against her scrutiny.

  Then she pushed back her astonishment and shoved at his chest, struggling desperately within his hold.
"Put me down," she cried out.

  Yet he laughed again and headed toward one of the closed doors.

  "What is behind this one?" he asked innocently. "A purification chamber perhaps or merely a shower."

  "You can't mean..."

  "Of course I can. You didn't seem in a hurry, and yet, I believe I'd like my bride smelling of something better than...bat guano or mildew when we exchange vows."

  He pushed the door open with his foot then let her slide down the length of him. She felt the ripple of his muscles as they tensed with her weight, felt the heat of him against her. She gasped for air, pushing away from him when her toes touched the floor. "Barbarian."