The Courtship of Dani

by Ginna Gray

  "That Jason lias got to be the luckiest son of a gun there is. Wouldn't you know he'd find someone like Danielle Edwards. He always said that the woman who had his children would have to be not only beautiful, but bright, too."

  "Yeah, well, you know Jason," his companion replied with a chuckle. " 'Nothing but the best is good enough' is his motto. Surely you didn't think he'd settle for an ordinary wife who'd give him ordinary kids?"

  Dani moved farther into the shadows, her heart beginning to pound with slow, painful thuds.

  "Hardly." The man took another drag on the cigarette. "I'm just amazed that he found someone like Danielle. Hell, with looks like that, I wouldn't care if she had only two brain cells, but according to what I've heard, she's more than just bright. She's bloody brilliant. Like I said, old Jase is one lucky son of a gun." With a flick of his fingers, he sent the cigarette butt sailing over the railing in a glowing arc, and turned to open the door.

  As the two men stepped back into the apartment Dani closed her eyes and pressed her knotted fist against her breast, fighting against the terrible pain in her chest. So that was it. She was to be a brood mare and provide him with beautiful, intelligent children to inherit his empire.

  Oh, you fool. You poor, simple fool. You should have known. How many times do you have to learn the same lesson, for God's sake? Why did you let your emotions blind you?

  But Dani knew why. She had wanted so badly to believe. To love and be loved. To belong.

  A burst of laughter broke from her, a bitter, choked sound that ended in a sob. Dani quickly put her fingers over her mouth and fought to push back the tears that threatened to follow. She couldn't cry. Not now. She had to think.

  Marriage was out of the question now. Even loving Jason as she did, she couldn't bear to be just a convenience to him, a means to an end. A brood mare. The apt description darted through Dani's mind again and she shuddered, feeling sick.

  "So this is where you ran off to. I've been looking all over for you, darling."

  Dani jumped and opened her eyes at the sound of Jason's voice. She stood perfectly still, and as she watched him approach through the dim shadows, the pain that surrounded her heart grew excruciating. Dear Lord, how she loved him... even now.

  Jason picked up her hands and squeezed them tightly. They were cold as ice within his warm grasp. In the shadows his smile was a flash of white in his dark face, his hair a pale swath of moonglow. "It's time to make the announcement, sweetheart," he said in a low, caressing voice. "Are you ready?"

  Dani's heart was breaking into a million tiny pieces, but she looked back at him calmly, her beautiful face

  composed, emotionless, her sapphire eyes as cool as mountain lakes. "No," she said softly, distinctly.

  His smile faded. Blinking, Jason gave her a surprised look, then chuckled. "What's the matter? Nervous?"

  "I mean, no, there will be no announcement."

  "What? But sweetheart, that was the whole purpose of this party."

  "I'm sorry. I've changed my mind, Jason. I've decided that I don't want to get married after all."

  "What?"

  This time the word was a low, incredulous sound. Jason went perfectly still, staring at her, his dark eyes wide and a little wild. His hands tightened around hers, almost crushing the delicate bones. "Dani, what's wrong? What's happened?"

  "Nothing," she lied. "I've simply come to my senses. I'm a modern woman, Jason—well educated, with a good job, a promising future. I'm afraid that marriage and the traditional roles just don't appeal to me."

  "That's a crock and you know it. Not fifteen minutes ago you were happy with our engagement and looking forward to our wedding." He could see the remote look in her eyes, and fear clutched at his in-sides. She had retreated behind that cool mask once again. Damn!

  "I want you to tell me what has happened to make you change your mind," he demanded in impotent fury.

  "Nothing. I simply don't want to get married."

  "Dammit, Dani! We love each other! You can't do this!"

  "Jason, please. My mind is made up." She pulled her hands from his and stepped back. "Since we obviously want different things, I think it would be best if we stopped seeing each other. I'll finish the work on Stratter-Lite, of course. But when it's done I think we should say goodbye."

  Jason closed his eyes and rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger then pulled his palm down over his face, exhaling a long sigh. "Dani, we have to talk," he said with rough weariness. "I know your feelings haven't changed in fifteen minutes. And for Pete's sake! We've got over a hundred guests in there waiting for a formal announcement. This is insane!"

  "I'm sorry. I know this is awkward but it can't be helped now." Easing around him, she took a step toward the door. "Under the circumstances I think it would be best if I left. I'll go call a cab."

  "Don't be absurd!" Jason snapped bitterly, grabbing her arm and jerking her to a stop.

  His voice was hard and raw edged, and Dani knew he was fighting for control. Nevertheless, she could not relent. She looked at him coldly and tilted her chin. "Let me go, Jason. I'm going home."

  Jason's nostrils flared, and for a moment they stared at each other in a silent battle of wills. There was a disturbed rhythm to his breathing and his face was rigid, the muscles just under the skin twitching.

  Finally he spat out a vicious curse and grabbed her elbow. "All right. But you damned well won't call a taxi. I'll take you."

  "But Jason! The guests! Your mother and—"

  "It's a little late to be worrying about them now, sweetheart. So just shut up."

  Stone-faced, he marched her back into the apartment, through the crowd of gaping people, and out the front door, without so much as a word to anyone. The drive back to Dani's apartment was miserable. Jason stared straight ahead and gripped the steering wheel as though he'd like to break it in two, while Dani sat stiffly, her hands clasped in her lap, feeling as though she were about to shatter.

  She was relieved when, instead of parking in the underground garage as he normally did, he pulled into the circular drive at the front of her building. When Jason brought the car to a stop he let the motor run and continued to stare straight ahead. Dani opened the door partway, then paused and looked at his harsh profile with pain and longing. "Please tell your parents goodbye for me," she said in an aching little voice. "And tell your mother that I'm sorry about the party."

  Jason's head snapped around and his dark eyes bore into her. "This isn't the end of it, Dani. I know that you love me. And so help me, I'm going to find out what went wrong. You can bank on it."

  Chapter 10

  Jason's face was dark as a thundercloud when he stalked into his office on Monday morning. After spending most of Saturday night trying to explain the unexplainable to both his and Dani's parents and all day Sunday vainly wracking his brain for an answer to the puzzle, the last thing he had needed was that frantic call from his man on the east coast. "This is one helluva time to have to make a trip," he snarled, slamming his briefcase down on his desk.

  Not that his being here was accomplishing anything. He'd called Dani repeatedly yesterday, but she either wasn't at home or simply wasn't answering her phone. Jason leveled a baleful glare on the door that connected with her office. Every time he'd heard her cool voice on that damned answering machine he'd wanted to commit mayhem.

  Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and rubbed the spot between his brows with two fingers. Hell, if she wouldn't talk to him what difference did it make where he was?

  Still, he hated to go out of town with things hanging fire between them.

  Once again Jason's eyes fastened on the connecting door, his fingers drumming incessantly on the padded arm of his chair as he stared at it. Was she here yet? Would she even come in today? He had told himself before leaving home that morning that he would heed his parents' advice, that he would back off and give her room. Practice patience. But as he stared at that closed door he could feel the lure of D
ani pulling on him like a powerful magnet.

  A faint rustle of movement from beyond the door caught his ear, and his drumming fingers stilled. His eyes narrowed.

  "Oh, what the hell!" The chair went zooming back as he lunged out of it. He crossed the room in three long strides but paused by the door long enough to regain a semblance of control before quietly opening it.

  Relief flooded him when he saw Dani sitting at her desk, engrossed in the file folder spread out before her. Jason leaned a shoulder against the door frame and studied the top of her bent head. "Good morning."

  The quiet greeting brought her head up, and as her long lashes lifted Jason sucked in his breath audibly.

  Dani's sable tresses were put up in a Gibson-girl knot, creating a shining poof of hair that framed her beautiful face beguilingly. She wore a Victorian blouse with a deep, ruffled lace yoke, leg-of-mutton sleeves and a high stand-up collar. It was an utterly feminine, utterly delectable garment, made of a gauzy material and sporting a row of tiny pearl buttons down the front, its soft mauve pink the perfect foil for Dani's creamy skin and sapphire eyes.

  "Good morning," she replied quietly.

  Dear Lord, she's lovely, Jason thought as he gazed at her. Her delicate beauty literally took his breath away.

  But gradually his jaw hardened and the entranced look on his face faded into grim determination. And by heaven, she's mine.

  He pushed away from the door and crossed to her desk with long, purposeful steps. Taking her by surprise, he cupped her chin, tilted her head back, and fastened his mouth on hers.

  It was a searing kiss—hot, demanding, filled with raw male passion and possessiveness. The blazing heat of it sizzled between them. His mobile lips moved over hers, devouring their softness with rapacious hunger, while his tongue plundered the sweet moistness of her mouth with sure, erotic thrusts. A helpless little moan flowed from Dani's throat into his mouth, and Jason's hold on her tightened convulsively.

  He lifted his head just far enough to stare into her eyes. His face was hard as granite. "Don't you ever again try telling me that you don't love me," he ground out in a rasping whisper. "Or that you don't believe in the old-fashioned traditions and values. Not when you kiss me like that and look the way you do."

  Straightening, he watched her intently and touched the silky curl at her temple, twining it around his forefinger. His smile was slow and filled with hard satisfaction, and when she shivered delicately it grew wider. "I have to leave for the east coast in a few minutes. But I'll be back in about a week, and then you and I are going to talk this out. So make up your mind to it."

  Dani opened her mouth to argue, but he stopped her with another hard, devastating kiss.

  Then he was walking away, and Dani stared after him, thoroughly shaken. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the door close behind him. Oh, Jason, please. Please don't do this, she pleaded silently, placing her fingers over her trembling lips. She didn't think she could bear a postmortem. It would be too humiliating. Why couldn't he just let her go?

  Work was not a panacea, but it did help Dani to push her worries about the coming confrontation to the back of her mind. She also knew that the sooner her team finished and got out of there the better it would be for her. For her heart to heal she needed to put space and time between her and Jason.

  Dani worked unstintingly alongside the other Update people, and when they left for the day she worked alone for several hours more. On Thursday Bob Lo-man came down with the flu and had to go home, leaving them shorthanded, and Dani redoubled her efforts. That night she did not leave the office until midnight and was back the next morning before seven. Saturday and Sunday she worked at home.

  A throbbing head and a scratchy throat greeted Dani when she awoke Monday morning, but she ignored both. With gritty determination she spent the morning slogging through the preliminary recommendations for streamlining the accounting department, but by noon her head had become congested and her eyes were watering so badly she couldn't read. Both Terry and Janet expressed concern over her condition, urging her to go home, but Dani insisted that she would be fine.

  By late afternoon, however, her temperature began to soar and she succumbed, giving in without as much as a token protest when they once again suggested that she leave.

  So woozy she could barely hold her head up, Dani drove home with the car windows down, greedily soaking up the blistering June heat, but she still shook so her teeth were chattering. When she arrived her legs wobbled so badly she barely made it up to her apartment. She stepped out of her shoes in the entryway and staggered toward her bedroom, peeling off her clothes and dropping them on the floor as she went, moaning every step of the way. Shivering uncontrollably, she dug through her dresser and unearthed a flannel granny nightgown, slipped it over her head and crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to her ears.

  But Dani felt so miserable she could not get comfortable. She ached all over as though she'd been beaten with a chain, and no matter how many blankets she piled on the bed she couldn't seem to get warm. Just when she began to think that she could not possibly get any worse without dying, her stomach revolted and she had to make a dash for the bathroom.

  What followed was the worst night of Dani's life. Every half-hour or so her stomach tried to turn itself wrong side out, and she alternated between hanging weakly over the commode and lying curled up in a ball, shivering beneath a mound of blankets.

  Her throat was parched and scratchy, but the cup of water she drank in the bathroom didn't even stay down long enough for her to get back to bed. After dozing fitfully for a while, she staggered into the kitchen and made some weak tea but it didn't last any longer than the water. Neither did the cold soft drink. Even the chunk of ice she let melt on her tongue made her stomach erupt.

  She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before, but just the thought of food made her gag.

  Dani's head pounded and her fever continued unabated, but she didn't dare take aspirin. The answering machine was set to respond after one ring but even that hurt her head, so Dani finally unplugged the phone.

  Tuesday night was a repeat of the one before, and by dawn she was so weak and dispirited she gave in to a bout of weeping. That wore her out so much she finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

  ❧

  Barely sparing his secretary a nod and a quick "good morning," Jason marched into his office like a man with a purpose, impatience evident in every taut line of his body. He paused only long enough to deposit his briefcase on his desk before heading for

  Dani's office. Cursing vividly when he found it empty, he turned to retrace his steps.

  "Find Ms. Edwards and tell her I want to see her in my office right away," he instructed his secretary.

  "Oh, but she isn't here. She's—"

  "Then send her in as soon as she arrives."

  "You don't understand. I don't think Ms. Edwards will be in at all today. She's been out with the flu since Monday."

  Jason had started back into his office, but her words stopped him cold. "What?" He turned slowly, his face shocked. "Dani is ill? How ill?"

  "Well, I... That is... I really don't know."

  "You don't know! Do you mean to tell me that no one has even called to check on her?"

  "Well, yes.. .but she doesn't answer her phone," the woman replied nervously. "I think it's unplugged."

  The string of expletives that spewed from Jason turned the air blue. With long, angry strides he headed for the door.

  ❧

  A thunderous pounding on the front door woke her. Dani moaned and whispered "go away" and tried to burrow deeper under the covers, but it soon became obvious that whoever was making that horrendous racket wasn't going to give up.

  Moaning, she dragged her weak, aching body out of bed and groped her way toward the door, weaving unsteadily on her feet. "Oh, Lord, please stop that banging," she pleaded pitifully, holding her throbbing head with both hands. Every thud was hitting her skull like a ha
mmer blow. Who was the fiend doing the pounding anyway? Why didn't they just go away?

  "So help me, if it's Chad, I'll kill him," she muttered as she stepped listlessly over the clothing that still littered the floor.

  Just as she reached the foyer the pounding stopped and she sighed gratefully, but immediately Jason called out, "Dani, open this damned door!"

  She stopped, horrified, and stared at the door as the blows were renewed with vigor. For a moment Dani considered just not answering, but the pain in her head was excruciating and she simply couldn't tolerate that noise another instant.

  "Dani? Can you hear me?"

  "Go away," Dani croaked.

  There was absolute quiet for a full three seconds, then Jason growled, "Dani, you open this door right now."

  "No. Go away. I don't want to see you."

  "Dani, so help me, if you don't open this door—"

  His fist struck the wood panel three times in rapid succession, and Dani held her head tighter and squeezed her eyes shut, making little sounds of distress deep in her throat. "Go away," she repeated hoarsely.

  "Dani, I'm warning you!"

  Jason threatened, cajoled, and pleaded, but she stubbornly refused to answer, and after a while he stopped. When Dani finally heard the distant ping of the elevator, she looked through the peephole and found the hall was empty. Clutching the furniture and walls for support, she stumbled back to her bedroom, feeling wretched but triumphant.

  Since she was already up, Dani used the bathroom, then wet a washcloth to lay against her forehead. Her throat was parched but she only allowed herself one sip of water. While she had slept her stomach seemed to have calmed somewhat, but she wasn't going to push her luck.

  Dani was halfway across the bedroom when she heard the sound of a key in the front door and froze. Her eyes grew round with shock as the door was opened and Jason's voice floated back to her as he thanked someone.