by Bobbi Smith
Lying on his side on the hardwood floor, Nick silently cursed himself for trying to take Kirkwood alone. He should have known that bastards had partners. He should have remembered to protect his back. Nick prayed that he would get a second chance to face him, but this time on more even terms.
Nick heard the sound of footsteps in the hall followed by a low murmur of conversation. He looked up just as the door started to swing open.
Luther had grabbed Jordan by the arm just as they were about to enter the room. He jerked her around to him, a leering conqueror's smile on his coldly handsome face.
"I want to see some emotion out of you in there," he commanded.
"Don't worry, Luther. I'll do what you want," Jordan promised.
"That's what I like to hear, but just remember that your husband's life hangs on your ability to convince me that you love me. If you're even a little less than believable, Kane won't live to see daylight." His hand tightened on her to emphasize his point, his jealousy of Nick a living, breathing thing. He hated Nick for his investigation of the Sea Demon, but he despised him for having taken Jordan. He would have his revenge! "You're mine now, Jordan, and I want him to know it."
"I understand." Jordan didn't want to do this. She hated the thought of even being near Luther, let alone acting like she loved him, but she had to go through with it. Nick would die if she didn't.
Nick.. .the thought of humiliating him this way sent pain shooting through Jordan. Though she knew he didn't love her as she loved him, Luther's plan was still vicious. The only thing that gave her the strength to go on was the knowledge that she was saving Nick's life.
"All right, let's see what kind of an actress you really are." At her nod, Luther opened the door. With a firm hand on her elbow he escorted her inside.
The bright light of the hall put Nick at a disadvantage as he tried to see who had come into the room. He could only make out the silhouette of two people, a man and a woman, standing in the doorway with the light at their backs, but somehow he knew the woman was Jordan. He knew it as he lived and breathed. He knew it as he knew his own mirror image.
Horrible thoughts and desperate concern for her safety wracked Nick. He wondered what twisted, devious plan his tormentors had in mind if they'd kidnapped her and brought her here to use against him. He wished she were out of there. He didn't want her to see him this way. He wanted her safe and protected. His worry about her consumed him as he waited tensely to find out their deadly plan.
It was then the unknown man moved into the room to light the lamp, and it was then that Nick's life turned to pure hell. There before him stood Jordan, just as he'd known she would be, but instead of being forced to accompany the stranger, the man at her side had his arm draped around her waist with possessive familiarity.
"Nick..." Jordan couldn't help but gasp his name, seeing him bound and gagged this way. Her heart wrenched. She wanted to run to him and free him, but Luther's promise to kill Nick held her still. She could only stand there with a benign smile on her face, looking to all the world like she was enjoying herself.
"It's good to see that you've finally come around, Kane," Luther began robustly, feeling completely in control and loving every minute of it. "I was beginning to think that maybe I'd hit you just a bit too hard." Luther gave a soft, menacing chuckle. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Luther Radcliffe, Jordan's longtime partner and friend." He ran his hand up Jordan's arm to caress her shoulder with a knowing touch. But even as he caressed, his eyes were on Nick, watching for and rejoicing in the flash of anger and pain he saw in his eyes.
Nick didn't understand. Jordan's partner? The other man's touch grew more and more bold, and he found himself straining at his bonds, trying to get loose, wanting to throttle him for touching her. Suddenly it dawned on him that Jordan wasn't trying to resist him at all. If anything, she seemed perfectly content to have his hands upon her. Hell, she was even smiling!
"Your wife is quite a woman, Kane, but I'm sure you knew that already," Luther said with a confident, gloating smile.
Nick wanted to rip the man's throat out. Jealousy, worry, and confusion were all mixed up within him as he tried to understand what was going on. The only thing that was clear to him was that no matter how hard he'd fought it, he loved Jordan with all his heart. It was desperately important to him that he keep her safe from this man.
"Of course he knew that. He married me for love, didn't he, Luther?" Jordan turned toward her tormentor, pressing herself to his side and taking care to keep her expression affectionate.
"That he did."
Nick wondered at her statement. Jordan of all people knew the real reason why they'd married. His confusion began to grow. Why would she lie to Radcliffe if, as he said, they were so close? Was she being forced to act this way? His suspicion that she might be innocent was just beginning to grow when she reached up to kiss the other man. Anger consumed him, and he thrust his doubts aside. His expression turning to one of pure loathing as he growled his outrage.
Luther looked decidedly amused over Nick's discomfort. "Yes, we do have a lot to talk about. Let's make things a little easier, shall we?" He left Jordan's side to untie the filthy rag they'd stuffed in Nick's mouth earlier. "Much better without it, isn't it?"
"Go to hell, you bastard! You keep yours hands off my wife. This is between you, Kirkwood, and me. Let her go. Get her out of here."
Luther threw back his head and gave a loud sarcastic laugh. "Why should I let her go when I've waited so long to be with her again.. .to touch her and kiss her...? It's been a long time, Jordan..."
"She's an innocent in all this, Radcliffe... Leave her out of it," Nick argued.
"You're such a fool, Kane," he sneered coldly. "There's no way to leave Jordan out of this. She's been involved with the Sea Demon since the very beginning."
Jordan blanched at his revelation, but said nothing. She knew if she did anything or protested in any way, Luther would kill Nick without a second thought. She fought to maintain a calm outward demeanor, but she had to clench her hands into fists at her sides to keep them from shaking.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I just want Jordan out of here," Nick said, his dark gaze going from the arrogant smuggler to his wife, who was standing next to the man looking perfectly content. He studied her face, trying to read her expression. She was a bit pale and there was a trace of something-worry, maybe? Or guilt?-mirrored in her eyes, but he couldn't be sure. A trace of doubt entered his thoughts. "Jordan, please go."
"No, Nick. I don't want to leave. This is where I really belong," she replied easily, leaning even more intimately against Luther.
The businessman gave a soft laugh. "She's happy here with me. Why would she want to go? We're old friends. Aren't we, love?" He moved to hold her close, tilting her chin up with a finger and pressing a soft kiss on her lips.
"Jordan..." Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What's this all about?"
"You see, Kane, Jordan may be your wife now, but back in London she was my partner... and more." He drew her close and kissed her hotly. Jordan gave a good imitation of being caught up in the heat of it. "Jordan made quite a few wonderful investments with me, and one of them was the Sea Demon. She was quite pleased with the profit the ship was turning, until that fateful day when the Demon had to dump cargo in the Gulf. Of course, you know all about that debacle, don't you, Kane?"
"He does?" Jordan asked, suddenly not understanding what Luther was talking about.
"Oh, yes, my dear, this is all quite entertaining when you think about it. Let me fill you in on the whole story. You see, your dear husband has been trying to stop the Sea Demon from smuggling slaves into the country. He's been searching for you, her owner, for months now, and all the while you were right here in his hands, so to speak. It's too bad you weren't more astute in your checking, Kane. You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble. Too bad, the way things worked out for you. But that's the way it goes sometimes," Luther taunted with ope
n delight.
Jordan felt sick as it all became clear to her. The real reason why Nick and Slater had been meeting with Julian was to trap him! If only she'd known, she could have helped Nick to catch him. Instead, she was now being forced to act the part of the satisfied owner, when in reality she'd despised everything about that investment.
Jordan managed a light laugh, though it nearly killed her to do it. "You're right, it is quite funny. Maybe Nick should give up trying to be an investigator. He seldom recognizes the reality of things, he only sees what he thinks is the truth." She was cloaking her words in sarcasm, but in reality she was desperately trying to reveal the truth to him.
Nick was too caught up in the pain of Luther's revelations to understand. Her words were like a physical blow to him, bloodying his heart. Nick was miserable. A bitter pain that he feared would never ease surged through him. He stared at her through a red haze of agony, and he silently damned her lying, deceiving soul to hell.
Luther could see the play of emotions on Nick's face, and he was pleased. If there had been any love in the marriage, he'd managed to destroy it. He felt victorious and invincible. He'd won. Now, all that was left to do was to claim the final prize.
Jordan sensed all that Nick was feeling, and it left her devastated. She had deliberately set out to destroy any kinder feelings he might have had for her, and she'd done it. Though her motive had been to save him, it didn't ease her own misery to know that in saving him she'd left him despising her. She told herself to be strong, that this couldn't go on much longer. Soon she'd be away from Nick, and she would never have to suffer his condemning gaze again. For some reason, though, that thought did little to soothe her.
"Well, my darling, now that your beloved knows the full truth, shall we allow him his privacy?" Luther suggested. He was hot for Jordan, and he meant to have her now.
"Of course, let's go," she agreed, eager to be gone from Nick's sight.
Luther turned her in his arms and casually toyed with the buttons at her bodice, loosening four so that her bosom was bared to the top of her chemise. "You have such lovely skin, Jordan. I can hardly wait to touch you again..." He pressed a kiss to the soft flesh.
Nick turned his head away so he wouldn't have to watch, but his avoidance only drew another triumphant laugh from Luther.
"So, you're not a voyeur, eh, Kane?" He thought of forcing the issue, of taking her right there before him, but decided against it. This was their first time, and he had a lot he wanted to teach Jordan... a lot he wanted to punish her for. Later, he decided, he would wreak that ultimate revenge, but for now, having her to himself was enough. He crushed her to him, kissing her again.
"I've missed you all this time," she cooed, hoping her lie would save Nick.
"I'll just bet you have, Jordan, and I've missed you, too. That's why I came after you. I want to make up for the little misunderstanding we had in London."
"I'm glad you did," she answered, nausea threatening.
"So am I," he kissed her again, deliberately touching her breasts, all for Nick's benefit.
A moan of disgust escaped Jordan as Luther's hands moved boldly over her, drawing Nick's attention. Instead of thinking she was hating it, though, Nick thought hers had been a moan of desire. The abhorrence and loathing he was feeling was so powerful it sickened him.
"Come, my dear, we don't need an audience..." he breathed to Jordan as he cast Nick a smug look. "Let me gag him again, and then we can go where we'll be completely alone..."
Jordan managed a murmur of agreement. At that moment, she would have agreed to anything Luther wanted just to get away from Nick's damning gaze. Tears burned her eyes as she realized that she would probably never see him again. He would forever believe the worst of her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her heart was all but destroyed, but then, what did she need a heart for? She walked from the room on Luther's arm, feeling the heat of her husband's hate-filled regard on her back.
Only when she was outside in the hall did she allow her defeat to show. Her shoulders slumped wearily. She felt jaded and dirty from having had Luther's hands upon her, but what troubled her most was what she'd done to Nick-and what she knew was yet to come.
"Now, Jordan, let's finish what we started all those months ago..." Luther said with relish. "Julian has prepared a very private room for us to share tonight."
"What about Nick? You said you'd let him go..." she argued, wondering why Luther had taken the time and trouble to lock the door after them.
"All in good time, my dear. All in good time. I'm not about to set him free until you've performed everything I want you to do to my satisfaction."
"You're loathsome..."
Angered by her words, Luther grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. "If I were you, I'd watch myself. Who knows? I just might change my mind about letting your precious husband go."
"You wouldn't..."
"There's nothing I wouldn't do, Jordan. Remember that. Ever since that night in London I've been determined to find you and finish that evening. No one does to me what you tried to do and gets away with it. You're going to make it all up to me, and you're going to start right now."
His words sent terror through her, and she began to tremble in spite of her determination to stay in control. Luther chuckled again, seeing the fear in her eyes.
"I'm glad you're frightened. You damn well should be. Now, let's go before I decide to take you here in the hall and let your husband listen to your screams of ecstasy!"
He kept an arm around her, his hand splayed familiarly across her ribs resting just beneath the swell of her breast, as he led her off toward the staircase to the third floor. It was there that Julian had created the perfect setting for him to wreak his revenge upon her. He hoped Jordan enjoyed what he had in mind for the night, but he really didn't care if she didn't...
When they reached the top of the steps, Luther guided her forward to a door at the far end of the hall. He threw the door open and smiled at what he saw.
Several lamps lit the windowless room, and Jordan noticed right away that there was only the one door. As her gaze fell upon the bed, she knew she'd met her fate. It was wide and covered with satin sheets. There was also a small table and two chairs spread with a sumptuous array of foods and a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket.
"What do you think, my dear? I have a feeling that we won't be needing anything all night, so we won't be interrupted." He gave her a little push to get her to move into the room.
It was only then that Jordan saw the shackles attached to the bed's headboard. She let out a cry of fright and tried to turn and run from him. Luther was too quick for Jordan, though. He snared her arm and swung her forcefully around to face him. With great pleasure, he slapped her, snapping her head with the strength of the blow.
"This could have been a wonderful night for us, Jordan, but it's obvious to me that you aren't really willing. Perhaps force is the only thing you understand. Did Kane have to beat you to get you in his bed?"
"No, I love Nick."
"Well, he doesn't love you, not any more. Did you see the hate in his eyes when I kissed you?"
"Nick never had to force me to do anything. I gave him my love freely." Defiance was the only weapon she had left, but it was useless against his superior strength.
Luther's eyes darkened with anger at her words. "It doesn't matter to me if he did or not. It's not your love I want. I only want your body. Now get over there and take off your clothes. I'm tired of trying to be nice to you, and I'm not averse to using pain to get what I want. Sometimes it can prove to be the perfect aphrodisiac."
"No! Let me go!" Jordan began to fight against him, trying to break free.
"You're a fool, Jordan. Even if I did let you go, which I won't, you have absolutely no place to run. Certainly your beloved husband doesn't want you back. He believed everything I told him about us," he reminded her heartlessly, wanting her to know that she was at his mercy. "And I'm sure the authoritie
s here would be very interested in your connection to the Sea Demon, don't you think? So, you might as well relax and enjoy the time we're going to spend together. And trust me, we will be spending a lot of time together, right here in this room. I've waited longer for you than I ever have for anything or anyone in my life, and I intend to slake my desire for you fully."
Jordan's eyes rounded with terror as she saw the unadulterated lust in his eyes. When he reached up and grabbed her dress by the neckline and ripped it viciously open down to the waist, she began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Ali... you're so gorgeous..." he muttered, staring at her bared breasts. "It's a pity Kane got you first, but I'll be the one to have you last..."
Luther was practically drooling as he dragged her to the bed and threw her down on it. With open delight he picked up one of the shackles and fastened it about her wrist as she squirmed, trying to get away. Her fear pleased him, and he was sorry he didn't have any bonds for the foot of the bed, too. That would have made the evening really interesting.
"You know, Jordan, I wouldn't have had to resort to this had you not attacked me the last time. But I fully intend to have you tonight, and nothing and no one will stop me!" Luther was talking quite coolly as he finished chaining her to the bed. That done, he eagerly tore the rest of her clothes from her body and then moved away to undress himself. His excitement was growing with each passing minute, and he could hardly wait to sink himself into her hot depths.
Slater and Philip made record time racing to Julian's house. They scouted the grounds, searching for some sign of Jordan or Nick, but found nothing. Everything seemed quiet. The only room with a light burning was Julian's office.
"We're going to have to break in."
"Right," Philip agreed, trying not to let his nervousness show. He had recognized early on that Slater seemed particularly adept at this kind of thing, so he had acquiesced to his leadership.
"There's a side parlor window open; we'll go in through there. Only use the gun if they give us no other choice," Slater instructed carefully.