by Smith, Bobbi
She pressed herself against his back in hopes that he would lose the masterful control he had on his desires and take her off to his bed. She wanted to spend the night here with him. She wanted to love him fully . . . now . . . tonight.
Adam automatically stiffened at her words and her touch. He had to force himself to relax.
"It'll be sooner than you think," he told her as he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
"We haven't talked about a date for the wedding yet. Do you care how soon it is?"
Girding himself, he tried to sound enthusiastic. "How long will it take you to plan it?"
Suzanne slanted him a wicked smile as she raised her face to his for another kiss. "We could run away tomorrow."
Adam didn't doubt for a moment that she was serious, but he pretended not to believe her as he chuckled good-naturedly. "You know you want a big wedding. This will be a one-time thing for the both of us, so I think we should do it right. Spare no expense." He offered the money as a diversion.
"All right." She pouted prettily. "If I can't convince you to elope, I'll just have to make ours the most ostentatious ceremony this parish has ever seen."
"Whatever pleases you, my sweet." Adam kissed her again, faking passion.
"You please me, Adam," she said huskily.
"And I'll please you more once you're mine, Suzanne."
"I could be yours now . . ." Suzanne kissed his throat as she moved sensually against him.
Pretending it was an effort to tear himself from the excitement of her embrace, he stepped back to gaze down at her. "No. I want to wait until we're man and wife. I want everything to be perfect the first time we make love."
She signed at his romantic intentions as they started moving toward the front door and her waiting carriage. "You're everything I've ever wanted in a man, Adam. We're going to be so wonderful together."
He kissed her one last time, lingering with just a suitable amount of regret, and then handed her into her conveyance. When it had disappeared down the drive, Adam ran a hand wearily through the dark thickness of his hair and then turned to go back inside.
The house was quiet. It had an almost deserted feeling to it as he reentered, and in a way, he was glad. He needed some time alone, some solitude.
Adam hadn't had a chance to speak privately with Becky since he'd made the announcement, and, judging from the angry looks she'd slashed his way during the balance of the evening, he knew there would be hell to pay once she finally cornered him. She was used to being included in every portion of his life, and —no doubt —she was angry with him for not confiding in her.
Adam wondered if he should tell her the whole story now that everything had gone according to plan. Beau had decided to spend the night rather than make the return trip to town, and Adam considered seeking him out and asking his opinion. Adam didn't get the chance, however, for as he stepped back into the study, he was confronted by a very angry, very resentful Becky.
"Hello, Adam," she bit out tautly. "I'm glad you made it back from saying good-night to your fiancée!"
"Becky . . ." His tone had a warning edge to it as he closed the door to insure their privacy.
"Don't you dare 'Becky' me, Adam Trent!" Becky exploded. "Do you have any idea of what you've done?"
Adam had never seen his sister in such an uproar, and he knew then that he had no choice but to tell her the complete truth.
"Of course I know what I've done," he returned, "and if you'll just shut up, I'll explain the whole thing."
"Yes, please. I'd like to hear this." She glared at him, her blue eyes glacial. Her manner was still furious, but more controlled now.
"This whole thing is not what you think," he began quickly, wanting to straighten everything out so she'd understand.
"Then you're not engaged to Suzanne Ducharme?" Becky asked with saccharine sweetness.
"Well, yes, but—"
"I thought you were going to explain everything, Adam. So far you've explained nothing."
He gave her a very pained look. "Becky, I'm 'engaged' to Suzanne for one reason and one reason only."
Becky thought of the sickening display he'd put on all evening, dancing with Suzanne and kissing her. Her stomach turned as she thought of Lianne being a witness to all that. "Because you love her, right?" she asked bitterly.
"Hell no!" Adam bellowed. "I don't love Suzanne!"
His sudden burst of outrage surprised Becky, and her expression of frosty disdain faltered. "Really?"
"Becky," he began earnestly, ready to disclose everything he knew, "Shark's partner is a female. Suzanne's plantation has failed to produce a paying crop for several seasons now, but she still continues to live a lavish lifestyle. She is in debt to no one. She has not mortgaged her land."
"And you believe Suzanne is Shark's partner on that little bit of evidence?" Becky's eyes were wide and accusing.
"No, Becky. There's one thing more I haven't told you." Adam went suddenly still as he remembered.
"What?"
"You know the crescent medallion I wear."
"Yes."
"I had one made for Elise as an engagement present, too." He grew hoarse. "It was taken from Elise during the raid."
"Yes, so?"
"Suzanne has it. I've seen her wearing it."
"Oh, my God! Are you sure it's the same necklace?"
"I'm positive. I had it made especially for Elise." His jaw tensed as he struggled with his emotions.
Becky went to him then and put a sympathetic hand on his arm. "But why this engagement?"
"I have to stay close to her, and this seemed the easiest way. Hopefully, Shark will make an appearance before I'm forced to go through with the wedding." He grimaced at the possibility.
Becky thought of Elise and Adam's torment over the raid. She thought of Lianne and the baby. She realized the terrible web of intrigue that held Adam bound, but she also knew this was something she could not withhold from him. She had to tell him, and she knew that when she did, his whole world, all his plans, were going to be destroyed.
"Adam . . ." She spoke his name softly, tentatively.
He looked up at her. His whole body was tense, his dark eyes were burning with a fervent, inner fire. "I'm going to get that bastard, and when I do —"
"Adam, stop —there's something I have to tell you. There's something else you need to know."
"What?" he questioned. Noticing her grave expression, he sensed uneasily that this was the real reason for her visit to his study tonight. "What is it, Becky?"
"It's Lianne . . ."
This caught Adam totally off-guard.
"Lianne?" He frowned. He hadn't seen her since before the announcement. Memories of their intimate moment on the porch and then the ecstasy of their one waltz began to overwhelm him, but he pushed them away.
"Yes, Adam. Lianne is . . ." She hesitated, unsure how he would react, started at the beginning. "Lianne was very upset by the announcement of your engagement."
"So?" Adam snapped.
Quickly Becky explained. "So, Suzanne was responsible for Lianne's brother Mark's death. Lianne hates her for it, and she was devastated when she heard that you were planning to marry her . . . doubly so." She was growing frustrated, for somehow the news she'd wanted to impart wasn't coming out in the way that she'd intended.
"Doubly so? What are you talking about? Why should I care if my engagement upsets Lianne?" Adam demanded callously, focusing only on his goal to get Shark.
His words angered Becky, and she quit worrying about how he would react to the news. She forged ahead.
"Adam . . . you should care. You have to care."
"I don't have to do anything, Becky, except find Shark."
"Lianne is pregnant, Adam. The baby is yours."
Chapter Twenty
Adam's expression remained curiously blank as the shock of her revelation penetrated his very soul. He stared at his sister without really seeing her. His thoughts were chaotic. Pregnant? Li
anne was pregnant? But how? Angrily, he berated himself for the stupidity of the thought. He knew how.
At his continued silence, Becky became slightly unnerved. She had never expected him to react this way. She had expected anger . . . outrage . . . but never this.
"You're denying it, then?" Becky challenged. "You're denying the child is yours?"
"I'm not denying anything." His voice was hard and filled with bitterness.
"Lianne wouldn't have lied to me, Adam. Lianne — "
He cut her off abruptly, demanding, "Where is she?"
"In her room, I guess . . . I — " She would have said more, but Adam had already stalked from the room leaving her very much alone. Becky rushed after and watched in silence as he took the stairs two at a time and then disappeared down the upstairs hall.
Lianne couldn't sleep. She'd tried everything . . . a hot bath . . . a snifter of brandy . . . but nothing had helped to settle her nerves. Wearing a pale green silk gown and wrapper, she paced her bedroom endlessly, wondering what to do next. A part of her wanted to wake Alex and flee with what little they had left. She wanted to escape Belle Arbor and Adam before her condition became apparent, but Becky's promise that she would help kept her from running.
Lianne was only now realizing what a great risk she had taken in confiding in Becky. Still, she trusted her and knew that her friend would come to her aid. After all, it wasn't as if she was begging for charity, she reassured herself. She would repay every cent Becky loaned her.
The soft knock at her door startled her, and she jumped at the unexpected intrusion. She thought perhaps it was Becky and, nervously clutching her wrapper around her, she unlocked the door and started to open it. At the sight of Adam, his expression murderous, she tried to slam the door shut again, but he forced his way into the room.
Lianne backed away from his threatening presence. "What do you want?" she whispered, frightened. She prayed desperately that Becky had not told him of the baby. She didn't want him to know. She only wanted to leave.
"What do you think I want?" Adam consciously kept his voice down and his eyes never left her as he shut the door behind him.
Lianne's eyes grew round as her worst fears were realized. Becky had told Adam. "She's told you . . ."
"Yes, she told me," Adam snarled as he moved closer. His gaze raked over her with humiliating familiarity.
Lianne read what she thought was disgust in his eyes and grew angry. She hadn't planned this! She had been just as surprised as he was! With a prideful lift of her chin, she met his gaze bravely.
"I asked Becky to keep the secret, Adam. Had I known she would go to you right away with the news, I would never have confided in her."
"Oh? And just how much longer did you think you could keep this a secret?" he asked sarcastically.
"I had planned to tell you," she defended herself quickly.
"When, Lianne? When I was at the altar with Suzanne?"
"I had no idea that you were going to get engaged to her!" Lianne was furious with him for even suggesting such a thing. "I was going to tell you after the party . . . sometime next week."
"I see," he said shrewdly, "but this worked out even better for you, didn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" she snapped, thinking him quite crazy.
"I'm talking about your plan," Adam countered, trying not to look at her breasts and the way they were heaving in her supposed indignation.
"Plan? What plan?"
"It all makes sense now. It's just a shame I wasn't wise to you before all this happened." He was growing increasingly angry as he felt desire for her heating his loins.
Lianne didn't know it, but she looked enticingly beautiful in the silken negligee. Her hair was loose and flowing about her shoulders . . . her skin had a translucent beauty that begged for Adam's touch . . . and her breasts were perfection themselves, their peaks clearly outlined as they teasingly pressed against the satiny material.
Damn! Adam swore violently to himself. He couldn't allow this to happen! It had been this damn fool weakness he had for her that had gotten him into this horrendous mess in the first place. The last thing he needed to do was worsen the whole thing by giving into his desire for her again.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She would have turned away from him, but he snared her wrist in a viselike grip. "Let go of me!"
"That wasn't what you said the night you seduced me!"
"Seduced you?"
"Of course. How perfectly you had it all worked out, and so quickly, too. Seduce him, get pregnant, force him to marry you. Perfect! In one masterful move, you had your home back and a rich husband to boot. Not only that, but your deceitful ways have also managed to wreak the perfect revenge upon Suzanne." Adam leered down at her.
It hadn't occurred to her before that her dilemma would affect anyone except her and Adam, but the thought that she had now gotten back at the vicious Suzanne filled Lianne with a searing, burning joy. Adam saw the change in her expression and grew even more furious.
"Did you think it up on the spur of the moment, or did you plan the whole thing on your way back from seeing your uncle after you found out that you were dirt poor?" Adam continued, his voice cold and lashing.
His stinging accusation jolted her and left her seething. "Why you . . . !" She hadn't planned any of this! She wasn't like that! She wasn't!
"I've got just one question for you. What if you hadn't gotten pregnant right away? What would you have done then? Continue to surrender to me, even while you pretend to 'fight' it?"
"You're disgusting!"
He laughed viciously. "I am, am I? I'm not the one who would stoop to such lengths as to sell my body to get what I want!"
"I hate you!"
"Oh, I'm sure you do, but you're probably overjoyed at the prospect of being mistress of Belle Arbor, aren't you? What would you say if I refused to marry you?" Adam tightened his hold on her as he dragged her against his chest, pinning her there.
"I never asked you to marry me! I've never asked you for anything except to sell my home back to me!"
"And when I wouldn't, you decided get your home back another way!"
As he held her pinioned in a steely embrace, she pounded on his chest in a futile gesture.
"No! You've got to believe me! I didn't plan any of this!" Lianne protested, tears streaming from her eyes. How could he think her so vile? What had she ever done that he could think she'd do such a thing?
Adam gave a short, scoffing laugh, his heart hardening in the face of her tears. He'd let them affect him once, but never again. Lianne was a conniving witch. She'd plotted this whole thing and ruined all of his own plans. His scheme to trap Shark was in a shambles, and it was all because of her.
"Don't worry, my dear," he drawled coldly. "We'll marry."
"I'd rather die!" she shot back defiantly.
"Don't tempt me, Lianne," Adam said tersely as he tightened his hold upon her.
Helpless in his grasp, she shivered at the intensity of his words.
"No child of mine will be born a bastard. We'll be married tomorrow."
"But what about Suzanne?" The words were out before she knew it.
Adam gave her a chilling smile. "Just because we have to marry to give the child a name doesn't necessarily mean that my relationship with Suzanne will have to change."
Lianne's eyes reflected her tender shock at his declaration. He planned to keep on seeing Suzanne even after they married.
"Ours will be a marriage in name only, my dear," he proclaimed, denying the physical attraction he felt for her that was even now surging through him. The fact that he was reacting to her nearness this way angered him. She had used that sweet little body of hers as a tool against him once, and he would never allow that to happen again. Abruptly, Adam released her and turned away. "I hope you sleep well." With that he strode from the room, pledging only to give a name to his unborn child.
Lianne stared after him in heart-numbing agony. She hadn't
known until that moment that the romantic dreamer in her had been hoping for a happy ending to her trauma. She had hoped that Adam might find joy in the knowledge that he was to be a father, but it wasn't to be.
Shattered, she collapsed on the bed. She cried endlessly until there were no more tears to be shed. Frightened and lonely, she passed the balance of the long, black night staring into the darkness, her heart aching and heavy.
Becky had desperately wanted to go to Lianne, but she knew now that it was none of her business. Still, she worried. A year ago, she would never have doubted Adam's integrity in such a situation. He was an honorable man. But he had changed so much since the raid that she feared his obsession with catching Shark would overrule his honor. She was nervous as she awaited his return.
Adam was livid. He considered retiring to his room, but knew any quest for sleep would be futile. The power of his useless rage filled him with restless energy. There were too many things to be considered, too many things he had to work out.
Downstairs, Adam headed once again for the study. Unaware of Becky's presence, he crossed the room to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a very generous portion of bourbon, and then stopped to inhale a deep breath. His grip on the crystal tumbler tightened until his knuckles showed white. The tight rein he'd held on his anger broke. In a violent, savage action, he threw the glass and its contents across the room and watched with little satisfaction as it shattered against the far wall.
"Do you feel better now?" Becky's voice cut through the heavy silence.
Adam didn't bother to look at her. Instead, he merely picked up the bottle of liquor and took a deep drink.
"Do you really think that's going to help?"
"It certainly can't hurt, my darling little sister." He thought of Elise. He thought of Suzanne and Shark. He took another drink.
"Adam . . . is it really all that bad?" Becky went to him and put her hand on his arm, but he shrugged off her touch and dropped down negligently into the chair behind the desk. Still, she persisted. "Lianne's a beautiful woman, and you could learn to love her. She is the mother of your child."