Midnight Rose (23 page)

Peeking out into the hallway, Kate saw no sign of Jude or the day maid, whose convenient habit was to clean the downstairs in the morning and upstairs in the afternoon. She dashed from Gideon’s bedroom to the east wing stairs, where she paused to check again before hurrying down to the landing and up to the west wing.

Moments later, the hot beat of the shower pummeled her aching muscles. When was the last time she’d experienced such glorious pleasure at a man’s hands? When had she last reveled in the beauty of a man, the low expressions of his desire, the thrust and shudder, the taste and scent of his body?

And this man…oh, this man, she loved.

She tried it aloud. “I love him.” And laughed to herself as the words echoed off the shower’s marble walls.

Gideon had awakened her sometime after dawn to make love again, this time with the rose for a wicked toy. He’d trailed the petals across her throat, between her breasts and down her stomach, scenting her skin and the air around them with the flower’s sweet, deep fragrance. And then…she shivered with desire at the memory of the silky petals brushing against her inner thighs, against her bare, aching center in sinuous sweeps until she nearly wept with frustration and pleasure.

His hands never touched her. He brought her to climax with the gentle stroke of a flower, with the soft persuasion of a lover’s words, and it was an orgasm the likes she’d never known.

Come for me, Kate. And when you do, I’m going to make you come again.

And he had. Again with the rose, twisting its satin center relentlessly against her clitoris, then with the sinuous drag of his tongue, then, when she was crying for it, his hard, hot penis. Gideon was gloriously uninhibited, more skilled than any lover she’d had before. He made her feel adored and beautiful and whole again.

Her arms trembled, muscles still taxed as she raised them to rinse the shampoo from her hair. He’d slipped from the bed after she’d drifted back to sleep, and now she could hardly wait to see him again. It would be impossible to hide her joy. How was she going to get through today without a telltale silly grin stamped across her face?

She dried off, dressed and paused at her bed, regarding the smooth coverlet with narrowed eyes.

Quickly she threw off the accent pillows, yanked down the duvet, and rumpled the bedclothes so it looked slept in. Then, satisfied she’d waylaid any housekeeping speculation, she headed downstairs to the kitchen.

To her amazement, Jude sat at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. Kate tried not to stare. His complexion had returned to normal, no sign of scarring or trauma from yesterday’s horrific burns. If anything, he looked healthy and well-rested. He glanced at her as she seated herself across from him, then returned his attention to the cereal box in his hand.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, her defenses already on alert.

“Good.” He dug his spoon into the bowl and shoveled more cereal into his mouth. She thought he would elaborate when he was done chewing, but he didn’t. Only ignored her and continued to read the back of the box as though it held the key to the universe.

Kate glanced at Betty, who was unloading the dishwasher. “Where’s Gideon?”

“I haven’t seen him this morning,” she said cheerfully.

Martha spoke from the doorway. “He’s down at the greenhouse, but he’ll be back to check on Jude.” She removed her glasses and let them dangle from their chain around her neck. “Will you be giving Jude his lessons today, Ms. O’Brien?” “He certainly appears well enough.” Kate gave a hesitant smile. For such a tiny woman, Martha had a way of seeing right down to the bone. She couldn’t possibly know Kate had spent the night in Gideon’s bed, and yet Kate felt like a teenager caught sneaking out in the middle of the night.

“I’m well enough.” Jude shoved aside the cereal box to offer Kate a long look. “I finished Lord of the Flies . What’s next?”

She hesitated. “What are you in the mood for? More gritty drama? I was thinking about George Orwell. Ever heard of him?”

“He wrote Animal Farm .”

Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s right. Good for you.”

“Dad has it in the library. I was thinking I’d like to read something more…” He squinted in consideration. “More gory. How about Dracula ?”

“It’s certainly a classic.” Kate felt inexplicably disconcerted at his choice. “Or we could look at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . It’s very dark and—”

“I vote for Dracula . I know where a copy is. Come up to the library when you’re done.” He stood, shoved back his chair, and set his empty bowl by the sink. Then, as if on impulse, leaned to press his lips against the cook’s cheek. “Have a great day, Betty.” Betty startled and turned to stare at him as he slipped by Martha and up the stairs.

“What in heaven’s name has gotten into that child?” she said, absently rubbing her cheek.

Martha heaved a sigh and shook her head. “God help us, Betty. We could ask that question all the way around this house.”

“This looks like a collectible.” Kate examined the dusty, leather-bound text of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that Jude had pulled from the library shelf. “It’s probably very valuable. Maybe we should use a different version. I’ll run into Putnam later and pick up a paperback copy at the bookstore.” “All the books here are for your use.” Gideon spoke from the doorway, drawing her attention from the ancient text in her hands.

She ignored the instant flare of desire that seared her, and set the book on a nearby table. “But it looks like an original printing.”

“It is.” He strode across the room, his hand caressing the top of Jude’s head as he passed. “It’s even got notes in the margin.”

Kate gave him an appalled look. “Who’d write in such a valuable text?”

“Some mindless fool a hundred years ago, who was interested in what Bram Stoker had to say about the walking undead.” The dry humor curving Gideon’s mouth faded as he retrieved the book and gently flipped through its yellowed pages. He turned it, his black gaze scanning the faded calligraphy scrawled on every page. “Jude, you might be interested in reading the commentary as you go through each chapter. The person who jotted notes in this book seemed intent on defining the division between monster and man.” “Yeah,” Jude said aridly, tucking his hands behind his head as he stretched out on the leather sofa. “I’d love to hear what his take was on the monster part.”

“Nothing like what you think, I’d imagine.”

“I can probably guess.”

Gideon’s gaze narrowed and he folded his arms over his chest. “Okay, Jude. Let’s hear it.” The teenager sighed and stared up at the massive iron chandelier. “Whoever wrote all those notes probably talks about how the vampire feels torn between being human and being a monster, especially when he meets the girl. Then the vampire wishes he could be mortal, but he can’t be, because once a monster, always a monster.” Black gaze locked with black gaze, and no one spoke.

“Is that what the comments say, Gideon?” Kate asked finally, confused by the obvious tension between father and son.

Gideon’s attention finally left Jude’s face. “Yes. But there’s far more to the story than that particular conflict. Use this copy. Jude knows how to take care of a book.” Tenderness softened his features as he gazed down at Kate. “Everything in this house is at your disposal, Ms. O’Brien.” “Thank you.” She swallowed, her cheeks burning under his piercing appraisal. Was he thinking about last night? She could hardly entertain another thought herself.

He seemed rested, full of life and sunshine and the scent of the roses he’d been working on in the greenhouse. She recalled the shift of muscles beneath his skin as they made love, the softness of his hair against her breasts, his mouth touching every inch of her. A jolt of sheer arousal sizzled through her. She wanted him again, and he knew it. His gaze was shuttered as he moved away from her and seated himself on the ottoman beside the sofa.

“So how are you, J?” he asked his son, resting his elbows on his knees as he turned the book in slow, restless circles between his palms.

“Fine.” Jude rolled toward him, pillowing his head on his hand. “I don’t remember very much about yesterday or anything.”

“I know. That’s just as well.”

“I remember what I said to you in the kitchen, though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Jude sighed. “It was dumb. I mean, I said some stuff that wasn’t very… I just didn’t mean it.

Most of it, anyway.”

Gideon studied his face, and for a long moment neither spoke, as though they carried on a silent conversation of apology and reconciliation.

Feeling like an intruder, Kate cleared her throat and busied herself perusing the bookshelves. She heard Gideon murmur something to Jude and turned to see him press his lips against the boy’s forehead. Jude’s arm crept around his neck, just for an instant. Surrender. A truce. The sight brought a lump to her throat.

Then Gideon straightened and glanced at her. “I’d like him to start this novel as soon as possible.”

“Okay.”

“He can lie in here and read while you take a walk with me.” Kate’s heart leapt, but she managed to sound perfectly composed when she said, “Fine. Jude, please read the first three chapters. When I get back we’ll write a paragraph summary and then start on your math.” “Okay.” He took the book from his father’s hands and flipped it open, propping it against his thighs as he scrunched into the corner of the sofa.

With a satisfied smile, Gideon got to his feet and ushered Kate out of the room.

Once in the privacy of the shadowed hallway, he caught her hand and drew her against him, his lips opening soft and hungry against hers.

In return she ran her fingers up the nape of his neck and sank them into his hair, kissing him with abandon.

“I’m never going to make it through this day without having you,” he said when they parted to smile at each other. “Just seeing you in the library made me ache all over again.” Lost in a haze of pleasure, she clung to his shoulders and pressed her lips against his throat. He smelled like soap and faded aftershave. “Let’s take that walk.” “I have a better idea.” He opened a door a few feet behind her, revealing a narrow back staircase she hadn’t known existed.

“Where does it lead?”

“To the east wing hallway.”

“Near your bedroom,” she said with a slow smile.

“Smart teacher.” Grasping her hand, he led her up the dark stairwell, into the hall above, and they moved with furtive silence to his bedroom, where he locked them in and drew her into his embrace.

Instantly rapacious, she tugged his shirttails from his pants while he reached beneath her denim skirt to skim off her panties. They sank to the carpet, where he unfastened his jeans, freed his erection and stretched over her, parting her knees to slide between. His shaft slid against her wetness, probing, seeking home.

“God, Kate, you feel so good. I can’t wait.”

“I don’t want you to.” She shoved his jeans farther down his hips and clutched his naked buttocks, arching toward him until the tip of his penis slid inside her. “Hurry, Gideon. Hurry.” He braced himself on his arms and thrust inside her to the hilt, his eyelids sliding closed as ecstasy washed his features. “Oh, yes.” Kate moved in tandem beneath him, opening her thighs wider to take him as deeply as possible. He was fierce and hard, and set her on fire with his passion. The fact that it was midday, with all of Sister Oaks awake and bustling around them, only fed her wild excitement. A few of his deliberate, firm strokes and she bit back a cry as she came, shuddering in rhythmic bursts around him.

Gideon shifted his weight to his forearms and brought his chest against hers where she could feel the wild hammer of his heartbeat. As he thrust inside her with steady, forceful movements, she dug her fingers into the thick carpet and opened her eyes to watch him take his pleasure.

There was nothing quite so exquisite as his flushed, enraptured features in the seconds before fulfillment.

Concentration creased his brow; she could see the pulse throbbing wildly beneath his skin at the base of his throat. The tendons in his neck stood out, his lips parted and at last a gasping breath tore from him, heralding his climax. “Oh…God…” It undulated through him in waves, lifting him again and again before he finally sagged against her and his head dropped to her shoulder.

“Kate,” he whispered, his lips at her ear. It sounded like a prayer.

She released a languid sigh, let her fingers drift up his back and down again beneath the light material of his shirt. His skin was so cool, so smooth. Declarations of love rose within her, but she bit them back. He touched her in the telltale, worshipful way of a man in love, but she needed to hear him say the words before she told him again where he fit in her heart.

For now, this was enough; the delicious weight of his body resting on hers, the ebbing throb of his erection inside her, the tenderness in his dark eyes as he looked down at her.

After a moment he kissed her, then carefully lifted himself from her body and headed to the bathroom.

Dazed, Kate sat up, straightened her clothing, raked her fingers through her tousled hair. One of her hoop earrings was missing, and she brushed her palm across the ivory carpet to no avail. The tiny gold circle was lost somewhere in the plush pile, and would no doubt fall victim to the housekeeper’s vacuum cleaner. A wicked smile curved her mouth. The governess’ earring lost in the boss’s bedroom carpet.

Delilah had only thought the situation had naughty potential.

A movement across the room caught her attention and she glanced up. Sunlight poured through the French doors, flooding the room with golden warmth. All except for the far right corner, where a mass of shadows seemed to cluster behind a large potted palm. Twisting, like limbs and heads and wailing mouths. Kate blinked and straightened, her pulse pounding.

And then the shadows were gone. Gideon reemerged from the bathroom, looking as unwrinkled and relaxed as though he’d never known the mad throes of ecstasy moments before. Extending his hand, he hauled her to her feet and brushed a kiss against her lips.

“Washcloths and towels are in the bathroom. And anything else you need.” She clung to him for an instant, breathed in his scent and strength before she started across the room, keeping one eye on the suspicious corner. For heaven’s sake, nothing was there.