Twist of Fate (12 page)

She clutched him, wrapping her legs around his muscled thighs. Hannah closed her eyes against the power of the moment. And then she gave herself up to it and the man who held her.

“Gideon, it's never been like this.”

“I know, sweetheart. I know.” Slowly he began to move again, thrusting deeply then withdrawing almost completely. Long, slow, heavy thrusts that stoked a new kind of fire.

The relentless momentum was forcing Hannah toward an unraveling infinity that promised a release she had never experienced. She followed the glittering promise of it, reaching for it with increasing eagerness until she was demanding it with all her strength.

“Take it, Hannah. Take it. It's all yours.”

Hannah caught her breath as the spiraling tension broke without any warning, leaving her to toss about in a net of small shocks. Her soft cries echoed in Gideon's ears as she clung to him and her nails left the evidence of her need on his broad shoulders. She felt him shudder and then he, too, was crying out, a hoarse, masculine shout of satisfaction that thrilled her.

A moment later Hannah went limp beneath Gideon's weight. Remembered wonder and pleasure lingered in her eyes as she lifted her lashes. A small, private smile touched her mouth.

Gideon reluctantly rolled to one side, bracing himself on his elbow. He lifted a finger to touch the edge of her lips. “Now you're the one who's laughing.”

“I know. It was just that it was such a surprise. I mean, by the time a woman reaches my age, she's aware she's missed something along the line but it's hard to know exactly what until it happens.”

Gideon's shoulders blocked the moon as he loomed over her. “Are you trying to tell me in your own delicate fashion that you've never had an orgasm?”

“I wouldn't dare say that. It's unthinkable in this modern day and age for a woman to admit it. Furthermore, saying it would do unmentionable things to your ego.”

“It's too late.” He kissed the tip of her breast. “You've already told me.”

“And your ego?”

“Is approximately twice the size it was half an hour ago,” he assured her.

“I was afraid of that.”

“If I play my cards right,” he said, “I can go on from here to convince you that I'm the best thing that ever happened to you.”

“It's not your card playing ability that interests me.” Hannah drew a circle through the hair on his chest. She smiled.

Gideon groaned. “The trouble with aggressive women…”

“Yes?”

“Is that they're very exciting.” He got to his feet and reached down to lift her up beside him. “But I think I've had enough of the great outdoors tonight. We'll spend the rest of the evening in bed.”

They did. In Elizabeth Nord's wide, elaborately worked rattan bed to be exact. Before the night was over Hannah had deepened her knowledge of her own unique, very feminine power. It seemed strange to her that it had required this particular man to teach her about this aspect of herself. She wondered if he had learned anything from her. Her last thought before finally slipping into sleep in Gideon's arms was he had definitely been right.

Going to bed with Gideon Cage had been important.

Perhaps it was the most important thing she had ever done in her life. But her own words of warning, spoken while the sea cradled her during the first stages of desire, came back to haunt Hannah, too. Understanding a man didn't buy safety for a woman.

 

G
IDEON CAME AWAKE
with the first light of the sun. He stretched fully, enjoying the feel of Hannah's leg trapped under his. Experimentally he moved his foot. When she didn't wake he decided to be noble. Carefully he slid out of bed and stood for a moment, looking down at her.

She was all soft, sleeping woman lying there in the shaft of yellow light. Her tawny hair was a riot of frothy little curls on the pillow, tousled from sleep and the uninhibited love-making. The sheet had slipped, revealing the rosy tip of one breast. Gideon remembered the feel of the nipple as it had tautened more than once under his tongue. The gentle curve of her back made him want to stroke her again, from the delicate nape of her neck to the lush roundness of her bottom.

She wasn't just a soft, sleeping woman this morning, Gideon realized. She was his woman. He could feel the possessiveness flow with the blood in his veins. Half of him was almost amused at the intensity of the feeling. The other half, the primitive, not quite civilized half, took the sensation very seriously.

Gideon turned away as his body began stirring in response to his memories. If he didn't find another way to work off this excessive morning energy he would find himself crawling back into bed with Hannah. And then he would most definitely wind up waking her. Which was hardly fair, he told himself. After all, he was the one who had exhausted her so thoroughly in the first place.

That thought converted itself into a small grin as he padded, naked, out onto the veranda. His mood called for a swim. The sea beckoned with a lure that was far more powerful than any swimming pool.

As soon as he was in the water Gideon realized just why the sea was so right. It reminded him of how Hannah had felt in his arms. Silken, liquid warmth that enveloped a man. But, unlike the sea, Hannah gave herself completely, honestly, delighting in the exchange of passion. Her pleasure in her discoveries about herself had fed his own joyous excitement. Knowing he had pleased Hannah was satisfaction enough for this first day in paradise. Hugh Ballantine and Cage & Associates seemed very far away. Nothing like being alone with his woman on a tropical isle to give a man a different perspective on life.

God, he felt great this morning. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this good. Hannah definitely was in the salvation business, even if she had been under the impression that her talent was limited to giving advice. Gideon laughed aloud and then arced deeply beneath the waves.

 

I
N THE WIDE RATTAN BED
Hannah came awake with a sense of anticipation somehow mixed with wariness. Eyes closed, she used her bare toe to investigate her immediate surroundings. When she realized that the bed was empty she sat up, blinking. Gideon was already up and gone. Swimming, no doubt. How could he resist the world's largest swimming pool at his front door?

Hannah pushed back the covers, reaching for the cane that Gideon had left next to her side of the bed. She stood leaning on the cane as she gazed out the window at a huge frangipani bush that appeared to be trying to climb into the room. Beyond it she could see the grove of palms that ringed the beach. No wonder her aunt had chosen to live out her retirement here. What more could a person ask of life than the blue-green sea, the pure, white sand and the swaying palms? A land of fantasy—brilliant, colorful fantasy.

Last night, Hannah knew, she had stepped completely into that fantasy, allowing it to enclose her. The real world seemed very far away this morning.

Neutral territory.

Except that the way she was feeling this morning was hardly neutral.

Hannah made her way to the shower. Gideon still hadn't returned by the time she had dried herself and dressed in a pair of white linen trousers and a snappy white linen blouse that tied just above her navel. Both garments had been styled to look like sophisticated versions of a tropical naturalist's outfit, complete with pockets on the legs of the trousers and the sleeves. The linen was wrinkled from having been folded into a flight bag but Hannah reminded herself that the catalog had assured her linen was supposed to look wrinkled. That was the way it proved to the world it wasn't a synthetic. Hannah pinned her mass of curls back from her face with two tortoiseshell combs and decided she was ready for a major endeavor such as making coffee.

Actually, she felt good, wonderfully good, if she discounted the occasional twinges in the muscles of her inner thighs. With every step she received a small reminder of the night's activities, but she could live with that. Even her knee felt reasonably comfortable this morning. Hannah headed for the kitchen.

She found a teakettle and filled it with water. After she'd set it on the stove Hannah wandered out into the sun-filled living room. The window in front of the teak desk gave the best view of the sea. Leaning forward, Hannah braced herself with both palms and narrowed her eyes against the brilliant morning light. No wonder painters had always liked islands. The light was incredible. As she watched the dazzle on the sea, she thought she saw Gideon's dark head in the waves. He was stroking back toward shore.

For a moment Hannah battled an odd uncertainty. She wanted to be cool and casual about the relationship that had flared to life last night. Gideon would be cool and casual about it, she was quite sure of that. A confidence in his own power as a man had always underlined his confidence in his power as an executive. Some of the faint wariness with which she had awakened that morning returned. People who wielded power as easily as Gideon did were dangerous. She would do well to remember that.

But it was a little late to be issuing warnings to herself. Hannah sighed and absently began opening the desk drawers. She had come to Santa Inez to sort and pack her aunt's library, not to have an affair with the man who had nearly ruined her brother.

The center drawer of the desk was locked but Hannah found the key on the ring she had brought with her. When she used it on the tiny lock, the drawer opened to reveal the expected assortment of pens and pencils, paper clips, and rubber bands. It also revealed a small, exquisitely carved wooden box. Curiously Hannah lifted it out of the drawer and opened it.

A pendant lay inside. It hung from a chain of heavy metal links. The stone in the simply worked setting was not particularly breathtaking or interesting. It was a dull greenish gray, opaque instead of clear, and it was unfaceted. The rounded surface had been cut, however. There was a design on it that was difficult to make out. Hannah turned her back to the window so that the morning sun fell full on the stone. The engraving was a series of graceful curves that flowed into the shape of a nude woman. The figure was holding something in one hand, perhaps a sword.

Glancing down at the box, Hannah saw a slip of white paper that had been lying under the stone. She unfolded it and found a handwritten note signed by Elizabeth Nord. It was dated shortly before her death.

The stone seemed to grow warm in Hannah's hand. She blinked back a trace of dampness as she fastened the pendant around her neck. It wasn't as if she and her aunt had ever been close. But she had always felt a distant kind of link with Elizabeth Nord. Perhaps that was why she had come to love islands and why she had once almost made a career out of anthropology. The gift was unexpected and it touched her.

Gideon came through the double doors just as she finished locking the pendant in place. Hannah glanced up and then blinked as she realized that he was standing in front of her, unabashedly naked, his towel slung over his shoulder. His mouth curved with private male humor as he watched her efforts to keep her eyes firmly fixed on his face. Idly Gideon touched the stone in the pendant.

“Where did you get that?”

“I just found it in my aunt's desk. There was a note. She said it was meant for me. Like it?”

Gideon considered the object. “Not especially. Is it supposed to be valuable?”

“I have no idea. Probably not. I don't think Aunt Elizabeth was into jewelry. There's an interesting figure cut on the surface, though. She probably picked it up somewhere during one of her research trips.”

“I can think of more interesting souvenirs.” Gideon's faint amusement turned into a decidedly wicked grin as he leaned down to kiss Hannah.

Hannah tasted the salt on his mouth. The hard contours of his body pushed against her softness with the kind of aggressive confidence that came to a man who has assured himself he can satisfy a woman. Firmly Hannah told herself that such things worked both ways. She had satisfied Gideon, too. She put her arms around his neck and returned the kiss.

“Umm,” Gideon muttered against her lips. “I was thinking of taking a shower and getting dressed for the day, but maybe I'll reprioritize things.”

The whistle of the teakettle broke into his discussion of the change of plans.

“The hot water.” Hannah stepped out of his arms. “Go back to plan A. I'll pour you a cup of coffee while you shower.”

“Let's not do anything hasty here.”

Hannah smiled. “I hate to mention little details, but I did come down here to work.”

“You also came down here to take long walks on the beach,” he reminded her.

“And so far I've done neither.”

“Any complaints?” There was a hint of an edge to the words.

It occurred to Hannah that Gideon would want to establish and set the pace of the relationship. He considered it established after last night. Now he would control the pace. She must not forget that she was dealing with a man who was accustomed to manipulating everything to his own ends.