Authors: Cassandra Gannon
“I’ve
changed my mind. I need you to come twice more.” He decided. “I’m going to
make sure your body knows who you belong to. Twice more, Grace. You hear me?”
She
shook her head. No way. Not even he could do that.
Right?
“You
donea think I can do it?” He guessed. “Why I’m surprised by your lack of
faith, love. Haven’t we been working on your positivity? I’m about to claim
my second one already. I know you’re ready again.”
She
shook her head again, more vigorously this time. Not with people so close by.
Was he crazy?
Jamie
gave her a smug look and withdrew his wet finger from her lips. “Your poor
starved body can’t wait much longer.” He commiserated. “No one’s been
treating it right, all these years, so it’s dying for some fun. You’re needing
some release. What kind of Partner would I be if I denied you?”
Uh
oh… Grace held her breath as he slid his hand down between her legs.
“Please.” She whispered, unsure if she was asking him to stop or begging him
not to. “Please, Jamie.”
Either
way, pleading with a pirate was useless.
The
thick weight of his finger pressed into her straining flesh and Grace was
lost. His mouth swooped down to cover hers as she sobbed, swallowing her
sounds of fulfilment. The other people took another path, away from the
armory, and Grace didn’t even notice. Her body shivered in his arms, giving
him everything she had.
Jamie
watched her with a greedy expression, drinking in every small shudder. “My
turn.” He said gruffly. “Can’t hold on much longer.” His face was taunt as
he pulled back from her.
Her
dazed eyes met Jamie’s, ready to do whatever he asked.
He
stared down at Grace’s befuddled face for a beat and let out another groan. “Need
you
so fucking much
.” He gave her open-mouthed kiss and then spun her around
to face the wall. “Donea want you getting distracted again. It’s just you and
me.” He bent her forward so her hands were braced on the brick and then nudged
her legs farther apart. “You and me, lass.” He lifted her skirt up, his hand
running over her exposed backside. “Now and forever.” He slammed into her
from behind.
Grace’s
eyes went wide in shock and pleasure.
No
one had ever taken her that way before. It felt wanton and vulnerable. Her
body was so wet, and Jamie’s angle was so devastating, that the entire massive
length of him disappeared inside of her. She let out a keening wail, uncaring
if anyone heard. She instinctively tried to move, but Jamie was holding her
still, his hand on the back on her neck. The territorial feel of it just
enflamed her more.
Jamie
gave one more small nudge, proving he was completely home, and then he held
himself still for a moment. Making sure she could feel how thoroughly he
claimed her.
“
Jamie!
”
She was panting for breath, desperate for relief. “Oh
God
. Oh
please
.”
He needed to come inside of her, this time. It was the only thing that would
satisfy her.
He
leaned over her body, his mouth by her temple. “
I
am you Partner,
Grace.
I
am the one you need.
I
am your husband material.
There is no other for you. Just me. Only
me
.”
She
would have agreed if there was any oxygen left in her lungs. There hadn’t been
any doubt in her mind who he was, from the first night she’d met him. Jamie
was the one she’d been waiting for her whole life.
He
eased out of her and then slid
allllll
the way back in. “Tell me you’re
mine.” He ordered, his body covering hers like a dominant animal. One large
hand flattened next to hers on the wall, giving himself better leverage. “Tell
me you belong to me, because I sure as fuck belong to you.”
“God,
you are so good at this it should be illegal.”
“In
this century, I’m sure it is.” His teeth grazed her ear. “Tell me, Grace.
Tell me what I want to hear and I’ll give you everything you need. You know I
will.”
She
turned her head to meet his eyes. “I’m yours and you’re mine, James Riordan.
Now and forever. You’re the only man who could ever be my husband or my
Partner. I need you so much it scares me.”
“God,
yes!” His thrusts began again, less measured and more desperate. “You are
every good part of me, Grace. Alive or dead, I’ll go back to nothingness if I
ever lose you.” Jamie let lose a roar, finally coming deep inside of her. “
Grace!
”
His
release triggered her own. Grace’s body spasmed, her mouth opening in a silent
scream. The orgasm was stronger than anything she’d ever experienced, wiping
every thought from her head. For a timeless moment, all she knew was bliss and
Jamie.
Unfortunately,
three times in a row was all her system could take. Grace’s legs gave out.
She would have toppled forward, but Jamie caught her against him, balancing
them both. He settled them on the ground, holding her in his lap, while
aftershocks trembled through her body. His lips found the side of her throat,
kissing her and making soothing noises as she tried to regain her equilibrium.
After
a long moment, Grace turned to blink up at him, swallowing hard.
Jamie
winced at her distressed expression, seeming to come back into himself. “Shit.
What did I just do?” He gave his head a clearing shake. “
Shit.
I’m
sorry. Grace, I’m
so
sorry.” He smoothed her hair back, his eyes
tortured. “I was too rough. I took you in ways you weren’t ready for. I know
that. I just lost control. I realized I could touch you, and that you really
came back here for me, and I had to have you. I didn’t stop to think…”
“I’m
not upset about
that
.” She whispered, cutting him off. “Are you
crazy? I was an active participant in every awesome moment of it.”
Jamie
frowned in relief and confusion. “Then what has you looking worried?”
She
chewed her lower lip. “You’re kind of loud.” She told him as diplomatically
as she could. “Somebody probably heard you shouting my name when you came.”
“Oh.”
Jamie smirked, not the least bit repentant. “Well, if they did, I guarantee
you, they’re nothing but bloody jealous.” He touched her bruised cheek, his
face becoming more serious. “You’re sure you’re alright? That wanker Robert
didn’t hurt you too badly earlier?”
“No.
I’m fine. Thanks to you.” She leaned against Jamie, her head on his shoulder,
loving the simple fact that she could touch him. “Thank you for helping me.
For
staying
with me. I know it was hard for you, not being able to just
beat him into a sticky, bloody mess.”
“You
have no idea how much I hate that man.” Jamie rested his chin on her hair,
holding her tight. “But it’s
nothing
compared to the love I have for
you, Grace. I would die for you, all over again.”
“I’d
rather you
didn’t
. Hence my time traveling adventures.” She moved to
kiss him. “Now, I love you, too, but we have to be more quiet. We’re probably
wanted by the police. Or the Watch or whatever the law enforcement around here
is called. We’re not going to help anyone if we’re locked up in jail.”
“I
can be quiet, so long as I’m doing something else with my mouth.” His lips
grazed her neck and then started down her body.
“Stop
that!” She laughed and scrambled to her feet, adjusting her skirts before he
distracted her. “We’re supposed to be looking for Gregory. I’m sure you
remember what happens tonight. I’ll give you a hint: It involves you, a rope,
and me becoming a widow before I even get a wedding.”
Jamie
glanced up at the vanishing sun. Twilight was upon them. “Aye. One hanging
this lifetime was plenty.” He glanced at her, smiling as she Velcro-ed her top
into place. “You sure you wouldn’t rather just go to Jamaica right now? We
could be heading for azure blue waters within the hour, leaving this dreary
little town behind us for good.
“Your
name would never be cleared, if we did that.”
“Donea
much care.”
“You’ll
care when armed men come to hunt us down.” She retorted. “Plus Clara would
still be killed. Crazy nut-job or not, we can’t just let that happen. We have
to stop this
now
. All we need to do is find Gregory and check his
thumbprint.”
“And
if he’s not a match?”
“Then
we’re onto Plan B and the whole kidnapping thing. Don’t worry. I brought knock
out powder, just in case we have drug Clara and carry her out of here.”
“I
do love the way your mind works, lass.” Jamie bounded to his feet, adjusting
his clothes. “When
is
our wedding, anyway?”
Grace
arched a brow. “Maybe when you actually propose.” She teased.
“Miss
Rivera, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
She
blinked, surprised by the instantaneous and completely civilized proposal.
“Just like that? No Captain Hookish threats to make me walk the plank if I
refuse? I thought pirates didn’t take chances on their brides slipping away.”
“I
donea think I’m taking a chance. Because I donea think my bride is going to
refuse. Because I think she’s
my
Partner, too.”
Grace
gave him a slow smile. “I think you’re right.”
Blue
eyes glowed with love. “So say ‘yes’ then, lass.”
“Yes.”
He
beamed at that simple answer and gave her a smacking kiss. “You are the only
Sunday school teacher in all of history abnormal enough to tie herself to a
pirate.”
“Well,
I’m expecting one heck of an engagement ring, considering you have a buried
treasure around here some…” Grace stopped short, her eyes going wide. “There
he is!”
Jamie
turned to look and made a face when he saw Gregory, who was losing a game of
ninepins to a group of ten year olds down the hill. Clearly, the Colonial
version of bowling was serious business for the “Hero of Yorktown,” because he
was loudly bitching at the kids as they kicked his ass at it.
“Bloody
hell. If that moron truly becomes governor, we’re never returning to this state.”
Jamie gave his head a disgusted shake and headed towards him. “Wait here while
I go get his fingerprints.”
“While
you
get his fingerprints?
I’m
the one trained to collect
evidence, Jamie.”
“You’re
also the one Gregory voted to burn at the stake a few hours back. No one’s
planning to lynch
me
until tonight.” He sounded quite smug about his
popularity. “I’m clearly the better choice to get close to the asshole.” He
paused. “Also, I have a gun.”
“Which
is unloaded.”
“
He
doesn’t know that, though. It will be fine.” Jamie glanced at her over his
shoulder. “All we need is something he touched, right?”
Grace
considered his arguments and gave a reluctant nod. It would take longer to
talk Jamie out of doing this than it would to just let him do it in the first
place. “Get his beer tankard. There’s gotta be usable prints on there. And
don’t just grab it from him. Try to be
subtle
about it.”
“Pirates
donea do ‘subtle,’ love.” He winked at her and loped off, no doubt planning to
grab the tankard right out of Gregory’s hand.
Grace
rolled her eyes in exasperated affection. If there was ever a man worth giving
up twenty-first century life for, it was that irrepressible jackass. Who
needed Netflix and iPads, when she had Jamie around to occupy all her
attention? Of course, he was also a little bit high-maintenance. If she
wasn’t proactive about keeping him out of trouble, God only knew what kind of
mess he’d get himself into.
Since
it was a lousy idea to let him handle Gregory on his own, she started down the
hill after him. They were Partners in this. In everything. There was no way…
“Help!”
Eugenia Wentworth came running up, cutting off her thoughts. “Quick! You have
to come quickly! I think he’s going to kill Clara Vance!”
June
28, 1789- Silly as it seems, I’m quite looking forward the 4
th
of
July celebration this year.
For
once, I feel as if something exciting might actually happen in this dull town!
From
the Journal of Miss Lucinda Wentworth
“Huh?”
Grace blinked at Eugenia in astonishment. Vaguely she wondered why Lucinda’s
sister was at the 4
th
of July celebration. Shouldn’t she be in
mourning? “Wait, who’s doing what? What are you…?”
“Edward
Hunnicutt! He has a knife and I think he’s going to stab her to death!”
Eugenia grabbed Grace’s wrist and started pulling her in the opposite direction
that Jamie had gone. The last rays of daylight faded, casting her face in
shadow. “You have to come now or I’m not sure what he might…”
Grace
cut her off, trying to process this new twist.
“Ned Hunnicutt
is
attacking Clara? You’re sure?”
“Yes!
He must have killed my poor sister, too!” Eugenia pulled harder on Grace’s
arm, trying to urge her along. The girl was stronger than she looked. “I
think the man has lost his mind! We have to stop him!”
Grace
yanked away from her, shaking her head. What was going on? It didn’t make any
sense. “Ned isn’t the murderer. His fingerprints don’t match.”
Eugenia
gave her a mystified look, her frantic expression fading. “What?”
“His
fingerprints! They’re different. It couldn’t have been him. Someone
else
killed the girls.”
Eugenia’s
eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m
talking about forensic evidence. Science.
Facts
.” …And suddenly a few
of the facts from Lucinda’s diary were starting to fall into place. Grace
stared at Eugenia, her mind whirling.
The
Pirate charmed even the unlikeliest of targets with his wicked smile.
No
beau will ever seek Eugenia’s hand. Although I sometimes get the feeling she’s
set her eyes on one.
Father
likes to say that Eugenia is the brains of our family.
“We
don’t have time for this!” Eugenia snapped, ignoring the dawning horror on
Grace’s face. “You have come with me
right now!
”
Grace
shook her head harder. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She got out, panic
filling her as she realized the truth.
Now
it made sense how the killer had evaded capture at the Wentworth mansion the
night Lucinda died… Why there had been barefoot prints in the room… Why
Eugenia had originally told everyone that she’d heard Lucinda sneak out of the
house… Why there hadn’t been any evidence of a sexual assault on the body…
Why, when Grace had arrived at the scene, it seemed as if Lucinda had been dead
for far longer than made sense in Eugenia’s accounts of that night…
Standing
back from all the individual pieces, Grace could abruptly see the whole
picture.
“You
killed Lucinda.” She whispered. “All this time, it’s been
you
.”
Eugenia
--the plain, pinched-lipped, overlooked sister of the town’s most beautiful
mean girl-- slowly smiled. “I had a feeling you were a clever one.” She said,
in an eerily calm voice and her pretense about Clara’s peril faded away.
“Jamie only fancies girls who are smart or pretty.” She extracted a
long-bladed knife from the folds of her black skirts. “And really, let’s be
honest, you’re just not that pretty.”
Ah
crap… It seemed that Jamie had been wrong. Grace
wasn’t
the only
Sunday school teacher who’d fall for a pirate. Damn it, why did he have to be
so frigging appealing?
“Umm…”
Grace checked over her shoulder and didn’t see anyone headed her way to help.
“Let’s just stay calm and talk about this, okay?” She tried nervously. “No
reason to do anything crazy.”
Not
that Eugenia seemed to need much of a reason.
“The
first time I saw the pirate I knew he was the one for me.” Eugenia mused, a
far off look in her eye. In a way, it seemed like she was glad to be found
out. It gave her a chance to freely talk about her obsession with Jamie. “He
was so handsome and strong and free. He was walking with my sister, much to my
father’s horror… and I knew I had to have him for myself. It was our destiny.”
“So,
you’re some kind of creepy
Fatal Attraction
bunny boiler?”
Eugenia
glared at her, annoyed that Grace wasn’t listening in reverent awe to her story
of true love. “You’re not from around here, are you?” She guessed peevishly.
“I declare, I don’t understand half of the bizarre things you say. Try as I
might, I can’t quite figure out where you came from or why you’re in
Harrisonburg.”
“I’m
here to save Jamie from you.”
That
was probably not the smartest thing she could’ve said to the president of his psycho
fan club. “Jamie is
mine
.” Eugenia bit off, a raw and primitive
madness flashing in her eyes. “Not yours. Not Lucinda’s.
Mine
. He’s
finally beginning to realize that, too. When he held me in his arms at the
ball, I could tell that he sensed our eternal bond.”
“Jamie
danced with you. Once. And you think that means you’re soulmates?” Grace translated.
“He inadvertently showed you some attention and you couldn’t bear to give it
up.
That’s
why you did all this?”
“
I
didn’t do anything. It was all
them
. Those other trollops, who wanted
to steal him away.” Eugenia slapped a palm against her demurely-covered chest.
“We have a
connection
. We’re
meant
to be together. Everyone
knew it, but those bitches distracted him.”
“So
you decided to get rid of all the competition? All his other dance partners from
that night, so it would just be
you
?” Grace edged backwards. “You
murdered your own sister!”
“I
tried to deal with Lucinda in a reasonable, civil, and ladylike way.
She
was
the one who went and made it difficult.” Eugenia’s tone suggested that
committing a gruesome homicide had been nothing but an inconvenience for her. “I
went to her room that night and I explained that she needed to give me Jamie.
I
know
that she stayed home from church last Sunday to seduce him. I
saw him sneaking from the house. You think I could just allow that kind of
behavior to continue?”
“I’m
not thrilled with the mental picture, either.” Grace admitted honestly.
“Lucinda
wouldn’t listen to reason, though. She laughed when I told her that Jamie
belonged to me.” Eugenia’s pinched lips pinched even tighter. “Laughed!” She
shook her head. “She had the gall to tell me that Jamie and I would never be
together. That even the two of
them
weren’t together, in any
significant way. That he was
waiting
for someone.” Her voice sneered
over the word. “Fool. He was
waiting
for me!
No one else
.”
“No.”
Grace said quietly. “He was waiting for his Partner.”
Eugenia
didn’t even hear her. She was lost in her memories, happy to have a captive
audience to admire her brilliance. After years of living in Lucinda’s shade,
it must have been liberating finally to shoulder her way into the spotlight. “Well,
you can imagine, the discussion turned a great deal more unpleasant, after
that. I had no choice but to tell Lucinda that she
must
leave my beau
alone or I would expose her scandalous behavior to our parents. And do you
know how she replied?”
“Um…
with a four-letter word, I’m guessing?”
“Worse!
With threats of her own. She said she’d go to Jamie and tell him that I’d been
spying on them. Watching them
in flagrante delicto
, through a small
peephole between our rooms.”
“You
watched Jamie and Lucinda have sex?” Grace echoed incredulously. “Ew!” Jesus,
it was like time traveling into a rerun of
Melrose Place
.
Eugenia
gave a prim sniff. “I was merely keeping an eye on him. Making sure my sister
didn’t do anything
too
vile.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “In
any case, after her threats, I knew then what I had to do with Lucinda. She
wasn’t going to stop until she had ruined me! So I pretended to go to bed, at
the usual time.” She smiled at her own cleverness. “But really I was just
waiting half an hour, for the rest of the house to fall asleep.”
“Waiting
naked
.” Grace surmised.
“Well,
I wasn’t about to get blood on my nightgown. I’m
sure
the servants
would have noticed when they did the wash.” Eugenia rolled her eyes as if it
was only logical. “Anyway, it was all very simple. I got a knife from the
kitchen and snuck into Lucinda’s room. I’m not sure she had any idea what
happened, until after she was dead and roasting in whatever ring of hell is
saved for man-stealing whores.”
“What
about your parents? Did you even think about them?”
“My
parents?!
” Eugenia chortled. “They despised Lucinda. They’ll probably
thank me for ridding the family of her brashness.”
“They’d
prefer her dead on the bedroom floor?”
“Well,
I was
going
to make sure they never knew she was dead.” Eugenia
shrugged, as if it was the thought that counted. “I planned to push her body
out the window and then hide it in one of the marshes around here. I’d tell everyone
that I heard her sneak out and they’d think she ran off with some man.” Eugenia
paused, still pissed that her plans had been ruined. “…But then
you
interrupted me.” She frowned. “How did you even suspect what I was planning?”
“I
first read about the murders when I was a kid. My aunt had a book called
Horror
in Harrisonburg
.” Which she was guessing Eugenia had a hand in writing. She
craved attention and the smug sensation of knowing something nobody else did. “I
just had no idea Lucinda’s killer was going to be her own little sister.”
Eugenia
seemed confused by that explanation and offended by the phrasing. Both
emotions had her temper flaring. “I
told
you, I didn’t have a choice! Lucinda
wouldn’t leave Jamie alone! She didn’t love him like I do!
No one
loves him like I do!” Eugenia advanced on Grace, refocused on her mission. “Especially
not
you
.”
Grace
gave a high-pitched laugh. “Well you’re right about that! My love for Jamie
is
nothing
like your crazy fixation. It’s real and so is his love for
me.”
Eugenia
barely heard her. “I thought Clara and Anabel were going to be problems for
me. I planned to rid myself of them, once and for all. …But then
you
showed up and I realized they were
nothing
. Even Lucinda was nothing,
compared to you.”
Somehow
Grace didn’t think that was a compliment. “Umm…”
Eugenia
made an emphatic gesture with the knife, indicating that she wanted silence. “After
all I’ve been through, my slut of a sister was actually right. She
wasn’t
the one he was waiting for.” Her eyes narrowed. “
You’re
all he can
think about now. I see it in his eyes when he looks at you. He wants to marry
you.
You’re
the one I have to stop.”
This
was seriously not going well. “You can try to kill me, but it won’t do any
good. Jamie
still
won’t be your Partner.” Grace surreptitiously
fumbled with her apron. “He belongs to me and he always will.”
That
was not what Eugenia wanted to hear. “Sooner or later, he’ll see that
I’m
the
one who loves him! Deep down he
already
knows it, but
you’re
keeping him from me!”
“At
least, I didn’t let him hang for crimes that
I
committed. That’s how
much you loved him. You’d rather see him die than fess up to being a lunatic.”
Eugenia
had no idea what that meant, but it didn’t seem to matter. Her eyes were wild.
“I think Clara saw the truth about you from the start. I think you
are
a witch! I think you’ve put a spell on Jamie to lure him from me!”
Grace’s
hand curled around the small vial that she had hidden in her pocket. She’d
taken it off Loyal’s shelf in case Plan B was the only option and they needed
to kidnap Clara, but now it was about to save her life.
“I’m
not a witch.” She told Eugenia very clearly. “I’m a Rivera.” She threw the
knockout powder, feeling triumph at her easy victory. She scrambling out of
range as the green mist exploded all over the other woman and waited for it to
do its work.
Except…
Why was it green?
Grace’s
feeling of satisfaction faded into confusion. Knockout powder was supposed to
be purple. Even Grace knew that and she hated magic so much she hadn’t even
watched the stupid
Harry Potter
movies.
There
was only one explanation for the green dust settling all over Eugenia: Whatever
Grace just used, it was the wrong spell.