From the Heart (10 page)

Kasey grinned. “Many of the Algonquins were friendly to white settlers for some time. It depends upon which tribe you are talking about. However—”

“Perfect. Wonderful.” Serena folded Kasey's arm through her thick one. “I'm stealing her for an hour, Jordan. It's too good to miss. Have some more champagne.” She gave his cheek a motherly pat. “I'll send her back to you when I'm done.”

Kasey looked over her shoulder and shrugged as she was propelled away.

 

“It's the first time,” Kasey said later, “that I've met anyone who can outtalk me.” She leaned against the back seat of the cab, tucked into the curve of Jordan's arm. “I'm suitably humbled.”

“I gave serious consideration to strangling her after the first hour.” She was close, and the scent of her hair wafted over him. She was warm and a little sleepy, a little high on champagne. He wanted her. “She drilled you for two hours and ten minutes.”

Kasey laughed softly. “She's a marvelous person.”

“I've always thought so, until tonight.”

“She's very fond of you.” Kasey smiled up at him. “She told me you were a wonderful writer, a marvelous man, particularly when you forget to be polite.” She laughed at his lifted brow. “I had to agree with her.”

“If Serena's books are a barometer, she prefers a more—earthy type.”

“Oh, Jordan, I just love it when you're dignified.” She took a nip at his ear. “Why don't you kiss me again the way you did at the party? Sort of macho and domineering.”

“Damn you, Kasey.” He was laughing as he pressed his lips to hers.

“
Mmm,
swear at me and I'm yours,” she murmured.

“Be careful,” he warned, finding his hunger growing despite her teasing. “I ran out of patience an hour ago.”

Kasey laughed again and laid her spinning head on his shoulder. “And he burned for her, burned with a white-hot
heat that only she could satisfy.” She sighed and snuggled. “Serena Newport,
Chesterfield's Woman.
”

She was more than high on champagne, Jordan realized. She was three-quarters drunk. “Kasey, you're smashed,” he said, amused.

“Well put,” she agreed. “You writers have a way with words.” She lifted her mouth to just beneath his. “Are you going to take advantage of my condition?”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh, good.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Start now.”

The cab pulled over to the curb, and Jordan untangled himself. “Why don't I pay off the cab first?”

“Details.” Kasey stepped onto the sidewalk with the help of the doorman. The cold air, still smelling of snow, whipped over her cheeks. It did nothing to clear her head. “Jordan.” She tucked her arm into his when he joined her. “It's just occurred to me, something you said in the cab about Serena's barometer. Does that mean you read her books?”

“Of course I read her books.” He steered Kasey through the doors and across the lobby. “Does that surprise you?”

“I stand astonished.”

“It's astonishing that you can stand at all,” he countered, pressing the button for the elevator.

“But Jordan, I have a difficult time picturing you reading
Chesterfield's Woman.
” Kasey allowed herself to be drawn inside the elevator.

“Why?” He pushed the button for their floor, then pulled Kasey into his arms. “To quote Germaine, she tells a hell of a story.”

Then he was kissing her with a quick, desperate hunger that had her rocking on her feet. She would have been dizzy without the help of champagne. The silk pressed cool against her skin as his hand ran down her back. The heat kindled in her slowly, until she was utterly pliant in his arms. Passion licked by wine simmered under his touch. Her mouth was soft under his, and his tongue moved inside to seek hers. Her thighs throbbed with need, and her head swam. She was reeling and heating and floating all at once. She could no longer cling to him but went limp in her first total surrender.

“God, Kasey, I've never known an elevator to take so long.” He buried his face in her hair and tried to draw back his own sanity. She was so fluid, so totally willing to have him love her; he felt incredibly strong. He hadn't known he would find even her weakness an excitement when it had been her strength that had drawn him to her.

The elevator door slid open, and he guided her out into the hall.

“Jordan.” Kasey turned to him again, leaning against him with her face lifted to his. Her eyes were misted, but the smile reached them.

“What?”

“Do you remember what Chesterfield does to Melanie in Chapter Eight right before the ship is attacked by the British frigate?”

He grinned, remembering very well. “Yes, as it happens, I do. Why?”

“Well.” She put her arms around his neck again. “I was wondering—a purely academic thought—if fiction could be translated to fact. I'm thinking of doing a paper on the subject.”

“And you'd like me to help you test your theory?”

“Exactly.” She ran her hand through his hair. “Would you mind?”

“In the interest of academia, I might be persuaded.” He swept her into his arms. “Didn't it start something like this?” He slipped the key into the lock and carried her inside.

S
he was still asleep when he woke. Jordan immediately felt her warmth and the light tickle of her hair on his shoulder. The room was still dim, with the heavy curtains drawn over the windows, but a glance at his watch told him it was morning. He had a meeting scheduled in just over an hour. With a sigh, he looked down at Kasey.

He'd never known anyone who slept so deeply. He brushed the hair away from her forehead. She didn't even stir.

He thought of how she had been the night before—the sleepy sexuality, the husky laugh, the heavy eyes. If he had been a fanciful man, he would have thought her a witch. There was something other-worldly about her. Every time he thought he had power over her, he found himself caught in hers.

But now, as she slept, she might be any woman. Now she was just a woman sleeping off a night of champagne and loving. So how was it, he wondered, that she still pulled at him? As she slept, she couldn't dispense her cockeyed charm or send out those looks that both invited and challenged him. And yet he was drawn to her, even as she lay there. He lowered his mouth to hers.

Jordan kept his lips gentle, and Kasey didn't stir. He had wanted this—to wake beside her. To wake her. Her lips were so soft, he felt he could sink into them. He murmured her name and kissed her again. Her face was pale without
makeup, and there was a light sprinkling of freckles over her nose. He kissed her cheek, and his hand sought her breast. She didn't wake, didn't stir, but sighed in sleep as though she dreamed of him. He found the pulse in her throat with his lips and felt it beat slowly. His own was already beginning to race.

He stroked gently, feeling his passion build. Knowing the thrill of possession, he ran his hand down the length of her. The skin on the inside of her thighs was water-soft. He moaned, shattered by his need for her.

He took his mouth to her ear, to her temple, then back to hers to part her lips urgently. Her response was slow as he pulled her from the dream, then her lips moved under his with a quiet moan. Her heart was suddenly pounding under his hand. He entered her before she was fully awake, spinning her into passion as delirious as his own.

She was curled against him again, her arms tight, her head resting in its favored spot in the curve of his shoulder. She sighed and kissed where her lips could reach easily. “Good morning,” she murmured.

She brought out something primitive in him which he wasn't certain he was comfortable with. He'd never experienced the degree of passion she could draw from him. The laughter in her voice was irresistible. “Good morning. How do you feel?”

“
Mmm,
wonderful.” She snuggled closer. “And you?”

“Fine, but
I
wasn't teetering on my feet last night.” He shifted away just far enough to look at her. Her eyes were clear. The dimple at the corner of her mouth appeared as her lips curved. “No hangover? You're entitled to one.”

“I never have hangovers.” Kasey kissed him lightly. “I refuse to believe in them.” She rolled over until she was leaning on his chest looking down at him. “Do you realize how much trouble could be avoided if we simply didn't believe it?”

“An interesting theory.”

“I have dozens of them.”

“I've noticed.” He smiled and ran a finger down her cheek. “Your theory last night was particularly interesting.”

Kasey laughed and dropped her forehead onto his chest. “It worked.”

“Beautifully.”

“Shall we tell Serena?” She lifted her head again, and her eyes were bright with humor.

“I think not.”

She kissed him again, lingering. “Do you remember I once told you that you had a terrific body?”

“Yes. I recall being surprised at the time. But I didn't know you as well then.”

She sighed as she felt his hands lower to her hips. “I still think so.” Kasey rested her cheek on his chest. There was a contentment in her she had never felt before. “You have meetings today, don't you?”

“Yes. I've one in . . .” He lifted his arm to glance at his watch. “ . . . in about half an hour. I'm going to be late.”

“If we were in Fiji,” she murmured, “we could stay like this all day, and you wouldn't need that watch.”

“If we were in Fiji,” he countered, “you wouldn't have had your snow.”

Kasey sighed again and closed her eyes. “You're so logical, Jordan. It's one of the things I love most about you.”

He said nothing for a moment. She hadn't mentioned love to him since the first day she had confessed it. He had wanted to hear it again so that he could explore his own reaction. Now he could feel her beginning to drift back to sleep.

“I don't like to leave you alone,” he murmured.

“There're a million people out there.” She yawned and snuggled down. “I'll hardly be alone.”

“I'd rather be with you.”

“Don't worry about me, Jordan. I'm going to look for a sweatshirt and some jeans for Alison. Something cheap and symbolic that she can grub around in.”

“For making mud sculptures?” He felt the smile tugging at his mouth again.

“
Mmm-hmm.
” She smiled, remembering the expression on his face the first day she and Alison had made them. “And I want to see all the Christmas decorations. I'm going to have a lot more fun than you are.”

“Can you break off from your busy schedule to meet me for lunch?”

“
Hmm,
maybe. Where?”

“Where would you like?” He knew he should be up and dressing, but he found it impossible to move.

“Rajah,” she said drowsily. “West Forty-eighth Street.”

“Two o'clock, then.”

“Okay. Did I bring my watch?” she asked him.

“I've never seen you wear one.”

“I keep it in my purse so it doesn't intimidate me.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I have to get up. If I stay much longer, I'll have to make love with you again.”

She lifted her face, and her eyes were half-closed. “Promise?”

He drew her back to him.

 

“Twenty minutes late.” Agnes gave her watch a hard look. “That's not like you, Jordan.”

“Sorry, Agnes.” He settled back in a leather chair. Agnes sat behind a six-foot desk. It was piled with manuscripts and memos. Jordan had always felt that sitting behind that desk, she looked like a general waging battle.

“Well.” She saw the humor in his eyes and leaned back, a pencil tapping on her lip. “I hope it was worth it.”

Jordan lifted a brow and said nothing. Agnes had expected nothing else. She had never been able to bait him. A very cool character, she thought, not for the first time. She remembered the animated woman he had brought with him the night before. An interesting combination.

“About your collaborator,” Agnes began, pushing a few papers aside. “Is she as good as you were led to believe?”

“Better,” he told her.

She nodded. “Then it's money well-spent.”

“I want her to have a percentage of the royalties.”

“A percentage of the royalties?” Agnes scowled and shifted in her chair. “You contracted her for a flat fee.”

“She's to have that as well.” Jordan sat back and laced his fingers.

“Jordan, the fee you're paying her is very generous.” Her voice was patient. “Your personal life is one thing, but business is business.”

“This is business,” he countered. Jordan's voice was patient, too, but firm. Agnes recognized the tone and stifled a
sigh. As well as being cool and cautious, he was stubborn, and she knew it. “I never expected, when we wrote up the original agreement, that I'd be able to draw so much out of her. Agnes, the book's nearly as much hers as it is mine. She's entitled to benefit from it.”

“Ethics.” Agnes sighed. “You have such a sterling character, Jordan.”

“So do you, Agnes.” He smiled at her. “Or you wouldn't be my agent.”

Agnes shrugged. “What percentage did you have in mind?”

 

Kasey fought her way through Gimbel's and loved every minute of it. She'd run into a sale and had three sweatshirts and two pairs of jeans tucked into her shopping bag. Shopping was something she did rarely, but when she did, she did it passionately. She could spend three hundred dollars on a dress without a qualm and haggle furiously over a five-dollar sweater. She pushed her way through the crowds and scrambled happily through racks of bargains as she shot from store to store.

Passing a window, she spied an inch-high pewter unicorn and rushed inside to dicker over the asking price. A pang of hunger reminded her of the time, and she began to search through her purse for her watch.

“Six-twenty-seven,” she muttered, frowning at it. “I don't think so.” She tossed it back into her purse and smiled at the clerk who was boxing her unicorn. “Do you know what time it is?”

“One-fifty.” He responded to the smile.

Deciding she could make twenty blocks in ten minutes at an easy jog, she took off without hailing a cab. When she arrived at Rajah, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were brilliant. She passed through the elaborate entranceway and stepped inside.

The heat rushed to meet her. It felt wonderful after the stinging cold, and she pulled off her gloves to stuff them into her bag.

“Madam.”

She turned her smile on the mâitre d'. “Jordan Taylor.”

“Mr. Taylor just arrived.” He bowed in her direction. “This way, please.”

Three hours of shopping and no breakfast had left her famished. Jordan watched her coming toward him and rose.

“Hi.” She kissed him, then let him help her off with her coat.

“You were serious about the shopping, I see,” he commented, glancing at the bag before she tucked it under the table.

“Deadly,” she agreed as she accepted a chair. “I bought you a present. You can have it after I see the menu. I'm starving.”

“Some wine first?” He gave the order to the captain at his elbow while Kasey buried her face behind the menu.

“The Crab Goa's always good. And the Barra Kabab.” She put the menu down and grinned. “I think I'll have both. Shopping gives me an appetite.”

“Everything seems to,” Jordan commented wryly. He took her hand, needing to touch her. “I've watched you eat. It's amazing.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Did you really buy me a present?”

“Yes. It's in the bag with Alison's sweatshirts.” Kasey reached down to forage and brought up the box. “You can open it if you promise to order immediately afterward.”

“Agreed.” He lifted the top of the box and uncovered the unicorn.

“It's for luck,” Kasey told him as the captain brought their wine. “You can't go wrong with a unicorn. I almost bought you a bumper sticker with a lewd saying, but I didn't think it would look quite right on your Mercedes.”

“Kasey.” Touched, he took her hand again. “You're outrageously sweet.” Jordan tasted the wine and nodded to the captain. “The lady will have the Crab Goa and Barra Kabab. I'll have the Fish Curry.”

“How hungry are you?” she asked when the captain withdrew.

“Hungry enough, why?”

“I was wondering if I'd get any of your fish.” She smiled when he laughed and slipped the small box into his pocket.

“So you bought me a unicorn and Alison sweatshirts. Did you buy anything for yourself?”

“No.” She tossed her hair out of her eyes, then settled her elbows on the table and cradled her chin on her hands. “There were some earrings in the shop where I got the unicorn, flashy little drops in scrolled gold, but they wouldn't bargain with me. I was in the bargaining mood. And I got hungry.” She grinned and reached for her wine. “How was your meeting?”

“Fine.” He had debated discussing the royalties with her and had decided against it. She might object, citing Agnes's argument about the original agreement, and in any case, he didn't want business to intrude on their time together. They had only one night left. “I've another one at four with Germaine. He'll probably ask me to use my influence to talk you into writing that book.”

Kasey laughed and shook her head. “I think the writing's safer in your hands. But give him my best.”

“What would you like to do tonight?” A basket of bread was placed before them, and Kasey dove into it immediately. “Would you like to see a play?”

“
Mmm,
a musical.” She buttered the bread lavishly and offered him some. Jordan shook his head, smiling as she took a hefty bite. “Something with a lot of flash and a happy ending.”

“I'll meet you back at the hotel at six?”

Kasey nodded, then reached for more bread. “Okay.” Narrowing her eyes, she calculated the time between six and curtain. She smiled over the rim of her glass. “We'd better plan on having a late supper.”

 

Kasey was dreaming. It was a familiar dream, too familiar, and her mind struggled to reject it before it took hold. She was alone, abruptly dropped down into a pure white sea in a small boat. She knew what would happen next and tried to push the image aside. But she wasn't strong enough.

The boat began to rock as the wind picked up, but she had no sail, no oars to guide herself. The water stretched as far as she could see. There would be no swimming for land. She was lost and alone and afraid. She was only a child.

When she saw the ship coming toward her, she shouted for it, steeped in relief. Her grandfather was at the helm, and
raising a hand, he tossed out a life line. Before she could reach it, another ship floated up to her right. The wake of the two ships set her small boat rocking dangerously. Water hurled into her face and was soon ankle-deep on the deck. She was caught in the middle as each ship tried to draw her aboard.

She couldn't reach her grandfather's life line. The waves were knocking her around the boat until she screamed in frustration and begged him to come for her. He shook his head and drew the line away. She was sucked closer to the second ship. And the waves grew high until they tossed her into the sea. Water closed over her head, cutting off her air, her light.