Part 3 (1/2)
He knew what he was doing was madness, he knew that he never should have allowed himself that first fiery taste of her. And once he had, he knew he shouldn't be continuing it. But her lips were so soft, the sound she made so tantalizing. Without further thought he accepted the invitation she gave him and plunged his tongue deeply into her mouth. Raw-need rushed to his head and down into his groin.
His hands tightened on her upper arms like iron bands, making it impossible for her to move.
She was caught in a trap of desire, oblivious to the rhythmic music of the stream and the horses that had wandered a few feet away to graze. Sense of place or propriety was lost to her. She strained against him and groaned with pleasure when she felt the hard ridge of his s.e.x press against her pelvis. His kiss was hot, urgent, all-consuming. And she was left bereft and confused when he abruptly pulled away from her.
His eyes glittered like dark sapphires as his chest heaved with the harsh intake and expulsion of air. He looked like a man who very much wanted a woman, but as she stared bewildered at him, he brought his hand up to his mouth and wiped it across his lips. ”What's wrong, Kells? What happened?”
”Nothing is wrong,” he said roughly. ”You wanted me to kiss you. I kissed you.”
”Yes, but-”
”You got what you wanted.”
Anger surged in her. ”And you didn't?”
”As a matter of fact, I enjoyed the h.e.l.l out of it, but that's all there is to it. It's over. I came here to do business with your father, not seduce his daughter.” He stalked over to his horse and lifted its reins.
d.a.m.n. He was right, she thought with chagrin And after all, it had been just a kiss, one of countless she had received. Those kisses hadn't meant anything and neither had this one. She had even known he was going to kiss her, and in a very overt way had initiated it. So it had happened; now the thing to do was forget it.
Grappling for a hold on reality, she said, ”We should be getting back. Lunch will be served soon.” With a curt nod he mounted his horse.
For the most part their ride back to the house was made in silence. When they did speak, it was in a polite, stilted way and on subjects that didn't come close to touching what had happened between them.
They were nearly to the house before it hit Bria that the kiss she and Kells had shared wasn't the kiss she had ”seen.” No, in that kiss her arms had been around his neck and his hand had been beneath her sweater. Very pa.s.sionate. Wild.
Dear G.o.d, what was happening to her?
When Bria and Kells reached the stables, she quickly excused herself to race to the house, to her room, to the mirror.
”Come on,” she muttered with frustration as she stared at her own reflection. ”Do your stuff. Show me something.”
Her own image continued to stare back at her.
”Dammit. ” She hit the arm of the chair. ”What in the h.e.l.l is going on?”
She sat back on her heels and tried to come up with a meaning, an explanation for the things she had seen. First there had been her mother on Shalimar, something she knew had happened in the past. Then there had been Kells looking down on Killara, something that to her knowledge hadn't happened. Then she had seen the two of them kissing. It had happened, only not in the way she had seen it in the mirror.
”If you're supposed to be some sort of crystal ball, you're a complete failure,” she said to the mirror.
She was gripping the arms of the chair to push herself up when the image in the mirror changed and she saw their housekeeper, Mrs. Copeland, carrying a crystal compote dish full of fruit into the dining room. Just as Mrs. Copeland reached the table, she turned suddenly and chopped the dish. It crashed on the floor. Then Bria was looking at her own reflection again.
”This is crazy,” she whispered to herself, shaken. ”Crazy.”
She sat where she was, waiting until she thought her legs would hold her weight without giving way beneath her. In the bathroom she repeatedly splashed cool water on her face. Then she went in search of Mrs. Copeland and the compote dish.
Downstairs, she reached the doorway of the dining room just as Mrs. Copeland, carrying the fruit-filled compote dish, came into the room, using the door that led from the kitchen. The scene was exactly as it had been moments before when she had seen it in the mirror. Even the fruit was the same.
Something in Bria wanted to cry out to the woman to be careful, to hold on tightly to the dish, but reason prevailed. She didn't want to do anything that might influence the outcome of the tableau unfolding before her.
Mrs. Copeland walked briskly toward the dining table and was nearly to it when someone called to her from the kitchen. She turned suddenly and the compote dish slipped from her hands. Giving a cry of distress, she gazed down at the shattered gla.s.s and fruit that now lay at her feet.
Bria eased away from the door and fell back against the wall. Panic rose in her until it was a scream in her throat, trying to escape. In desperation she sought something normal to focus on. She was in Killara's stately entry hall, with its Italian marble floor and magnificent Waterford chandelier. Against a curved wall the stairway swept gracefully downward from the second floor. As always, her mother had decorated the banister with greenery, ropes of luminescent pearls, tiny clear lights, and red velvet bows. Pots of red poinsettias adorned each step.
Bria ran shaking fingers through her hair.
Seeking out the normal wasn't helping. The normal had ceased to exist the moment she had found the mirror and then met Kells.
With great effort she attempted to will her panic away. When Kells walked up a minute later, she had been only partially successful.
He took one look at her nearly colorless face and closed his hand around her upper arm. ”What's wrong, Bria? What's happened? Are you all right?”
What was happening between the two of them might be confusing to her, but the things she saw in the mirror made her think she was losing her mind. Kells, at least, made things happen in her that felt good. Without thinking she spread her fingers over his chest, unconsciously trying to absorb some of his strength and warmth. ”I'm fine.”
With his free hand he cupped the side of her face. ”Then why do you look so pale?”
His touch was working its magic, heating her blood, sending it rus.h.i.+ng hotly through her veins. But she didn't feel she could tell him the truth, at least not until she could reasonably explain the phenomenon of the mirror. She had to keep in mind that he was a stranger-a stranger she had seen looking down on Killara with an angry expression on his face. It was bred into her bones to protect Killara. She improvised. ”I'm just hungry, that's all.”
His brows drew together. ”Are you sure that's all it is? You looked like this when I first saw you.”
”I was probably hungry then too. Really, it's no big deal. I'm just hungry.”
”Your dad said you needed to rest, that it was the reason they asked you to take some time off.”
She pa.s.sed a hand over her eyes. ”I haven't had a vacation in five years, but I've been doing something I love, learning the business. It's been an exciting, fun time.”
”But now you're tired.”
He actually sounded concerned, she thought. She had to be wrong; she was probably still in shock. ”I told you. I'm okay. You know how parents worry.”
”No, actually, I don't.”
Remembering that his parents had died when he was young, she sighed. ”I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”
”Forget it. Didn't you have any breakfast?”
”No, but then, I rarely eat breakfast.”
He pulled her away from the wall and kept his hand on her. ”Let's go see how near to serving lunch they are.”
As it happened, lunch was ready. And as soon as Mrs. Copeland had cleaned up the gla.s.s and the fruit, the meal was served.
Bria felt Kells's gaze on her all through lunch, so much so that she barely ate. His presence and his gaze were a tangible force. She had known him less than twenty-four hours, yet she couldn't remember a time when he hadn't loomed large in her life. It didn't make sense that he could affect her so, but then, at the moment so little did.
Immediately after lunch she asked her mother and father to meet her in her bedroom.