"Because when I bought your notes, I told them you were not a good risk," he said smoothly, as if he did that sort of thing daily. "It was not hard to persuade them, since you had not come to claim the notes yourself."
"How dare you?"
"I thought I was doing you a service, since they would have gone to your father soon for payment I will settle with you, not your father."
"And just how do you expect me to pay you tonight, when you know damn well I don't have any more cash on me?" >
"But you do have something to sell."
"So my father was right!" Corinne gasped. "You're after control of the shipyard. And to think I actually defended you!"
Jared frowned. "Your father said that?"
"He most certainly did. He told me this evening that you might try to manipulate me to get control of the firm, and he was right."
"Is that why you decided not to see me again?"
"Yes," she lied, taking that excuse rather than trying to explain the other.
"Well, your father was wrong, Corinne." Jared lied also, in a surprisingly soft tone. "And you do yourself an injustice to believe it."
"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously.
"I did not intend to buy your vote. That's not what I want from you."
"What, then? I have nothing of value on me."
Jared's eyes were inscrutable. "You have yourself, and one hour of your time upstairs."
Corinne couldn't help but laugh. "You cant be serious." When he said nothing she jumped to her feet, her temper bubbling with indignation. "I have never been so insulted!"
"You don't feel you're worth seven thousand dollars?" he asked calmly.
"My worth is not in question!" she hissed, holding onto the table to stop her hands from trembling. "You are despicable to even suggest such a mode of paymentl"
"It is the only alternative you have."
"I will get your money tomorrow, every cent of it! You will just have to wait until then."
"I don't intend to wait that long."
"Nor do I intend to agree to your terms!" she snapped defiantly. "And there is nothing you can do about it, now is there, Mr. Burk?"
There was a malevolent gleam in his eyes that should have warned her. "On the contrary. I will collect payment in full, whether you are agreeable or not."
"You wouldn't dare," she said tightly. The others in the room would protect her if need be.
"Is that a challenge?"
Corinne faltered when she met his determined look. "No, it's not."
My God, he would attempt to collect, she thought fearfully. Of course, someone would stop him, but it would cause such a seene that she couldn't hope to keep it secret. Rumors about it would run rampant through the city.
"Why do you hesitate, Corinne? In effect, you will receive seven thousand dollars for just an hour of your time. I don't imagine many women could command such a price." His lips curled ever so slightly. "Or do you object to being paid for what you usually give away free?"
She gasped. Could he really think that badly of her? Well, she didn't give a damn for his opinion. She wasn't going to give in to his demands, one way or the other. But she did need to get out of this situation without causing an embarrassing scene.
"You haven't made it worth my while," she said in a deceptively pouting tone. "Nor have you given me a sporting chance." She looked down at the pot in the center of the table, and then at the cards on the table before her, and smiled enticingly. "Now if you would make my debt twelve thousand, and allow me to call your raise, then I might agree to your terms."
"Might?"
Her smile widened, for she knew she couldn't lose. "I will agree."
He leaned forward. "So there is no misunderstanding this time, let me make my terms clear. If I win this hand, you will go upstairs with me for one hour. And that is not an hour of conversation I am talking about, Corinne, but an hour in bed. Is that clear?"
She drew herself up. "You don't have to be so vulgar, Mr. Burk. I understood what you had in mind."
"Then you agree?"
"Yes, do you?"
He nodded, and she grinned triumphantly. She turned her cards over with a flourish and waited with anticipation for his look of defeat. But it didn't come. Instead he grinned back at her and shook his head.
"Not good enough, Corinne."
She stared in disbelief at the cards he turned up. A high straight flush in diamonds, beating her by one card. It was impossible.
When she met his eyes, her own sparkled murderously. "You cheated!"
"How could you prove it?" he asked as he pocketed the money and the notes.
"You did, didn't you? When I left the table you changed your cards!" she accused him furiously.
"I repeat, how could you prove it, Corinne?" "I don't have to prove it—/ know it!" "That makes little difference. The cards say I won and now you will pay up." "Not on your life!"
Corinne grabbed her purse and ran from the room. The dark hall outside the gambling room was empty. The stairs leading up to the second floor were conveniently right next to the entrance door, so that nongamblers could just slip upstairs without being seen. Corinne had never been as aware of those stairs as she was right now. She shuddered as she passed them, hearing a woman's high-pitched laughter from somewhere above.
Should she hide up there and let Jared search fruitlessly for her out in the street? That was where he would assume she had gone. But she couldn't bring herself to go up those stairs. If she could convince Jared's driver to take her home, then she would leave him at the club. That was better.
Corinne opened the entrance door, only to have it slammed shut in front of her, Jared's large hand pressing against it. His arm stretched over her shoulder, and she turned to him.
"I will scream, Jared. I will! You can't stop me from leaving herel"
"Yes, I can," he said coldly, "until you've paid your debt."
"I wouldn't go upstairs with you if my life depended on it. I want you to move!"
She tried to shove him away from the door, but she couldn't budge him. He let her try for only a moment before he picked her up and started up the stairs.
"No!" Corinne screamed. "No, I won't!"
"You no longer have a choice," he said as they reached the top. "Now which room would you prefer, my dear?" he taunted. "One you've occupied before? Or would that make you uncomfortable?"
Corinne's stomach churned with fear. The long corridor before her was very dark, wallpapered in deep royal blue, with only a single lamp at the opposite end giving the tiniest speck of light,
"I have never been up here before," Corinne whispered, hearing the terror in her own voice. "You have got to believe me, Jared."
He laughed cruelly and moved down the corridor to the first open door. "But you don't expect me to, do you?"
"What have I done to make you think otherwise?" she demanded.
He entered a room decorated entirely in green, from the carpet to the furniture to the sheets on the large bed. Everything was green.
Jared shut the door, but didn't set her down yet. His eyes glowed in the dim light as he looked down at her. "Our room matches your eyes," he mocked.
"You've teased me for more than two months now," he continued. "You had to pay the consequences sometime. I don't usually wait this long."
"I never teased you!"
He raised a dark brow. "Do you deny flirting outrageously with me? Do you deny returning my kisses willingly?"
"I may flirt a little, but I mean nothing by it," she said defensively. "I thought you understood that. And I didn't ask you to kiss me, did I?"
"But you didn't try to stop me, did you? A real man won't settle for just kisses, lady," Jared said contemptuously-
"Most will!"
"Not this man," he told her coldly. "Not when you've led me to expect more."
He set her down and turned to lock the door. While his back was to her, she quickly opened her purse and took out the
small knife he had long ago returned to her. It would be the first time she had ever used it other than in practice. She just prayed she could remember all that Johnny Bixler had taught her when she was only a child of ten.
Jared turned around sharply as he heard her slide the knife from its sheath. He laughed heartily at the picture she presented. She was dressed in gold velvet with pearl buttons and lace trimmings. Her dark gold hair was arranged on top of her head with gold velvet ribbons, a few curls escaping on her temples. She held a purse in one hand and the knife in the other.
"Just what do you plan to do with that pretty toy?" he asked, chuckling.
"I'm going to use it if I have to. If you come near me, I will."
"Didn't anyone tell you that you can get hurt playing with knives?"
"I happen to know how to use this one. If anyone gets hurt, it will be you," she said with more confidence than she felt. "Now unlock that door."
He ignored her demand and stood, his feet planted apart, before the door. "I wondered why you carried a weapon in your purse. Do you often feel the need to protect yourself? Or is it just me you refuse to give in to?"
She glared at him. "So you looked in my purse before you returned it? A gentleman wouldn't have done that."
"Well, we both know I'm not one, don't we?" he replied and began removing his coat.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "I'm preparing to transact our business," he answered lightly. "After all, you bet only an hour of your time and that time is wasting away."
"Damn you, haven't you heard anything I've said? You're not going to touch me. I would sooner make love with the devil than with you!"
"The devil and I are on good terms," Jared said coolly. "I'm sure he won't mind." "I hate you, Jared Burk!"
"That hardly makes any difference. Now be a good girl and stop acting as though you've never done this before. If you cooperate, you will enjoy it as much as I will."
Before she could reply, Jared threw his coat in her face, taking her by surprise. He had her wrist in his grip before she could yank the coat away. He jerked her up against his hard chest, bending her arm behind her back and applying pressure until they both heard the knife hit the floor. He stared into her frightened eyes for several moments before he brought his mouth down over hers savagely.
Corinne had never been embraced so tightly before. Her body was molded to his. Even with the pain in her shoulder, for he had not released her arm, her body tingled with feeling, revelled in it.
Jared released her arm and stepped back. "You want me as much as I want you. Why are you pretending otherwise?"
His words were like a slap and Corinne turned crimson. He was right. She hadn't even struggled to fight his kiss, she had returned it wholeheartedly. What was the matter with her?
She wrung her hands. God, she had to make him believe her! "I can't, Jared. I'm not what you seem to think I am. I have never been with a man before—I swear I haven't! I may do some wild things, but that's not one of them."
"You're lying, Corinne. You're no more virginal than I am."
"Don't you care if I'm telling the truth?" she cried. "Are you so bent on having me that you won't listen? My God, you're my father's partner—my partner. Do you think we can ever work together after this?"
"This has nothing to do with the business. You're paying your debt, Corinne. That's all."
"Damn your blackhearted soul!" she stormed. "Lowe you nothing!" She had forgotten her fear.
"That's what this is all about, isn't it, Corinne?" He grinned sardonically. "You're just mad because you think I cheated you."
"You did! But regardless of that, I'm not about to give myself to any man until I marry."
"Then you shouldn't have agreed to it downstairs," he replied, and reached for the buttons on her dress.
Corinne slapped his hand away furiously and bent to retrieve her knife, but Jared kicked it out of her reach. He lifted her up and tossed her on the bed, not too gently.
Corinne started screaming, but Jared fell on her and covered her mouth with his hand.
"Don't get me angry," he said in a deadly voice. "I can be very cruel when I'm angry." He used his free hand to rip her dress open. "It won't do you any good to cry rape, because no one here is going to give a damn. The opinion of the house is, if a lady comes here, then she's no lady. I'm of the same opinion, so don't try my patience anymore. Is that clear?"
As Jared uncovered the firm mounds of her breasts, some of the coldness left his voice. "You really are beautiful," he murmured. "I've never seen such soft, white skin."
He bent his head to her breasts and kissed each peak in turn. He lingered there for a long while before he looked up into her wide, tear-filled eyes.
"I won't hurt you, Corinne, as long as you don't fight me," he said almost-tenderly. "I promise you that."
He moved his hand from her mouth and bent to kiss her. He kissed her deeply, ravishing her mouth with his tongue, but she did not respond at all. He shrugged indifferently.
"If you want to be stubborn, that's up to you, Corinne. It won't stop me."
Corinne wouldn't answer. She was so ashamed she wanted only to die. She couldn't stop him. He would hurt her if she tried, he had said so. And he would rape her anyway, so why should she suffer more than she had to?
She prayed for him to finish quickly. When he lifted her to remove the rest of her clothes, she didn't resist. When he spoke to her tenderly, she didn't hear. When his strong, powerful hands caressed her gently, she felt nothing but her shame.
Tears fell silently down the corners of her tightly closed eyes. When a sharp, ripping pain made her jerk, she bit her lips to keep from crying out. He had promised not to hurt her, but she knew he would. Florence had not let her grow up entirely ignorant. Now Jared Burk had taken her innocence, the innocence she had always expected to give her husband. He had forced it from her with brute strength. Corinne had never known such hate as she felt now for Jared.
Jared's exhausted body became very heavy, and Corinne guessed it was over.
"You have been paid in full, Mr. Burk," she said tone-lessly. "If you will kindly remove yourself from my person, I would like to leave."
"You're certainly a cold bitch," he grunted, then left the bed to dress.
"I was told that once already this evening. I don't need you to tell me again."
"What you need is someone to warm you up. I pity the man you marry if he has to put up with that kind of performance in bed."
"He won't," Corinne replied tightly, and sat up on the edge of the bed, swaying a little. "What if I get pregnant?"
He shrugged. "Odds are you won't, since this won't happen again. But it is your risk, not mine. It comes with be-' ing a woman."
Jared finished putting his clothes on and casually stepped around the bed to retrieve her torn dress. Corinne heard his sharp intake of breath and turned to look at him. She followed his gaze to the center of the bed and the stain of blood that looked black on the green sheets.
"What's the matter, Mr. Burk?" she asked bitterly. "You seem surprised. Didn't you know that virgins bleed?"
His eyes met hers and they were a bright gray, without a trace of blue. He stared at her for a long time.
Finally he marched to the door, her clothes gripped tightly in his hands. He turned and glared at her across the room.
"You stay here until I return," he ordered harshly. "Do you hear me?"
"Where are you going?"
"Just stay here, Corinne," he answered. "I will be back before noon."
"Noon!" she gasped. "It's almost dawn now. You know I have to be home by dawn or I will be missed!'
"I will take care of that."
"How?"
But he was gone. And he had taken her clothes. What evil was he up to now?
Chapter 10
With two blankets wrapped about his legs and a heavy cloak about his shoulders, Jared waited impatiently in his carriage outside the old brownstone town-hous
e on Beacon Street. It was just dawn, and the chill from the autumn night still invaded his bones. It would be hours yet before the sun would dispel the infernal cold.
It would also be a while yet before it would be appropriate for him to call on Samuel Barrows. The older man would still be asleep in his warm bed, unaware of his daughter's whereabouts. Jared had enough to tell him that would arouse his ire without making things worse by waking him up.
Damn! Nothing had gone right since yesterday. And he had thought he had everything worked out perfectly. With Corinne's debts from the club in his possession, and their agreeable relationship, it would have been a simple matter to sway her to his side. After all, she was not on good terms with her father right now, not since he opposed her marriage to Drayton. She would easily have voted her shares in the shipyard with his, if just for spite. Or so Jared assumed.
But she blew his plans to hell by casually informing him that she wouldn't see him again. And after he had wasted two months dancing attendance on her! And if his failure with her were not enough, Samuel Barrows suspected his plans for the shipyard.
Now Jared was feeling guilty—guilty and furious. The bitch had deserved what she got. She had no business pretending to be an experienced woman. A virgin—a dam-naWe virgin! She had tried to tell him, but he wouldn't believe her, which made it even worse.
Jared couldn't stand waiting anymore. If he had to pull Barrows out of bed, that was too bad. But a few more minutes of these recriminations and he would say to hell with it all. There was one more course of action—the last one—but he certainly didn't relish it. It was either that or give up and go home. At this point, he was just about ready to go.
Brock opened the door to Jared's knock after only a short wait. Jared had gotten used to this sour-faced butler, but he had never before seen him quite so put out.
"Really, sir." Brock was indignant "Are you aware of the hour?"
"Of course I am," Jared answered impatiently. "I wouldn't be here if it were not an urgent matter."
"But Miss Corinne never rises this early," Brock replied, casting a look behind him at the stairs. "And her maid lets no one disturb her."