Tempest(37)

Auggie opened the second bottle of champagne, and it spurted all over the blanket. “The man’s a libertine as far as I can tell. Catherine’s father wasn’t in his right mind or he’d have sent Raveneau packing.”

“Is Mr. Parrish unwell?” Theo inquired, noting the sudden high color in Hermione’s powdered cheeks.

“You might say that!” she snapped. “Let us not speak of the universal failings of men.”

Seeking a distraction, Theo pointed to Cathy’s figure frolicking in the surf. “Goodness, look at your daughter. Isn’t she a sight? She certainly does know how to enjoy herself!”

Just then, the sound of hoofbeats reached their ears. Shielding their eyes, the trio looked to the west and saw Adam Raveneau galloping toward the villa on Lazarus, his magnificent black stallion. When he was nearly upon them, he reined in the horse and swung to the ground. He was clad only in a white shirt, open at the neck, and snug tan riding breeches tucked into high boots.

Auggie, who had clambered to his feet in surprise, appeared even more startled when Adam handed him the reins. “What’s the matter, my lord?”

“Where is my wife?”

He pointed down to the beach that curved against the cliffs. Seeing Adam’s darkening expression, he hastened to add, “We told her it wasn’t seemly—”

“That is the least of my concerns.” Adam stalked past Hermione and Theo without a word of greeting, then descended the niches that were chiseled into the stone so rapidly that it seemed he knew them by heart. He did. How many afternoons had he spent here during boyhood visits to the island? Victoria Villa and Cave Bay had been a large part of the reason he’d fallen in love with Barbados. Who could resist such beauty and mystery?

And yet now, the sight of his wife swimming alone in the treacherous Atlantic Ocean made him furious. “Catherine!” he shouted, blood pounding at his temples. “Come here immediately!”

She was standing a few dozen yards out in waist-deep water, and each time a wave rushed toward the beach, she laughed and jumped up to let it carry her up and forward.

“What?” she yelled back to her furious husband. “I can’t hear you!”

He seethed, waiting for the ocean’s roar to subside for an instant. “It’s dangerous! Come in, you little hellion!”

Cathy laughed. “I’m fine! I needed some fun, Adam—” Her voice broke off as a huge wave abruptly surged up behind her. This time, she was caught off guard and the water pounded over her, pushing her down toward the beach with such force she couldn’t bring her head up for air. Choking, Cathy panicked, swallowing saltwater and struggling helplessly against the immense force of the ocean.

In the next instant, Adam plucked her out of the sea and carried her to shore. He was dripping from his fine linen shirt to his polished boots and, from the clifftops, the others were shouting fearfully.

Hearing Cathy’s watery gasps for breath, Adam lay her down on the hot sand and covered her mouth with his, exhaling. Then he pressed both hands against her chest and pushed, and water spurted out and ran down the side of her sandy cheek. Coughing, she blinked at him and struggled to sit up.

“I— I— I was just fine. You didn’t have to do that.”

“If you call half-dead just fine.”

“I would have popped back up as soon as the wave retreated, or whatever it is that waves do...”

“Are you trying to drive me insane?” Adam got to his feet and made a half-hearted effort to brush the sand from his wet clothes. “I could paddle you right now, easily—”

“Now, there’s an adult solution to our problems!” Sopping wet, her hair falling down and trailing tortoiseshell pins, Cathy marched barefoot through the sand. Then, as she passed the entrance to a cave, near the steps that would provide her escape route, she stubbed her toe on something hard. “Ow! What was that?”

As his wife leaned against the cave wall to nurse her throbbing toe, Adam hunkered down, and brushed the sand away from piece of wood that now peeked out ever so slightly. He pulled on it.

“What the devil...” he murmured under his breath when it wouldn’t come free.

The thing was egg-shaped, like the top of a walking stick. There was a bit of red glass set into the wooden dome that became more visible as he cleared away more of the sand.

“I’m going up,” Cathy announced, suddenly tired.

“Wait.” He tugged in vain on the mysterious wooden object. Meanwhile, Hermione, Auggie, and Theo were calling down to Cathy and she was getting to her feet. Rising, he turned his attention back to his wife. “Don’t try to climb those steps without me.”

“I wonder at your concern for my welfare. Just a few hours ago, you were easily enough distracted from me by your message from Bridgetown.” She pushed her wet, sandy hair off her face and started up the steps. She sensed his shadow and knew that his hands were close behind her in case she lost her footing.

“If I weren’t concerned about you, I wouldn’t be here.” Seeing her falter, he caught her hand. “You should be wearing shoes.”

“And what of your treatment of my friend? If you had any regard for me, you would have been a more gracious host to Theo.”

“You know it’s not in my nature to be gracious.” He gave a short laugh. No sooner had they gained the top step, and then solid ground, than Adam reached out again for her arm. “Cathy, I don’t want you going off alone again. I want to be with you on these little adventures of yours.”

“You were invited. You had better things to do!”

Hermione, Auggie, and Theo all rushed over, looking uncertain as Adam shook out the picnic blanket and wrapped it around his wife. “How do you feel?” he asked.

“How should I feel with you badgering me?” Tears threatened. “Honestly, Adam, you can be insufferable. No matter what I do, it’s wrong.”

“Certainly it’s wrong if you go jumping into the Atlantic Ocean alone. For God’s sake, Cath, you could have been killed in the blink of an eye! Those currents are not just tricky, they’re stronger than a dozen men.”

“Now see here, my good fellow—” Auggie interjected.

Adam pretended as if the other man wasn’t there. “Cathy, let’s go inside, where we can talk privately and you can put on some dry clothes,” he said, gesturing toward the skeletal mansion.

“I most certainly don’t need to be private with you—”

“Behave yourself.” He swept her up in his arms and carried her off, ignoring the others and their outraged protests. When they were out of sight under the colonnaded gallery, he set her on her feet and demanded, “Show me where your clothes are.”

“No!” Weeks of emotion boiled up in her. “Leave me alone, Adam.”

Her blanket had fallen away, and he could see the curves of her body outlined against the damp bathing costume. All manner of primitive urges suddenly burned inside him. “Jesus, Cath, you don’t mean a word of this—”

She took a step back, and he moved against her so that she found herself pinned up against one of the villa’s wide, arching columns. His body was sharply arousing: big, gracefully muscular, and warm through his riding clothes. He smelled intoxicating. Cathy’s heart began to beat faster against his linen shirt.

“You shouldn’t behave this way,” she protested weakly. “It’s—”

“Yes?” His mouth was inches from hers.

She inhaled his breath and felt faint with longing. When she put a hand on his forearm for support, the warm strength of him made her eyes sting. “I’m furious with you,” she managed to murmur at last.

“Is that what you call it?” he parried. Then, sliding his arms around her waist, Adam bent her back and kissed a trail up her throat. By the time he reached her jawline, Cathy’s arms had stolen up around his shoulders and her hips were seeking his. Overcome by temptation, he kissed her full on the mouth until she groaned and her tongue met his. She was pressed against the length of him. Adam reached down with his right hand and cupped the hot place between her legs. Cathy jerked away and he smiled, white teeth agleam in the shadows. “I think you’re fonder of me than you’ll admit.”

She pointed at him while pressing her other hand to her thumping heart. “You are a scoundrel! Just go away and leave me alone—”

“Only if you’ll heed my advice. If you’re going to have outings without me, you’ve got to use common sense! As a married woman, you can’t go frolicking in the Atlantic, and you can’t be seen riding around with men who are not your husband.”

“Wh— what?” Cathy laughed in disbelief, but tears filled her eyes. “You men are all alike. There’s not one whit of difference between you and my father, whom I adored from the day I was born. Papa and you both keep mistresses, and both of you hide your secret lives, lying to protect your reputations. How dare you tell me how to behave? I see no reason to trust another man as long as I live!”

Stunned, Adam could only stare as his wife gathered her clothing and ran off toward her mother. By the time he found his voice, it was too late.