The Millionaire's Marriage Demand(11)

"Our number's in the book. Give us a call." Kathy chuckled. "Just not too early in the morning."

"She's a lovely baby," Julie said sincerely. "Ready, Travis?"

She walked out of the room ahead of him, her spine very straight. She  had no idea how to find her room from here. But find it she had to. And  alone.

As they walked back out into the garden, Travis said, "So what was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You almost ran into my arms. Then you backed off as if I were the devil himself."

"You see too much," she said in an unfriendly voice. "I'm tired, and  I've had more than enough of this party- I'm going to my room. I'll see  you tomorrow."

They were standing in the shadows of the lilac bushes that, long ago,  his mother had adored for their scent. One of his earliest memories was  of her carrying an armload of purple blooms into the living room and  arranging them in a deep copper bowl. Her long black hair had been  pinned to her head in lustrous waves; as a little boy he'd likened them  to the black sheen of the sea on a winter's evening.                       
       
           



       

With an effort Travis wrenched himself back to the present. He'd lost  his mother. But he was damned if he was going to let Julie walk away  from him as if he were nothing but a stick of furniture.

He put his arms around her, pulling her into his body, and lowered his  head to her shoulder, smoothing it with his mouth. Her skin was  delicately scented; her response quivered through her. He traced the  rise of her shoulder to her neck, then dropped to find the pulse at the  base of her throat: a pulse racing like that of a bird. And all the  while his hands were molding the long curve of her spine all the way to  the flare of her hips, learning her, memorizing her. Desire engulfed  him, fierce and imperative.

He raised his head to kiss her, unerringly finding her lips in the dark,  teasing them open and plunging with his tongue. She was trembling very  lightly in his embrace. Slow down, he thought, and with all his  willpower gentled his kiss, searching out the sweetness of her mouth.

She arched against him with a moan of surrender that filled Travis with  exultation. Her hands were under his jacket, roaming the flat plane of  his chest, fitting themselves to his rib cage, then pulling him closer  until he was unutterably frustrated by the layers of clothing between  his flesh and hers. "Julie," he muttered against her mouth, "let's go to  my room. I want you in my bed."

She heard him from a long way away, through a haze of passion as vivid  as sunset, as compelling as the tides of the sea. Compelling.  Irresistible. She herself out of control in a way that was foreign to  her.

Out of control.

She reared back, panic-stricken. She'd never felt this way with a man  before; she'd always been able to call the shots. If she made love with  Travis, all that would change. He'd have power over her. She knew it in  her bones. Power over her forever.

Joke, Julie. Make a joke of it. She said breathlessly, "Are you the  college chemistry course that I missed? Your body plus my body, a good  dose of lilacs as the catalyst, and an explosion's guaranteed?"

Travis cupped her face in his palms, his forefingers molding her cheekbones. "You can skip the lilacs."

"Lilacs or not. I'm out of here, Travis," she gasped. "You're too much for me."

"Scared, Julie?"

"Chemistry never was my strong point."

He said softly, running his hands over the silken darkness of her hair, "Did you like biology better?"

She managed a credible laugh, forcing herself to step backward from the  heat of his body. "Physics was my forte," she said, and abandoned any  attempt at humor. "Travis, I'm not looking for an affair. Whether it's  just this weekend, or the rest of the summer, it's not in my plans."

"Didn't your chemistry professor ever tell you about spontaneous combustion?"

"I must have missed that lecture."

"We don't need a lecture. Just you and me under the stars."

She was suddenly exhausted. She couldn't take anymore. "I don't want to do something we'd both regret," she said sharply.

"Don't speak for me, Julie …  I wouldn't regret it. Some guy must have hurt you really badly, am I right?"

If only it were that simple. But if that's what he wanted to think, let  him. "Good night," she said, "I'll see you tomorrow." Then she picked up  her skirts and ran away from him across the grass.

Travis watched her go. He could easily have caught up with her, and  certainly he could have physically overpowered her. But was that what he  wanted? Or did he want Julie to walk into his arms of her own volition?  Clear-eyed and willing.

He had at the most two months in which to achieve that aim. But he'd  never backed down from a challenge in his life, and he wasn't going to  start now. Not when the prize was a woman whose body called to his in  the most powerful way possible.

He had to possess her. And he would.





CHAPTER SEVEN





The woods were lush and green, her feet sinking into a thick carpet of  sphagnum moss, ferns brushing her bare knees. As Julie stood still,  relishing the silence and peace, a bright yellow warbler landed on a  branch just above her, looking at her with its dark eye.                       
       
           



       

Once again, she'd slept badly. And once again, she'd dreamed about  Travis. Unrepeatable dreams. X-rated. No one under the age of eighteen  admitted.

But at least she'd had the sense to run away from him last night in the shadow of the lilacs.

Julie sighed. Hadn't her expedition this morning also been related to  Travis? Another attempt to put distance between him and her? She was on  the island offshore to Manatuck, the kayak she'd borrowed from the  boathouse pulled up on the shale beach. As far as she could tell, this  island was completely unspoiled. No one living on it, and certainly no  stone castles. It had a serenity Manatuck lacked; idly she found herself  wondering who was lucky enough to own it.

With a quiver of unease she wondered if her wandering lifestyle was  starting to pall. Certainly she missed the rocky shores and crisp blue  waves of home more and more with each departure.

Settle in Portland? No way.

She'd explore for a few minutes, then head back to Castlereigh in lots  of time for breakfast. Quite a few of the guests had stayed overnight;  breakfast would be a very sociable affair. Again, all the better to hide  from Travis. And then she'd leave Manatuck on the launch, and go back  to her daily life.

She wished Travis was leaving Portland this week, as his father wanted him to.

Her illusory peace shattered, Julie wandered back down the slope,  picking her footholds with care, because the rocks among the moss were  wet with dew. As she emerged from the trees, she saw with an unpleasant  tightening of her nerves that a second kayak had been pulled up on the  beach. Brent was striding up the shale toward the trees. Brent. Not  Travis.

"Good morning," she called. "You're up early."

He didn't bother answering, too intent on closing the distance between  them. She stationed herself beside a fallen log, feeling her heartbeat  quicken. There wasn't another soul on this island other than herself and  Brent. She didn't like Brent, nor did she trust him.

He stopped two feet away from her. "This island belongs to Travis," he said. "Did you know that?"

"No."

"Yeah …  our grandfather left it to him. Along with a big bundle of money."

She stated the obvious. "You hate your brother."

"Did you see him and Dad last night? A touching little display of filial  love. Of course Travis wants a reconciliation, he knows which side his  bread's buttered on."

Julie might be terrified of making love with Travis; but she wasn't  blind to his character, and somehow she doubted that he was driven by  mercenary motives. "You're judging him by your own standards," she said  with more truth than wisdom.

"Clever little Julie …  you dropped me as soon as you saw him, didn't you?"

"I dropped you when you forced your way into my room."

"You should have thought twice before coming out to this island all by yourself."

"Come off it, Brent," she said sharply. "Strong-arm stuff is punishable  by law, or hadn't you noticed? And just to keep the record straight, I'm  no more interested in having an affair with Travis than I am with you. I  told him so last night."

"You expect me to believe that? I wasn't born yesterday."

"If you weren't born yesterday, then use your common sense and go back to Manatuck. I'll be along in time for breakfast."