Queen of Hearts Read online

  "Lucy, naturally. I asked her to find out if you had plans for this evening and she outlined them for me before leaving with Nat," he admitted lightly,

  Janna remembered the way Lucy had whispered briefly into his ear at the end of the reception and swallowed a few choice remarks about friendship.

  "Then you knew all along I wouldn't be home this evening at six-thirty!"

  "I gave you every warning to be there but frankly I wasn't terribly surprised when you weren't. You have a lot to learn, Janna."

  "Adam," she tried again, "you can't take me to a strange house for...for several days!" She ransacked her mind for reasonable excuses. "I mean I don't have any clothes with me or...or..." Her voice trailed off helplessly as she saw the feral grin on his lips.

  "What do you think I've spent my evening doing, honey? I packed a suitcase for you which is in the trunk and I even made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us to nibble on later if we get hungry. I watered your plants and asked a neighbor to pick up your newspaper. I made sure everything was in order before setting out for Ferguson's house. Another thing you have to learn about me. I'm nothing if not thorough!"

  Janna stared at him in the darkened interior of the car, annoyed at the look of self-confidence and male superiority which seemed so much a part of the man. Then she turned to glare out the window into the passing night. There was nothing she could do at the moment. She was being abducted. Carried off into the night by a tall man on a white steed. But there was no hint of chivalry in her captor and the Continental was moving far too swiftly to allow escape. She was trapped. She had taken on far more than she could handle when she had set out to challenge Adam.

  CHAPTER 6

  The Continental hummed steadily into the night, the engine noise providing a lulling backdrop for Janna's tension-filled thoughts, plans and schemes, all of which led down dead-end roads. During the first hour after receiving the news of Adam's intentions, she said nothing after her first protests, trying to think her way out of the situation. But in the end, the only response she could finally put into words sounded trite and useless.

  "You can't do this, Adam," she told him quietly, almost listlessly. Stupid thing to say. He could and was doing it. And she had only herself to blame, Janna thought gloomily. If she hadn't been so determined to demonstrate her independence...

  "Decided to talk, have you?" he inquired pleasantly. He had been driving easily and steadily for the past hour without bothering to force the conversation. "I'm willing, but let's discuss something else besides the obvious."

  "The 'obvious', as you call it, is the only thing on my mind at the moment!" she muttered, not looking at him. "I can't believe you'd go so far as to abduct a woman who's only crime was dating another man!"

  "After this visit to my place on the coast, you'll never commit that particular crime again!" he told her coldly.

  "How do you plan to face your brother and Lucy when they find out what you've done? Lucy, at least, will be horrified! Doesn't that bother you?"

  "Lucy knows you belong to me. So does Nat. So does everyone, except possibly yourself! That was plain tonight when no one made a serious move to stop me from leaving that party with you," he noted coolly, making Janna seethe in impotent, frustrated disgust. "Even the Bearded Delight didn't come to your rescue. Why was that, Janna? I expected I might have to flatten him, at least." Adam sounded genuinely curious and the glance he flicked across the seat at her demanded an answer.

  "If you had behaved like a civilized man tonight and decided to wait until tomorrow to ask me how the evening had gone, you would have found out how the evening went. I would have told you, It was a disaster. I'm never going to see The Bearded...Scott Barrett again!" Janna could have sworn out loud for having almost used Adam's mocking words to describe Scott.

  "Well, I know that, naturally," he smiled. "This evening, in fact, was the last opportunity you'll ever have for straying..."

  "Until you grow tired of me!" she reminded him brutally, hurting only herself and bitter at the knowledge.

  "Er, yes," he agreed. "But I know something had happened between you and the Delight before I arrived to take matters in hand. You weren't at his side when I found you and he wasn't about to fight for you..."

  "Thank God! Do you have any concept of how humiliating that would have been for me? It was bad enough to be hauled away over your shoulder. It's going to be awful having to face people at work when I return. But if there had been a...a brawl on top of that, I'd never be able to go back!" Janna stifled a small groan at the thought and then wondered when she would be able to go back. She didn't have the courage to ask Adam just then.

  "You haven't answered my question."

  "About why Scott didn't make a bigger scene over my unconventional departure?" Janna bit out. "I'll tell you. Because over dinner I had rejected his offer of an affair! There. Satisfied?"

  "He made it so clear? On a first date?" Adam sounded more amused than annoyed.

  "Oh, he tried to polish it by hinting at the possibility of a marriage someday. Preceded by a trial marriage. He had quite a line, actually, but when I asked him straight out if he simply wanted a casual affair he seemed vastly relieved at the depths of my understanding. Until I informed him I didn't care to cooperate, that is. The last I saw of Scott before you made your grand entrance, he was practicing his line on a pretty, young secretary."

  "I would have fought for you, Janna," Adam said very quietly. "I would crush any man who dared to try and take you away from me."

  Janna sat, slightly stunned at the intensity of his words, unsure how to respond. He meant them. Did Adam normally get this emotional over a woman he intended to seduce and then discard? Nat had told her once that his brother usually had a woman available when he wanted one and treated them generously. What was it Nat had added? Oh, yes. Adam was kind to his women! So why didn't she rate such treatment?

  "I appreciate the fact that you chose not to crush poor Scott," she murmured drily. "I would never have lived it down!"

  "If he had attempted to get in my way, I wouldn't have hesitated. But he had the sense to back off and I'm fair-minded enough to realize he didn't know how matters stood between you and me. He does now, though, and I'd better not catch him around you again! In fact, my little queen, if you'd rather not have your various courtiers left in undignified heaps, you'll do them the favor of warning them that you're already taken." He shifted, flexing broad shoulders in a small stretch. "But after Carmel you'll know what I'm talking about."

  "If you think I'm going to submit tamely to being r...raped by you...!" Janna began in a painful, scratchy voice, not looking at him. Damn! She musn't lose her nerve! Furiously she blinked away a hint of moisture behind her eyes. If only it wasn't so late and if only she weren't so tired. Perhaps in daylight she'd be better equipped to face this creature! Even as she lectured herself on the subject of not giving in to self-pity, the white Continental was slowing. Without a word, Adam pulled it over to the side of the road, shut off the engine and shifted to face her, steel eyes unreadable in the darkness.

  "Is that what you think is going to happen in Carmel, Janna?" he asked softly, the velvet back in his voice. "You think I would force myself on my queen?"

  "It's what you've been implying!" she retorted, still refusing to face him.

  "I've never said anything about rape," he told her very clearly, very gently. "I've only talked about surrender. Your surrender. There's a vast difference, you know."

  "Perhaps from the man's point of view!"

  "Janna, look at me."

  She kept her tousled head turned away, staring out into the darkness, half expecting him to reach one rough hand across and force her chin around.

  "I said, look at me, sweetheart," he repeated on a still softer note but now she could hear the hint of steel. It was only a matter of time before she would be obeying him. Was it always going to be like this? Would she always be the loser?

  "You are such a stubborn lit
tle thing..." he began slowly.

  Janna whipped her head around, eyes flashing from a sudden, unexpected surge of annoyance. "Why do you always call me little? I'm taller than most of the other women I've met and I would hardly be described as thin!" What a crazy thing to get upset about at this point, a small voice sighed inside her head.

  "I call you little, I suppose, because you're so much smaller than I am. Rest assured I find you perfectly sized,'' Adam gave her a smile. "Now that you've finally found the courage to look at me let's continue our, uh, discussion on your fear of being taken against your will."

  Janna shivered but remained staring at him, waiting for his justification. Did he think she would really believe that he had no violent intentions?

  "I would never force myself on you, Janna," he promised quietly, the piercing gaze which seemed able to see inside her, holding her eyes. "Do you believe me?"

  A second earlier J anna had told herself she would never believe his justification for an act of violence. Now he denied any such intention. Confused, she blinked long lashes and moistened her lips, wondering what he was trying to say.

  "You swear you won't...won't..." It was a hard, ugly word, Janna discovered.

  "I give you my word of honor I would never rape you," he said deliberately. "Do you believe me?" he asked again. For some reason he seemed to think it was important that she trusted him on this issue, Janna realized. She met the grey-green eyes for a long second and then nodded slowly. In spite of all the warnings to herself, she knew she did trust Adam Halleck. He had given his word and he would abide by it. How she could suddenly be so certain of that, she didn't know, but there were no doubts in her mind. Adam had been rough with her, outspoken, even threatening. But he had never lied to her as she had once lied to him.

  "Good." Adam moved in the seat and Janna shrank back a fraction. But he was only reaching into the back seat for a brown paper bag. "Would you like a peanut butter sandwich?" he invited, removing a plastic-wrapped object. "It's the chunky kind," he added encouragingly, handing it to her.

  "The chunky kind?" Janna felt an unexpected wave of humor and relief begin to wash through her, replacing the anger and fear of the past hour. How could this man go from a serious discussion on rape to a chat about peanut butter? She accepted the sandwich carefully, unwrapping it slowly while he helped himself to one. "I didn't know I had any peanut butter in the apartment," she commented, eyeing the large sandwich before taking a bite.

  "You didn't," he informed her, half of his snack disappearing into his mouth in one chomp. "I had to walk down to the store on the corner."

  "Oh, my God!" It was more than Janna's sense of humor could stand. Helplessly, she began to laugh, trying to get the sticky peanut butter down without choking at the same time.

  "What's so funny?" Adam retorted, eyes alight with laughter as he chewed enthusiastically.

  "The thought of you calmly walking into a store for peanut butter while you're plotting the most embarrassing, frightening evening of my life!" she told him roundly. "How could you even be bothered with details like that?"

  "I don't know," he replied, sounding interested in the discussion. "I've always been like that, I think."

  "You've done a lot of kidnapping in your time?" she asked archly, beginning to enjoy the sandwich. It had been several hours since dinner.

  "No, you're my first experiment with abduction," he admitted. "But I've always been aware of details even while I was working out the big picture."

  "You're fortunate," she told him, surprising herself with the remark. "I'm the sort of person who makes quick decisions and then rushes through to the conclusion without spending much time on the groundwork."

  "It's called thinking intuitively instead of logically," he said, taking another bite which demolished the sandwich.

  "It is?" Janna glanced at him in astonishment. She might have expected such a comment from a student in philosophy but not from a construction worker!

  He grinned. "Lack of a formal degree doesn't mean I don't know how to read," he mocked gently.

  Janna blushed. It occurred to her that she had made a great many unwarranted remarks about Adam's lack of a college education. The differences in their backgrounds had been one of the few defenses she had been able to use against him, she realized. But there had never been any doubt about Adam's basic intelligence and she knew, if she were honest with herself, that she wouldn't be able to get much more mileage out of this particular bulwark.

  "There's nothing wrong with knowing a fact or making a decision intuitively. That's the manner in which I recognized you belong to me when I first saw you in the restaurant."

  Janna flinched at the coolly stated reason why she had found herself trapped in the Continental.

  "But after I realized you weren't going to spring to the same intuitive conclusion, I got busy with details. In the end it's the details which make important plans work, you see." Adam mashed the paper bag into a small wad and stuffed it into the car's trash container. "We'd better get started." he added. "There's a long way to go yet." He turned toward the wheel and then paused, hand on the ignition, and looked at her again.

  "Come here and kiss me, Janna," he ordered softly. "But...but I've got chunky peanut butter between my teeth," she squeaked, giving the first excuse which came to mind. At his command all of the relief she had been feeling disappeared. They were back to square one.

  "So have I," he smiled, but the glitter in his eye wasn't all that humorous. Adam was letting the steel show through the velvet again. When she still hesitated, fixing him with a wide-eyed glare, he went on,' 'Just because I've promised not to rape you, little queen, don't get the idea that I won't make you obey me when it suits me!"

  Janna watched him carefully, trying to assess his mood. By removing the threat of rape he had removed the primary weapon he held over her. So why was she seriously considering obeying him? What was it about this man that made her inner self want to stop fighting him and acknowledge his mastery? No other man had ever had such an effect on her! In spite of herself, Janna remembered the undeniable excitement she experienced on the occasions when Adam had held her. What was the matter with her? Why couldn't she meet his domineering ways with cool refusal? What made her confrontations with him so emotional? Even now as he calmly ordered her to kiss him, she couldn't find the resolve to defy Adam. Telling herself that obeying was the simplest means of avoiding a showdown, Janna slid hesitantly across the expanse of leather seat until she was close to him. He said nothing as she put one hand on his shoulder to brace herself and then, very quickly, touched his lips with hers. An instant later she was back on her side of the car, waiting for his reaction.

  "Next time," Adam announced as if making an important decision, "I think I'll experiment with raspberry instead of strawberry jam in the sandwiches! Perhaps a different flavor would encourage you to prolong the kiss!"

  Janna stared at him for a fraction of a second and then a smile she was totally unable to restrain lifted the corner of her lips. She turned away immediately so that he wouldn't see it, but she had a hunch she'd been too late. Damn the man! How could he threaten her one minute and make her laugh the next?

  To her utter surprise, Janna drifted off to sleep during the last hour of the journey and when she finally opened her eyes it was to find Adam slowing the big car in preparation for turning off the winding coast highway.

  "Where are we?" she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her drowsy lids with the back of one hand in an unconsciously childish gesture. It was too dark to see much but there certainly was no sign of Carmel or any other town.

  "Almost home," Adam told her, concentrating on the narrow road. "Have a good nap?"

  "I thought you said your house was near Carmel?" Janna protested, realizing she had been banking rather heavily on the information. She'd formed no brilliant plan of escape yet, but knowing they would be in or near a town had been important because the location was bound to provide more opportunities.

 
"Carmel is several miles down the road," he explained quietly, not looking at her strained expression which she was hoping the darkness would hide.

  "How many miles?" Janna demanded.

  "An easy drive," he retorted, "but not within walking distance!"

  Janna bit her lip and sank deeply into the seat, watching the windswept landscape flicker in and out of the car's headlights and silently cursing herself for falling asleep. If she'd remained alert she'd have a better idea of exactly where she was.

  At last Adam pulled into the drive of a one-story house which sat alone, facing the sea. Janna could hear the sound of crashing waves in the distance as she climbed slowly out of the car and stood waiting, her hands folded under her arms against the chill. It was too dark to see much yet, but in the pale moonlight she had the impression that the lines of the house were vaguely Spanish in style.

  "Welcome to your home for the next few days, Janna," Adam murmured, coming up behind her with two suitcases he had removed from the trunk. "Do you like it?" he added when she failed to respond. He started toward the arched doorway.

  "It's one of the more attractive prisons around," she admitted flippantly, trailing slowly behind him. That stopped him. Setting down the suitcases, he turned, one foot on the tiled entranceway and faced her.

  "It will only be as much a prison as you choose to make it," he told her, sounding distant, almost grim. Then he fished a key out of his pocket and opened the large, carved, wooden door and flipped on a light. A beautiful foyer in Spanish tiles was revealed and beyond Janna had a glimpse of the classic cream walls and heavy wooden beams typical of the architectural style. Not liking the new, sober expression on his hard features, she prudently obeyed his silent gesture to enter.

  "The living room is that way," Adam said, nodding toward the front of the house where Janna could see huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dark ocean. "And your bedroom is this way," he added, striding off down a wide hall. Janna breathed a small sigh of relief at the way he had indicated the bedroom would be hers, alone. True, he had promised not to force himself on her but she wasn't certain how much privacy he intended to allow. Head high as her spirits lifted, she walked regally into the room he explained was hers. And halted. Adam switched on a light and it warmed the beautiful room, exposing the walls of glass, the wooden floors with their textured rugs and a huge, carved bed.