Guardian Angel - Garwood Julie. Страница 67

"Caine, why are you so upset?" she asked. She thought he might be trying to crush her bones now.

"You read everything? You know everything I've done?" She slowly nodded. "You're hurting me, Caine. Please let go"

He put his hands back on the wall, blocking her exit again. "And yet, knowing all this… you still came looking for me. You weren't afraid?"

"I was a little afraid," she confessed. "Your history is most… colorful. And I was worried, yes, but

after we met, I found myself doubting the accuracy…"

"Don't," he interrupted. "There wasn't any exaggeration."

She shivered over the briskness in his voice. "You did what you had to do," she whispered.

Caine still wasn't absolutely certain he believed her. "What was my operative name?"

"Hunter."

"Hell."

"Caine, do try to understand my position. It was necessary for me to find out everything I could about you."

"Why was it necessary?"

"You were in danger."

"Did it not occur to you that I could take care of any threats that came my way?"

"Yes," she answered. "It occurred to me. Still, I had made a promise to your brother and I was honor bound to keep you safe."

"Your word is very important to you, isn't it, Jade?"

"Well, of course it is," she countered.

"I still don't understand why you thought you needed to read my file."

"I needed to find your… vulnerability. Don't look at me like that. Everyone has an Achilles' heel,

Caine, even you."

"And what did you find? What's my flaw?"

"Like your father, you have a reputation for being a champion of the weak. That isn't necessarily a

flaw, but I used that part of your character to my advantage."

"By pretending to be in danger? Jade, you were in danger. Those events did take place. You…"

"I could have taken care of the threat on my own," she boasted. "Once I got away from Nathan's carriage, I went to Shallow's Wharf. Jimbo and Matthew were there, waiting for me. The three of us could have taken care of the problem."

"Perhaps," Caine said.

Since he was being so agreeable, and looking so distracted, she tried to duck under his arm. Caine simply moved closer to stop her. "You believed I was weaker and you therefore became my champion, my guardian angel," she finished.

"As it turns out, you were my guardian angel, too," he said.

"Does that injure your pride?"

"No," he answered. "Being manipulated has already done quite enough damage to my pride."

"You have enough arrogance to suffer this paltry blow," she whispered, a wisp of a smile in her voice. "You would have given your life to keep me safe. I heard you whisper that promise to me when you thought I was asleep."

"Damn it, Jade, was there ever a moment when you weren't deceiving me?"

She didn't answer him.

"Jade, I gave you my protection. Do you know what you gave me?"

"Lies," she answered.

"Yes, lies, but something else as well." He could tell by her blush that she understood what he was

saying. "What else did you give me?"

"Well, there was… that," she whispered. "I was a virgin…"

"You gave me your love, Jade,"

She shook her head.

He nodded.

"I didn't, Caine."

"You did," he replied. "Do you remember what I told you that first night we made love?"

She remembered every word. "No," she said.

"You're lying again, Jade. You have a knack for remembering everything you read or hear."

"Just everything I've read," she whispered. She started struggling to get away from him. She was

suddenly filled with panic.

Caine moved closer, until his thighs were touching hers. "Then let me remind you, my little deceiver,"

he whispered. "I told you that you were going to belong to me. Now and forever, Jade."

"You didn't mean it," she cried out. "I won't hold you to such a foolish promise, Caine." She closed her eyes against the memory of their lovemaking. "Now is not the time to… Caine, stop that," she rushed

on when he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I tricked you, lied to you. Besides," she added.

"You didn't know I was Pagan. Anything you said that night must be forgotten."

"I don't want to forget," he said.

"Caine, I can't possibly stay with you. You don't even like me. I'm a thief, remember?"

"No, my love, you used to be a thief," he said. "But all that's finished. There's going to be some changes, Jade."

"Impossible. You'd never be able to make so many changes, Caine. You're too rigid."

"I was referring to you!" he shouted. "You're going to be making these changes."

"I won't."

"You will. You're giving it all up, Jade."

"Why?"

"Because I won't have it, that's why."

She didn't want to understand. "What I do is of no concern to you," she argued. "My men depend on

me, Caine. I won't let them down."

"They'll have to depend upon someone else then," he bellowed. "Your thieving days are over."

Her ears were ringing, but she was suddenly too angry and too frightened to worry about that. "Once I leave here, you'll never see me again. Don't worry, I won't come back to rob you." She decided she

was finished with this conversation. She shoved away from Caine, then saw Nathan and Black Harry standing in the entrance, watching her. She assumed they'd heard most of the conversation. She had

been shouting, she realized, almost as loudly as Caine had. And this was all Caine's doing anyway.

He'd turned her into a raving shrew. "Why do you care what she does?" Nathan asked.

For Jade's benefit, Caine kept his expression mild, contained. "Nathan, 1 believe it's time you and I had our little chat. Jade, wait in the dining room with Harry. Sterns?" Caine added when the butler joined the group. "See that we aren't interrupted."

Black Harry seemed to be the only one who fully understood what was about to happen. "Just a moment, me boy," he said to Caine as he made his way past Nathan. He rushed through the drawing room, snatched the silver bowl from the top of the mantle, then hurried back to the entrance. "It would be a shame to have this ruined, now wouldn't it? I'll be taking it with me," he added when Jade started to protest. "Caine would want me to have it, girl, so quit your frowns." Nathan had moved into the drawing room. With a whispered nod of good luck, Sterns dragged Jade out of the room and shut the doors.