Tainted Lilies Read Online Free PDF Page B

now…”
    Laffite made an instant decision. “She will be married, madame. You have my word on it.”
    He gave a signal to his oarsmen and the sleek boat flew across the water toward shore.
    Nicolette awoke in a strange bed, in a strange room, out of a strange dream. Or had it been a dream? Some of it seemed so real. She had been taunted by rough-faced men, but a shadowy figure tried to save her. At first, she’d feared him, but as he came closer, she understood that his presence held no menace. During the dream, she had watched her own ghost-white arms stretch out to the man, touch him at last. He had caressed her so tenderly, kissed her with a fire that warmed her soul. When he pressed her body down, she’d known no pain, only a flooding sweetness. She had writhed through the haze-dimmed corridors of this illusion, aflame with her longing for him. She had become lost in a misty world of uncharted passages, warm and cold, bright and dark, finally surfacing into the shocking light of reality.
    “Come back… please,” she moaned as she stirred out of sleep. Then she shivered, though the air was close and hot. The boom of cannon fire startled her into hysterical wakefulness. She screamed and arms reached out to protect her.
    “Hush now! It’s only thunder, Nikki.”
    For a moment she accepted his comfort, snuggling deeper into his embrace. His warm breath against her damp hair felt reassuring. Then she drew away, frightened and confused. “Who are you?”
    The pit of her stomach contracted with dread. Her dreams came back more vividly. And the remembered horror of the pirate attack made her shudder.
    Her companion smoothed a gentling hand down the length of her bare arm and said softly, “Don’t you remember me, Nikki? I saw you off to Paris. Today I brought you home. I’m Jean Laffite.”
    She pulled farther away, staring hard at him, and said, “You are not! Laffite has red hair—as bright as the sunset over the Gulf!”
    And gentle lips, she remembered, much like the man in my dream.
    He chuckled softly, happy to hear from the caustic tone in her voice that her ordeal hadn’t killed her spirit.
    “You’re right. My hair was red the night we first met. You see, women aren’t the only vain creatures in the world. I rather enjoy changing my hair color from time to time. Besides, it keeps my enemies guessing. I’ll show you my secret—gunpowder and potash—when you’re feeling like yourself again.” He fingered a stray tendril of her dark hair, where it lay curled on her cheek. “You’d be something with flaming hair and those deep blue eyes.”
    “I’m not staying here! I have to get home—to New Orleans. My fiancé is waiting.”
    “And who is the lucky man this time?” Laffite recognized the sharp tone in his words and could have bitten off his tongue. Who was he to question her plans or the outdated manner in which young Creole women were handed over by their families to the best prospect? But he couldn’t deny the jealousy he felt.
    Nicolette’s answer came timidly, as if she were ashamed to admit it to him. “I don’t know yet.”
    “Then it won’t break your heart if you don’t see him right away.”
    Her temper flared. “And what am I supposed to do that’s going to keep me occupied in the meantime?”
    “This!” He pressed her back on the pillows and captured her lips so quickly and expertly that she had no time to protest. The fires from her dream rekindled—liquid flames that flowed with her blood, consuming her whole body with delicious, forbidden feelings. She fought against her desire to respond. She lost the battle.
    He pulled away suddenly, leaving her shocked and breathless.
    “I’m sorry if I startled you. But you do have a way of provoking me, Nikki!”
    “You haven’t any right to…”
    “I have every right, but we won’t discuss that now. I’ll be back shortly. You rest.”
    She watched him go out the door, feeling relief at the same time that she experienced