Chapter 16: Safe Harbor: Chapter 16

‘JONAS! Jonas, come down here,’ Sarah called from just outside the door.

Jonas muttered an insulting protest loud enough for her to quit knocking. When he heard Sarah’s footsteps fading down the hall, he rolled over, taking most of the covers with him, groaning as the sun hit his face through the French doors. ‘Baby, we’re being summoned.’

‘You’re being summoned, not me,’ Hannah said. ‘I’m still asleep.’ Not that she’d gotten any sleep with Jonas stroking little caresses down her spine all night.

Lying in bed beside Jonas without touching him had been a lesson in frustration. He’d certainly taken every opportunity to touch her, leaving her mood edgy and her body hypersensitive. She couldn’t count how many times his hands had slid over her bottom.

His pillow had somehow managed to be the exact height as her breasts, so he’d spent a great deal of time breathing warm air over her nipples, his mouth inches from her straining flesh.

In desperation, and to keep from begging, she’d turned over, keeping her back to him, and he’d immediately curled his body around hers, pressing his thick erection tightly against her butt while his hand tucked very naturally right beneath her breast. Just as she thought she might drift off, his hand would move, his knuckles skimming the underside of her breast, and a jolt of lightning would sizzle through her entire system and her muscles would clench. She had never felt so wound up, pulsing with heat and desire, in her life.

It was enough to make any woman crabby and Hannah was no saint. She lifted her head to look at him. ‘Go away and let me sleep.’ She hadn’t slept for ten minutes. ‘You were supposed to be restful and hold the nightmares at bay.’

His grin was slow and sexy. He leaned over and brushed kisses back and forth over her lips. ‘Then I did my job. You didn’t have nightmares. Don’t forget we’re going to sneak out tonight. I’ve got to go to the office and do a little work. I’m running the tapes again of the crowd. Jackson’s trying to find out if anyone’s turned up missing.’

‘Just a regular day on the job. Find out who’s trying to kill your girlfriend.’ She tasted the word and it felt strange. Girlfriend. She’d never been anyone’s girlfriend. ‘Does that make you my boyfriend?’ She laughed softly at his expression.

‘I’m no boy, Hannah, I’m a manly man.’

Her laughter bumped up a notch. ‘A charming manly man.’

‘Laugh away, baby.’ He rolled on top of her, capturing both wrists and slamming them to the mattress on either side of her head. ‘But I’m going to remember and take my retribution.’

At his suddenly aggressive action, her heart beat triple time and her entire body sang. He had her so primed with his all-night touching that her blood was pounding in her veins and pooling low and wicked in her body. His legs nudged hers aside so that his hips fit between her thighs. He tugged at her earlobe with his teeth, licked the pulse beating in her neck and kissed the very bright strawberry mark he’d left there the night before.

She could almost see the electricity arcing between them. She certainly felt it. She stared up at his hot, seductive mouth and felt weak just looking at him. Incredibly, she could taste him and all he was doing was looking at her, his hungry gaze drifting possessively over her face. A rush of liquid heat pooled low and wicked in her body in response.

When his sinful mouth settled on hers, she forgot all about body image and the reasons why she wasn’t going to make love with Jonas Harrington.

She wrapped her arms around him, her lips melting under his, her hands finding his hair and dragging him closer. Flashes of fire whipped through her body, as his tongue stroked along hers with demand. Sexually, there was nothing hesitant about Jonas. He took what he wanted and he made certain she wanted it, too.

‘Good morning,’ he murmured.

She swallowed hard, absorbing the dark lust in his voice. There was something intoxicating about the sound, rough and husky and seductive, that crawled down her spine, made her breasts ache and sent muscles, already slick and hot, clenching with need. She could barely breathe through the arousal, her inner thighs so sensitive that when he moved, she felt the walls of her most feminine core begin to pulse and ripple in response.

‘Jonas, really, I’m sorry to bother you, but you have a phone call. Pick up,’ Sarah insisted.

He’d been so far gone he hadn’t even heard the telephone ring. Still lying over her, he reached lazily for the phone. ‘Harrington.’

‘Duncan Gray, Jonas. This is a secure line. I wanted to keep you informed that Boris Tarasov tried to rescue his brother two nights ago. They knew where he was being held and when we were transferring him. In the gun battle, he was shot and is in critical condition.’

‘The traitor?’

‘Not yet, but I’m narrowing it down.’

‘Thanks for the information, Duncan.’

Hannah blinked up at him as he hung up the phone. ‘What was that all about?’

‘An old case, nothing important.’ He trailed kisses down the side of her face to the corner of her mouth.

‘Are you sure? Your worry lines are back.’

‘Are they? Not over that case. The perp’s in custody and it has nothing to do with me anymore. I’m out of that line of work for good.’ And he was. For the first time he realized hearing Duncan Gray’s voice hadn’t made him feel guilty. Hadn’t made him feel as if he needed to go out and rid the world of evil. He was a man with a woman he treasured, and being with her, making certain she was safe, his family was safe, was enough for him. He could be the sheriff and come home at night and be satisfied.

He grinned at Hannah. ‘I’m happy, baby, and you did that all by yourself.’

Sarah thumped on the door again. ‘Jonas! Jackson’s already here to pick you up. He says you’ve got some big meeting you’re late for.’ She gave the door one more hard smack.

‘And I’m not coming back up here. I’m not your messenger.’

Jonas sighed, brushed another kiss over Hannah’s trembling lips, his teeth tugging at her intriguing lower lip. ‘Thanks, Sarah. I’ll be right there.’ He pushed up into a sitting position, the muscles on his back rippling beneath his skin. ‘I’ll be home this evening to pick you up, baby. I’ll sneak you out of here and we’ll have a good time. Don’t think about things too much. Just rest. Libby said you need lots of rest.’

Without warning he turned back to her, pushed up her tank top, exposing her soft stomach and the crisscrossing lines made by the knife, bent his head and pressed a kiss just below her belly button. His tongue felt like a velvet rasp as he traced one of the lines leading downward into the pajama bottoms riding low on her hips.

Hannah gasped, her stomach muscles bunching, and between her thighs, the damp heat sizzled and sparked, demanding satisfaction.

His smile was sheer confidence, his eyes intense with desire, his mouth touched with a dark lust. ‘I’ll see you tonight, baby.’ There was seduction in his voice, a rough promise of excitement.

Hannah rolled over, taking the covers with her, hiding her head and trying to slow her breathing as his footsteps faded away. Jonas Harrington could stir up more passion in her in three seconds than any other man could take a night doing.

Hannah groaned and sat up, her body humming, her breasts too sensitive, and the ache between her legs growing stronger as she thought about him. So, okay. She might have to revise her thinking a little.

Downstairs she could hear her sisters moving around and she squared her shoulders.

Today was going to be different. Today she was going to act normal and make good decisions based on what she wanted to do, not what she thought everyone wanted from her. Today was going to be the start of the new Hannah Drake.

HANNAH spent the better part of the morning and afternoon assuring her sisters she was capable of doing housework and cooking. She found that Libby was right in that she seemed to have less energy and often had to rest, but as soon as she could, she got back up and did normal household chores, interacting with her sisters as much as possible.

She planned dinner for her siblings, even though she knew Jonas was taking her on an evening picnic. Most of the day she managed to keep from thinking constantly about the attack. Before it had consumed her every waking thought, but she was happy that she managed to replace the dread and fear with anticipation of seeing Jonas and the idea that she might actually be brave enough to seduce him.

All the while, she was aware the reporters and the crowd hadn’t gone away. It was a little thinner, she thought, but she could hear Reverend RJ shouting and once, when she glanced out the window, she saw that he’d climbed on a small step stool and was waving his arms around as he delivered his sermon in his theatrical voice.

‘Hey, woman, you’re mooning around again,’ Joley said. ‘You’re looking lovesick and that’s just wrong. I can’t take it, Hannah.’ She made a face at the contents of the refrigerator. ‘If you actually fall madly in love with Jonas, what’s going to happen to me?

And Elle? You said you weren’t about to fall like our older sisters. We made a pact, remember?’

‘Get out of the fridge. I’m making you dinner.’ Hannah closed the heavy door and leaned against it. ‘I did make the pact with you and Elle, but I didn’t think I had a chance with Jonas. I didn’t think he was interested.’

Joley rolled her eyes. ‘I love you, Hannah, but when it comes to men, you don’t know a thing.’

‘And you do?’

‘I know enough to stay away from them. What in the heck is all that racket outside?’ She was already heading for the living room, where she could peer out the large picture window.

Sarah glanced up from the magazine she was reading. ‘Come away from there, you don’t want to give any of them the satisfaction.’

‘That horrible man, the Reverend something, is out there in front of the cameras again, Sarah,’ Joley hissed, her teeth clenched. ‘Can’t Jonas have him arrested?’

‘For what? Preaching? That would look lovely on the news. He’d lose his job, the Reverend would sue and get even more publicity. Right now he’s just soaking up the press and they’re so bored out there they’ll do anything at all for a story.’

Joley’s eyebrow shot up. ‘You think?’

‘I know.’ Sarah lowered her magazine when Joley’s tone got through to her. ‘What are you thinking, Joley? Don’t do anything crazy.’ When Joley ignored her and continued to look out the window, Sarah put the magazine on the table beside her tea, really alarmed.

‘Hannah,’ she called, sticking her head in the kitchen. ‘Joley’s up to something and you’re going to have to stop her. She never listens to anyone else.’

Hannah dried her hands on a towel and followed Sarah. ‘What’s wrong, hon? And come away from the window before a photographer gets a picture of you.’

Joley shrugged. ‘What’s one more photograph? At least this time it will be for a good cause. That idiot Reverend is out there using the attack on you to preach to everyone about the consequences of sin.’

Hannah went still. ‘He’s talking about me? Are you sure? Where’s Jonas?’

Sarah wrapped her arm around Hannah’s slender waist. ‘There’s no need to worry. He doesn’t appear to be interested in coming in here to talk to any of us. He wants his moment in the sun with the television cameras and the press.’

Hannah moistened her lower lip with her tongue. ‘He’s slime, Joley, not a real preacher.

He started his own church for the purpose of conning people out of their money and sleeping with every woman in his sick little flock. He’s disgusting. I know, because I touched him. I felt dirty for a week. You stay away from him, Joley.’

‘Is Jonas aware of what the Reverend is like?’ Sarah asked.

‘Yes, we’ve had a couple of conversations about him.’

‘And the Reverend, is he aware of your knowledge, Hannah?’ Sarah asked, suspicion in her voice.

Hannah crossed to the window and, standing to one side, took a quick look out. The Reverend was surrounded and he was booming out his sermon, his voice thundering over the crowd extolling the merits of seeking forgiveness on one’s knees and avoiding the harlots of the world.

‘He’s so clichéd,’ she hissed. ‘I should just go out there and tell the world what he’s really like.’

‘Hannah, don’t you dare. For one thing, you have no proof. He could sue you for making those kinds of allegations.’

‘They’re true.’

‘True or not, you have to have proof.’

‘So he likes women, does he?’ Joley ventured and turned away before Hannah could say anything else. She raced up the stairs.

‘Hannah,’ Sarah persisted, before she could follow Joley. ‘Did you confront the Reverend? You did, didn’t you?’

‘He was protesting at every single shoot I went on. If not the Reverend personally, he has four or five men who travel with him and they protested. It wasn’t directed at a designer, or even furs, but at me personally. My agent was afraid we’d lose assignments if he kept causing negative publicity. So yes, I went to see him with the idea that once he met me, he’d see I wasn’t the devil’s daughter.’

‘And?’ Sarah prompted, pressing her lips together tightly.

Hannah sighed. The lip thing was always a bad sign with Sarah. ‘Well, in the end I think I just proved to him I was the devil’s daughter, by reading his mind and letting him know I was disgusted by him.’ She glanced up as Joley came running back down the stairs and went straight to the front door. ‘Oh, no. Sarah. Stop her.’

Joley was dressed in slim vintage blue jeans, riding low on her hips and highlighting the shape of her butt very lovingly. Her tight pink tank top hugged the full curve of her breasts and stopped short of her waist, showing an intriguing strip of her flat belly. A golden chain glittered just below her waist and above her jeans. The way she moved screamed sex. Her hair was wild, her full, pouting lips a dark siren red. She didn’t just walk, she flowed, all soft lush curves and windblown hair. She was temptation wrapped in casual elegance.

The crowd at the fence went crazy, yelling and waving. Cameras turned away from the Reverend and focused on her.

Joley waved and sauntered down toward them, her every step an answer to the wickedest erotic dreams.

Hannah clutched Sarah’s hand. ‘She’s going to start a riot out there. Where are the security people? Matt isn’t here and neither is Aleksandr or Damon.’

‘Joley can handle a crowd,’ Sarah reassured her, silently praying it was true.

The Reverend RJ, realizing he was losing his audience, lifted his hands to the sky and called louder for the Lord to forgive the sins of Hannah Drake, parading her body, strutting around deliberately tempting men to be sinners and leading other women to wear the clothes of the temptress.

Joley went right up to him, looking every inch of sex and sin, her fragrance enveloping him in deliberate enticement. She flashed her perfect white teeth and batted her long lashes. ‘Reverend RJ? I’m Joley, Hannah’s sister.’ She offered her hand, her voice pitched low, the rhythm hypnotic—mesmerizing even. It dropped another octave so that she sounded sultry and tempting. ‘It’s so sweet of you to pray for her soul.’

The Reverend opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Joley often had that effect on men. He slipped his hand into hers and she ran the pad of her thumb over the back of his hand, reading him, reading his perverted thoughts and his darkest secrets, even as she gave him a thrill.

Joley ignored the rush of memories and concentrated on his perverted thoughts. He couldn’t stop thinking about her breasts and he loved the chain. Mostly his thoughts were all about what he’d like to do to her. She gave him a slow, seductive smile that had his body reacting and his mind racing.

‘You’re so caring to worry about my sister’s soul.’ She moved, a soft undulation of her body, enough to show off her lush curves without seeming to do a thing. It was easy enough to boost the microphones when the Reverend talked, and interfere when she did so the broadcast would only hear him—the lust and excitement in his voice.

She smiled at him, her sultry come-on smile. ‘It’s too bad you don’t like women, you’re a good-looking man and we could…’ She shrugged, letting her body just barely slide against his, her fingers slipping away from his almost reluctantly. Before he could respond to her allegation, she stepped even closer so that her breath warmed his ear. ‘You look like you could save even me.’

He reacted visibly, a shiver of excitement going through his body. She tilted her head, her gaze holding his so for a moment they were the only two people there. Her voice was a soft whisper. ‘I like games, do you?’ He was imagining her at his mercy, tied up and taking whatever he gave her, while he preached that it was for her own good. She heightened his imagination, letting him taste the power he’d have over her.

He licked his lips and the bulge in his trousers grew. ‘We could explore possibilities if you want to be saved.’

‘Do you think you could save me? I’ve—done things.’ Her voice was pitched low and implied all sorts of sinful, wicked and very sexual things.

The Reverend swallowed several times. ‘I could save you, child.’

This time when she stepped close, her breasts brushed his chest and then she slid away again, her lips in a seductive pout. ‘What would you do? Tell me. Tell me right now.’

Her hand slid down his chest and belly, stopped just short of the front of his trousers, her fingers tapping and then sliding away.

He swallowed hard, the images in his head overcoming everything else. He reached for her, his hands settling around her arms, fingers digging deep. ‘I would have to tie you down to keep the devil from getting you. He’ll fight me for you. You see how necessary it is.’

She blinked up at him, her face innocent, her eyes hot with desire—for him. He could taste her, feel her already. The Reverend was oblivious to his men, trying to pull him away from the cameras. There was assent in her eyes, need. She would let him because he had the power.

‘Flogging is beautiful on a woman and sometimes it’s the only way.’

‘I have a lot of sins,’ she said. Her hand trailed up his chest, eyes still locked with his.

‘Will I feel you deep inside me?’ She ignored his bodyguards just as he did.

‘Oh yes.’ He nodded, barely able to breathe with wanting her. ‘I’ll fuck you blind. I’ll make you scream. You’ll be lovely with blood running down your back and breasts and buttocks.’ He was so mesmerized, he was completely unaware of speaking out loud.

Joley chose that moment to step aside so the cameras could pick up the perfect image of a very perverted man lusting after a woman. ‘You talk a lot of crap, Rev, but inside you’re a sick bastard. So basically, you’re saying to save my soul, you have to strip me naked, tie me up, flog me and then do me? Wow. Kinky. But no thanks.’

Still half under the spell of her voice and body, the Reverend looked up at the cameras blinking, his hand reaching for her as she stepped away.

Joley brushed him off, rubbing her hands down her thighs. ‘You disgust me. You’re after sex, pure and simple, and you like to hurt women. You get off on that, don’t you? Hurting women? You know why? You can’t get it up any other way.’

The tallest bodyguard slammed her back with a hand to her chest as they grabbed the Reverend, pulling him away from her mesmerizing voice, protectively shoving him behind them.

Joley staggered and nearly went down, but she caught herself. Deliberately running her tongue along her lips, she sent the Reverend another seductive smile. ‘You think my sister is the devil? You got the wrong one.’

‘You bitch.’ The tallest of the Reverend’s bodyguards came at her again. Joley waited, on the balls of her feet, for the blow. She wanted the man to assault her. It would look so wonderful for the cameras and do even more harm to the Reverend’s already severely damaged reputation.

Before his fist could land, Ilya Prakenskii stepped between them, a flow of muscle and coordination, his hand catching the fist in midair and stopping the forward momentum.

The man went to his knees, agony on his face.

Joley stepped back, one hand going to her throat in a defensive gesture as she felt the buildup of energy—red-hot and black with anger, pulsing in the air. ‘Don’t kill him,’ she whispered. ‘Ilya. Don’t.’

The Russian turned his head, his smoldering gaze meeting hers. ‘Go into the house now.’

He bit the command out between clenched teeth.

Every vestige of color drained from Joley’s face, but she turned and hurried back into the house, straight into Hannah’s arms.

‘It’s all right, baby, I’m here,’ Hannah assured.

‘I feel so dirty. That man is so sick and then Ilya came. I didn’t know he was there. I didn’t feel him, and he saw the whole thing—what I did.’ Joley, who never cried, burst into tears. ‘Someone had to stop that horrible man.’

The door burst open and Ilya Prakenskii stood framed there, his wide shoulders filling the space. The room pulsed with black rage. He took two long strides in and waved his hand behind him. The door slammed closed.

‘Are you deliberately trying to get yourself killed?’ Ignoring Hannah and Sarah, he yanked Joley out of Hannah’s arms and spun her around to face him. ‘Because that man isn’t just a pervert, he’s dangerous, and you must have known that the moment you touched him. You just destroyed him on live television. What the hell were you thinking?’

Joley bit her lip hard to try to stop crying. It was humiliating to have Prakenskii catch her in such a weak moment. He punctuated each word with a hard shake and she wanted to break free and spit in his face, but he was right. He was so right and she had touched a monster and it sickened her.

‘Nikitin saw the entire thing. He’s fixated on you, too. What do you think the first order he’s going to give me will be when we’re alone? He’s going to want the son of a bitch who hit you taken out. Damn it, Joley. Don’t you ever think before you act?’

‘She did it for me,’ Hannah said, stepping close to her younger sister. ‘She was protecting me.’

‘She used her voice and her body on him. He’ll be obsessed and it won’t go away.’ Ilya released Joley after one more, hard, frustrated shake and stepped away from her, one hand scrubbing over his face. ‘If your voice was picked up by the microphone, you’ll have more than one man obsessed with you. What the hell is wrong with you?’

‘Maybe it was a little rash,’ Hannah defended, ‘but her heart was in the right place.’

‘Just like it was when she pretended to be Libby? Half the world thinks she’s into sex orgies and kink and the other half is so obsessed with her, they’re dangerous.’

Joley swiped at her eyes and lifted her chin, her expression stubborn, defiant. ‘Maybe I am into kink and orgies. It’s no one’s business if I am.’

His breath hissed out. ‘Don’t push me right now, little girl. You’ll find yourself over my knee right in front of your sisters. I’ in furious with you.’

‘You wouldn’t dare. I’d have you arrested.’

‘No, Joley, you wouldn’t. We both know that, so just back off and let me rant about this as you deserve. But I’m warning you.’ He stepped closer to her. ‘The next time you do something so foolish, so dangerous, I’m going to give you a lesson you will never forget.’

He swung away, paced the length of the room like a restless tiger, visibly pulling back and regaining control. When he turned around, he was no less furious, no less frightening, but this time his rage was icy. ‘And what’s the matter with all of you?’

The other Drakes had drifted into the room, one by one, all standing in a loose circle watching him with wary eyes.

‘Do you honestly believe she’s that tough? That strong? What’s wrong that you don’t look after your younger sister?’

Joley’s swift intake of air was audible. ‘I am that tough and you’d better not threaten my sisters or you’ll find out just how tough I really am.’

Hannah’s head was pounding, the emotions swinging out of control, beating at her. This was her fault. Joley’s exposing herself to danger was her fault. As much as she might detest Prakenskii’s manner, he was right. Joley was rash and she did act without thought for her own safety when she was protecting her family. Was it possible that whoever hated Hannah that much would turn that hatred on Joley?

‘You’re right,’ she said, her voice strangled with tears. ‘You’re right. Joley, honey, you have to be more careful. You’re out there, all over the news, and the wrong people are watching.’

The knock at the door jarred her nerves. She pressed her fingers tightly against her lips and turned away to try to keep the others from seeing how distressed she was. Just like that it had all come back. The knife. The pain. The utter horror of it. And now she had to worry about someone doing the same thing to Joley.

Ilya held up his hand when Sarah made a move to the door. ‘It’s Nikitin,’ he said. ‘Tread softly. He knows nothing of your capabilities.’

Elle moved close to Hannah and circled her waist with one arm, positioning her body just a little in front of her sister. Hannah frowned. Elle was the youngest, the quietest, and definitely the most lethal. Hannah didn’t want Elle’s protection anymore. If anything, it should be the other way around, but already her heart was pounding, lungs burning, and she could barely think with the buzzing in her head. A full-blown panic attack was setting in.

‘Joley, take Hannah upstairs,’ Ilya commanded. ‘Hurry.’

Joley glanced from him to Hannah’s pale face. Without protesting, she grabbed Hannah’s hand and took her out of the room, up the stairs. Behind them, she could hear Prakenskii opening the front door to let the mobster in.

‘I-I c-can’t breathe,’ Hannah stammered, her breath coming in long wheezes.

‘Yes you can, honey,’ Joley said. ‘You’ll be safe in your room.’

‘Outside.’ Hannah indicated the balcony. She could breathe outside. She was safe with the wind and the sea. She groped her way along the walls to the French doors and threw them open, stepping with relief onto the tiled balcony.

‘Better?’ Joley asked, pulling Hannah’s chair closer.

‘Yes. I’m sorry, Joley, and I’m sorry you felt you had to go out there and protect me from that slimebag pervert. You’re an amazing sister.’

‘People like that make me so angry, Hannah.’ She was silent a moment, her hand shaking as she pushed back her hair. ‘I hate it that Ilya saw me like that. It made me feel cheap and dirty.’

‘Oh, Joley.’ Distressed, Hannah reached out to her. ‘He didn’t look at you as if you were cheap or dirty, he looked concerned and upset, and afraid for you. He made me afraid for you.’

‘And I hate that he was right. It was a stupid thing to do, but I’m still glad I did it. Very few people are going to follow the Reverend after his little display.’

‘Be careful, Joley. Be very careful from now on. You’ve made an enemy.’ Hannah rocked herself back and forth, trying to find balance again.

‘Jonas is going to be really upset with me, too.’ She brightened. ‘But you’re going out with him tonight and that ought to mellow him right out.’

‘Maybe I shouldn’t go with him. I don’t want him to love me like this. I want to be whole for him. Strong for him.’

‘Jonas has loved you forever, Hannah, you’re the only one who didn’t know. He isn’t going to stop loving you because you tell him to.’

‘Then you think I should go?’ It was a commitment if she went. She understood that, and more, she understood that if she went with him, she was going to seduce him and that would be binding as far as Jonas was concerned. Was she ready? She honestly didn’t know.

‘Do you love him, Hannah? Really love him?’ Joley asked.

‘With every breath in my body. Bone deep. All the way.’

‘Why? Why do you love him so much, Hannah?’

Hannah sank into the chair and put her feet on the railing, the tension slipping from her body. ‘He makes me feel alive. He sees me. I can’t hide from him. He sees me and he loves me anyway. He makes me feel beautiful when nothing else makes me feel that way.

I can see myself in his eyes and he makes me a better person than I am.’

‘What else?’

‘He knows how to have fun and he’s okay with me having fun. He doesn’t care if I’m rich or famous. He doesn’t care if I’m a huge success out in the world. He makes me feel as if the things I want to do, stay home, cook and be a wife and mother, are just as important as saving the world.’

‘And?’ Joley prompted with a small grin.

Hannah grinned back. ‘And he’s hot in bed.’

Joley laughed. ‘Then I say, you have your answer. The rest of it will all fall into place.

Let yourself be happy, Hannah.’

‘What about my panic attacks? They aren’t going away.’

‘You deserve to have a few panic attacks after some nutcase tried to carve you up with a knife. Jonas doesn’t care. We don’t care. Why should you? Be happy.’

Hannah nodded. ‘You’re right. How’d you get to be so smart? I’m going to take my bath and get ready and then will you come in and help me with something else, something important to me?’

‘Sure. I’ll be back with the 411 from whatever’s happening downstairs.’ Joley winked and left her alone.

Hannah went back into her room, carefully closing the French doors and drawing the blinds. She stood in her room waiting for her heart to stop pounding. Hadn’t she promised she would be true to herself? What did she want to happen tonight with Jonas? She was the one trying to hold off being with him physically because she was ashamed of her body, yet she wanted him with such intensity it shook her. As night fell, the tightness in her body seemed only to increase. She wanted to be lying under him, over him, with him, his body taking hers over and over. And God help her, she wanted to see that fierce, possessive look on his face again and again.

Every single thing she had said to Joley was the truth. She loved Jonas. There had been no one before him and there would be no one after him. If she wanted him, she needed to stand up and take him.

She walked slowly to the mirror and stared at her face. To her, the injuries were all she could see, her face carved into a wreck, pieces, like Frankenstein, but when she took a deep breath and forced herself to analyze her wounds, it was clear they were already well past the raw stage and into fading. The lines were red, but not inflamed. The skin looked healthy and soft again. The bruising and swelling was long gone. Her sisters really had accomplished a miracle, along with a brilliant plastic surgeon who had taken his time to ensure that he had meticulously seamed her face back together.

Slowly, Hannah removed her clothes, still staring at the mirror. Her throat, breasts and ribs looked far better, just as her face did. The deeper injuries were a little redder, but still, even those had healed so much faster, thanks to her sisters. She frowned as she tried to see what others saw—what Jonas saw. Was she beautiful like everyone said? She wanted to be for Jonas. And maybe in the end, all that mattered was the way he saw her.

If Jonas thought her body was beautiful and he enjoyed it…

She blushed, thinking of how much he had enjoyed touching her. He took command of her, almost as if he meant it when he said her body belonged to him. She filled the bathtub and poured scented salts into it, wanting to give him more pleasure than he’d ever known. She wanted her body to belong to him, she wanted to see that same look of absolute possession and fierce hunger on his face and in his eyes.

Hannah took special care with her appearance, soaking herself in her favorite fragrance so her skin would have the light scent of peaches. She used lotion to make her skin soft and washed her hair with the same scented shampoo. Her makeup was applied with care, a professional’s touch—using just enough to enhance her natural looks, play up her eyes and mouth without overdoing it.

She stood for a long time in her underwear, a lacy bra and matching thong of shimmering blue. What had been his fantasy? She reached for the flowing skirt, the soft sea blue swirled with midnight, and sprinkled with silver stars. She loved the feel of the soft, sensual material sliding over her hips and brushing her ankles. She wrapped a chain of silver stars around her left ankle and another around her hips. Staring into the bathroom mirror, she cursed herself for breaking her full-length one. She wanted to see if she could get away with no panties.

Her breath caught in her throat and her heart thundered at the idea of being so daring. Just to see how it would feel, Hannah slipped off her underwear and walked across the room.

Only she would know. She’d be so aware that she was naked and ready for him. Would he see it in her eyes? She made a small twirl and watched her skirt flow out. There was no hint, not even when she walked and the folds settled along the vee at the junction of her legs, but she felt sexy.

She reached up and unhooked her bra. In the mirror, she caught sight of her bare breasts swaying as she turned slowly around. Dragging the peasant blouse Jonas loved so much over her full breasts, she took another look. She was covered completely, no hint that she was bare beneath her clothes, waiting for his touch.

‘Hannah?’ Joley stuck her head into the room. ‘Elle gave me this file for you. She said it’s the one you asked for on all the nutcases writing to you. Are you certain you want to read it?’

She had been certain when she’d first woken up in the morning, but now she was not so sure. ‘Just put it on the dresser. I’ll think about it.’

‘Well? Are you going to turn around so I can see you?’

Hannah nodded, holding her breath as she did so, waiting to see if Joley noticed anything different about her.

‘You look beautiful. Jonas will love that outfit.’

No sly teasing. Only Hannah was aware of her own daring. For some reason, that secret knowledge gave her courage. She picked up the scissors she’d set out and extended them toward her sister. ‘I want you to cut my hair.’

Joley stared at the scissors without moving. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I want to cut my hair.’

‘You have beautiful hair, Hannah.’

‘Everyone else loves my hair, but I don’t. I want you to cut it. You do all kinds of things to your hair. I’m not asking you to dye it pink or anything, just to cut it.’

Joley took the scissors reluctantly. ‘Are you certain?’

‘Absolutely. And while you’re at it, tell me what happened when Nikitin showed up.’ She led the way to the balcony. The birds would appreciate her hair for their nests.

‘Sarah said Nikitin really turned on the charm. He asked about you and said how sorry he was about what happened. He said he was glad he and Ilya were on hand to stop the madman.’

‘Ilya did the stopping. Was Nikitin anywhere close?’

‘I’m just repeating what Sarah said. He wanted to see me. Libby told him I was resting, that I was shaken up by what had happened.’

‘Did he buy that?’

‘I don’t think he had a choice. He told Sarah that he wanted me to be careful because the coast was filling up with Russians.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I have no idea, neither did Sarah. Apparently Prakenskii didn’t say one word with Nikitin in the room. At least now I know how to shut him up. If I have to talk to him, I’ll make sure his boss is around.’ She stepped back to admire her work. ‘This is really sexy.

Sexy and sassy and more you than ever. Check it out in the mirror. See if you like the way I shaped it.’

Hannah held her breath until she looked. The heavy fall of hair was gone, leaving her curls falling to her shoulder and feathering around her face. It felt light and Joley was right. She did look different and she felt different, too.

‘I love it, thanks, Joley.’

‘Well, I’m heading downstairs to eat. Jonas should be here any minute,’ Joley said as Hannah trailed her to the door to take the scissors. ‘Sarah thinks she’s going to put me on restriction or something. She’s afraid for me to go out for a while until we know the Reverend’s reaction.’

Hannah stiffened, one hand on the closed door as she stared down at the sharp scissors in her hand. Someone hated her enough to try to destroy her. The realization hit her hard and she felt sick—panicked—her newfound courage turning to dust. She swallowed hard and looked over at the file sitting on her dresser. It was a lot thicker than she had ever conceived it of being. Did all those people hate her and want her dead? How could she have ignored it all the years she’d modeled? How many were there? And what had she done to make them feel that way about her?