From the Heart

and bite of the wind on her face. The press of his body against hers. Desire churned in her tired body, awakening pulses she struggled to calm. She felt the ache move slowly from her stomach to her breasts. Quickly she sprang out of bed and tugged on a robe. All she needed was a hot drink to settle her, she decided, almost frantically. If that didn’t work, she’d switch on the television until some old movie lulled her to sleep. In the morning she’d have herself in order again. She’d go back to work, stay out of Slade’s way until he finished the library and went back to where he came from.
    Jessica slipped out of the room and moved on silent bare feet down the hall. She paused in front of Slade’s door, even reached for the handle before she caught herself. Good God, what was she thinking of! Moving quickly, she headed for thestairs. Maybe a brandy would be a better idea than the hot drink, she decided.
    Out of habit, she went quietly down the steps, avoiding the spots that creaked and groaned. Brandy and an old movie, she told herself. If that didn’t put her to sleep, nothing would. Seeing that the parlor doors were closed, she frowned. Now who would have done that? she wondered. They were never closed. With a shrug, she decided Slade had shut them before coming up to write. She crossed the hall and pulled one open.
    A light blinded her. It shone straight in her eyes, forcing her to throw up a hand to shield them. Shock came first. She stepped back, stunned by the glare, confused by its source. Before she could speak, Jessica froze. A flashlight. No one should be in the closed parlor with a flashlight in the middle of the night. Fear ran coolly over her skin, then lodged like a fist in her throat. Without a second’s thought, she turned and raced back up the stairs.
    Slade snapped fully awake the moment his door was flung open. A shadow darted toward his bed and instinctively he grabbed it, twisted it, and pinned it underneath him. It gave a quiet whoosh of air as it slammed onto the mattress. At the moment of contact he knew he held Jessica.
    “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded as his fingers clamped over her wrists. Her scent flooded his senses; instant desire roughened his voice.
    With the wind knocked out of her, Jessica struggled to speak. Fear had her body shuddering under his. “Downstairs,” she managed. “Someone’s downstairs.”
    He tensed, but schooled his voice to casualness. “A servant.”
    “At two o’clock in the morning?” she hissed as anger began to take over. It suddenly seeped into her that he was naked, and that her robe had parted when he had yanked her into bed. Swallowing, she struggled beneath him. “With a flashlight?”
    He rolled from her quickly. “Where?”
    “The parlor.” Snatching her robe together, Jessica tried to pretend that she hadn’t been weakened, not for a minute, by desire. She watched his shadow as he tugged on jeans. “You’re not going down there?”
    “Isn’t that what you expected me to do when you came in here?” he countered. He opened a drawer and found his gun.
    “No, I didn’t think at all. The police.” Reaching over, she switched on the light. “We have to call . . .” The sentence died as she saw what he held in his hand. A new bubble of terror rose in her throat. “Where did you get that?”
    “Stay here.”
    He was nearly at the door before Jessica could propel her numb body from the bed. “ No! You can’t go down there with a gun. Slade, how—”
    He stopped her with a hard, bruising grip on her shoulder. When they fixed on her, his eyes were ice cold and expressionless. “Stay put,” he ordered, then closed the door firmly in her face.
    Too shocked to do otherwise, Jessica stared at the blank wood. What in God’s name was going on? she demanded as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. It was crazy. Someone sneaking around the parlor in the middle of the night. Slade handling a big ugly gun as if he’d been born with it in his hand. Nerves jumping, she began to pace the room. It was too quiet, she thought as her fingers laced and unlaced. Just too quiet. She couldn’t just stand there.
    Slade had just finished a quick, thorough tour of the first floor when the creak on the steps had him whirling. He saw Jessica stagger back against the wall, eyes wide as he turned the gun on her.
    “Goddammit!” The word exploded at her as he lowered the gun. “I told you to stay upstairs.”
    She had enough