Suddenly You(14)

A dozen delivery wagons were constantly coming and going from the place, carrying loads of periodicals and books to subscribers and customers. Huge frigate ships were loaded daily at the wharves with his deliveries to foreign shores. No doubt Devlin had made a fortune from his vulgar enterprise, but Amanda did not admire him for it. She had heard of the way he had driven other, smaller publishers out of business, and crushed the several circulating libraries that competed with his. She did not approve of the power he held in the literary community, not to mention his misuse of it, and she had made a pointed effort to avoid meeting him.

“I had no idea that Mr. Devlin would be here tonight,” Amanda said with a frown. “Good God, I can’t imagine that Mr. Talbot would be friends with him. From all I’ve heard, Devlin is a scoundrel.”

“My dear Amanda, none of us can afford not to be friends with Devlin,” Francine replied. “You would do best to earn his goodwill.”

“So far, I’ve managed quite well without it. And you, Francine, would do best to steer clear of him. An affair with a man like that is the most ill-advised notion I’ve ever—”

She stopped abruptly as she caught a glimpse of a face in the crowd. Her heart lurched, and she blinked in a spasm of astonishment.

“Amanda?” Francine asked, clearly perplexed.

“I thought I saw…” Troubled and sweating, Amanda gazed at the milling crowd, while the throb of her own heartbeat muffled all other sound. She took a step forward, then back, looking from side to side with a wildly searching gaze. “Where is he?” she whispered, breathing much too fast.

“Amanda, are you ill?”

“No, I…” Aware that she was behaving oddly, Amanda tried to maintain her dissolving composure. “I think I saw…someone I wish to avoid.”

Francine glanced speculatively from Amanda’s tense face to the milling crowd. “Why should you wish to avoid someone? Is he a disagreeable critic, perhaps? Or some friend you’ve fallen out with?” A sly smile curved her lips. “Perhaps a former lover who ended the affair badly?”

Although the provocative suggestion was clearly meant to tease Amanda, it was close enough to the truth that she felt her cheeks prickling. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said crisply, and scorched her tongue on a gulp of hot punch. Her eyes watered slightly at the burn.

“You’ll never guess who is coming this way, Amanda,” Francine commented idly. “If Mr. Devlin is the man you wish to avoid, I’m afraid it’s too late.”

Somehow Amanda knew, even before she looked upward.

Shocking blue eyes ensnared her with a steady gaze. The same deep voice that only a week ago had whispered endearments to her, now spoke in a tone of calm politeness. “Mrs. Newlyn, I hope you’ll introduce me to your companion.”

Francine responded with a throaty laugh. “I’m not certain the lady wishes it, Mr. Devlin. Unfortunately, your reputation seems to have preceded you.”

Amanda could not breathe at all. He was, impossibly, her birthday visitor, “Jack,” the man who had held and kissed and pleasured her in the shadowy privacy of her own parlor. He was taller, bigger, swarthier than she remembered. In an instant she recalled the way her body had strained against his heavy weight, her hands grasping the hard muscles of his shoulders…the sweet, dark heat of his mouth.

Amanda swayed a little, her knees locked and shaking. Yet she must not make a scene, must not draw attention. She would do whatever was necessary to conceal the humiliating secret they shared. Although it seemed impossible to speak, she managed a few unsteady words.

“You may introduce this gentleman to me, Francine.” She saw from the wicked glimmer in Devlin’s eyes that he had not missed the ironic emphasis she had placed on the word “gentleman.”

The sleek, pretty blonde studied them both thoughtfully. “No, I don’t believe I will,” she stunned Amanda by saying. “It becomes apparent that the two of you have met before. Perhaps someone would care to enlighten me as to the circumstances?”

“No,” Devlin told her, tempering his blunt refusal with a charming grin.

Francine’s fascinated gaze flew from Devlin’s face to Amanda’s. “Very well. I’ll leave the two of you to decide whether you are acquainted or not.” She laughed lightly. “But be forewarned, Amanda. I’ll have the story out of you one way or another.”

Amanda barely noticed her friend’s departure. Utter confusion, outrage, betrayal…she was too overcome to say anything for a moment. Each breath she took seemed to scorch her lungs. John T. Devlin…Jack…stood there patiently, his gaze as intent as a tiger’s.

He had the power to destroy her, she thought in panic. With just a few words, and perhaps a public confirmation from Mrs. Bradshaw, he could ruin her reputation, her career…her ability to provide for herself. “Mr. Devlin,” she finally managed to say with stiff-backed dignity. “Perhaps you would care to explain how and why you came to my home last week, and why you have deceived me.”

Despite her obvious fear and hostility, Amanda Briars looked straight into Jack’s eyes, her gaze bright with challenge. She was no coward.

Jack experienced the same keen awareness he had felt the first moment he had seen her, at the doorstep of her home. She was a luxuriously made woman, with her velvety skin and curly auburn hair, and her decidedly voluptuous figure…and he was a man who appreciated quality when he saw it. Her features were pleasant, if not precisely beautiful, but the eyes…well, they were extraordinary. Penetrating gray…the light gray of April rain…intelligent, expressive eyes.