Jade Star (Star Quartet 4)

“Juliana.”

She froze in her tracks at the sound of John Bleecher’s voice.

She turned slowly to face him. “Hello, John. I thought you would still be at my father’s house.”

“No, I left. I . . . I had to see you, talk to you.”

I will not hurt Sarah, nor will I hurt John, Jules swore to herself. “I will be leaving Maui soon, John.”

“I know,” he said. God, she was beautif

ul. His fingers itched to touch her, to feel her beautiful wild hair.

“I really want to be by myself, John, if you don’t mind.”

He said nothing, merely walked toward her, stopping but inches from her. She looked up at him and was taken aback at the unfamiliar look in his blue eyes. She cocked her head to one side, silent.

“We’re alone,” he said more to himself than to her.

“I suppose so,” Jules agreed.

Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed her, hauling her against him and pressing his mouth against hers. Jules was too startled for a moment to struggle. “John!” she cried out, and felt his tongue thrust into her open mouth.

She began hitting him then, twisting to free herself from his hold. She hadn’t realized before that he was so strong.

“Stop it, Juliana,” he snarled at her in a voice she’d never heard. “Damn you, you know I’ve always wanted you, not Sarah. And now I know the truth. You’ve given it to how many men now?”

“Given what, for God’s sake? Let me go, John! How dare you do this?”

But he didn’t let her go. He seemed wild. She felt pain in her ribs, but didn’t cry out. “Don’t act the innocent with me, Juliana! I know now, all of it! Sarah told me what you’ve done. It won’t make any difference to have one more man, will it? God knows, you’ve been flat on your back for Saint!”

For a moment Jules lost her burgeoning fright in sheer shock. What had Sarah told him? “You think I’m a whore?” she asked in bewildered surprise.

He answered her with a groan and buried his face against her throat. She felt his hands grab her breasts, and she cried out, seeing Jameson Wilkes over her, his fingers stroking her naked breasts, squeezing, hurting. She went crazy in that moment, clawing, kicking at him, her breath coming in loud, jerking gasps. John hurled her to the ground and slammed his body down on top of her.

He was hard and punishing against her belly—she could feel him through the layers of clothing. Dear God, he was going to hurt her, and she knew now that this was what rape was.

Saint washed his hands and wiped them on the white towel Dwight Baldwin handed him.

“Thanks for coming in with me, Saint,” Dwight said. “We’ve only the twelve patients right now, but just you wait a couple of months.”

“My pleasure. You still treat more syphilis than anything else?”

“Lord yes, it never ends. The poor fellow you just examined, what do you think?”

“You’ve got to take the leg off today or he’ll be dead tomorrow.”

Dwight Baldwin sighed. “That’s what I thought too. Dammit, it was a stupid, needless accident. It happened on the taro plantation, and Elisha Bleecher didn’t bother to bring him in until yesterday evening.”

“Exhort him with hellfire and brimstone tomorrow from the pulpit,” Saint said.

“Won’t do a bit of good, I’m afraid, but you may be certain that I shall. Come, let me walk you out.”

“Have you got ether around?”

“No, but I do have chloroform. Thank God we no longer have to put our patients through such agony. Didn’t you tell me that you were an actual witness to the first use of ether in 1846? At Massachusetts General Hospital, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Saint said, “I was. It started out a circus, with all the other doctors and medical students laughing derisively, and ended in complete and utter silence. I’ll never forget Dr. Warren’s face when he made his first incision. The patient didn’t move, didn’t utter a sound. When it was all over, he turned to the audience and said in the most bewildered voice I’ve ever heard, ‘Gentlemen, this is no humbug.’ ”