Wildstar

Jess regarded Devlin as if she'd never seen him before. How could she ever have believed he was a mere gam­bler? He had always looked like the kind of man who knew about power and wealth, how to get it and how to keep it. She had little doubt that he could be every bit as ruthless as Burke in getting what he wanted. Just now Devlin was lounging on the bed like a lazing wolf, alert yet perfectly at ease. But beneath the relaxed, almost lazy demeanor was a frame of coiled steel, the kind of hardness that could only be earned by physical exertion, by labor and sweat and strife. Who was this beautiful man who had crept into her heart and left it wounded and aching?

Realizing that she was staring again, Jessica shook her­self and tried to marshal her scattered thoughts. "I only have one question," she began finally. "Did you find the lode in the Wildstar before you talked Riley into selling to you?" .

Devlin stared at her for a long moment, before his eye­lids drooped in insolent reply. "Let me see if I have this straight. You hunted me down here to accuse me of find­ing the silver lode in the mine and defrauding your father?"

His tone had turned chill, his eyes cold and diamond-hard, but Jess wouldn't let herself look away. The truth was too important to her. "The night we were trapped, you took a long time checking out the lower tunnel."

"You're giving me more credit than I deserve," Devlin said in a voice that was dangerous for its very calmness. "That night I was concerned about a few more important things, if I recall—like staying alive. If there was a vein of silver showing down there, I sure as hell didn't recognize it."

"You found something in that tunnel, I'm sure of it."

"I found a crack in the wall. It was letting in a stream of air that I hoped would save our lives. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want to raise your hopes."

Jessica's expression turned to anguished pleading. "Then why did you give Riley so much money for the mine? What were you trying to buy? The whole claim wasn't worth half that much, and Riley said he only sold you a minority interest."

Devlin found himself gripping the glass in his hand until the delicate crystal threatened to shatter. He'd told himself he wouldn't lose control with Jessica ever again. He could have hurt her a few days ago when he'd taken her so forcefully, when he'd been lost in the mindless pleasure her body could give him, the fierce joy of making love to her. But her latest accusation savaged his hard-won disci­pline and filled him with a cold rage.

"It would be just the kind of mercenary thing Burke would do," Jess added uncertainly, as if to justify her sus­picions.

Devlin's wintry eyes impaled her. "Will you," he said in a deadly voice, "get it through your beautiful head that I am not Ashton Burke?"

Jessica nearly recoiled at the fierceness of the expres­sion on his face.

"My motivation at the time." Devlin added icily, "was purely unselfish. Your father needed money to repair the mine and was too proud to take it. And being a partner in the Wildstar gave me the necessary leverage against Burke to threaten him with a lawsuit. I had absolutely no expec­tation of ever seeing the kind of return I usually get on my investments. And I certainly didn't expect to make a strike of this magnitude. Before you showed up just now, I'd al­ready decided to let Riley buy back my interest at the same price as soon as he can afford it. I would have told him this afternoon, but I wanted to wait until the strike was verified and we could be sure Burke wasn't going to try anything else to sabotage the mine."

Jess stared incredulously. Devlin was willing to sell back his share without taking a profit? Surely he couldn't be serious about making such a generous offer. "You don't . . . really mean it? About letting Riley have the Wildstar back?"

His mouth tightened in a thin line. "Yes, dammit, I re­ally mean it. I told you before I don't need the money."

Jessica bit her lip hard. Was it possible that maybe she might have been mistaken about Devlin's intentions? Her heart, so bitter and mistrustful, began to lighten. "I thought . . . I mean . . . you see . . ."

"I know, you told me. You thought I was trying to steal from your father. I'm a thief now, as well as a liar and a traitor. Saint Jess has tried and convicted me."

She didn't know how to answer him, since that was pre­cisely what she had thought. Even clear across the room, she could feel his simmering fury, yet she couldn't really blame him for being angry at her. She had convicted him, even if deep in her heart she had prayed she was mistaken. She rose to her feet, her fingers making shreds of the strings to her reticule. "Devlin . . . I . . ."

She was about to tell him she was sorry for jumping to conclusions when his drawling comment stopped her.

"On second thought, maybe you were right. I suppose I did lie to you after all. My motives for offering to help your father weren't entirely unselfish. I also did it to ap­pease my conscience." Devlin's mouth twisted. "Buying into the Wildstar was the best way I knew to make amends for what happened between us the other night in the mine. I felt guilty as hell about taking your virginity, and I thought I owed you something."

His stinging admission had the devastating effect he wanted: Jessica went white.

She moved toward him slowly, as if drawn to him against her will. "You gave us that money to alleviate your guilt?" She reached his side and stood staring down at him. "You were paying me for my services like any whore?" .

Put that bluntly, it sounded cold and cruel, Devlin real­ized, yet it was partly true, and he was a trifle too enraged at the moment to be his usual charming self, or to couch the truth in softer terms. Besides, he was fed up with Jess always seeing his actions in the worst possible light.

"If that was what I was doing, darlin', then you have to be the most expensive whore I've ever had the pleasure of bedding."

Her white face grew even paler, if that were possible. "You bastard. . . ." Her voice was low and raw.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't you think your vir­ginity is worth fifty thousand?"

She slapped him then, hard, as tears sprang to her eyes, blurring her vision. In reaction, he caught her wrist in a tight grip.

"You . . . you . . ." Jess sputtered, furious. "I can't think of a word bad enough to describe you!" Nearly shaking with fury and pain, she struggled to free her arm.

Wisely, for his own well-being, Devlin wouldn't let go. He thought about pulling her down on the bed with him, like he had the last time they'd fought, but decided it would only end with him feeling more guilt than he did now.

"I'm surprised at your tactics, angel," he retorted in­stead. "You should have played on my sense of honor and tried to wrangle a marriage proposal out of me—but then you never have behaved the way a normal woman would."