Lady Be Bad (18 page)

"Don't you lecture me, little girl," Arthur
growled. His fork and knife stabbed and slashed through the last
egg Benedict on his plate. "What about you? You've been playing
more and more golf with Randy, and you were the one who begged me
to ask him to stay."

Her hiccups became more pronounced. "Damn,
nothing is going the way I planned."

"I don't like hearing you swear, Gwen," her
father cautioned sharply.

"Damn! Damn! Damn." She hiccupped between
each word, then lowered her gaze from his narrowed eyes.

Perkins arrived while Arthur was refilling
his china cup from the silver coffee carafe. "Excuse me, sir, but
here's the list of guests who plan on staying the rest of the week.
Ambassador and Mrs. Ferris will be leaving at noon on Thursday. All
told, there are twenty-seven in attendance." He handed him a
folder. "Cook's menu, sir."

Arthur gave the two neatly typed sheets a
cursory glance, nodded and then looked at him, his voice cool. "So,
Perkins, I understand you prepared a picnic lunch for Mr. Drake and
Miss O'Brian."

"Cook prepared it, sir." He brushed an
infinitesimal speck from the narrow lapels on his white suit
jacket.

"Don't split hairs, man," came his
employer's brusque reply. "See how upset my little girl is."

Perkins's blue gaze shifted to Gwen Kingman.
He took note of her red-rimmed eyes and the curled fist pressed
against her mouth. "I was following your strict instructions, sir.
You did tell me to make sure all the guests' wishes were
fulfilled."

He cursed under his breath and scowled.
"Sometimes, Perkins, I wonder just who in hell you work for around
here."

The house manager gathered up the folder and
bowed, his enigmatic expression still intact. "You, of course, sir.
I'll tell cook this has your approval." When Perkins turned and
walked away, he was grinning broadly.

"You looked as dazed as King Arthur and
Gwen," Marlayna teased, casting off the boat rope after unwrapping
it from around a metal piling hook.

Noah slowly and carefully piloted the boat
away from the dock and into the main channel. "Frankly, I was.
Still am." He flashed her a broad grin while increasing the boat's
speed. "I'm amazed at how easily you handle people, especially
those two, with their unique personalities. I've never dared to
interrupt Arthur or correct him, even when I could prove him
wrong."

Standing in back of the pilot's chair,
Marlayna stroked the wide breadth of Noah's shoulders, her fingers
loving the contrast of tempered muscle with fine cranberry knit.
"I'm a bit more daring than usual because I have you by my side."
Marlayna pressed a quick kiss on his jaw.

"I'm flattered, but you were doing all right
fielding strangers this past weekend, too. I was watching and
remembering how you hated parties. Rooms filled with people,
whether you knew them or not, always made you anxious."

Marlayna slid into an adjoining
blue-cushioned chair. "Sylvie retrained me. Living with her was
like living in a party. She was always ready to have people over or
to go out. In her never-ending quest to cheer me up, she would drag
me along. I'd end up sitting in a corner, holding a drink I didn't
want, while I watched and listened. I guess some of Sylvie's skills
rubbed off on me." She pointed to a tiny, tree-clogged mass of
green land. "Is that where we're going?"

"Eagle Wing," Noah shouted while he steadily
increased the power from the motor. "I'm going to anchor on the
southeast side away from the traffic, and you can tell me all about
living with Sylvie."

After removing her shirt and shorts,
Marlayna settled face down on the thick blue-carpeted deck in her
multi-colored bikini. Her hand trolled through the dark green
water. "The sun's hot enough, but the St Lawrence sure is cold."
She dribbled water over her back and shoulders. "Hmmm . . . feels
wonderful."

Noah stepped out of his white slacks and
tossed them over his shirt, which was hanging on the back of the
chair. After straightening the waistband of his navy swim trunks,
he slowly eased himself down, using the cane for leverage, and
stretched out on the deck, so he was face to face with her. "You
were going to tell me about this Sylvie person."

"Sylvia Davies. She adopted me on the plane
from Atlanta to New York when I ran away," Marlayna explained. A
whimsical smile curved her lips. "I think Fate or my Guardian Angel
was watching over me that day and put me in the seat next to hers.
Otherwise, I really don't know what would have happened to me,
Noah."

Her light expression turned ponderous. "You
wouldn't have believed what I did. I threw my clothes, which were
mostly uniforms, into a suitcase, spent more than I could afford on
my plane fare, because first class was the only ticket available,
and headed for New York City. I had a bankroll of three hundred,
eleven dollars and eighty-one cents. I knew no one, had no job
prospects and knew less than nothing about Manhattan.

"Sylvia took pity on this air-sick,
teary-eyed, bedraggled creature. She fed me a few calming gin and
tonics and then listened to my tale of woe." Marlayna shook her
head. "I wouldn't have touched me with a ten-foot pole, but she
gathered me to her bosom and somewhere over Pittsburgh started to
revamp my life. Noah, it worked out perfectly. I was the lost
child, and she needed to be someone's mother."

"I owe your friend Sylvie a vote of thanks
for watching over you." His fingers twirled through a highlighted
curl that fell on her forehead. "You could have been eaten
alive."

"That's what Sylvie kept telling me. She
whisked me off the airplane and into her apartment, where I stayed
for three years. Do you know that wonderful woman used to fight
with me when I tried to pay something for rent, food and
utilities."

"What's she like, Mimi?"

A laugh bubbled forth. "Well, Sylvie isn't
the type of woman another woman would want as a friend — at least
on first acquaintance. She's the head cosmetics buyer for Lord
& Taylor and looks just too immaculate. Perfect makeup, perfect
hair, perfect clothes. Sylvie's the first to admit she's shallow,
vain and a snob," Marlayna related.

"But she's so much more. She's warm and
loving, scared and confused, and lonely. She's been married three
times, has no children and puts all her energy into her career and
being a lower-echelon celebrity. Sylvie's kind and compassionate,
and there's no stopping her when she gets an idea."

Marlayna's hand went to her hair. "She was
responsible for the new me. Kept insisting if I looked better, I'd
feel better. So she dragged me to her exercise classes, then down
to Lord & Taylor's. Bought me some new clothes, had my hair
restyled and sculptured my face with makeup. That's where Paul
Wingate first saw me and the rest is history."

"So that's how you became the 'Face of the
Century.'" Noah stared at her for a long moment. "You know, the
short hair, slimmer body, makeup and clothes — well they seem to
suit you." He hesitated for a moment. "You've done a lot of
changing in six years, Mimi. You're more sure of yourself, more
mature and yet you seem younger, more alive. Does that make any
sense?"

Her fingers stroked his forearm, combing
down the dark hairs that glistened against his sun-bronzed skin. "I
was thinking about that the other day. In some areas of my life,
time stood still, while I waited and hoped and dreamed about you."
Marlayna gave him a tremulous smile. "But you're right, I have
revamped not only my appearance but my attitudes and ideas on
various subjects. But I've noticed changes in you, too, Noah."

"Physically, of course, but …"

"No, no, other areas, too."

"Such as?"

Marlayna took a deep breath and propped her
chin up on top of two curled fists. "You've become. . . ummm . . .
less aggressive, almost shy. We've totally reversed our positions.
You used to love parties and groups and showing off. Now, well, now
I get the impression that you could have done without all this
hoopla. You shielded yourself from everybody at both cocktail
parties." A finely arched brow lifted in speculation. "I was
watching you, too, Noah. You didn't talk to more than a handful of
people. You were always hidden behind some potted plant or one of
those bushes hacked into a chess piece."

Noah sat up and pulled the wooden picnic
hamper between them. "I'm getting hungry and thirsty. Shall we see
what Perkins sent us?"

"Are you avoiding my question?"

"I didn't hear one," he returned in a cool
tone.

She pushed the top down on the basket and
held it closed. "Why are you so reclusive? Surely it can't be
because of the accident and needing to use a cane."

"Of course not," came his abrupt retort. He
watched her suck in her cheeks in an expression of doubt and strove
to calm himself. "Look…" Noah ran a hand through his hair, "…when
Arthur's around, he likes to be the beginning and end and
everything in the middle. Remember, I've been working with the man
for two years. I knew better than to try to share the limelight
this weekend. He was playing 'King of the Castle,' 'Lord of the
Island,' 'Man of the Hour.' I may have been the architect who made
it all possible, but on this occasion, I was nothing more than the
hired help."

"That doesn't sound like you either."
Marlayna frowned. "You'd never let anyone steal your thunder. You'd
always…"

"Maybe I've done a little maturing over the
years." Noah flipped the top of the hamper back up and held it open
with his elbow. "Arthur Kingman happens to be my employer. I have
to respect his position."

"But he doesn't have to respect yours?" She
reached into the basket and pulled out a wrapped sandwich.

Noah's chest heaved in annoyance. "Mimi,
it's not a matter of respecting me. It is a matter of getting
recommended for future jobs. Kingman is one powerful man."

"Baloney." When she saw his eyes narrow, she
handed him the sandwich and smiled. "I meant lunch, dear. I told
Perkins that baloney with mustard and catsup was your all-time
favorite."

He ate two sandwiches and drank two bottles
of Canadian lager without saying another word. Marlayna thought of
trying to tease him out of his mood but then decided to wait Noah
out. She attacked her shrimp-filled croissant with hungry zeal and
cautiously sipped at the ale. The slightly bitter beverage proved
to be the perfect drink to quench her thirst during the heat of the
day.

"You know, Mimi, the castle was my very
first independent architectural project." Noah absently massaged
his thigh. "Most of my fee went to paying for my therapy bills. The
rest I put into high-yield stocks and bonds, so I could be
increasing my money while I lived on the island."

For the first time, he ventured to look at
her. He spoke his words with care and hoped that she would
understand his concerns. "I want to open my own office. All the
publicity that Arthur is generating will, I hope, make people
trample their way to my door." He ran a hand around his neck to mop
the perspiration. "There are some people who demand respect but
don't ever give any in return. That sums up Arthur Kingman. He can
be vicious when crossed. I have no doubts that he could easily
decide that all my design work is substandard and publicize the
same. That would ruin me."

"Even though it's false? Surely --"

"People always remember the first and the
worst," Noah pointed out, "never the retraction or the
vindication."

Marlayna handed him the rest of her ale to
finish. "I suppose you might have a point in the case of King
Arthur, everyone always walks on the proverbial eggshells when he's
around." She shivered despite the intensity of the late afternoon
sun. "I'm glad I decided not to renew my contract with him."

"I'm glad of that, too." Noah leaned over
and kissed the tip of her sun-pinked nose. "I don't want Arthur
Kingman anywhere near you."

"I don't think we have to worry." She smiled
and stroked his cheek. "I cleverly let it slip to Claudia Wells
that the contract was up for grabs, and she's been acting like
Arthur's Siamese twin these past few days."

"Oh, so that's who that willowy blonde is."
His eyes widened appreciatively.

She pretended to be annoyed. "And what are
you doing noticing willowy blondes, Mr. Drake?" Her fingers moved
from his shoulder to tug at the waistband of his bathing suit.
"Maybe you need something to keep your mind occupied."

"You just might be right." Noah pulled the
strings that held the top and bottom of her bikini in position. The
four colorful triangles drifted onto the deck. "So…Miss Seduction,
how are you going to keep me occupied?"

Marlayna gently pushed him back down on the
heavy carpeted deck. "Oh…perhaps I'll just see what comes up." Her
fingers walked down his torso, stopping to tease his navel, before
moving to loosen the tie on his bathing suit. "Hmm…there already
seems to be quite an obstruction, and I haven't hardly even touched
you yet."

"Is that a problem?"

"We have no more problems." She moved,
inching the gray and white suit down enough to free his erection.
She kissed the mole on the inside of his thigh. Then her head moved
lower, her tongue circling the tip of his thick member. It coursed
a trail around the tip then down the rigid vein before she took him
fully into her mouth.

"Oh…damn…that is so…" He lost his focus. Her
mouth was warm and wet as she sucked him. Her lips moving
alternately slow then fast. "Take it easy…" she heard him
groan.

Noah pulled her up and onto his chest, his
hands settling on her hips and adjusting her body. His thick, heavy
cock pushed into her tight dampness. Her body vibrated around him,
achy and needy, and so ready for him. She moved up and down,
feeling him grow even larger and harder.