Lady Be Bad (19 page)

His hand cupped a full breast, bringing it
closer to his lips. His tongue swirled around the pink areola,
moving to trace the alert nipple before his lips began to tease the
urgent tip. He mouth closed around the taut peek to suck, tease and
nibble. He felt her immediate response.

She wasn't sure she could take any more. He
had sent her into orgasmic overload. Her body clenched around his
cock, spasms shivered through her in electric jolts. His hands
gripped her buttocks and push her down. His hips grinding upward
has his body jerked its release.

Noah held her tight. "Damn…I'm not sure I
can handle any more of your seducing."

"Tough."

"Ohhh . . . that feels wonderful. What is
it?"

"Perkins's homemade sunburn remedy. Smells
like a sandwich spread." Noah held the jar under her nose so she
could sniff the contents.

"Then it's the perfect thing to spread on my
burned buns." Marlayna flashed him an impertinent grin. "I didn't
think I was going to make it sitting through dinner. Doesn't Arthur
ever serve hot dogs and hamburgers so people can stand around the
barbecue?" His hands slipped and slid, coating her velvety buttocks
with the thick lotion. "Stop laughing," she grumbled. "This was all
your fault. You said your bionic knees couldn't take the hard
surface of the boat deck. So I made the supreme sacrifice of baring
my delicate parts to the sun — and do I get any thanks?"

"As I recall, you screeched your thanks so
loudly that you disturbed a flock of snow geese."

Marlayna turned her head and stuck out her
tongue. She cradled her head on her folded arms, sighing gratefully
while he continued applying the cream. "I never appreciated a crowd
so much as I did tonight. Talk about getting a cold shoulder!
Arthur and Gwen were barely civil to me. You, I noticed, were not
on the receiving end of the icy stares and curt conversations."

"That's because you were being so naughty!
I'm positive Gwen saw you kissing me when the elevator door
opened."

"I kissed you at every floor hoping that
someone would see me." She rolled on her right side and smiled at
him. "That's why I decided to not so subtly sneak into your room
tonight. That Italian dress designer wagged his finger at me and
winked."

Noah towel dried his greasy hands. "I could
have used the passageway to your room. Wouldn't it be more tact
--"

"Don't you dare say that word!" Marlayna
warned. "Tact and diplomacy will only keep us apart another six
years. Besides, I think Gwen is leaning on that golfer a little bit
more each day, and Arthur can't seem to stand up without Claudia
propped under his arm." A Cheshire cat grin formed "I'd say my plan
is working wonderfully."

"I don't like these people, Noah."
Marlayna's hands curled over the edge of the wooden dock, her feet
kicking into the dark green water that roughly assaulted the
moorings. "Only two more days until this week ends. I can't
wait."

"You've said that at least twenty times
since we left the castle." He swatted his neck, rejoicing in the
death of yet another pesky mosquito, and wiped his hand on his
khaki shorts.

Noah looked from the blue pontoon boat that
was jouncing in the rising river over his shoulder at the gloomy,
heavily forested landscape. "I don't know why you wanted to picnic
at this end of the island. It's like a damn jungle, steamy and
insect ridden. We should have stayed put today."

"So you keep saying." Her voice reflected a
change in her mood. "What's the matter with you, anyway? You've
been acting ...I don't know…" her shoulders twitched, "…itchy for
the past few days."

Noah stared at her for a long moment.
"Nothing. Everything." He took a deep breath. "Maybe it's the damn
weather." He looked at the black-bellied clouds that were battling
for control of the azure sky. The elements were bent on
confrontation, and that seemed to echo everyone's mood. "A storm's
been threatening since Wednesday."

Marlayna rolled her eyes. "And not only from
Mother Nature! Arthur and Gwen have been raging at me by word or
deed since Monday night."

"Your outrageous hijinks are probably
getting on their nerves." He downed the last mouthful of cold beer
and put the empty bottle in the picnic hamper and extracted another
full one.

"Nothing's been that outrageous," she
protested and then gave him a sly smile. "You haven't complained.
So they caught us in the swimming pool at midnight without our
bathing suits. Or was it us who caught Arthur and Claudia trying to
do the same thing!

"And what's a little dancing in the hallways
at three in the morning? My negligee was perfectly respectable."
Marlayna wagged her finger at him. "Besides, what was Gwen doing up
at that hour with the golf pro? I'll bet he wanted to play more
than golf."

"Don't be crude," Noah cautioned. "Gwen's a
nice kid."

"I didn't say she wasn't!" Marlayna
struggled to keep the defensive tone out of her voice. "She and
Randy seem to be progressing into a wonderful relationship. Didn't
you notice how protective he was of her?"

"Some women inspire that in a man."

Marlayna opened her mouth, then closed it,
deciding to let his obscure comment go unchallenged. "What's Arthur
been saying to you?"

"Not much. He's pretty annoyed and was very
curt with me during the
People M
agazine
interview
yesterday. He asked if I had any rough sketches for your house. I
told him that you still hadn't been able to make up your mind, that
you were still getting the feel of the environment."

She popped a green seedless grape in her
mouth, enjoying the instant squirt of refreshment that the slightly
tart juice provided. "Oh, but I do have an idea, if you want to
sketch." At his silent query she explained. "I did this photo
layout in California and fell in love with a stilted beach house I
saw in Malibu. It was really lovely, Noah. There was a panoramic
view of the ocean through a wall of windows. It had four bedrooms,
den, kitchen-family room, living and dining room. I'll defer to
your judgment, of course, but I think it would be the perfect
choice for my beach property."

He choked and sputtered when the beer hit
the back of his throat the wrong way. "You. You…" he coughed and
cleared his throat, "you mean you really do own property on Oyster
Bay?"

She nodded. "I also have a condo in the
Bahamas, which I rent, and land in Hawaii." A grape was halted
about an inch from her mouth. "That's on the ocean, too. Mmmm. .
.oh, and Paul just closed a deal on land in Arizona." Marlayna gave
him a happy smile. "You could just keep busy designing homes for
us!"

In an oddly high voice, he asked, "Do you
own any other real estate?"

"I have other property, but nothing that you
could build on." She blithely rattled on, "tax shelters, offshore
oil leases, gas drillings, low income housing partnerships and,
something called, equipment leasing investments. Every so often my
business manager --"

"Business manager!" Noah echoed.

"Uh huh . . . well, he likes to experiment.
This year he decided to try a cable TV franchise. It proved to be
an excellent investment. I've donated a lot to charities, too, and
set up a scholarship program for students who want to be lab
technicians."

He mumbled something that she didn't quite
catch, and when she inquired he just waved a hand at her. His
thoughts were a chaotic jumble, a myriad of questions. Noah held
his breath and asked the one that was most overwhelming. "Mimi,
exactly how much are you worth?"

Her feet fluttered in the water. There was
an underlying tension in his voice that puzzled her. She decided to
be vague. "It...it changes."

"I don't think the IRS would appreciate that
type of answer on your tax return," came his sarcastic rejoinder.
"How much was your Kingman contract?"

"A million."

"And you did other things?"

Marlayna nodded. "But not everyone paid that
much. Paul charges about fifteen hundred an hour for me, although I
did get ten thousand for a pantyhose print ad." She lifted her feet
out of the water and wiggled ten primrose-lacquered toes. "Two
weeks ago, I did some fur coat ads and before that..."

Her voice droned on and on, but he had
stopped listening. His eyes became riveted on legs that were
displayed to best advantage by brief white shorts. He examined
every facet of their appearance. Her feet were narrow and smooth,
not a callus or blister or ridge in sight; her ankles were trim and
graceful; legs long from ankle to knee and from knee to hip. Long.
Slender. Curved. Sleek. Silky smooth skin tanned to a satiny
bisque.

Noah scrutinized his own legs. They looked
short and stubby next to hers. His four extra inches in height came
from his torso rather than his legs. His legs. What God-awful
sights they were. Red scars snaked his shin and calves, checker
boarded his knees and slalomed his thigh. Angry scars that never
seemed to fade or even to be concealed by the dark hair that had
grown back.

"It appears that we both possess
million-dollar bodies," he interjected in a strained voice. "I
bought mine, while other people pay you for yours."

Marlayna gave a philosophical shrug. "This
year they pay. Who knows about next year? Modeling is much like
fashion. What's in now is out in a blink of the camera's eye. My
name is at the top of everyone's list, but it can quickly be
replaced and forgotten. Paul has been negotiating a lucrative
'switch' contract with one of Arthur's competitors." She patted her
cheek. "So it looks like the 'Face of the Century' will be around
for another season."

"You're going to continue with your
work?"

Again she was aware of the rawness in his
tone and deliberately made her own voice soft and gentle. "Well,
Noah, I do have quite a few bookings on my schedule and there are a
few contracts pending."

He wiped the condensation off the glass beer
bottle. "But after that you're free."

"Technically. I do have this new cosmetic
campaign."

"But that contract hasn't been signed."

"Not yet."

Brown eyes locked into her blue gray ones.
"I'm hearing more yes than no." When she nodded, he continued, "how
strange, somehow I got the impression that modeling didn't mean
anything to you. That you laughed and smiled and posed on cue."

"Maybe I just didn't explain myself too
clearly."

"Then please enlighten me."

She ran her fingers through her hair,
lifting the damp curls that molded her nape. "I...I guess I just
didn't realize how it had turned from a job into a career
.
"
She hesitated a moment before adding, "Modeling is not my life,
Noah, but I do have obligations, very lucrative obligations that
will give us financial freedom for the future. Right now I'm at the
top and I do feel I should take advantage of it."

"You're on top and I'm on the bottom."

She frowned. "That's an odd thing to
say."

Noah flicked another flying insect from the
sleeve of his brown polo shirt. "Odd but true."

Marlayna's own anxieties began to increase.
She decided to joke Noah out of his mood. "My position on top is a
very precarious one, while you've cemented yourself a very
impressive foundation. The kudos that are coming your way from your
work on the castle will send you to the top, too. Offers will be
pouring in from around the country, around the world." She squeezed
his knee. "I bet you won't be in your New York office more than two
days a week."

"New York office?" One dark brow lifted
quizzically. "I'm based in Atlanta."

"Well, two days in one office, two days in
another." Her smile was bright, her tone breezy. "Thank goodness
for jets. At least you'll be home every night."

"And I assume
home
will be in your
duplex or on
your
property in Long Island."

"Since when did we ever mark things: yours
and mine? We always threw our work efforts into a shared pot marked
ours."

A muscle twitched in his cheek. "I don't
have anything to contribute to us." Noah stared at his legs. "I
don't have much to contribute to myself, let alone someone
else."

His eyes returned to her, he watched her
smile fade. "Let's face it, Mimi. You've got it all. Everything.
What you don't have you can buy. What use am I to you?"

She pulled her feet up, rested her cheek on
her knees and tried to stay calm and logical. "All right, Noah,
let's get everything out in the open. Tell me what's bothering
you." Marlayna viewed his chiseled profile, taking note of the
pinched nostrils and thin line of his lips. "Why are you talking
such nonsense and acting so different?"

"Different?" A hollow laugh reverberated
deep in his chest. "I'm not the one who's different."

"And I am?"

"You said it, lady. Everything about you,
from your hair to your painted toes and in between, is different."
His hand made wild, vague gestures that sliced the air. "Your
manners, your attitude, your actions, even the way you talk. I've
grown more and more aware of it every day." Noah's dark head
nodded. "You've changed, Mimi. You're complex and complicated. You
keep denying it, but it's the truth."

Her hands clenched, the knuckles showing
white. "The only thing that's changed, Noah, is the way you see me.
Or maybe it's the way you see yourself."

"What the hell does that mean?" His words
were forcefully expelled.

She fought for strength and control. "Your
little comment about being on the bottom."

"I am. I've had to start all over again, not
only with a career but learning how to live." His teeth clamped
down on his lower lip, his eyes empty as they stared but didn't
really see her. "I'm just realizing just how far you've gone
without me. You're strong, competent, capable and talented. I was a
fool to think we could pick up where we left off. The only thing
that has remained the same is our sex life."