Wise Folly (14 page)

He led her through the apartment door, down the hall, and directly into the master bedroom, holding her by the shoulders as he turned her to face him. His voice was low and firm. "We're married now, Dianna, and there’s no going back.”

She nodded slowly as his words washed over her. He was making her admit just how aware of him she was, and it was
a little
frightening
and a whole bunch of exciting
.

Noah continued.
“There will be no holding back either. If we’re to make a
safe and happy home for Tabby and ourselves with this
marriage
,
we both have to try
"

Again she nodded
, this time with a small smile playing about her mouth
.

“No more secrets, no more skeletons in the closet
. I'll
take care of you and Tabby the best I can, but that’s my price.” His smoky eyes locked with hers, telling her something that remained unsaid—but what?

“I have no secrets,” she stated simply.

“Yes, you do. And so do
I.
But from now on we’ll explore them together. I don’t want a synopsis of your past sins any more than you want one of mine. But in the future, as questions arise, I expect honesty and trust
between us.
Neither of us deserve any less than that.
”

He began unbuttoning her
blouse,
his burning eyes holding her still, his hands never fumbling with the small covered buttons. Her belt was unfastened and the
soft
pale gray
blouse and skirt
slid to the floor. Dianna
took a step back in retreat
but his hands held her as they clasped her waist “No, Dianna. Stay where you are,” he ordered softly.

He unsnapped
the front of
her bra and
slipped it off her shoulders until it
fell to the plush carpeting. Dianna didn’t move—only her panties protected her from his raking gaze.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, and for some reason she was proud. He slipped the panties down and she
stepped out of them gracefully. She
hesitat
ed for only a second
before moving to unbutton his shirt,
deliberately
caressing his skin lightly with her fingertips, then reaching for his belt buckle, undressing him as he had undressed her.

The intensity of his gray
-
eyed gaze never left her face.
  She looked up and smiled; slow and sweet and his gaze heated to smoldering.

They had been on a hectic schedule, but suddenly, t
here was no rush, no hurry. They had all the time in the world
.
They smiled unspoken
words and
the
sweet
tension mounted, drawing them together. Soon they were both naked in the bright room and neither showed the slightest tremor of embarrassment as they gazed at each other.

He drew her slowly into his arms so flesh could brush flesh. “Frightened?” he asked softly as he held her
close, letting her feels
his need for her.

“No,” she whispered, a tremor in her voice.

“Not even a little?” His breath teased her ear as
warm
hands roamed her back and hips
slowly
, molding her closely to the contours of his lean body
and
allowing her to become familiar with the intimate differences between male and female.

“
Maybe a
little,” she admitted
with a soft laugh.

H
e bent his head so hi
s
lips
could surround, then
tease a taut dusky pink nipple,
while hands
knowingly
search
ed
and found her
other pleasure points. She gasped at the feeling of warm molten lead
flowing through her veins
. The warmth flowed through her veins
and her heartbeat
quickened until
heat
permeated her body,
overwhelming
every thought she might have had to stop him. Instead, she
held tight to his shoulders as his tongue made a path down her ribs to her flat stomach.
She craved more...much more. She wanted him in the worst way but didn't know how to tell him. The torture was tearing her apart.

“Noah
,
” she
said, her voice a low echo of her thoughts

He
raised
shining
gray-
black eyes
and slowly,
reluctantly straighten
ed
with a sigh. A small rueful smile played over his mouth.
“I keep forgetting
how
much you're gone through to get to this point,
darling. I'll
bide my time
until you're ready
, Dianna
.

"Don't stop now," she said, her voice a whisper.

But he misunderstood. "
We have all the time in the world
. We're
married
and there's no one knocking on the door
.”

She gave a husky laugh.  "Not tonight."

He
kissed her
again
, slowly, with drugging passion, his hands sliding over her soft skin at will to send flames of desire through her body. It was wonderful, this feeling of be
ing treasured
that winged through her veins and
heated and cooled her blood
at the same time. Muscles contracted and expanded with the wonder of his knowing touch; her head was dizzy with his
kisses. She felt
her
climax building deep inside her, like a fire in her pelvis
that licked and reached every part of her.

A low moan escaped her. Su
ddenly, h
er own hands weren’t idle
. They moved
over his body with the instinctive sense of the blind
, finding parts she hadn't touched before, hadn't tasted before,
and hadn't
smelled the sensual scent of him before.
She closed her eyes to the brightness of the light
, o
nly feeling
strength and wonder at
touching
the
man who was
panting with want,
barely
restraining himself from being with her
.

“Open your eyes, Dianna.
Look at me.
”

She shook her head
at
his request. This might all disappear if she looked too hard. She couldn't handle that. Not yet.

“Open them. I want
you to see me
,” he ordered softly, and she
reluctantly
obeyed.
H
is
gray
eyes probed into her as if they were hot pokers. She blinked, her skin still tingling from his touch, her brain numbed by his nakedness.

“Do you love me? Is that why you agreed to marry me?”

She was all emotion and no thought.
Her eyes were blank—the question had not registered.

Noah's voice was
soft,
patient.
“Answer me, Dianna. Do you love me?”

“Yes
.”
She closed her eyes and pulled his mouth toward hers, catching only a glimpse of his smile.

The kiss was
too short. Noah pulled away,
picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying her gently
in the center
then joining her, his front against her side, his hand stroking across her flat belly, barely dipping down to touch between her legs. Her breath caught in her throat, her body anticipating the next move, his finger touching...her...where she needed, craved him
to be
.

The phone on the nightstand jangled and Dianna reached for it without a second thought trying to hush it quickly so the spell they had woven would not be broken.

“Hello.”

There was a moment of silence before a voice laced with tears answered vindictively, “Well, well, well. Mrs. Goody Two-Shoes is in residence already. Put your husband on the line, sweetie—his well-paid mistress needs a word with him.”

A bucket of ice couldn't have done better.  Th
e spell had been broken, bringing reality back with a crashing bang. Dianna held the receiver toward Noah, who sat beside her, puzzlement written on his face.

“It’s Catherine Sinclair. She wants to talk to you,” Dianna said
,
feeling as if she'd been
thrown into
an ice cold tub of water. Her body still tingl
ed
from his touch but her mind was frozen in reaction to the phone call. She
retreat
ed
into a shell made long ago
and was home to her
emotions
again
. Withdraw and retreat—that was her only possible course of action. She
had
been so stupid. She
should have known better. . .

Noah sat on the edge of the bed and switched on the small reading lamp, his eyes
registering her changes in attitude and body language. He reached over and stroked her leg.
His face took on a shuttered look as he accepted
the cordless
r
eceiver from her outstretched hand Dianna fell back on the pillows to cover her eyes with trembling fingers while he answered “Noah Weston here.”

Catherine seemed to do most of the talking, eliciting only terse monosyllables from the angry man on the bed.

“When?” A pause. “Where?” Another pause. “Dammit, Kitty! I—all right I’ll be right there. Yes, yes. I’ll have Philip meet us there
. Which police station?
” he said resignedly. “Meanwhile, don’t panic, and keep your mouth shut”

Dianna heard the click as the receiver was placed back on
side table
, along with a heavy sigh
. “Di.” He hadn’t yet
jumped up
to get dressed as she had expected.

“Go Noah. Your well-paid mistress needs you far more than I do.” Her voice was level, laced with contempt

He
sighed heavily. “Listen, Dianna
,
”

There was nothing to listen to
.
Catherine had said it all.
"
Li
sten to what? An excuse for going to your mistress on our wedding night? Or should I listen to promises about making this farce of a marriage work
as soon as you take care of the most important woman in your life
?” Her voice rose, becoming louder with every word
.
She wanted to lash out at him, hurt him as Catherine’s
voice
had stabbed her. Her laugh was short and sharp. “At least this way you won’t need servicing like some prize stud, and I won’t feel obligated to fulfill your needs. You’ll still have Catherine. God knows she’s probably experienced enough to perform whatever
y
ou have a craving f
or
!”

“So,” he said softly
, steel underlining every word.
“
T
he tiger replaces the purring kitten a
gain. I wondered how long the sweet innocent
-wife routine would last
.
”

She took his hand off her
leg. "I
was just trying to make the best of a bad situation for Tabby’s sake.”

“Then, for Tabby’s sake, you had better continue,” he said harshly as he stood and grabbed his clothing. He wasn’t the least embarrassed by his nudity as he dressed in front of her.

Her gaze glued to him.
She couldn’t help noticing how firm the muscles of his thighs, how well
built .
.
. and
how furious his anger was.

He turned and for a split second held her eyes with his. “She’s in jail, Dianna. Jail! She was at a party that was busted by the police.” He buttoned his shirt with quick fingers and ran a hand through already mussed hair. Somehow he looked younger, more vulnerable.

“Jail?” Dianna repeated stupidly.

“Yes, dammit! Jail!”

“Why was the party busted?”

His belt was buckled and he reached for his socks. “Drugs, illegal gambling—you name it,” he answered exasperatedly as he reached for
his cell phone and punched the number he wanted
.
“She’s just a mixed- up kid
who doesn't seem to have an ounce of sense. And I've got one hell of an investment in her. I don't want to have that blow up. Her new album is great and should reach the top of the charts and one song has the ability to be a legend in the business. That alone could send Tabby to the best University in the country.
I've got to do whatever I can to... Hello, Philip?” His voice changed completely to that of a man in charge. Gone was the
new
husband, the
giving
lover.
In his place was the executive in charge of the world.
Was
the Noah she saw earlier nothing but an
act? Was
this
the real Noah Weston?