A Grand Illusion

by Maura McGiveny

  She stood where she was, stunned, not daring to move. 'But—all this time—all those other women—the dinner reservations you had me make—the roses!' She dragged her hands across her eyes and shivered.

  'It was a ruse.' His mouth twisted. 'They were clients, that's all. I looked at them, but all I could see was my gorgeous wife. If I couldn't have you, I didn't want them.'

  Jenna bit her lip, wanting to believe him—and yet… 'Meg?' she had to ask.

  He sighed. 'I've been seeing Meg—with her husband—trying to smooth things out between them. From different comments she made, I found out about your promise to your mother. I only wanted to help you share that burden. I thought I had a right, as your husband.'

  'I only made it look like something else to try to get some kind of reaction out of you. My God, I thought you didn't care. You were always so cool, so efficient, so damned polite! How was I supposed to know you weren't saving it all for Peter?'

  'There's never been anyone but you, Royce. Never anyone.' She was shaking all over and her shattered voice was barely audible as she took a tentative step toward him. 'That's why I was so upset the morning after we were married. I thought you knew—that you'd realised I never— And you despised me for lying to you about Robbie.' Embarrassed, she started to turn away, but he caught her to him and pressed her head against his shoulder, holding her close for a long shuddering moment.

  'There are so many misunderstandings,' he murmured into her hair. 'How can we even begin to correct them?' One hand came under her chin, tipping up her flaming face so he could read every inch of her enormous eyes, her full and tremulous lips, her skin flushed with fire. He started to tremble and a sound of urgency escaped him. She could feel him stirring against her. 'I love you, Jenna. I don't deserve a wife like you, but if you'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.'

  The floor rocked beneath her feet and a tiny gasp caught in her throat. She wasn't able to control the radiance welling up and through her. 'Oh, Royce, all I've ever wanted was to be yours.' But all at once her face changed as a horrifying thought struck her. 'What if—what if I can't— satisfy you?'

  His arms came right around her, bringing her closer against his quivering body, holding her firmly yet gently as if she was made of some fragile substance before burying his face in her hair, murmuring incoherently.

  When she looked up at him, his mouth burned over her face, drawing an instinctive response from her that left him dazed. 'Don't ever worry about satisfying me. You're more than I've ever hoped for.' He shuddered against her and she could feel the tremendous control he was exerting on himself to keep his desire in check.

  'Royce?' she whispered softly, full of invitation, her heart thumping like a wild thing in her breast.

  His breath stopped and he looked straight into her brilliantly flushed face. 'Now? What about Peter and Lydia downstairs?'

  'Oh.' She was crestfallen. 'Do you think they're waiting for us?'

  He grinned then and his whole face altered as he helplessly pressed passionate kisses on the warm length of her throat. 'Maybe not. They probably want to be alone as much as we do.' He glanced at his watch. 'And the others won't be home for an hour yet.' Love and desire leapt to his eyes and her face flamed when she realised he was only mirroring her own reaction.

  'You look just like Adam and Zachary when they're up to something,' she chided, trying to hang on to her scattering dignity.

  Royce threw his head back and laughed, his hands seeking the long zipper that ran down her back, causing all sorts of sensations screaming along her nerve ends. 'You can't imagine all the things I've been up to—and now I find I needn't have bothered!'

  She frowned, bringing her arms up to wedge a space between his body and hers. 'Like what?'

  'You know that job Peter's so thrilled about?'

  'You?'

  He laughed and the sound was rueful. 'I had to do something to keep him in Mexico. I didn't want him back here, taking you away from me.'

  'But he couldn't have,' she said softly, her face deepening with bewitching colour.

  'I thought he'd try. I pulled a lot of strings to keep him out of the way. So what does he do the minute he's promoted? He comes high-tailing it back here to tell us all about it.' His shoulders shook with a wry laugh.

  'He doesn't know you arranged it?'

  'He thinks Lydia's at the bottom of it, and from the looks of them tonight, it suits her fine.'

  'He's in love with her, you know. I heard him say he was going to ask his wife for a divorce.'

  He sighed and just for a moment a resigned frown crossed his face. 'Maybe Melanie will be better off without him. She wanted children and a husband with a nine-to-five job. But Peter never wanted to be tied down that way. They've argued about it ever since I can remember.'

  'Then you're not going to tell him about Robbie?'

  'He's our son, my love. He belongs here with us. We love him and want him in a way Peter and Melanie never could. No one but my mother and your sister will ever know differently.'

  'Our eldest son,' Jenna smiled rosily, the blood singing in her veins. Her fingers tugged at his tie and her smile widened when the silky knot came undone. It went sailing on to a chair along with his jacket. Her heart banged uncomfortably against her ribs when she daringly undid the buttons on his shirt, tossing it lightly to join the rest of the small pile.

  Her hands ran in a feather-soft caress over the clenching muscles of his chest toward his stomach. When they touched the buckle of his belt, she lost her nerve and simply stood there, shaking, wild heat running over her body, her breathing shallow and jerky, her eyes unable to lift to his.

  'Don't stop now,' Royce murmured, his voice oddly thick. 'This is just getting interesting.'

  'But I—I—' She tried to gather her composure but failed miserably. What if she failed him now? When it came right down to it, she didn't know what to do.

  'Jenna?' he said softly, unsteadily, pulling her shaking hands up against his chest where his heart thundered. 'I love you.'

  Then his mouth twisted sensually as he slowly lowered it to hers and she forgot all her fears and let her instinct guide her along the path of love.

  She needn't have worried. She was, after all, a paragon.