“Oh. Sorry. I thought you were having a problem. Hey, you’re getting your book all wet. Want me to move it?”
“Yes. Fine. Take it in the other room. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Okay.”
She held her breath, watching his outline against the curtain as he bent beside the tub and removed her book. Her heart pounded, but it wasn’t fear she was feeling. It was anticipation.
Absurd. The moment she heard the door click shut, Sydney finished washing and released the drain. Only then did she discover the difficulty standing one-handed presented. The tub was slick with the fragrant oil and her muscles were a little too relaxed. For one horrible minute she thought she might have to call Noah back inside to help her out of the tub.
She managed to stand without falling, but she got the upper part of her cast wet in the process.
“Blast!”
“You okay in there?” Noah called.
“Perfect.”
“Do you need some help getting out?”
“Not anymore.”
She stepped onto the bathmat and toweled herself briskly as best she could. Despite the steam that coated the mirrors, the air conditioner was sending goose bumps up and down her body. She struggled into the slippery turquoise gown, noting that her breasts were not only more sensitive, but seemed larger. Was she gaining weight, or was this part of the pregnancy changes? She ran her hand over her belly, looking for signs that she was filling out there too. She needed to get those books on pregnancy that the doctor had recommended so she’d know what was normal and what wasn’t.
For the first time, she accepted the wonder of this miracle. A new life was growing inside of her. A child to nurture and love. The heady sensation was incredibly exciting. Almost euphoric. She’d wanted this for so long. As she wiped uselessly at the mirror and combed her hair and brushed her teeth, she let the excitement fill her with pleasure. A girl or boy. She didn’t care. Just please let the child be healthy.
Draping the bath towel around her shoulder in lieu of a robe, Sydney finally opened the bathroom door.
Noah lay propped on two pillows on the bed near the door, her romance novel firmly in hand. He looked up when she entered, maintaining his page. His gaze swept her with warm approval and an almost sensual heat. He’d unbuttoned his shirt and looked altogether too much like a romance hero for her peace of mind.
“Feel better?” he asked gently.
Her imagination was running away with her. There was nothing provocative in that question.
“Much.”
She told herself to cross the short distance separating them and climb into the other bed, but her gaze remained fixed on Noah.
“Interesting book,” he drawled.
She decided it was her highly charged mood that gave his smile a seductive quality. He wasn’t coming on to her—even if his gaze was running over her like warm honey.
“I’ve never read one of these before.”
She had to clear her throat. “Most men haven’t.”
“They ought to pick one up sometime. They don’t know what they’re missing.”
Now that had been suggestive.
“I suppose you think they’re nothing but women’s erotica.”
Noah raised his eyebrows at her defensive tone. “On the contrary. I like the way the author uses humor. The sensuality is threaded through the action quite nicely. Even though the plot is a bit of a stretch.”
“It is, huh?”
“Sure. A man would never kidnap a woman like this.”
His words surprised her, but they released her from her self-imposed reluctance to come closer. She walked between the two beds and sat down facing him. An open cola stood on the nightstand beside a glass filled with ice.
“How would he kidnap her?”
“He wouldn’t. If he desired her the way the author suggests, he’d simply kiss her until she either slapped him silly or invited him into her bed.”
He set the book down beside him, spine up to mark his page.
“I see. And does that generally work for you he-men types?”
Despite her best intention, something inside her responded to his slow, deadly smile. Once again his gaze ran over her body like a warm caress. Her nipples tightened in immediate response and a vibrating tingle began low in her belly.
“Nothing always works, but we he-men type tend to be pretty primitive. Surround us with erotic art—” his eyes flicked in amusement toward the watercolor reproduction of a seascape that hung over the bed. “And add an extremely sexy, desirable woman who smells like an exotic flower.” He sat up and slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed, never taking his gaze from her. “How can a woman hold a man completely responsible for his behavior?”
Their knees were practically touching. His eyes locked with hers as heat licked her insides. Her nipples were almost painfully hard.
“So how would you behave?”
His open shirt drew her gaze to the exposed area of his chest. She gripped the comforter to keep from reaching out to explore that chest.
Noah stood abruptly. In front of her eyes was the proof of how dangerous this word game had become. Noah was not unmoved by the exchange. She fisted her hand more tightly on the comforter to keep it from bridging the distance between them. Would it be so wrong to give in to this consuming need she had to taste him, touch him… make love with him?
Noah came and sat down beside her without warning. The brush of his body against her froze her to the spot. She was afraid to move and afraid not to move.
“Sydney, we need to talk.”
“I…thought that was what we were doing.”
“No, I mean really talk. Are you cold?”
“N-no.”
“You’re shivering.”
“The air conditioner is a little cool,” she lied.
Noah smiled, seeing the lie for what it was. He rested his hand on her shoulder. “I could turn up the heat.”
Her eyes smiled first and then her mouth. The slow smile of longing nearly melted his resolve.
“If it gets any hotter,” he told her, “we’re both going to sizzle.”
“Sounds…promising.”
A look of pure desire nearly loosened his control. “It does, doesn’t it? But we have to talk.”
“And that sounds serious.”
Slowly, as if it were a vital piece of clothing and she were performing a sensual striptease for his benefit, she drew the damp towel from around her shoulders. Her expression said she knew exactly what she was doing. Her gaze dropped to his crotch where she couldn’t fail to see what she was doing.
“Sydney?” He was fighting the strong urge to run his finger over the expanse of skin she’d just exposed to see if it felt as silken as it looked. The promise of that look was almost his undoing.
She lifted her chin and met his eyes. Determination, hesitation and a wild fierce desire all came together in her expression. His insides knotted in reaction.
“Are you trying to seduce me?”
“Yes, but I’m not doing it right, am I?” She bit at her lower lip nervously. “I’m a little new at this…so I could use some help here.”
He wanted to chuckle. Sydney was always doing or saying the unexpected. “Trust me, you’re doing just fine.”
“But?”
“Does it look like I have any buts?”
“Well, actually, now that you mention it, I have noticed that you have a very nice butt, Major.”
Noah did laugh then, but quickly shook his head. “Sydney…”
She sighed. “You aren’t going to cooperate, are you?”
“It’s just that we need to talk about the baby.”
Her face lifted to his, startled. “Oh. Does my pregnancy turn you off? I’m sorry. I thought since I’m barely showing yet—it has made my breasts larger—more sensitive—but—”
He groaned and closed his eyes, whipping them open when she laid her hand on his arm. The sheer power of her touch left
him defenseless. “Sydney—”
“I know I’m not very experienced. I’ve never been very interested in sex so I’m probably going about this all wrong.”
Her fears would have been laughable if she hadn’t been so insecure. Noah knew it was a mistake, but he couldn’t stand the uncertainty on her face.
“C’mere.” He pulled her forward, letting the tops of her breasts graze his arm. Her heart was beating much too fast. He could see the pulse point jumping in her neck. His own heart rate was none too steady either. He needed to terminate this erotic tease before it was too late.
“Are you going to kiss me again?” she breathed against his jaw.
His hand reached for her hair before he could stop himself. He threaded his fingers through the soft fall and found himself unconsciously drawing her face up to his.
“We need to talk.”
“Please. Can’t it wait?” And she pulled his head down the rest of the way.
It was almost a relief when his lips lightly kissed hers. She’d very nearly lost her nerve completely. Now a spark of sheer lust licked through her, setting her blood on fire. Very gently, he parted his lips and sucked at the sensitive skin of her neck.
Like an extended bowstring, she arched in his arms. He moved on, alternating butterfly kisses with tender nips and tiny kisses against the highly sensitized skin.
Need became a flash flame of desire. She twisted to face him, nearly smacking him in the face with her cast in her haste to capture his mouth. Their lips fused. All thoughts of stopping fled.
Her hand sought his chest, playing lightly over the hair as she ran her hand back and forth. She couldn’t get enough of his mouth. When his hand skimmed the tops of her breasts, she arched to allow him better access. But Noah suddenly stopped.
“Are you sure, Sydney? I need to know now if this is what you want.”
Sydney stared at him, quivering all over. How could he question her need?
“I want. Please don’t stop.”
He made a noise low in his throat and drew her mouth back to his. Her senses heightened as never before. Their tongues tangled in a mating ritual she’d read about but never experienced. Not like this.
Never like this.
When he stopped again, she moaned in protest until she realized he was simply trying to lower the bodice of her gown, to give himself access to more than just the tops of her breasts. He drew a nipple inside the heat of his mouth and her world spun wildly out of control.
The orgasm hit her with stunning force, shocking her with the pleasure pain of fulfillment. His eyes glowed with wild excitement as he watched her tumbling over the edge of pleasure. She should be embarrassed. She was embarrassed. But Noah didn’t give her a chance to pull away.
“You’re beautiful, Sydney.”
He kissed her, gently, more tenderly than anyone had ever kissed her before. The overload of sensation brought tears to her eyes and he kissed them away as well. Fisting his hands in her hair, he kissed her over and over again, finally running one hand down and across her body, sliding the fabric of her gown provocatively against her skin.
As incredible as it seemed, she realized that far from being over, the sensations were building all over again. Noah trailed his hand lower, slipping it beneath the fabric of her gown to stroke her inner thigh. His touch moved higher. Lightly, his hand skimmed across that hair, bringing ripples of delightful expectancy.
“Take off your shirt,” she begged.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he teased.
Noah slipped out his shirt, then tugged the straps of her gown down her arms, baring both her breasts. His eyes grew hot as he stared at her, driving her deeper and deeper into the maelstrom of wanting. With erotic deliberation, he lowered himself over her, rubbing his chest lightly against her exposed nipples.
Reaction, hot and instantaneous, stabbed her guts. She pulled him down, planting wild kisses along his collarbone, and wishing for two good hands to run across the planes of his chest. Instead her hand stroked the bulge behind his pants.
“Take off your pants. I can’t do it with only one hand.”
His eyes twinkled with humor. “I knew you were the type who liked to give orders.”
He unsnapped his pants and lowered the zipper. The sound was erotically loud. She waited impatiently while he undressed. His size unnerved her, but he didn’t give her time to worry. While she tentatively stroked him, Noah bent to kiss her inner thigh. Her breath caught as he alternated soft kisses, with openmouthed light sucking that left her writhing in desire.
His hand skimmed the apex of her thighs lightly, making her crave a more intimate touch. Noah smiled, one of those incredibly hot smiles. Slowly, he cupped her there and she gripped him tightly. While her breath trapped in her throat, he eased one finger inside of her.
“Noah!”
“Is it okay? Do you like me touching you like this?”
“Yes.” The agreement was drawn from her on a gasp of pleasure as he inserted a second finger. The feeling was incredible.
“It’s been a long time for you, hasn’t it?”
“Yes.” Longer than he knew. And it had never been anything like this.
He withdrew his hand and she would have cried out in protest, but his mouth fused with hers and he lowered himself over her. As he probed for entrance, she welcomed him greedily, clenching around him as he penetrated her. She was rewarded by a masculine groan of pleasure.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered.
She obeyed, and he slid more deeply inside. Her breasts rubbed against his wiry chest hair while her body filled with the scent and feel of him. They kissed deeply, letting the feverish rhythm take them to that incredible brink.
Noah stiffened. She found herself joining him in a new plunge over the edge of pleasure.
For long glorious minutes afterward, they lay there. She didn’t want him to ever move, but eventually he eased away and rolled to one side. Only then did other sights and sounds penetrate her sensual haze. She became aware of the noisy air conditioner beside the other bed, and the chill air quickly cooled their sweat-slicked skin.
“Roll over a minute so I can pull the covers down,” he said.
While it had been her intention to never move again, she did and was happy when he slid beneath the covers beside her. He tugged her body against the length of his and settled comfortably. She should probably be filled with all sorts of recriminations, but all she felt was satisfied.
“If that’s what you he-men do in a room filled with erotic art,” she said quietly, “I wonder how you’d handle a room filled with erotic statuary.”
Noah’s chuckle became a full-throated laugh. The rich sound soothed her almost as much as the hand that snugged her closer still.
“You’re something else, Sydney.”
“Uh-huh.” She yawned hugely. “I never knew it could be like that.”
His hand stroked her arm. “Me either.”
The two words brought an even greater wash of contentment. Sydney closed her eyes. In seconds, she was asleep.
Noah lay beside her and tried to sort through a mix of emotions. This was going to complicate everything. He hadn’t meant to take her to bed. He’d only kept up the sexual teasing to take the edge off her discomfort with the situation when she first came out of the bathroom.
He should have known better—and maybe he had. He’d wanted Sydney almost right from the start. He just hadn’t planned to take her.
His brother had a lot to answer for—not the least of which was making Sydney doubt her femininity. Her un-tutored responses had all but driven him out of his mind.
He wasn’t sorry for what they’d just done, but he had a feeling she would be, once she had time to think things over. He would have to move quickly. He wondered how long the waiting period was for a marriage license in the state of Maryland. It didn’t matter that he’d never wanted any hostages to fortune. He had them now. Sydney and her baby belonged to him.
&
nbsp; His commanding officer was going to be surprised. And probably none too pleased. He still had six months before his tour of duty was up. Thankfully, he’d be eligible for early retirement, and all that money he’d set aside and invested over the years was going to come in handy. He wondered if Sydney would be willing to live in Fools Point. And then he wondered what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
Funny. He’d never thought about life outside of the Rangers. In fact, he hadn’t held a civilian job since he was seventeen. He hoped he could adapt. He’d have to. There was no way he was going to try and have a family and a military career. He’d heard enough officers’ wives complain. It was simply too hard on the family.
With a yawn, he reached for the light switch, trying not to disturb Sydney. When she shifted he paused to study her sleeping features. He’d told her she was beautiful—and she was. But even more important, he’d grown to like the woman behind those features. He’d find a way to adapt to civilian life.
Noah woke to find the right side of his body numb again because her soft weight was curled firmly against him. It took effort not to kiss that sweet mouth into wakefulness. Instead, he slipped carefully out of bed, snatched up his shaving kit, and padded into the bathroom. The feathery scent of gardenias not only hung in the air, but clung to his skin. He almost hated to wash the fragrance away.
He took his time shaving and showering, prolonging the anticipation of seeing her again. He hoped she wouldn’t regret what had happened, but either way, they needed to talk and plan.
She was perched on one of the bar stools when he reentered the room, the forgotten mail strewn in front of her. Her expression immediately made him forget any plans to talk.
“Noah! Look!” She waved a yellow slip of paper, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“What’s that?”
“It was on top in this pile of mail you brought inside.”
“I picked up the mail at the house.”
“I remember, but Noah, this is addressed to me.”
“Chief Hepplewhite gave me the stuff Laura was bringing you from the apartment.”
“I know,” she said excitedly, “but this is addressed to me at the house in Fools Point!”
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