Marrying the Runaway Bride

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Maybe not, although it feels almost as cold as the Arctic this morning.’

  He shuddered as another icy blast tore across the car park and Heather found herself wavering. She had to admit that the thought of standing around in this weather wasn’t appealing.

  ‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind…’

  ‘I don’t.’ Archie grinned as he took her arm and briskly led her over to his car.

  Heather sighed when she realised that her capitulation had been a foregone conclusion. ‘Do you always get your own way?’ she said a tad acerbically as he slid behind the wheel.

  ‘Not always, although I can’t deny that it’s nice to win occasionally.’

  His smile was gentle, making it clear that he didn’t see her agreement as a personal victory for him. Archie didn’t need to boost his ego by proving he was the winner. He was at ease with himself and she found that an extremely attractive trait. Mind you, there was an awful lot about Archie that she found very appealing.

  Heather clamped down on that thought as they left the hospital. She’d already decided that she needed to keep a tight rein on her feelings and she intended to stick to that. The morning rush hour was just getting under way but Archie managed to avoid the worst of the traffic. In no time at all they were drawing up outside her flat.

  Heather turned to him. ‘Thanks. It takes me twice as long to get home on the bus.’

  ‘I’m glad to help.’ He peered at the house. ‘Do most of your neighbours go out to work through the day?’

  ‘Thankfully, yes. It’s just the traffic that’s the bugbear. This street is used as a short cut and the noise never seems to stop.’ She opened the car door then hesitated. ‘D’you want to come in for a cup of coffee before you head off home?’

  ‘I don’t think so. You must be ready for your bed.’

  Heather shrugged. ‘I doubt I’ll sleep until the rush hour is over.’

  ‘In that case, I’d love a cup of coffee. Thank you.’

  He got out of the car and followed her down the steps. Heather let them in and hung her coat on the peg by the door. Archie shrugged off his coat and hung it up then followed her into the sitting room. Heather sighed when she saw him looking around because it was a world removed from where he lived.

  ‘It’s a bit of a dump but I was lucky to find anywhere in my price bracket. I had no idea that it cost so much to rent in London.’

  ‘The price of property is extortionate,’ he agreed, sitting down on the sofa. He tipped back his head and groaned. ‘I don’t know how you manage to work permanent nights. I’m absolutely shattered after just one night.’

  ‘Ah, but you worked during the day, too,’ she pointed out. She headed to the tiny kitchen which was no more than an alcove off the sitting room. ‘I’ll make that coffee. It might give you a bit of a boost.’

  ‘The way I feel, I could do with some rocket fuel,’ he said drolly, closing his eyes.

  ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

  Heather chuckled as she set about making the coffee. She decided to make some toast to go with it then loaded everything onto a tray and took it back to the sitting room. Archie opened one eye when she went in and smiled when he spotted the toast.

  ‘You must be a mind-reader. I’m starving.’

  ‘I could make you some eggs,’ she offered, but he shook his head.

  ‘No, this is great, thanks.’ He sat up and helped himself to a slice of toast. There was honey to go with it and he added a large dollop then took a bite. ‘Mmm, that tastes good,’ he mumbled with his mouth full. ‘Have a taste.’

  He offered her the toast and after only the tiniest hesitation Heather took a bite. It was ridiculous to feel so on edge, she told herself sternly. It was just an innocent gesture between friends and there was no reason to see it as a prelude to anything more.

  The thought sent a spurt of heat flowing through her. Her eyes rose to Archie’s face and her breath caught when she saw the way he was looking at her. When he placed the toast back on the plate and reached for her hand, she started trembling.

  ‘You’ve got honey on your chin,’ he said huskily, drawing her towards him.

  Heather gasped when she felt his tongue touch her chin as he licked away the smear of honey. She couldn’t believe how erotic it was to have him perform such an intimate act. She was trembling when he drew back, her skin burning where he had touched it with his tongue.

  ‘Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I didn’t intend to make a pass at you, Heather.’

  ‘Didn’t you?’ she whispered, her heart racing when she saw the desire in his eyes.

  ‘Not consciously.’ He smiled wryly as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. ‘Although maybe the thought was simmering away inside me.’

  ‘It’s the wrong time for us to get involved, Archie.’

  ‘I know. You’ve just ended a relationship and you need time to get over it. As for me, well, there are any number of reasons why I shouldn’t be feeling this way.’

  Heather felt her heart lurch. Even though she knew it was foolish to ask, she couldn’t resist. ‘And how do you feel, Archie?’

  ‘Excited. Apprehensive. Scared because it feels as though I’m on the verge of something momentous happening, something I know in my heart I should prevent.’

  ‘That’s how I feel, too. I keep telling myself that it would be madness to get involved with you, but it doesn’t make any difference. I can’t understand why it’s so difficult to be sensible,’ she added plaintively.

  ‘That’s the point, though, isn’t it? Neither of us wants to be sensible.’ He turned her hand over and kissed her knuckles. ‘We’ve both taken an emotional battering and we need time out from all the stress. Knowing that nothing can come from our relationship makes it feel safer in a way.’

  ‘You really think that’s the explanation?’ she said, wondering if it was true.

  ‘It’s the only thing that makes any sense to me.’ He looked deep into her eyes. ‘I would never do anything to hurt you, Heather. I hope you know that.’

  ‘I do. I feel the same about you.’

  ‘So do you think we can share the next couple of weeks and help each other heal?’

  ‘I think so,’ she whispered.

  She closed her eyes as Archie leant towards her, not wanting to see any hint of doubt on his face in case it reawakened her fears. They could do this, she told herself as his mouth closed over hers. They could enjoy each other’s company and when the time came for them to part, they could do that without any regrets, too. All they needed to remember was that this wasn’t a commitment, just temporary solace.

  She clung to that thought as she drew Archie’s head down so they could deepen the kiss. He kissed her hungrily and with passion, yet beneath that there was tenderness as well. Heather felt her heart overflow as he showed her in the most effective way possible that he really cared about her. This wasn’t just sex for Archie—it was so much more.

  When he stood up and pulled her to her feet, she didn’t hesitate. He led her into the bedroom and sat down on the bed then drew her down to sit beside him while he scattered kisses over her cheeks, her brow, the slope of her nose. When he reached her mouth, Heather tilted her face up to his, kissing him back with just as much passion. This wasn’t all one-sided. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  He gave a low groan as he pressed her back against the pillows and unbuttoned her blouse. All she had on underneath was a lacy bra, a wisp of fabric that concealed very little, and she saw the strong bones in his face tighten as he looked at her.

  ‘You’re so beautiful,’ he murmured as he drew the tips of his fingers across her breasts.

  Heather closed her eyes as a wave of longing swept through her. The feel of his fingers on her skin was sending ripples of need through every cell in her body, tiny shock waves that seemed to intensify as they gathered momentum. She could feel herself trembling as he continued to caress her, his hands skating so delicately ov
er her skin. When he cupped her breasts in his hands and allowed their weight to settle in his palms, she almost cried out.

  He ran the pads of his thumbs over her nipples until they formed hard little buds, eager for his touch. She was still wearing her bra and he didn’t remove it before he bent and suckled her. Heather gasped when she felt the warm moistness of his tongue through the fine mesh of the lace. It was incredibly erotic to feel the wet fabric clinging to her skin as Archie drew her nipple into his mouth. Nothing she had experienced before had prepared her for this heady rush of sensations and she gasped.

  Archie drew back, cradling her in his arms as he stroked her hair. ‘Shh, it’s OK. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.’

  Heather shuddered as she buried her face against the solid warmth of his chest. It hadn’t been a lack of desire that had caused her to cry out like that—just the opposite. ‘It’s not that,’ she whispered, her voice muffled by his body.

  ‘No?’ He set her away from him, and she blushed when she saw the question in his eyes.

  ‘No. I wasn’t actually…objecting.’

  ‘Oh. I see.’ He smiled as he eased her back against the pillow. ‘So you don’t mind if I do this?’ He lavished attention on her right nipple with his tongue this time then looked at her. Heather shook her head. ‘How about this?’

  He did the same to her left breast then once again drew back, but Heather was incapable of moving a muscle by then. It was left to Archie to interpret how she felt and he managed to do so without any help from her.

  He kissed her hungrily then unfastened her bra and tossed it on the floor. Her trousers came next and they were soon dispensed with. He turned his attention to his own clothes then, tugging his shirt out of his trousers before it, too, was added to the heap on the floor. Heather bit her lip when he stood up to remove his trousers and she was able to study the powerful lines of his body. He looked so wonderfully, gloriously male that she couldn’t help feeling aroused by the sight of him, yet it wasn’t just his physical appearance that appealed to her so much. It was Archie himself, the person he was inside, the caring, considerate man she was falling in love with.

  Fear rushed through as she was forced to confront the truth. She was falling in love with Archie and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ARCHIE could feel his heart pounding as he lay down on the bed and took Heather in his arms. He knew that he was getting in far deeper than he should be doing, but he couldn’t stop himself. She was so beautiful and he wanted her so much that it was impossible to listen to what his head was telling him. All he could hear was his heart, and his heart was telling him to make her his.

  Desire exploded inside him like a million fireworks going off as he bent and kissed her. Her lips were soft and warm, slightly swollen from his kisses, and he groaned. It was hard to imagine that anything could be better than this, but there were more delights to come, more pleasure he could give her, too.

  He ran his hand down her body, tracing the fullness of her breasts, the narrowness of her waist, the curve of her hips. Her skin was as soft as satin as it flowed beneath his hand, creamy pale and enticingly smooth, and he couldn’t get enough of the feel of it. His hand moved on, down her thigh, over her knee, along her calf, and he felt her shudder, shuddered, too. It wasn’t just him who was deriving so much pleasure from this but Heather as well, and knowing that heightened his wish to make this the most wonderful experience of her life. Maybe Heather would never love him, but he wanted her to have only happy memories of their time together.

  He kissed her again then let his mouth follow the trail his hand had just made, his lips skimming lightly over her breasts, her waist, her hips. He paused when he reached her thigh and kissed the soft inner skin then moved on when he heard her draw in a ragged breath. He didn’t intend to rush things; he wanted to take his time, make sure that she enjoyed every second of their love-making.

  His mouth skimmed over her knee then skated on to her calf where he scattered kisses at random for the pure pleasure of doing so. Her ankle was so slender that it deserved a special stop for more kisses, and her foot, with its classically arched instep, deserved another. Even her toes were rewarded with special treatment—he kissed each pearly pink nail and revelled in it, too. He hadn’t realised before how many places there were on a woman’s body that could drive a man wild, but he was finding out now. Each kiss he bestowed on Heather was having an equally potent effect on him, too!

  Archie groaned when he felt his body protest at the torture he was putting it through. At this rate, there wouldn’t be a successful conclusion to their love-making if he didn’t ease off. Rolling onto his back, he took a couple of deep breaths as he fought for control.

  ‘Archie…what is it? Is something wrong?’

  The concern in her voice nearly tipped him over the edge but he gritted his teeth. ‘I just need a breather otherwise things might not turn out the way they should,’ he explained with massive understatement.

  ‘Oh?’ She shot a look at him and blushed. ‘Oh!’

  ‘Oh, indeed.’ He laughed as he drew her into his arms. ‘I’ll be fine in a minute—I hope!’

  She kissed him on the cheek then snuggled against him. Archie did another bit of teeth gritting when he felt her body press itself against the length of his, but quickly realised it was having very little effect. Every tiny bit of him was clamouring to make love to her and to do it soon. Rolling onto his side, he drew her into the cradle of his hips so that she could feel just how desperately he needed her. He didn’t want to rush her but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold back. Her eyes were heavy with desire when they met his, and he realised with a start that she felt the same as he did.

  ‘Make love to me, Archie,’ she whispered, her warm breath clouding on his cheek.

  ‘Are you sure?’ he whispered back because he needed to be absolutely certain that she was ready and wouldn’t be disappointed.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure.’

  She moved against him, pressing her hips against his, and he was lost. He kissed her long and hungrily as he entered her, needing the contact between them to be on every possible level. He couldn’t bear it if she didn’t enjoy this, couldn’t stand to think that he hadn’t made her happy.

  The doubts filled his head for only a second before they melted away. Archie knew then that he had nothing to fear. Heather couldn’t have welcomed him so eagerly, so completely, if she hadn’t wanted him so much. When she cried out his name just a moment before the world spun out of his control, he knew that he would remember this moment evermore. It was the moment when he discovered how love really felt.

  Heather lay in Archie’s arms and listened to the rumble of the traffic outside in the street. They had spent the morning in her bed, making love and sleeping in each other’s arms. Although she didn’t know how Archie felt, she felt at peace, happy, content. It was the last thing she had expected.

  She turned to look at him, smiling when she realised that he was fast asleep. He had been such a gentle and passionate lover. Although he hadn’t tried to disguise how much he’d wanted her, he had taken great care to ensure that she’d wanted him just as much. She had reached undreamed-of heights in his arms and, no matter what happened in the future, she would always be glad that they’d had this time together. She felt healed and at peace with herself and the world.

  ‘Can I open my eyes now?’

  Heather gasped when he opened one eye a crack and peered at her. ‘How did you know I was looking at you?’

  ‘Intuition?’ he suggested, opening the other eye and smiling at her. He gathered her close and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I thought I’d play dead instead of making you feel all self-conscious.’

  ‘You were lapping up the attention, more likely,’ she muttered darkly, not sure if she enjoyed being caught out that way.

  ‘Moi?’ He tried to look offended but failed miserably, and she chuckled.

  �
�Yes, you, Mr Carew. Never mind coming the innocent. I know what a tricky customer you are.’

  ‘Do you indeed?’ He pulled her against him, smiling lasciviously when she gasped. ‘And exactly how tricky am I?’

  ‘Extremely,’ she retorted, trying to put a little space between them because the feel of his powerful body pressing against hers was sapping her willpower.

  ‘That’s not much of an answer.’ He closed the gap, his hips moving seductively against hers. ‘On a scale of one to ten, where about do I come for trickiness?’

  ‘Eleven,’ she shot back, wishing he would keep still. She took a deep breath as her body responded eagerly to his closeness. She wasn’t going to give in to this passion again, no way! She would show him that she had a mind of her own and could hold out for however long it needed…

  His hips moved again and she groaned when she felt the hardness of his erection pressing against her. She almost gave up and gave in then. It was just stubbornness that stopped her doing what her body longed for her to do.

  ‘Eleven?’ He whistled, his green eyes filled with a mixture of laughter and passion. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever scored that high before.’

  ‘We’re talking about your deviousness,’ she said tartly. ‘Nothing else.’

  ‘Of course not. It never crossed my mind that we were discussing anything else,’ he replied smoothly, smiling into her eyes.

  ‘Good. Then you won’t be disappointed, will you?’

  ‘I shall never be disappointed when I’m with you, Heather.’

  His tone was gentle, so gentle that she couldn’t find it in her heart to persist with this crazy charade. She cradled his cheek with her hand as she looked into his eyes. ‘Neither will I, Archie. What happened this morning was a magical experience for me. I…I never imagined I could feel like that.’

  His lids lowered and she heard him draw in a ragged breath. ‘Thank you. I can’t tell you how good it is to hear you say that because I feel exactly the same.’

  Heather’s heart overflowed with happiness. She was already moving toward him when he reached for her. They made love again and it was every bit as wonderful as it had been before. She knew that she would never experience the joy and fulfilment she felt right then with anyone else. It was Archie who made their love-making so special, and how she felt about him.