by Susan Fox
But it was her beautiful face that set it all off. Framed by curls and wispy gold ringlets, her face was flushed. Her eyes were nearly as vividly blue as his own, but wider, more innocent, kinder—though right now it would have been hard to miss the worry in them. Or the feminine interest. In the end, though, it was her lips that drew him: lush and sweet looking and almost cherry red.
The memory of how soft and crushable they’d felt, even though their wedding kiss had been bloodless and cool, burst in him like a craving. It took everything he had to keep from rushing her, to keep from grabbing her and devouring her as if she were a choice sweet.
Instead he moved slowly toward her, then stopped when his booted toes touched the belled hem of her dress.
His low “I’ll help you with the dress” made the color in her cheeks go higher. He didn’t realize until he felt the stiff netting between his fingers that he’d reached out to catch a pinch of her veil.
Allison could barely move, though her brain was struggling to save her. She couldn’t possibly let Blue help her remove her dress. She wasn’t ready for that kind—for any kind—of intimacy. “A-Aunt Pet wanted—”
“Aunt Pet’s takin’ care of other things,” he drawled as he lightly rolled the delicate netting between his thumb and fingers.
Allison tried again. “I need—”
“I’m your family now, Miz Allis,” he said in a low voice that carried an edge of command. “From here on out, you’re to look to me for the things she’s always done for you.”
She was so shocked by the order that it took her a moment to recover. Blue took advantage of that moment as he released the bit of veil, then reached for the headpiece that was still pinned to her hair.
The feel of his fingers gently searching for hairpins sent a warm flood of pleasure from her head to her toes, scattering her objection to his edict. Gently, one by one, he found every pin, tossing each to the polished top of the dresser. He removed the headpiece and set it aside on the dresser, leaving the sheer veil to cascade off the front of the dark wood like a white waterfall.
He stepped around her and she bit her lip to repress the flurry of shivers that began when he started on the tiny pearl buttons at the back of her gown. One after another, lower and lower he went, steadily releasing the buttons, his warm fingers grazing her bare back as he went. Allison had never imagined that anything so simple could be so arousing, but with every tug of fabric, every gentle brush of his strong, hard fingers, a spark ignited in her. Considering the number of buttons—perhaps fifty or more—by the time he reached the very end, Allison felt a conflagration building.
Just when she thought this was the end, that Blue would leave her to undress in private, he placed his hands on her bare back. The heat of his callused palms scorched her and left her incapable of moving. She caught her breath when they pushed aside her open dress back, then slipped gently beneath the fabric.
The next thing she knew, he’d slid the gown off her shoulders. The neckline fell softly to her waist, exposing the bodice of her slip and the bra she wore beneath. Alarmed at being exposed—he could see her reflection in the dresser mirror—Allison clutched the front of the gown and tried to cover herself.
Blue’s fingers caught the beaded fabric and prevented her from doing so. She felt a soft gust of breath on her bare skin, followed by the shocking feel of his mouth on the back of her neck.
He released the fabric and let his palms trail down to her waist and slip beneath the gown. He pulled her back against him while his lips moved almost hungrily along her neck and to her ear, where he kissed and bit and nibbled until her knees gave way.
For the next several minutes, the only sounds in the room were the sounds of ragged breathing and of satin, beads and lace brushing against fine black cloth. The wedding dress ended up in a poofed circle at their feet. Sometime during those moments, he turned her toward him, and his mouth found hers for a long, hot kiss. Later, his mouth moved off hers, found her throat, then went on an erotic tour that ended torturously short of the nipple his questing fingers had uncovered.
As if he’d meant all along to arouse her to nearly the point of pain—and leave unfulfilled the ache to feel his lips on her breast—Blue eased her slowly away from him.
Allison could barely stand. She was too weak to keep her grip on his sleeves. The erotic haze that had burned away all her reason and all her inhibitions began to slowly lift. Her ability to stand on her own came back in the same proportions and she opened her eyes to look up at Blue.
It soothed her ego to see that his face was a mask of the same arousal she felt. But an iron control that she was too inexperienced to have developed was also there. She could see it in his eyes. She could see it, but she wasn’t certain how she felt about it. Her reaction was equal parts relief and frustrated anger.
How dare he toy with her, bring her to such heights, then switch himself off—switch her off—and leave her with a wild hunger she’d never suspected could exist?
Yet, how grateful she was that he’d stopped! The confusing whirl of frustration and relief and ebbing desire kept her silent, kept her standing long after he turned from her and left the room.
The long limo ride to Dallas was quiet. Blue had withdrawn from her, though they sat together in the center of the wide back seat. They didn’t speak, and the silence weighed on Allison.
Thoughts of Aunt Pet dominated her attention. Even after Blue had left the room, Petula hadn’t come upstairs to help her. Instead the new housekeeper, Mrs. Burns had come in to help her wrap her dress and veil in tissue for a trip to the dry cleaners for preservation.
She’d had only a brief moment in the front hall to hug her teary aunt, kiss her cheek and tell Charles goodbye before Blue had whisked her outside for the traditional toss of her bridal bouquet. Then he’d rushed her to the car too quickly for her to see who had caught it.
Perhaps it was just as well that neither of them spoke now. Allison wasn’t certain she could keep her resentment to herself, and because this was their wedding day, she didn’t want to mar it with an argument.
She also didn’t want to react too quickly. She knew how stressful the past month had been for her. Surely it had been at least as stressful for Blue, considering he’d had to cope with getting the house finished and furnished well enough to hold the reception there.
His refusal to allow Pet to help her with her dress and his later rush to get away from the pressure of the large crowd of guests, might have been done out of worry that she’d linger too long. A man who had lived a solitary life in the country might naturally have a limit to the length of time he was willing to endure in a crowd.
In the end, it was her desire to understand Blue better that made her keep her resentment to herself. His actions today might simply have been an uncharacteristic response to a nerve-racking month and an overwhelming day. Most grooms put up with the pomp of a big wedding, but few of them seemed to truly enjoy being formally decked out and placed at the center of attention.
Blue was probably the same way, though to his credit, he’d taken everything patiently until the last.
The Dallas hotel Blue had selected was one of the finest in town. Allison felt a trickle of relief when she discovered he’d reserved a regular suite instead of a honeymoon suite. Surely that was a signal that he had no amorous intentions for their wedding night.
Nevertheless, Allison’s tension kept her silent. She noted Blue handled himself well with the hotel staff and that he tipped appropriately. The fact that he politely thanked anyone who assisted them made her feel mildly ashamed to realize she hadn’t expected it from him.
On the other hand, Charles was rarely courteous to anyone he considered inferior to him. Both she and Aunt Pet had been frequently embarrassed by his superior attitude and had always felt compelled to compensate for it.
Blue Sumner, despite his unprivileged background—or perhaps because of it—behaved with careful respect toward the staff, and that warmed her.
Blue glanced her way, his gaze searching her face. “Is there a restaurant you want to go to for supper, or do you want room service?”
The question set her a bit more at ease. She automatically rejected the idea of room service. The opportunity to escape the hotel suite was too good to pass up.
“A restaurant would be fine. I understand the ones in this hotel are quite nice.”
Several feet of carpeting separated them. The distance suddenly seemed to span miles. Blue stood watching her, his gaze probing hers. Allison stared back, looking for anything that would give her a clue to his thoughts, his expectations.
“You look worried, Miz Allis.” The candid statement caught her off guard.
Allison suddenly couldn’t maintain eye contact with him and her gaze veered away. “Yes, well, I don’t know how to avoid being worried.” The admission was a big one for her to make, but she instantly felt better. She released a shaky breath. “We don’t know each other at all—”
“And there’s only one bed.”
Allison’s gaze streaked back to his, a bit shocked that he’d put it so bluntly. Suddenly the memory she’d worked so hard to suppress—of Blue helping her with her wedding dress—sent a bolt of heat through her. She felt some of that heat creep into her cheeks.
“I—” she hesitated, her discomfort rising “—I was wondering what you expected.”
“All you have to do is ask,” he told her, his voice going rougher, though his tone had softened. “I’m not the kind to force sex on any woman, wife or not.”
Allison started to relax, until he added, “That won’t keep me from trying to get it other ways.”
“But we barely know each other,” she protested, clasping her hands in front of her as if to hold herself together.
“We know enough.”
Allison was so appalled that at first it didn’t register that he’d started toward her. “ I don’t know enough, Mr…. Blue…I can’t have sex with a man I’m not in love with.”
Blue stopped in front of her. The sheer size of the man overwhelmed her and she couldn’t help feeling vulnerable as she stared up helplessly at him. His hand lifted and he touched her cheek with the callused pad of his index finger.
The light contact sent a shiver of excitement through her. Years of ladylike behavior and reserve rushed up to counter the reaction, and she went so tense that she felt as if she might shatter.
“You might be surprised.”
The next thing she knew, Blue had slipped his other hand around her waist and his faint smile vanished. She couldn’t seem to move as she watched him lean toward her. By now, the touch of his lips on hers felt familiar, and her eyes fell shut. The slow pressure of his mouth was unhurried, but relentless. She felt her lips part beneath the probe of his tongue. In seconds, she was clutching the lapels of his jacket, awash in a flash flood of desire that made her tremble and grow weak.
Blue’s lips slowly released hers, and with an effort, she opened her eyes to see the reason.
“All I have to do is touch you,” he said, his low voice harsh with frustrated desire, “and you forget about whether you know me or not.”
The stunningly accurate observation shamed her. Allison stiffened and pushed away. She turned and walked toward the sofa table where she’d set her handbag. She picked it up and started toward the suite’s bathroom. “I’ll be ready to go downstairs as soon as I freshen up.”
She’d put everything she had into keeping her voice steady and making a dignified exit. Once she reached the bath, she closed the door, locked herself in and leaned against the wall, certain her new husband was too single-minded about sex to give a thought to her wishes or sensibilities.
CHAPTER FOUR
SUPPER, in the finest restaurant in the hotel, started well enough, though Allison had little appetite. She’d ordered wine with her meal, and ended up drinking two glasses. She tried to cover her nervousness by drawing Blue into conversation.
The usual dating ploys—getting a man to talk about himself, his business or his hobbies—failed abysmally with Blue. Any other man of her acquaintance enjoyed talking about himself. Clearly Blue did not.
Partway through the meal, he surprised her by switching the attention to her.
“I heard your aunt took you in after your folks passed on.”
The statement caught her off guard, but then, she was beginning to expect directness from Blue. His refusal to allow Aunt Pet to help her with her dress, or to allow her a longer goodbye—and her resentment about it—made her answer carefully.
“I love Aunt Pet very much. I can’t imagine being closer to my own mother than I am to her, so I’m sure you can understand how upset I would be if anything disturbed that closeness.”
The faint flicker in his eyes told her he’d registered her calm remark. “What about your uncle?” Blue was leaning back in his chair. Though he appeared to be relaxed, his gaze was suddenly sharp.
Allison hesitated, searching for the right words. She was not as blunt as Blue. Any future financial dealings he planned with her uncle and his bank might well depend on how she answered him now. Aunt Pet was desperately worried about the bank. Allison didn’t want to say anything that would ruin things for Charles and hurt Pet. However, she couldn’t be dishonest.
“Charles and I have a civil relationship,” she said tactfully. “I believe Aunt Pet might have been happier had she married someone else, but she is faithful to Charles and seems content to remain with him. Whatever affects him, naturally affects her.” Allison saw that her message had gotten through. Blue’s lips tightened as if he disliked the reminder about her aunt.
His reaction was disturbing. For weeks she’d worried about her uncle’s high hopes and grandiose expectations. Even though she’d reminded Charles several times that nothing of what he’d planned for Blue’s money was written in stone, she’d believed Blue would uphold his end of the unorthodox marriage arrangement. She would never have felt compelled to marry him otherwise.
But now that she’d done her part and gone through with the ceremony, the mere hint that Blue would somehow renege frightened her. Charles, though in the wrong about not notifying the authorities, would be in grave trouble. Trouble for him—scandal for him—meant trouble and scandal for Pet.
Her worry was strong enough to consider raising the subject with Blue. Which was just another reminder that if this had begun as a normal marriage, they’d have had more pleasant things to discuss on their wedding night.
She picked her napkin off her lap and blotted her lips while she scrambled to think of some way to gain Blue’s assurance that all would be well. She set the napkin beside her plate and looked over at him.
“You and I haven’t spoken on the subject of the bank and Charles’s investment plans for you.” Though she’d managed to get it all out in a casual tone of voice, the instant hardening of Blue’s jaw and the faint flare in his eyes was unsettling.
“I already told you that what I decide to do about your uncle and his bank is separate from you.”
His reply made her uneasy. For Petula’s sake, she knew she needed to be persistent. “I understand this marriage came about because of an agreement between you and Charles.”
Blue studied her a moment, his gaze piercing hers. “This marriage came about because I wanted a certain kind of woman.” He picked up his mixed drink and took a slow sip, watching her face as he did. He lowered the stout tumbler to the tabletop. “The fact that you’re related to Charles Wallace didn’t matter, since there’s no blood between you.”
Allison’s light brows drew together and she gave her head a shake. “I’m afraid I missed something.
Charles is my uncle by marriage, but I don’t see how it could matter, even if he was my blood relative.”
“If you were blood kin to him, we might not be here.”
Allison didn’t understand the reason for the dark emotion behind his rough drawl. “Are you trying to tell me there are hard feelings between you and Charles?”
Blue studied her a long moment.
Intuition made her queasy. She went on with care. “As I said, what affects Charles affects Aunt Pet. And, you seem quite…angry,” she dared to say, keeping her voice as reasonable as possible. “If there’s some problem between you and Charles…”
Blue looked down into his drink and gave the stout tumbler a swirl that stirred the contents. “Maybe it’s time for you to know.”
Though he was a hard man and she felt vulnerable around him, until that moment—until he glanced over at her and she saw the temper in his eyes—she hadn’t been truly afraid of him. Something was very wrong.
“What should I know?” she asked softly.
The silence stretched. Around them, other diners were eating and talking, and waiters were bustling among the tables. They were in a public place, but they seemed enveloped in an invisible force field that served to heighten the tension between them and provide a cocoon of privacy.
“Five years ago, I was dirt under Charles Wallace’s feet,” he said grimly. “Always was. He didn’t mind if I had an account with his bank, but he wouldn’t lend me a dime to improve my herd or buy more land. When I got hit by bad cattle prices two years ago, he refused to loan me enough to keep covered.
“Turned out he wanted to buy my place. When nothin’ worked to buy me out or run me off, he refused to grant an extension on my mortgage and started to foreclose. No other banker in the area wanted to lend me money, either. They’d covered other ranchers who’d got into the same fix with cattle prices, but even though my credit history was superior to most of theirs, I was turned down at every bank I tried.”