He shot a look at the stairs. He noted with relief that there were no signs of activity coming from the loft bedroom, but, leery of waking Nora with his voice, he replaced the fireplace screen and took the portable phone and moved toward the kitchen. “Your daughter’s been through a lot, and she’s still reeling.” Sam knew better than anyone how vulnerable she was to hurt. He would have laid down his life to protect her.
“I’ll try,” Charles replied, aggrieved. “But you don’t know what you’re asking. Nora’s all I’ve got.”
And all I want, Sam thought as he paced back and forth. All I’ve ever wanted. Which made it all the more important that he succeed in reuniting Nora and Charles.
“This will all work out,” Sam said determinedly, “if you just give Nora a little space to recoup and some time for her temper to cool down. In the meantime, you don’t need to worry about your daughter’s personal safety. My family and I’ll watch over her while she’s in Clover Creek.” And in the process, he would do everything he could to make sure he and Nora were together, not just for the next few days, but forever.
Charles paused thoughtfully. “You’ll let me know as soon as Nora is willing to talk with me?”
“Absolutely,” Sam promised. He was glad he’d made this overture. He felt better. So did Charles. And soon—he hoped—Nora would, too. In the meantime, he’d done all he could for tonight.
The two men promised to keep in touch, albeit surreptitiously. Charles thanked Sam for getting in touch with him. And the two men said goodbye. As Sam hung up the phone, he heard soft footsteps behind him. He turned just as Nora padded into the kitchen. Barefoot, tousled, she was wearing only his shirt. His eyes drifting over her long, lissome legs, Sam realized he had never seen her look sexier. His lower body throbbed in reaction, even as the rest of him tensed with guilt.
Still approaching him languidly, she rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. “Were you on the phone just now?” she asked softly.
Sam nodded as Nora glided into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. “Everything okay?” she continued, in a deeply concerned voice that made him feel all the guiltier for going behind her back, even if it was for her own good.
“I think it will be, when this storm lets up,” Sam confided as he wrapped his arms around her and felt the soft give of her body next to his.
Nora cuddled against him. “Good. Then come back to bed,” she urged gently, running her fingers through his hair. She stood on tiptoe to press her lips to his. “Because I’ve missed you.”
Sam grinned. He could tell by the way she laced her arms around his neck and molded her body to his that this was all too true. And, more, that she was as eager for more loving as he was. “Really?” he drawled, wrapping his arms around her. Pulling her against him, he delivered a long, steamy kiss that soon had them both trembling and his heart racing as blood rushed into his groin.
As they drew apart, slowly and reluctantly, Nora tucked one hand in his, and used the other to tug on the belt of his robe. “Come back upstairs with me,” she promised with an impish grin, “and I’ll show you how much.”
“WELL?” Nora asked the following morning, as Sam ventured off the porch of his A-frame to get more wood for the fireplace.
Sam grinned as his footsteps crunched beneath him, but did not penetrate the thick white layer on the ground. Six inches of hard-as-a-rock sleet was on top of the eighteen inches of snow they had already had. “It’s like walking on a tundra,” he announced cheerfully.
Nora planted both hands on her slender hips and regarded the crusty layer skeptically. “It looks like the frost that forms on the inside of a freezer.”
Sam held out a gloved hand to her and urged her to come out and play. “You’ll never know what it feels like unless you come on out and give it a try,” he beckoned teasingly.
“You’re sure I won’t sink through?” she asked worriedly, tucking her gloved hand into the warmth and safety of his.
“I haven’t.” Sam grinned, and delicious lights sparkled in his eyes, reminding her of all they’d shared the night before. She might have been sexually inexperienced, but she knew that what they shared had been a lot more than just passion. They’d connected, heart and soul, in a way that was very special. The trick would be to hang on to that feeling, and build on it, again and again and again, until they had a love that neither of them could ever turn their back on.
Nora smiled. “True,” she said. Knowing she’d trust him with her life, Nora allowed Sam to help her down the porch steps, onto the ground. “This is so weird,” she said as she stepped experimentally over the rough layer of frosty white, “but it’s not nearly as slippery as I would’ve expected it to be, given that the top layer of it is ice.” Nora turned to Sam. “So, how long do you think it’s going to stay this way?” she asked, as casually as possible, aware that she wanted more than anything for them to remain stranded together a lot longer than she sensed they ultimately would be.
“The weather report on the radio just now said they don’t expect it to start thawing until tomorrow.”
Thank heaven for small miracles! Nora thought. “And the snowplows…?”
“Are out,” Sam affirmed, tenderly brushing the hair from her cheek. “They’re not having much luck, though, ’cause you really need a pickax to break through this, so all the roads, including the interstate, are closed for now.”
Which meant she was still stuck here. “What about you?” she asked cheerfully. “Are you going to be able to get in to work today at all?”
Sam shook his head. “My deputies are going to cover for me until I can get back to town tomorrow. Fortunately, things are pretty quiet.”
Nora cast a look at the brilliant blue sky overhead. She didn’t see a cloud in sight. “Are we expecting any more snow?”
“Nope.” One hand around her waist, Sam tugged her passionately close and whispered in her ear, “The snowstorm of the century has officially left West Virginia. It’s bearing down on New England now.”
“So we’re stuck here, hmm?” Nora tried not to notice how good it felt to be in his arms again or how proprietorially he had splayed his hand across her back.
“Until the warm front gets here tomorrow and everything starts to melt,” Sam affirmed.
Nora had only to look at Sam to know he wanted to make love to her again and again—all day. “I feel like a kid playing hooky from school,” she murmured, as a warm flush started in her tummy and crept upward.
Sam grinned and urged her closer with the flat of his hand. “Me too.”
Nora blushed as the fluttering in her tummy slipped a little lower. The prospect of so much intimate time with Sam made her spirits soar and her heartbeat a little harder. The worry over where this would all lead, however, still made her feel that some caution was in order.
In the heat of passion, she’d told Sam she could handle a winter-storm-induced fling, and indeed, she had wanted just that, with all her heart and soul. This morning, with the snow and sleet no longer pouring down from the sky above, the bitingly cold air assaulting her senses and the sun shining brightly overhead, things looked a little different.
This morning, she could not deny that she felt more for Sam than simple lust. The question was, what did he feel for her? Was she going to end up being even more hurt by this affair with him than she had been by either Geoff or her father? Nora hoped not, but she could not—in all honesty—be sure she would leave here with her heart intact. Knowing, however, that it was too soon to be talking about any of this, Nora marshaled her emotions from his probing gaze and turned away. “It’s nice out here,” she remarked pleasantly.
Sam studied her, as if struggling with the effort not to discuss certain things, too, for fear of ruining the mood. After a pause, he probed gruffly, “You don’t find it too quiet for you?”
Nora shook her head and smiled. About that, she was able to be perfectly open and honest. “After years of living in the city, I cherish the peace and quiet. Yo
u must, too.”
“More than you know,” he said teasingly as he swept her up into his arms, bent her backward from the waist and abruptly took her lips with the complete, unrestrained physicality she had always craved but had never experienced until last night.
Nora reveled in the impact he had on her senses, and the even more devastating effect he had on her heart. Maybe an affair—however short-lived, was not such a bad idea, Nora thought optimistically. Maybe an affair this passionate would lead to something else. Like love. Marriage. A home and children of their own. At least, Nora thought a little dazedly, as Sam’s mouth knowingly contoured to hers, expertly staking his claim, it felt like it would….
Long minutes later, as the tempestuous kiss came to an end, Nora moaned and sagged against him, the bulk of her weight resting against his bent knee. “See what I mean?” Sam teased, looking—for a moment—every bit as lovestruck and mesmerized as she felt whenever she was with him.
Nora sighed contentedly, knowing it was obvious, whether she wanted to admit it or not. “You’re very naughty, Sam Whittaker. You’re making me never want to leave.”
Satisfied male laughter rumbled in his chest. “After last night, that’s the general idea,” he drawled, his lips lingering seductively over the nape of her neck. He drew back, the promise in his eyes and the tenderness of his touch combining to hold her spellbound.
Nora knew that if she was going to err, it should be on the side of caution, but there was just something about the hard, warm body aligned with hers that made him impossible to resist. He was just so determined to make her his; she knew he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way. And that pleased her more than she could ever say. She had always wanted to be desired in exactly this way.
“And since you’ve brought it up,” he drawled, as a slow smile lit his eyes and he righted her slowly, “why not give some thought to settling permanently in Clover Creek?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Nora asked Sam as they trooped back inside to make something to eat.
Sam helped her off with her coat. “Very.”
“To tell you the truth, I’ve been thinking about it. There’s plenty of work here, and I like the people.”
Sam cocked his head and gave her the thorough once-over. “Is that the only reason?”
“You know it’s not.” She mocked his smart-mouthed drawl to a tee.
Half his mobile mouth crooked up contemplatively, and they exchanged grins. Apparently, Nora thought, as she quickly put together some breakfast for them—the coffee he’d already prepared, juice and microwaved muffins—the physical side of their relationship was something they could easily deal with.
The emotional aspects were trickier, but maybe, with time, those would become easier to discuss, too. At least Nora hoped so.
“You know, I never thought I’d say this, but getting downsized out of my job is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Nora set everything on a tray and carried it into the living room. She set it on the coffee table in front of the sofa and continued confiding contentedly, “It forced me to reexamine my life, to reorder my priorities, and think about what has made me the happiest in this life.”
“And that’s what?” Sam asked seriously, as he added more logs to the fire, then came back to lounge beside her on the sofa.
“Family,” Nora replied, memories assailing her, as she perched on the edge of the sofa and served them both. “When my mom was alive, before she got sick and my dad got so overprotective, we were really happy. And content. I want that again,” she told Sam as she handed him his coffee and the connection of their hands sent a sweet, sexy warmth zinging through her. “I want what you have,” she told Sam softly. “Which is…?”
Plate balanced on her lap, Nora settled back beside him. “A family who loves you deeply and yet doesn’t constantly try to manipulate or control you.” She sighed wistfully and shook her head, then lifted her coffee cup to her lips. “I want to be surrounded by people who won’t constantly meddle in my life and try to make all my decisions for me.”
At Nora’s innocently uttered wish, Sam felt a flicker of guilt. He wondered how Nora would react if she knew he’d already called her father for her and let Charles Kingsley know where she was, as well as meddled a bit in order to get Nora’s father to give Nora a little of the time to recoup that she so desperately needed. He knew he’d done the right thing—the only thing—but would she see it that way? He had the sinking feeling that she wouldn’t.
“And—” Nora sipped her juice and continued contentedly, oblivious to Sam’s fears “—I want a home in a nice, safe place, and children, and my very own advertising agency.”
Resisting the urge to take her in his arms and hold her close, Sam tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s not so much to wish for.”
Nora paused, and a troubled look came back into her eyes. “Maybe not.” She set her glass aside, took a tremulous breath and released it slowly. “But for a long time I’ve lived with the feeling that at any moment the rug could be pulled out from under me again, like it was after my mother’s death, and when I lost my job, and found out how Geoff had gone behind my back to draw up the prenup with my father. And that scares me, Sam.” She paused and looked up at him, her dark green eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “It scares me so much. I don’t ever want to feel lost and alone like that again. And at the same time—” she bit into her lower lip to stop it from trembling “—I don’t want to feel like I can never rely on anyone but myself, either.”
“You have to know, if it were me, if I were the man in your life, I would never leave you,” Sam said quietly, wishing he could erase her hurt.
The tears she’d been defiantly holding back spilled past her lashes and slipped down her face. “I want it to be that way,” she whispered, turning to face him.
Clamping his hands on her waist, Sam shifted her onto his lap and held her close. “Then believe it,” he whispered back, kissing her deeply and stroking her hair, knowing he would do literally anything and everything to protect her, whether she asked him to or not, “’cause it’s true.”
They kissed again, and cuddled together, each of them thinking how best to resolve her situation so that Nora would be free to concentrate on her own life, their romance and the future Sam wanted with her. “Maybe if you called your dad and talked to him this time—” Sam suggested finally, “instead of just leaving a message on a machine, you could make things right between you and your father again.”
Nora sighed and made a regretful face, a discouraged look coming into her eyes as she bounced from Sam’s lap and began to pace the room. “I’ve tried, Sam. But my father never listens to me. He always just tells me what he thinks I should do, or think, or feel. And if I don’t do what he thinks I should, he goes behind my back and arranges things anyway.” She crossed her arms in front of her and finished stormily, “It’s as if he thinks he can manage my life by decree.”
Sam rolled to his feet and determinedly closed the distance between them. “I accept that your dad’s meddling bothers you, Nora.” Sam cupped her shoulders with his palms and turned her to face him. He knew, even if Nora didn’t, that this was not a simple case of rebellion or miscommunication. Nora had been hurt by her father, for years now; she wasn’t going to be really, truly happy until those hurts were resolved. And that, in turn, meant putting her many tempestuous defenses aside.
“What’s harder for me to accept,” Sam continued softly, “is you not being willing to try again to find a way to change things between the two of you, while you still have a chance to do so.”
Nora lifted her chin and gazed deep into his eyes. The defiant edge was back in her voice as she asked, “Are we talking about me now, or you?”
“Maybe a little bit of both,” Sam admitted honestly, aware that he was opening up to Nora in a way he hadn’t opened up to anyone in a very long time. And there was a good reason for that. He wanted to be as close to her emotionally as he was physi
cally. He wanted her to understand him as thoroughly as he longed to understand her.
He paused, marshaling his own feelings into a rock-hard resolve. “I’ve told you how much I regret the opportunities I lost to be close to my parents. I can’t get those back, Nora,” he explained, in a low voice laced with regret. “You, on the other hand, still have time to be with your dad and work things out.” That wasn’t something she should give up without a fight.
They studied each other in poignant silence. Finally, Nora uttered a soft, defeated sigh. “It means that much to you for me to call him?” she queried wearily, raking her hands through her hair.
“Yes, it does.” Sam braced his shoulder on the mantel and tipped his head down at her. He paused a moment to let his words sink in. “I think, at the very least, you should see him and let him explain what he was trying to accomplish with that prenuptial agreement. There might be a lot more to it than you think.”
“All right. I’ll do it.” Nora sighed. “I’ll give my father a chance to explain. But not until tomorrow,” she stipulated stubbornly, then followed that with a deep, intimate kiss that sent heat soaring through them both.
“Because today is ours, Sam, and I won’t let anyone or anything interfere with that.”
Chapter Twelve
NORA WOKE to the scraping sound of a snow shovel hitting the driveway. She got dressed quickly and made her way downstairs, where she donned her boots and coat and joined Sam outside. “It feels warmer,” she said, looking up at the clear blue sky.
“It is—thirty-six degrees. The temperature rose overnight and made the snow soft enough for me to start digging us out with something other than a pickax.”
“So we’ll be able to get back to town today?” Nora didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that. She only knew she had wanted their storm-generated romantic interlude to go on forever.
Sam nodded and smiled down at her. “I’ve already talked to the Clover Creek road and maintenance crew.” He set his shovel aside. Wrapping both hands around her waist, he brought her close, so that her body was cradled in the solid warmth of his. “They’re going to have a snowplow out this way by ten, so I want to get my truck dug out and driveway cleared so we can get back.” Briefly, regrettinged his gaze. He lowered his mouth to hers and delivered a brief but oh-so-soulful kiss. “I hate to leave here, too,” he murmured affectionately at last, “but I’ve got to relieve my deputies.”
Snowbound Bride Page 16