Lady Be Bad (12 page)

Suddenly, it came to her just what her next
step should be. Marlayna had to reinforce Noah's own knowledge that
he was a desirable man. That she was attracted to him. That she
wanted him. "I certainly do," she whispered, lifting the water
goblet to her mouth.

Arthur Kingman's deep voice invaded her
private deliberations. Marlayna cheered and lifted her glass in the
air along with one hundred ninety-nine others, but she wasn't
listening to a word the man was saying. Another man occupied a more
important place in her mind.

She decided to employ that age-old technique
of feminine warfare — flirting. Or, as the French called it,
faire les yeux doux,
to make sweet eyes. Again, Marlayna
turned toward Noah and, again, found that he was watching her.

This time she didn't look away. She stared
at him as if he were the only man in the room while letting her
lips curve in a subtle smile. His gaze narrowed, then widened, his
brown eyes sending back a speculative inquiry. She fluttered her
lashes, then lowered her eyes, pretending great interest in the
vichyssoise that was served.

She managed to send playful, encouraging
little glances at Noah while eating classic English mutton chops,
an endive and watercress salad with basil dressing and Dungeness
crab with mustard sauce.

Furthermore, she handled all that flirting
without being rude to her immediate companions. Although one
coquettish flutter did go off its mark and fall onto Arthur
Kingman, who responded with a wink of his own. "Hmmm . . ." She
blotted her mouth with her napkin. "I think I'd better find someone
to waylay the king of this castle," she murmured, then proceeded to
inspect the other women in attendance.

Perkins politely announced his presence by
clearing his throat next to Noah's ear. "How is everything,
sir?"

"Looking more promising with every course.
You know, Perkins, I don't think I'll ever understand that woman.
She keeps saying 'no,' but those eyes and lips have been saying
'come and get me' all evening."

"If I may be so bold to comment, sir, most
women like to create an illusion of resistance." He swept away the
last of the plates and cutlery and moved on.

Maybe I should try to play the aggressor,
be more demonstrative,
came Noah's silent addendum.
Damn,
but I wish it were just the two of us enjoying a
candlelit
dinner in some quiet little place where we could
talk.
He watched her fingers rub up and down the tulip-shaped
crystal goblet and decided he really didn't want to
talk.
Other things kept preying on his mind. Actually, his lips twisted
in a wry grin, they kept preying on his body. Six years was such a
damn long time to have been away from her.

Just as Marlayna decided on the perfect
woman for Arthur, he made it even easier for her by announcing that
dessert, coffee and liqueurs would be served on the terrace. She
nonchalantly maneuvered herself next to another top model,
commented on the woman's fabulous complexion and let it casually
slip that the Kingman Cosmetics contract was up for grabs. The look
of anticipation on the model's face was enough to assure Marlayna
that Arthur would indeed be occupied for the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, Marlayna's carefully
orchestrated plan for getting Noah off for a private chat fell
through. When she discovered that it was an editor and photographer
from
Architectural Digest
who were responsible for the
failure of her plan, she promptly erased her mental note to order
a subscription. There was nothing for her to do but attend a party
that didn't begin to wane until three in the morning.

Exhausted, she took the elevator to her room
and tumbled in a graceful heap backward across the wide bed. At
first Marlayna thought that she was dreaming with her eyes open.
She squinted into the shadows and realized, yes, the fireplace wall
was moving. The hearth had swung open. A surreal white shape was
gliding toward her.

Marlayna's eyes grew wide and her throat
constricted. She had read about haunted castles but had never
thought she'd encounter a ghost. Her right hand groped across the
pillows to the bedside table, fingers fumbling for the pull on the
antique china lamp. When the light bulb exploded the darkness, she
expelled a pent-up breath and one word: "Noah!"

"You were perhaps expecting the spirit of
Queen Anne?" Came his amused inquiry.

She cleared her throat, feeling rather
foolish. "I was preparing to scream and curtsy." Arranging two
pillows behind her, Marlayna watched his slow progress across the
huge room. The cane made no sound, the rubber tip absorbed by the
thick carpet.

But it wasn't the cane that held her
interest, it was the man. Gone was his evening jacket and tie. The
ruffled shirt was unbuttoned to mid-chest, sleeves rolled back to
reveal muscular arms. Noah looked invincibly male. The thought made
her tingle with delicious anticipation. "Meet anyone else while you
were skulking through the secret passages?"

"If you're wondering about Arthur, he's only
explored a handful of the hidden hallways. A closet claustrophobic
is Mr. Kingman."

"Actually I was wondering about Gwen," she
returned tartly. "Maybe you took a wrong turn at the dungeon and
--"

"I took all the right turns." Noah settled
heavily on the other side of the bed. "Didn't miss any of the
signals you've been flashing all evening." He reached down and
untied his shoes. "I never knew you were such a tease."

"I haven't the vaguest idea what you're
talking about." She primly straightened her dress.

"I'm talking about all those little silent
come-ons you do so well with your eyes and lips and hands." After
tossing his socks onto the nearby chair, he swung his legs onto the
mattress and wiggled into position next to her. "So here I am."
Noah's dark brows arched suggestively.

"Like a tomcat that's been on the prowl,
finally wandering home and expecting a loving welcome." Marlayna
sucked in her cheeks and refused to look at him, staring instead at
the slowly closing fireplace. "I don't think you have the
right…"

"Right or wrong doesn't interest me at this
particular moment." He caressed her from her thigh, along the side
of her torso, up her arm to her neck. "You are my only interest."
His palm curved against her skin, fingers pushing into the curls on
her nape. "I can feel the pulse beat of your heart under my hand."
He leaned closer, his warm breath fanned her ear. "Beating very
rapidly."

"Maybe it's afraid of getting hurt again."
Her words echoed the trembling that shook her body.

Noah found himself staring into a pair of
very frightened, very vulnerable blue gray eyes. "Never again." His
tone was fierce, powerful.

"I need some answers."

"And you'll get them. But not right now."
His lips pressed a gentle kiss against hers, lingering long enough
to make a silent point. "Now I want you. I need to touch you." His
hands moved over her shoulders, pushing down the thin straps of her
dress. "Hold you. Kiss you."

His lips nuzzled the curve of her jaw before
leisurely moving down her throat. "You smell so good. And feel like
silk." His tongue drew a little heart at the base of her throat.
"Taste like ambrosia."

He lifted his head, the black pupils of his
eyes blocking all the brown. "Suddenly, I'm very selfish. You are
all that I desire. All that I need to make me feel complete and
happy. I need to know that you love me."

Marlayna became a witness to more than
simple masculine sexual hunger. There was no ignoring the anxiety
and strain that etched his features, the fear and doubt that
clouded his eyes. Maybe a man's emotions were as complex as a
woman's. Maybe this time, simple actions could mean and say more
than words.

She slid her hand inside his half-unbuttoned
shirt and pressed it against his damp chest. "Your heart is beating
even faster than mine."

"Because I'm scared." Noah's hand fastened
on hers. "Scared that too much time has passed. Scared that I've
lost you. Destroyed what we had."

"I'm afraid, Mr. Drake, I'm a very difficult
lady to lose." Her other arm looped around his neck, bringing him
tight against her. "Let me tell you a secret." Her low words were
whispered into his ear. "Loving you ruined m. Spoiled me for any
other man. You've shadowed me. Lived with me, every day and night
for six long years. Long and very, very lonely."

"I suffer from that same disease, but I do
know the cure," came his husky rejoinder. His arms cradled her
body.

The smile that curved her lips was mirrored
in her shining eyes. "So do I." She rained delicate kisses on
Noah's face, closing his eyes with kisses, dotting his nose, his
lean cheeks and square jaw. Finally her mouth fastened hungrily on
his; her teeth nibbled at his sensuous lower lip, her tongue
flirting its way inside.

She tugged his shirt from his belt and
freely explored the sinewy terrain of his back and shoulders.
Touching his tough, firm flesh excited her, sending pleasurable
waves coursing through her body. "You feel wonderful." Marlayna
half laughed, half cried in delight

"Let's get rid of this." Noah quickly
shrugged off his shirt and threw it on the chair. "And this." In
one skillful move, he swept her dress over her head and tossed it
away, only to find it had landed on the lamp, the red material
casting a rosy glow around the room.

"What about this?" Her knuckle rapped on his
belt buckle, her finger pulling out the waistband of his dress
slacks. Marlayna watched his dexterous motions while he easily
stripped off the rest of his clothing. "You always could do that
with such grace and speed," she said and smiled.

"It's very easy." The palm of his hand
glided down her stomach, stopping when his fingers found the lace
band on her red panties. "I'll show you." He slowly rolled them
down, exposing a triangle of dark curls, further working them over
sleek thighs and slender calves until the silken briefs drifted to
the floor.

His memories were replenished by starving
eyes that hungrily mapped her nude form. "I didn't think it was
possible, but you've grown more beautiful. More desirable." He
worshiped her with kisses. His lips moved from her stomach to her
breasts and then fused with hers.

His aggressive tongue leisurely toured the
honeyed crevice of her mouth and lovingly dueled with its feminine
counterpart. His lips rubbed and played on hers, and he moaned with
pleasure at once again having access to their sensuous
softness.

Noah took a deep breath, trying to temper
his frantic emotions. "I love you." Tender fingers stroked her
cheekbones and forehead, brushing aside the dark curls. "I always
have, Mimi, despite what I did and what you thought. I –"

Her index finger stilled his lips, her voice
thick with growing need. "I thought we were going to do all our
talking later." Her hand slid from his shoulder to his chest; the
dark hair that thickly matted his flesh felt like silk against her
palm.

"But maybe we should --"

Cupping her right breast, she lifted it,
letting the soft rosy peak tease his hard masculine nipple. "Maybe
we should what?"

His hand replaced hers, long fingers
caressing her breast, making the stroking circles ever smaller.
Watching in fascination the slumbering nipple crest to full
alertness. "Maybe I should do this." His lips suckled possessively,
teeth and tongue tenderly anointing her quivering flesh.

A satisfied moan escaped her. Her body
became shot through with delicious sensations. "Oh . . . Noah . . .
that feels wonderful. It's been so long ..." Marlayna pressed his
head closer, encouraging him to continue, abandoning herself
completely to his love-making.

His rough tongue licked at the swollen peak,
bathing it gently before his predatory mouth moved on to sample its
mate. His hand traveled the sensuous waist-to-hip curve, slid
across her stomach and slipped between her thighs. His gentle
fingers caressed, stroked and found her moist center.

Her legs trembled, her entire body
shuddering under the erotic stimulation. She wanted Noah to share
her pleasure. Her hand flowed along his spine, pressing into the
hard muscled flesh of his buttocks.

His responding sounds of delight spurred her
on, her fingers finally closing over the firm thrust of his
manhood. She gently caressed and stroked him, marveling anew at how
strong and hard he was yet how like satin he felt against her
fingers.

"It has been too long, love," Noah groaned.
His breathing was shallow and rapid. "I'm afraid I can't hold out
any longer."

"Neither can I." Marlayna pulled him on top
of her. Her hands framed his face, her lashes fluttered. "But as I
recall, you perfected the art of the quickie!" At his husky laugh,
her legs parted to receive him. "I love you, Noah."

She had finally said the words he had longed
to hear. His mouth was harsh, almost brutal against her parted
lips. A stunning contrast to the slow, sensual, tender intrusion
his body made merging into hers.

Noah savored the moment, experiencing rather
shattering dual sensations of blissful death and brilliant rebirth.
"Mimi, you've given me back my life." His voice was filled with
wonder.

He planted a soft kiss in the hollow of her
throat and then his body began to move. "You feel like liquid
silk." Long, deep strokes made them both cry out in mutual ecstasy.
His hands gripped her hair, his face displaying all the joy and
wonder of their union as he continued to bring them closer to their
ultimate release.

Marlayna wrapped her legs tightly around his
hips and readily matched his desire. Her hands gripped his
shoulders, pulling him down onto her breasts, trying to mock logic
and science by making two actually become one. Part of her wanted
nothing more than to concentrate on Noah, bestowing on him every
ounce of love that she possessed. Yet another part of her had
become selfish and cared only about the pleasure he was giving.