Part Time Marriage (14 page)

`Your husband for you from Brazil,' Faith announced, sounding impressed. It took all of Elexa's professionalism for her to speak in any sort of an even tone. Noah was in South America! He had given no hint on Saturday that he was going so far away-but Perhaps he hadn't known himself, though she had an idea he knew his itinerary months in advance. `Put him through, please,' she requested, but found that Faith already had..

`Elexa-I' m going to be here longer than I anticipated,' Noah informed her.

`You won't beback Wednesday?' she guessed, disappointment that she wouldn't be seeing him hitting her like a body-blow.

`It will more likely be very early Thursday morning,' he replied.

`Fine,' she answered noncommittally, not knowing quite how to answer but, unsure whether Faith might be monitoring the call, not wanting to give anything away. 'I'll- see you when you get back, then,' Elexa kind of mumbled, aware that her visit to his home had just been cancelled, but while not wanting to end the call, she knew that she should put down her phone.

Only it was not yet over, she learned, when, somewhat obscurely, Noah stated, `I didn't bring my keys with me.' `You didn't?'

She was still searching for a clue, when, realising that Noah was equally aware that someone might be listening in, he enlightened her, `I shouldn't like to disturb you if it's four in the morning when I arrive. I'll get my driver to pick them up from your reception tomorrow.'

Her heart started to race. There had been no question there, but quite clearly Noah was asking her to leave a spare set of keys at Reception for him to let himself in-to her home! He, having just cancelled her visit to his home because he had no idea at what time he would get back, was trying to tell her without giving any telephone operator who might be listening in a chance to speculate thathe, would visit her.

'I'll-make sure they're there,' she answered as evenly as she could and, so he should know she fully understood, she added, 'I'll see you as soon as you can make it.' Her heart was suddenly thundering, `Bye,' she said, and quickly put down the phone.

She made a dive for the cloakroom and found she was trembling. But after a few minutes she made herself realise it wasn't her so much whom Noah wanted to see but, having contracted to have a son with her, he did not want to waste another four weeks waiting until her next fertile time.

Which, as she paced the floor in her flat on Wednesday evening, did not make her feel veryspecial. Though why should it? She had gone into this with her eyes wide open. Noah wanted no emotional entanglements, and neither did she. Well, she hadn't until she'd been so crass and stupidly fallen in love with him.

She tried hard to be logical but, love being the brain-scrambler it was, it wasn't easy. She had entered this agreement perfectly aware of what it was all about. She had married Noah for the married status that would stop her mother's almost daily phone calls promoting some man or other-not to mention her mother roping in the rest of the family to assist. She had married him in order to gain some peace to pursue her career and take whatever promotion that career afforded, to pursue her goal and go higher yet higher up that business ladder. All she had to do in return was to give Noah the heir he wanted.

Noah had fulfilled his part of the bargain, and, remembering how he had even attended her cousin's wedding-which hadn't been part of the agreement-he had fulfilled his part magnificently. Now it was up to her to fulfil her part.

Around midnight Elexa decided to go to bed. She had given serious thought to sitting up and waiting for Noah. But, in a snatch of a logical moment, knew she had an extremely busy day planned for tomorrow, and Noah had mentioned the possibility of it being four in the morning before he arrived.Perhaps if she could get a few hours' rest before then?

She had some vague notion that planes were not allowed to land in London before five in the morning but, considering that she rarely flew anywhere, what did she know? Besides, for all she knew Noah could be flying in on some private jet and landing anywhere.

Realising that big, big business was vastly different from the big business she was in, Elexa showered and got into bed. She put the bedside light out, then realised that, since Noah did not know the layout of her bedroom, perhaps it would be better if she left it on. Not that she expected to go to sleep for a moment.

She awoke with a start, opening her eyes to see Noah standing there. 'I'm sorry,' he apologised softly, `I didn't mean to wake you.'

`I didn't mean to go to sleep,' she answered. She sat up and went to get out of bed, had a belated moment of modesty when she remembered the thinness of her nightdress-but asked anyway, `Can I get you something to drink?A sandwich?"

'I had something on the plane. I wouldn't mind a shower, though.' While Noah took his bag with him to the bathroom Elexa made room for him in her bed. It wasn't as large as his bed, more a three-quarter than a double. But at least it wasn't a single.

`H-how was business?' she asked when he returned. He was wearing a robe, but appeared to be wearing little else, and she was suddenly feeling nervous-and trying not to show it.

`Hectic, but satisfying,' he answered, and, coming to one side of the bed, began to untie the belt of his robe.

Hurriedly Elexa looked away, and the next she knew Noah was getting into bed beside her. He was close, the bed too narrow for there to be any real kind of space between them.

She lay down, his naked skin burning through the thin material of her nightdress. `You look tired,' she observed, though not actually looking at him. `Would you like to sleep a little f-first?"

'First?' he queried, on a low laugh,then reached for her. He turned her to face him, the length of their bodies touching. She knew then that he was not too tired to make love to her. `Still scared?' he asked, planting a light kiss on her mouth.

She kissed him back, and as she felt the need of his body, so a need for him started to stir in her. `Not scared, exactly,' she answered honestly.'It-lovemaking- is still a bit new.' She voluntarily kissed him. `I have, after all-' she smiled `-only ever tried it once.'

`Now there's an invitation if ever I heard one.' Noah smiled back at her and, so saying, gathered her more closely to him, and, his head coming down, he kissed her. Gently he parted her lips with his own, his hands a whisper of tenderness as he caressed her slowly closer to him.And as her need for him began to soar, so Elexa wanted to be closer, ever closer to him.

`Noah.' She moaned his name when his sensitive fingers teased the hardened peak of her breast.

Again he kissed her,then pulled briefly away from her to put out the light. `Are you going to let me do the honours this time?' he teased softly, his fingers already busy with her nightdress.

She laughed, a tender, loving laugh, and just loved and loved him, when at last naked withhim, Noah tenderly took her to new and yet more thrilling heights. Elexa was an early riser, but that Thursday morning it was nearing seven-thirty when she opened her eyes. Any other morning and she would have leapt out of bed to try to catch up on her late start to the day. But that morning she was not in bed alone.

Noah's rhythmic breathing told her he was still fast asleep. As she thought of how exhausted he must have been from his travels and yet how, out of consideration for her, he had not hurried his lovemaking but had taken time and care in case she should experience any stray stand of discomfort while he introduced her yet more fully to this new and wonderful world, suchh an infinite feeling of tenderness washed over her that she wanted to gently hold and kiss him. He had said that their lovemaking would be better for her that time and, thanks to his unimagined sensitivity, it had been.

Elexa then began to grow more and more aware of the feel of his warm naked skin against her own, and a fresh wave of need for him washed over her and began to mingle with her feelings of tenderness. That was when, quietly taking the greatest care not to disturb his exhausted form, Elexa got out of bed.

For the first time ever as she silently moved around, bathing and getting dressed, Elexa had a sensation of not wanting to go to work. She had the oddest notion that she wanted to stay home, perhaps cook breakfast for Noah,maybe spoil him a little... For goodness' sake! Abruptly she put the brakes on all such thinking. Even so, even telling herself that Noah would think her a loony if she tried any such thing, Elexa was in the hall, briefcase in hand, when she had the almost undeniable urge to go into the bedroom and take another look at Noah. She had no idea when she might see him again.

Love was the most weakening emotion, she had discovered, and it took all her powers of determination to walk out of her apartment. Only the thought What if he was awake?spurred her on to move. She drove to her office, knowing for sure that, had Noah been awake, he would be interested in neither her cooking him breakfastnor in her having a go at spoiling him. He was a businessman, was Noah, and the instant he was awake he would be up and about his business.

Around mid-morning she started to worry that he might have some meeting he should be attending. Perhaps she shouldn't have left him sleeping. But he'd only had a few hours' sleep, the love she bore him argued. But work is work, and he loves his work, argued her business head.

So she rang her home number, and there was no reply, and she knew then he had left herapartment, that he wouldn't be there when she got home that night-and she so wanted him to be there. The weekend came and went, with her mother telephoning her once and suggesting that, with things unusually quiet on the family front at the moment, perhaps she and Noah would like to come to dinner one evening. `Of course, I know you're still enjoying being newly married, so I don't expect you'll want to come too soon,' she added, then, going on, `Poor you. Noah must be away again or I wouldn't have found you at your place.'

It was a fact that Elexa had no earthly idea where Noah was. He could be on any of the continents as far as she knew, or even in London.

On Thursday in the week that followed she had lunch withh her old friend Lois, but was mercifully saved from answering more than a query of how was Noah with a smiled, `Fine,' because Lois had a new man. What Hugh thought, did, ate and drank seemed to fill up most of the lunchtime.

Elexa did so wish that Lois's new relationship would work out. But a week later Elexa had a fresh worry of her own. She discovered she was not pregnant and spent the weekend feeling dreadful because it was so.

By Sunday she was feeling a complete and utter failure. She knew she had to let Noah know; she had left it too long to tell him the last time. She rang his number in the morning; he wasn't in. She tried again in the afternoon. By evening she was searching for some way to phone his PA on Monday to try and find out where he was, without letting Gillian Owen know that Noah had a very unusual marriage in that his wife had no idea of his movements!

Elexa had one last try later on Sunday evening, `Peverelle,' he answered-and her heart seemed to leap straight out of her body.

'It's-it's Elexa,' she managed.

`Something worrying you?You sound quiet?' he said.

'I'm-um...' She tried again. `It didn't happen,' she said. And, when he was the most astute man she had ever met, just in case he hadn't understood, she explained, `I'm not p-pregnant.' Silence was her answer. He's cross about it, she realised, and that plus her guilt at feeling a failure caused her voice to proudly sharpen as she told him, `Naturally we'll divorce...' My word, if she did!

'We'll divorce when I say we'll divorce!' he rapped furiously before she could take another breath.`And not until then!'

`I..." 'You made a bargain with me,' he snarled through anything she might have been trying to say. `You have your side of the bargain, a marriage to keep your family quiet,' he reminded her hostilely. `How dare you think for an instant to try and back out of our agreement? I won't-'

What he would or wouldn't, Elexa did not wait to hear. She put down the phone, her ears singed enough, thank you very much. She was offended too. She'd had no intention of trying to back out of their agreement!

Elexa had cooled down from her anger by the following day, but still wasn't certain that she wouldn't have ignored Noah Peverelle had she passed him in the street. There was no sense in this love business, she mused, not for the first time-how could she make such wonderful love with him and yet be quite prepared to stick her nose in the air should she see him?

A couple of days later and Elexa was aching for a sight of him again, and had completely forgotten that she had been minded to walk straight on by should she have seen him while out and about.

But she didn't see him. Not then anyway. Although she had just finished her evening meal on Thursday, and was thinking about taking a look at some work she had brought home with her, when the outer buzzer sounded. She went to answer it, `Hello?' she enquired-and nearly collapsed in shock.

`Noah,' replied a superb, well-remembered voice.

Noah! Her heart raced and her throat went dry. Noah was here! Noah was here. Overjoyed, Elexa was about to press the button to let him in when her pride-which hadn't been too visible since she had fallen in love with him decided to give her a prod, and abruptly she was recalling the snarling way he had spoken to her when she had phoned him on Sunday.

`Don't tell me you've forgotten your key!' she fired sharply, only then remembering that he still had her spare keys.

`I wasn't sure of my reception,' he replied and, when she didn't want to laugh, her pride slunk away, and Elexa felt her lips twitch.

'You'd better come up,' she invited soberly, and didn't wait to hear what he answeredprobably nothing, knowing him, but pressed the button to let him in. She had just time to run and pull a comb through her long blonde hair before Noah was ringing her doorbell. She loved him so. All she wanted to do was open the door to him and throw her arms around him. She opened the door-how marvellous he was. He was business- suited, so she guessed he had just left his office. He studied her in turn, his fine grey eyes taking in each dainty feature.