Part Time Marriage (12 page)

Or thought she did. But that was until his hands caressed down her body to her behind, and gently he began to draw her to him. Her heart seemed to miss several beats, and the next she knew was that, as if wanting, needing, to feel her silken body against him, he had drawn her fully up against his hard, wanting, all-male body- and on that instant shock hit her, making her gasp.

Jerkily, abruptly, without having to think about it, just acting on what she knew to be right, what she knew to be wrong, Elexa pushed him violently away. 'No!' she cried, scrabbling to sit up, taking the bed cover with her. Panicking wildly, she sat there-blinking as Noah moved at speed to switch on the light. He was sitting up too, his broad expanse of chest causing her to swallow. Never had she been so intimate with any man. `I can't do this!' she gasped, and knew that he would be furious with her and that the least he would do would be to throw her out. Nor would she blame him.

Wild-eyed, clutching the duvet to her as Noah stared stern-faced ather, she strove miserably to get herself together. Then, even as she waited for a tongue- lashing, suddenly, as she warily watched him, to her utter amazement Noah started to smile the most wonderful smile-and at that moment her heart went crazy. And as he commented, `It's a bit late to start a game of Monopoly, but if you fancy a cup of tea I'll go and make you one,' then laughed a quite wonderful laugh, so her panic fled-and she fell in love with him.

`Oh, Noah,' she wailed, and to make love with this man suddenly didn't seem alien any more. To make love with this man whom she had just realised held her heart seemed all at once only right. `Are you going to forgive me my moment of panic-and let me try again?' she asked tremulously. His serious expression was back, but it didn't matter. She had seen him smile when she had thought the least he would do would be strangle her. She had heard him laugh when all the odds had been against him doing anything of the sort. She loved him!

`You're sure, Elexa?"

'I'm sure,' she answered, and dropped her modest hold on the duvet she held in front of her. 'I'm sure,' she repeated, and stayed sure when his glance went from her face down to her firm, pink-tipped, swollen breasts.

`You're beautiful,' he murmured.

I'm yours, she wanted to tell him. I'm your wife. But, because she couldn't tell him, she showed him that she was his by raising her arms and placing her forearms on his shoulders.

'Elexa, my dear,' he breathed, his hands coming to her waist. Gently he touched his mouth to hers and, when she responded, she felt his hands caress from her waist to the sides of her breasts, causing her more breathlessness when he captured each hard-tipped globe in his hands. She could not hold in the moan of wanting when she felt the smooth caress of his touch as he tenderly moulded her breasts. She luxuriated in the feel of his fingers, his mouth, when he bent to give and take pleasure as he kissed her breasts, his tongue caressing the stiff peak he had created.

She almost cried out that she loved him, but she couldn't tell him that either. So instead, as he raised his head to look deeply into her eyes, she shyly suggested, `Do we need this light on?'

He paused, but only for a moment. Then the room was in darkness once more. Tenderly he continued to stroke andcaress her body, taking her to new unimagined heights. Still kissing her, he at last brought her to lie down with him-his mouth on hers with a gentle, yet more passionate intensity-and Elexa gloried in their closeness.

Again and again he kissed her, and again and again she returned his kisses. There was no need to hold back any longer. She loved him-what could be more right?

Her senses were soaring when, wanting to get closer, yet closer to him, Elexa let go more of her inhibitions and moved so that the whole length of her body was against his. She pressed against him, and heard his groan of wanting, and for long wonderful moments he held her to him. Then gently he rolled her onto her back, and kissed her, trailing kisses down over her face and throat.

His mouth was against her mouth again when his caressing touch moveddown, lingering over her breasts, and whispered down to the softness of her belly. She moaned his name in her need. `Noah, Noah,' she cried, and from her inexperience, `I want you-but I don't know what to do.'

`Do what feels right to you, my dear,' he murmured, and as he kissed her his caressing hands thrilled her with each intimately investigating touch as his fingers roved over her hips, and more intimately still, causing her to catch her breath.

`Noah!' she whispered on an indrawn gasp of jerky sound.

`Please don't tell me now that you can't,' he urged.

`Oh, I can,' she replied huskily, `I can,' and was aware that, when soon she would welcome him, only she would know that it was with so much love in her heart. CHAPTER SIX

FOR many hours that night Elexa lay sleepless in bed beside Noah. Many thoughts drifted through her mind, but never once did she recall her intention that as soon as she had conceived Noah's child she was going to race out of his home and back to her flat with all speed.

Oh, she loved him so. Was this why it had seemed so right to marry him? Was this the reason why she had been so restless of late? Wasn't it odd how you speculated on love, what it was, and how did you know when you were in love? But when you knew-it was just-there. She had never expected to find love, nor had she particularly wanted to. But it had just...happened.Arrived.Was there.It was just there, and you knew it,couldn't not recognise it .

Oh, hadn't he been wonderful? She remembered his lovemaking, his kisses, and her heart swelled fit to burst. She wanted to stretch out, to touch him. But that, to fall in love with him, had not been a part of the bargain.

Dreamily she thought of those intimate monicnts with him. He had been, oh so gentle with her, tender, sensitive. Knowing he would have to hurt her, he had held back, tempered his passion to try and make it less painful for her.

'Shh,' he had steadied her at one time when, i n her love for him, she had wanted to give h i m pleasure and had moved too eagerly, only I'or a small cry of pain to take her. Noah had stilled, had held her quiet until her pain had gone. Then, gently kissing her, he had aroused her again and all pain had been forgotten.

She glanced at the illuminated bedside clock and saw that it was four-thirty. She knew that she should get up and leave, but she did not want to. She would never lie with Noah again, be this close with him, and she wanted to savour every second.

Elexa was still wide awake a half an hour later when Noah moved and got out of bed.he did not put on the light, but even so she quickly closed her eyes, shyness overcoming her.Shyness, and a sudden uncertainty that Noah might well be surprised to have woken up to find her still there. Perhaps he expected her to have left by now.

But, no, as she heard him moving around, heard the bathroom door open then close, she discounted that thought, recalling how Noah had remained gentle and tender. How afterwards he had sensitively kissed her and brushed the cloud of hair back from her face. `Is everything all right with you?' he had asked softly.

`Y-yes,' she'd whispered back.

`You feel-comfortable?Do you need anything?'

He had been so solicitous of her newly awakened and perhaps tender body, that, her heart full, she had again wanted to tell him that she loved him. `Nothing,' she'd answered, whispering in the darkness. `It was-I didn't know quite what to expect.'

`You don't regret it?'

She had wanted to tell him how much she did not regret it, how much she, in her love for him, wanted to hold nothing back. 'I'm glad I'm not a virgin any more,' she had said shyly.

And when there had been no need, he had kissed her tenderly again, and urged, `Get some rest now,' and, trailing gentle fingers down her face, `Go to sleep, Elexa,' he'd in structed, and then moved from her as if to assure himself that she would rest, would sleep more easily if there was space between them. When, in actual fact, what she had wanted to do was to rest, to sleep in the harbour of his arms.

She heard the shower running and guessed that Noah had an early start, needed to be somewhere. Perhaps he had a plane to catch or perhaps he was driving somewhere for an eight o'clock meeting.

She had opened her eyes, but closed them the moment she heard the bathroom door open again. She kept them closed while drawers whispered open, while a wardrobe was quietly opened. In fact, in the grip of an overwhelming shyness, she kept her eyes closed until she heard the bedroom door open and shut, and knew that she was alone.

The moment Noah hadleft, she regretted that she hadn't said hello, or something.Anything to have some sort of communication with him. Should she get up, go downstairs, say good morning? Shyness once more swamped her, and kept her riveted to the bed.

She jumped when someone rang the doorbell. Then she heard various sounds and realised that a company driver must have come to pick Noah up. Then all was silent and it was too late. Already she wanted to see him again. Perhaps he had left her a note? Get real, why would he? What would he say? Noah had not left her a note, Elexa found when, showered and dressed by six o'clock, she'd gone downstairs. Even knowing that there was no earthly reason why he should leave her a note, she could not help but take a look in the drawing-room and in the kitchen before she left.

Disappointed, and all too soon realising that to be so much in love with someone was an extremely anxious business, Elexa drove to her home to change and go about her own business.

She later drove to her office, knowing that she must never forget that Noah's lovemaking with her had been purely a means to an end. He did not love her, norever would-he was much too busy for such nonsense-so she had better establish that in her head at the start. He hadn't asked for her love, and definitely did not want it.

Elexa pulled up at the offices of Colman and Fisher, having accepted that sad truth. But, love ever hopeful, she wanted to believe that, when this was all over, the divorce done with, she and Noah might finish up as friends.

She had been at her desk a couple of hours when, for the umpteenth time that morning, her phone rang. She picked it up and was advised by Faith, the company telephonist, that there was a call for her from Germany. Germany! So far as Elexa knew she wasn't dealing with any client from Germany- but there was always a first time. `Hello?' she enquiredpleasantly, and nearly dropped when she heard the voice of the man she had lain with only a few long hours ago.

`Noah,' he announced. And as her heart did cartwheels, he continued, `I just wanted to know that you made it to work without any problem.'

Oh, Noah, Noah, how kind, my darling, `Y-yes.No-um-problem.'

`I've caught you at a bad moment?"

'No. No,' she quickly assured him, terrified he would go and this wonderful moment would be too soon over.

'And...' He paused. `You're all right? You feel okay?'

On top of the lovely, lovely world.`I feel fine,' she toned it down. `Good,' he said, and it sounded as if he was smiling. `I'll get on with some work, then.'

`Goodbye,' she said, and put down the phone wondering if being in love had made her senseless or what? Had she not said goodbye, he might have stayed talking a little longer. Love, she was discovering, had neither pride nor sense. But wasn't it lovely of Noah, when he was always so up to his eyes in work, to have taken time out of his busy day to find out if her introduction to lovemaking had left her with trauma of any description?

`You've gone all dreamy-looking,' Carol, one of her team, appeared at her elbow.

Elexa came to, realising she still had her hand on the phone. `That was my husband,' she answered, before she'd got her head back together, and only realised what she had just said when Carol let out a scream of astonishment and delight.

`You're married!' she yelled, and as Idris Jones followed her into Elexa's office Carol turned to him, `Did you know Elexa got married?' she asked. An hour later and Elexa felt as if there wasn't an employee in the large concern of Colman and Fisher who didn't know that, not only did she have a husband, but also knew who he was, what he did, and the fact that he was out of the country working at the moment.

By five that evening, nothing would do but for them to take her to their usual watering hole to celebrate.Elexa, who had been in on some of these sessions herself-one had gone on way past midnight-would by far have preferred to have gone home. From memory she hadn't had any sleep at all last night, and her bed was calling.

She eventually managed to arrive home at nine o'clock, let herself in to hear her telephone ringing, and fairly flew to answer it. `Hello,' she gasped, only for her heart to settle to a dull beat. It was not Noah-though why she should suppose he should ring twice in one day she couldn't think. Love, she realised, had made her irrational.

`I tried to get you last night, but you weren't there,' her mother stated.

`I-we,' Elexa corrected, remembering as far as her family was concerned she was a `we' now. `We were at Noah's.' `And tonight you're at your place?"

'Noah's in Germany,' Elexa replied, realising that since it wasn't such a long flight he might in all probability be back in England again.

`Oh, poor you,' Kaye Aston sympathised. `Never mind, darling, he'll soon be home again. I would have rung before, but for all you didn't go away I considered you to be on your honeymoon. Even so, Noah won't want me clogging up your phone every five minutes. The reason I rang,' she began to explain, although from memory Elexa could never remember her mother needing a reason to dial her number before, `was to remind you of Rory's wedding in three weeks' time. You haven't forgotten?"

'No, of course not,' Elexa assured her. `And Noah will be able to come too?'

Oh,grief ! `Um, I'm not sure. He's very busy-'

`It's on a Saturday,' her mother cut in. `Surely he doesn't have to work on Saturdays?'

Elexa didn't want to lie to her mother. 'I'll see what we can arrange,' she hedged. Falling in love had thrown up other priorities, Elexa realised when her mother finally ended her call. Where, at one time, her parent piling on the pressure over some scheme or other would have given her a worrying time, she went to bed that night without feeling stressed over her mother's telephone call, but with her head filled with thoughts of Noah.