by Erika Wilde
She grinned impishly, her eyes dancing with a mischievous light he knew he was eventually going to douse as the morning turned to more somber matters. “I guess I did need the rest,” she admitted.
And not just because of their night of intense, sizzling sex. The distressing situation she’d endured at work had obviously contributed to the stress and tension, heightening her need to work off the restless apprehension that had settled over her. She’d chosen to lose herself in sensual sensations, and once she’d slaked her lust, she’d been physically and emotionally wasted. After their multiple encounters, deep, uninterrupted slumber had consumed her, which had been for the best, he knew.
She picked up her mug and took a sip of the steaming brew, and the opening in her blouse gave him a glimpse of the faint, crescent-shaped red mark on the swell of her breast.
He reached out and touched the blemish his teeth had left on her smooth skin and winced in contrition. “I’m sorry about doing this to you.”
“No, you’re not,” she refuted, her tone playful. “And neither am I, though I’m glad you’re not leaving your love bites in plain sight for everyone to see.”
Leaning close, he nuzzled her neck, inhaling the fresh, clean scent of shampoo and mint toothpaste. “I’d like to,” he said throatily.
God, he’d never been so wild and untamed with a woman as he’d been with Natalie last night. But it had turned him on to claim her in such a brazen, primitive way, and obviously it had aroused her, too. Just thinking about her eager, shameless response to the way he’d taken her the first time last night sent a rush of heat to his dick.
Before he gave in to the desire to take her up against the table for a morning quickie, he inhaled a deep, steadying breath and switched mental gears. “Want me to make you breakfast?”
“I’m not overly hungry.” She set her coffee on the table, then pulled a box of Raisin Bran from the pantry and a bowl from the cupboard. “I’ll just have a small bowl of cereal. By the way, I was thinking we could go shopping today to buy a gift for Cole and Melodie’s wedding tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He leaned his hip against the counter as she added milk to her flakes. He let her enjoy a few mouthfuls of her breakfast before deciding to get business done and over with. “Natalie, we have to talk.”
She carried her bowl to the table and sat down, a small, hesitant smile on her lips. “I figured as much, since you said that last night before I distracted you,” she said, and took another bite of her cereal.
He felt a perceptible change in her, a reserve that was nearly tangible. “Not that I’m complaining about your persuasive methods,” he assured her, wanting to be certain she knew and understood that he’d been a willing participant from the moment she’d kissed him in the foyer. “But there’s something I have to tell you.”
She met his gaze head-on, and he couldn’t miss the uncertainties and fear that had found their way back into her expressive eyes. “You know who’s after me, don’t you?”
He felt as though he’d been sucker punched in the belly. He didn’t know how she knew, but he suspected it was mostly intuition on her part. She might have lost her memory, but she was a sharp, insightful woman, and it didn’t take a master’s degree to figure out that someone was following her, considering how bold Chad had been in his pursuit so far.
There was no way to soften his answer, so he gave it to her straight. “Yeah, I do. And it’s someone you know. Someone from your past that you don’t remember because of your amnesia. And you need to know who this person is so you can protect yourself.”
She shook her head, her confusion and apprehension plain. “I don’t understand.”
As the man who’d taken it upon himself to be her guardian, it was his job to make her understand. No matter how painful the process, no matter that his revelations might trigger a flood of memories that would be the beginning of the end for them. He had to level with her, at least about her relationship with Chad, so she knew what kind of danger she was up against.
He sat in the chair next to hers at the table and took a long drink of his coffee for fortitude. “Before you moved to Oakland, you lived in Reno. Do you remember that?”
Her brow furrowed into a frown, as if she were trying to recall that time in her life. “Parts of it,” she said vaguely.
He waited a little longer for her to mull over the information he’d given her, but nothing seemed to click into place for her. Not yet, anyway.
He continued to feed her more facts, a little at a time so he didn’t overwhelm her. “You went to college at the University of Nevada, Reno, and you were dating a man by the name of Chad Freeman.”
She set her spoon in her half-eaten cereal and pushed the bowl aside, her appetite obviously gone. “The name…it’s familiar somehow.”
But she wasn’t placing the man’s name with a face…yet. Noah knew he had no choice but to connect the link for her. Reaching for the file folder he’d brought into the kitchen with him, he withdrew the photo her old landlady had given him. He was all too aware of the personal risk he was taking by showing her the picture, bringing Chad Freeman between them.
But his choices were limited, and he wasn’t about to sacrifice her safety for his own selfish desire to completely erase her past with a man who’d abused her. “This is Chad Freeman,” he stated, and forced himself to turn the picture around for her to see.
Her eyes widened, and her face paled. “Oh, God,” she croaked, visibly shaken. “He’s the man who cornered me in the restaurant.” She raised her gaze to Noah, panic and confusion etched across her expression. “And what am I doing in that picture with him?”
Seeing how traumatized she was by the photo, he tucked it back into the folder. “Like I said, you were dating him for a few years. He’s the man I believe is harassing you, Natalie.”
She shook her head in denial, her shock rendering her momentarily speechless.
He hated putting her through such emotional turmoil, but her life and future were at stake. “Natalie, honey, I need to know if you remember if this is the man you were running from before you were hit by the car.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers to her temple, as if trying to conjure images in her mind. When she looked at him again, her distress was prominently stamped on her features. “I…I don’t remember!” Her breathing had grown labored. “Are you saying that an old boyfriend is stalking me?”
“All the evidence that I’ve been able to come up with leads to Chad.” He placed a comforting hand over hers, not surprised to find her skin cool and clammy to the touch. “He’s getting bolder in his attempts, and you need to know who and what is threatening you.”
“But why would he want to hurt me?”
Because Chad Freeman was a deranged son of a bitch who didn’t deal well with rejection, Noah thought bitterly. But he kept his own personal theory to himself, instead revealing to Natalie what he’d discovered from her landlady, Vivian. He explained how Chad had become more domineering of her and mentally abusive, and how his temper had exploded when she’d taken on a job as a showgirl to earn some extra money. When she’d broken off the relationship he’d stalked her and finally physically attacked her one night after work.
Disbelief and horror flashed in her gaze, and she abruptly stood up, her entire body stiff. “Why don’t I remember any of this?” she demanded, her tone high and shrill and near hysterical.
Concerned that the overload of information he’d given her, all of which she couldn’t recall, would cause her to have a nervous breakdown, he stood, too, ready to catch her if she fell apart. “According to the doctor who treated you the night of your accident, he explained that your retrograde amnesia could have been caused not only by a head injury, but by something traumatic you might have suffered before the accident, and that might have been Chad following you that night. As a result, your memory is blocking out your past with him and other recollections you might not want to remember.”
>
“But I do want to remember,” she insisted angrily through clenched teeth, “because I can’t go on like this much longer!”
Unable to help himself, he gathered her into his arms, holding her close to soothe her anxiety and fears. “I’ve got Bobby working the case, along with me and Cole. We’re going to find him, Natalie,” he said fiercely. “And in the meantime, I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you.”
Unfortunately, despite his best intentions and resources, he knew she wouldn’t be completely safe until they caught Chad.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister said, closing his Bible and looking up at Cole and Melodie with a smile. “You may now kiss your new bride.”
Sighing wistfully, Natalie watched as Cole lifted Melodie’s veil, gathered her into his strong embrace and gave her a kiss that had the congregation of family and friends applauding their new marital status. Flanking the happy bride and groom as best man and maid of honor were Cole’s two siblings, Noah and Joelle, who were beaming with pride.
Joelle’s husband, Dean, had opted out of the wedding party in order to take care of his daughter, and he sat next to Natalie in the second pew from the front with five-month-old Jennifer perched on his lap. During the ceremony he’d kept the baby quiet with a bottle, but now the little girl seemed to know it was time to celebrate the joyous occasion and wanted to add to the good cheer. She waved the rattle her daddy had put into her pudgy hand, shaking the noisemaker with enthusiasm and squealing delightedly for good measure.
Natalie laughed, completely charmed by the sweet baby and the obvious affection between father and daughter. Dean was a doting daddy, and she felt so fortunate to be a part of the close, loving dynamics of the Sommers family.
After the upsetting day she’d had yesterday since discovering that a sadistic ex-boyfriend was stalking her, and after experiencing vague recollections of her past with Chad throughout the afternoon and evening, Natalie was grateful for the reprieve of Cole and Melodie’s wedding. Despite the occasional concerned glance Noah cast her way to make sure she was doing okay, the day was filled with joy, laughter and an abundance of smiles, and the cheerful atmosphere made her forget about her own problems for a little while.
With the ceremony over, the wedding party and guests poured out of the church and followed the bride and groom to a nearby country club for the reception. The ballroom was huge, filled with white satin streamers, iridescent balloons and lush, fragrant floral bouquets on every table. Cole and Melodie sat up on a higher platform, just the two of them, while the bridesmaids and groomsmen were able to sit at a reserved table up front with their significant others.
Finally, after all his best man obligations were fulfilled, Noah settled into the chair beside hers, looking breathtakingly handsome in his formal black tuxedo and lavender bow tie that matched the bridesmaids’ gowns. His striking blue eyes glimmered with enjoyment, and he wore a bad-boy grin just for her that jump-started her pulse.
He dipped his head close to hers, and his warm male scent added to the desire settling low and deep within her. “Have I told you how incredibly sexy you look in that dress?” He trailed a finger along the line of her shoulder, bared by the design of the outfit.
She shivered at his seductive touch and welcomed his playful charm, immensely pleased that he liked the sleek, wine-colored dress she’d chosen with him in mind. “You’ve told me, oh, only about a dozen times.”
Beneath the table, he flattened his hand on her knee and skimmed his hot palm under the hem of her dress and up her thigh. “But what I haven’t told you is that I can’t wait to find out what you’re wearing beneath it.”
His boldness caught her off guard, considering they were seated with four other couples and his baby niece was nearby. She clamped her legs together before he could discover that the only things separating his searching fingers from her bare flesh were thigh-high stockings and a lacy thong.
She caught his wrist, and a playful, arousing game of tug-of-war ensued beneath the linen tablecloth. “Behave yourself,” she murmured, her cheeks heating with a blush.
A sinful grin canted the corners of his mouth. “Now, what’s the fun in that?” Withdrawing his hand, he winked at her, then turned his attention to his sister and brother-in-law. “Hey, Dean, how’s the consultation work going?”
While other guests seated themselves and black-jacketed waiters circled the room to take drink orders from the tables, Natalie listened with interest as Dean and Noah discussed the freelance business Dean had recently started. Since he’d been the CEO of a traffic-control business in Seattle before selling his company, he now offered his expertise to construction firms with bids and estimates on high-dollar projects. Natalie was amused to discover that Dean also accompanied his wife on the occasional bail-recovery assignment she took on through the investigative agency.
As the conversation continued between couples and the band struck up some light dinner music, Jennifer was passed around the table to familiar faces to keep her amused and occupied. When it came to Noah’s turn to take her, he did so without hesitating, his big hands easily fitting around her chubby waist.
He held her up in the air and wiggled her until she gave him a big, toothless smile. “How’s my favorite niece?” he said, his tone deep, but infinitely gentle.
“She’s your only niece, Noah,” Jo said wryly, pointing out the obvious.
“Which makes her my favorite,” he said, never taking his gaze from the little girl in his arms. “Isn’t that right, princess?” He blew a raspberry on her neck, making her squeal with delight and clasp his cheeks in her hands.
Natalie laughed as Jennifer tugged at his bow tie and grabbed at the flower on his lapel, and Noah fended off each of her attempts with a tickle or something equally distracting. And when she drooled on his crisp white dress shirt he didn’t so much as blink twice.
Natalie didn’t know, or perhaps didn’t remember, that he had a such a soft spot for kids, but there was no denying how full her heart felt at the sight of Noah with the baby girl, and just how comfortable he was playing with her. The man would make a great father one day, and the thought made her own stomach flutter at the notion of being the one to carry his child.
The salads arrived, followed by dinner, then pure celebration took precedence for the rest of the evening, along with traditional wedding customs. The bride and groom shared the first dance, then cut the big, elaborate four-tiered cake, which was then served to the guests.
Melodie tossed her bridal bouquet to the small group of unmarried women, and while Natalie had joined in on the festivity with Joelle urging her on, she’d never expected to be the one to catch the bundle of flowers. She stood off to the side, and no one was more surprised than her when the bouquet hit her in the chest and dropped right into the hands she automatically shot out in front of her to protect herself from the floral slingshot.
She was rewarded with cheers and congratulations, and her gaze sought out Noah, who was watching her with a smile. Their connection was intimate and soulful, but she detected a deeper reserve about him, as if the fact that she held the flowers in her hand was a trick of some kind. Yet they were engaged, which meant there was just as much reality attached to the tradition as wishful thinking.
As the single men gathered out on the dance floor, Cole removed the garter from his wife’s leg and shot it out to the crowd of bachelors. Aggressive and competitive, Noah jumped high to snatch the garter out of the air and claim it for his own. The men around him clapped him on the back, seemingly grateful that they weren’t next in line to slip on the old ball and chain. When Noah started toward her with his prize in hand and a predatory, determined light in his eyes, excitement took hold.
Without warning or hesitation, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist, hauled her close and kissed her, staking a claim on her in front of family and friends in a way no one could misinterpret.
&n
bsp; She was his.
By the time he lifted his head and grinned down at her, she was completely breathless, aroused and flushed from his very public display. As she met Noah’s tender, affectionate gaze, her heart swelled with love for him, so full it felt near to bursting with emotion.
And for the moment, for the night, the feelings between them were all that mattered to her.
* * *
By eleven that night, the wedding revelry had died down considerably, leaving the last of the die-hard party guests to bring the evening’s celebration to a close. A couple of dozen people remained, milling around and conversing with friends, and taking advantage of the music the band was still playing.
Since Cole and Melodie had slipped out of the reception an hour earlier to get a head start on their wedding night, Noah had taken it upon himself to issue goodbyes and thank-yous to the guests as they left the dwindling party.
After bidding Melodie’s father and his date a good night, Noah headed back inside the ballroom to see how Natalie was holding up and if she was ready to go, too. It had been a busy day and evening for both of them. From across the room he spotted her sitting at their table with no other adult company. His breath caught, and his heart seemed to lodge in his throat at the sight that greeted him.
Wearing that sexy dress with her hair in a fancy knot atop her head, Natalie was beautiful enough to stop him in his tracks. But it was the picture of her holding a sleeping Jennifer snuggled in the crook of her arm that gave him a jolt he felt all the way to the depths of his soul. Natalie’s expression was serene as she gazed at the baby girl, her features reflecting awe and contentment.
And that sense of security and peace would soon be shattered, he knew. Maybe not tonight, but there was a man out there determined to wreak havoc on Natalie’s life, who would also put in jeopardy the tenuous relationship they’d forged. Sooner or later, the truth would be revealed.
Pushing the disturbing thought aside, he strolled across the room to Natalie. He sat down in the chair next to her, and she looked up at him with a soft smile.
