“Julie? Are you all right?”
Perhaps, she thought through a shimmering haze, this isn’t the first time he’s asked that question. His words barely intruded upon the music rising in her soul.
“My,” she murmured, “that feels very…n-i-i-ice.”
At some moment she couldn’t define, his hand cupped her breast outside of her sweater. Then he was moving his palm in light circles over and around her heart. She wanted to curl up and weep for joy. She lifted her arm and let it fall limply across the back of his strong, muscled shoulders. His neck was so wide that her hand, from heel to fingertips, barely spanned it.
Arching her back, she pressed up against his palm. His lips trailed down her throat again then rested against the soft, blue wool over her breast, as if he was waiting for a sign from her.
Julie didn’t want to think about the moment ending. She only knew she ached for more of his passion…or his flawless performance, if he, in fact, was just acting. This was an unexpected glimpse of heaven.
“Tell me now, Julie. What would you like me to do?” he whispered huskily in her ear. “I can stop now.”
“No!” The word erupted from her lips as her eyes flew open. “Please don’t stop.” But how could she tell him what to do when she didn’t have a blessed clue of the possibilities? She tried to remember romantic scenes in favorite movies. But all she could see were Tyler’s gray eyes, beckoning to her, tempting her.
She felt as if she were being stalked, yet protected, too, as impossible as that seemed.
“Willing to take potluck, are you?” he growled from low in his throat.
She quivered at the cryptic promise in his words. She couldn’t speak.
Easing her forward of the cushions, he lifted her sweater up and over her head in one swift motion. Cool air hit her skin. Her immediate impulse was to cover herself with her arms, but she stopped herself in time. Pinning her arms stiffly to her sides she lifted her chin and allowed him to scrutinize her. He touched the lace cup of her bra, ran a finger along its upper edge. Then pulled it down until her nipple showed dark and rosy against the creamy lace.
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
Julie squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch any longer. The Earth spun, deliciously confusing, out of control, sliding off orbit into Saturn’s rainbow rings. She felt incredibly torn between wanting to run from the room in utter embarrassment and aching to clutch Tyler to her and never release him. His hot breath crossed her breast. His mouth closed over one taut nipple. A tongue of agonizing, glorious fire angled down through her as his teeth rasped gently over the raised tip, reducing her to glowing ashes. He tormented her with his lips, his tongue, coaxing her toward ecstasy.
Arching higher, she grasped handfuls of his hair and pressed him harder to her. Not…what…I…expected! she thought wildly. Not this lust that wasn’t just Tyler’s…it was equally hers. And she hadn’t even known it existed. She was breathing hard, taking in air in short fat gulps, thriving and dying from his caresses in the same second.
Julie heard herself cry out then buried a second, sharper shriek in the soft dark hair on top of his head that smelled of pine and leather and hot sand. After a moment, she realized Tyler had stopped moving. He was breathing hard; his lips had fallen open. His head rested between her breasts—one still covered by her bra, the other exposed and throbbing. She looked down, needing to know his thoughts. His eyes were wide, surprised.
“Tyler?” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I’ve done something wrong already?”
“Good grief,” he moaned.
“I didn’t mean to scream like that.”
Tyler pushed off from her and after a quick, wistful glance at her breasts, pulled her sweater back into place, covering her. He felt as if he’d been mowed down by one of his own cement trucks. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t apologize. You…” He struggled with words. “I just don’t think you’re ready for anything more, not yet.”
The truth was, Tyler told himself, he was the one who wasn’t ready. He hadn’t been prepared for his bashful betrothed to take off like a rocket when they’d started necking. It had begun as a game for him. He’d been curious about how far she’d let him go before she put her foot down. But her dainty little toes had never hit the carpet!
Worse yet, he hadn’t expected his own potent reaction to her, on levels he’d never experienced. He’d pegged Julie for one degree above frigid, told himself it would take him weeks of gentle cajoling, sweet-talking and dedicated effort to get her to spread those sweet librarian’s legs. But he’d been wrong. She’d given him absolutely free rein, and he’d very nearly lost control in the storm of his own lust. He was pretty sure the two cries that had escaped her lips indicated she’d enjoyed an early climax. And all he’d done was play with her breasts.
The moment he’d started touching and kissing her—at first in the studied manner he’d applied to other women—he’d known she was different. Julie wasn’t simply experiencing a physical reaction to a man’s best attempts to get her into bed. She was naturally and innocently passionate in a way he’d never known a woman to be. If he was any judge at all of the female creature, Julie was a virgin. Yet she was as ripe as an August berry, ready to burst with succulent flavor. If he’d given in to his raging hormones, he’d have ripped off her clothes and been inside her before either of them could blink.
But it hadn’t felt right. He was a savage, taking advantage of her inexperience. What had he gotten himself into?
The hell of it was, he actually felt something for this woman he intended to marry. Emotions were the worst possible complication for any business arrangement. And this unfamiliar mixture of guilt and yearning to cherish the woman in his arms was a dangerous way to feel toward a business partner.
With deep remorse on behalf of the fully aroused portion of his anatomy, Tyler slid away from Julie on the couch. It took another few moments to slow his pounding heart and gather the willpower to leave her. He stood up.
“That was a mistake,” he said huskily. Coherent thought was impossible at the moment. He couldn’t imagine the appropriate words to say to her. Striding across the room as fast as his rubbery legs would carry him, he hoped these would do as an apology.
Tyler stood in the middle of his kitchen for five…ten minutes…possibly longer, staring at the ice-and-water dispenser in the door of his refrigerator. Trying to catch his breath, trying to make sense of the last few minutes. He wondered if the soft sounds he heard coming from the other room were Julie’s muffled sobs. He was too afraid to look.
Before he found the courage to step back into the living room and face the damage he had done, Julie appeared in the doorway, her eyes dry but suspiciously tinged with pink. She avoided his worried gaze, crossed the kitchen and turned on the burner under the kettle.
“I’m going to make myself a cup of tea, if you have any bags,” she said succinctly.
“Everything got away from me,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded. “Tea bags?”
He pointed to the cupboard to her right. “I could have hurt you.” When she reached for the makings of her tea and still didn’t reply, he cleared his throat, considered giving her a good shake to get her attention, but quickly dismissed the idea. He’d unnerved her enough for one night. “It’s better this way. We’ll wait. After the wedding, we’ll make your baby, but—”
“But we won’t make love,” she whispered. “Not really.”
He looked at her in disbelief. A few hours ago, he wouldn’t have believed her sweet features could ever look hard. But Julie’s lovely fawn eyes had turned steely and determined. Her half smile was brittle. The teakettle began to whistle.
He was confused now. “There are clinical means of impregnating a woman. But I thought you didn’t want—”
“You can’t possibly know what I want!” Julie rounded on him, hot teapot in one hand, her other balled into a tight little fist in front of her. She shook both at him.
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“No,” he said cautiously, “I guess not.” He’d never learned how to deal with an angry woman. A quick kiss? A pat on the bottom? Flowers? His mother responded well to hugs. He figured he’d probably get christened with the teapot if he tried any of the above now. “Julie, tell me why you’re so upset.” He took the teapot from her and set it behind him on the countertop, out of range.
She looked directly at him, and he was sure her eyes had never been more appealing than right at that moment, snapping with anger. “I can’t explain.” She bit off her words.
“Maybe you’re reacting to the situation, not to me,” he suggested hopefully. “This is all a little weird. We both know we’re not in love with each other…and probably never will be. If you’d had lovers before, you’d know it’s asking for trouble to pretend otherwise.”
She tossed her head. There was fire in her eyes. “How do you know I haven’t had tons of lovers before you?”
He made a valiant effort to stop himself from laughing. The best he could do was choke off the impulse under the guise of a cough. “I suppose I’m just guessing, since you told me you hadn’t gone out on many dates. Sorry if I presumed—”
“Well, I should hope so.”
He stared at her. Where was this coming from—this hidden spunkiness?
“I was just looking out for your best interests,” he tried to explain.
“You don’t know me. How can you tell me what’s best for me?”
“All right. Fair enough.” He decided he needed tea now as much as she, if not something a good deal stronger. Quickly, he took out two mugs, dropped a tea bag in each and sloshed as much water as possible over them from the kettle. Before the tea finished brewing, he took three rapid swallows of the weak but boiling-hot liquid. He put the mug down with a thump. “Enough of the guessing games,” he said firmly. “You’re going to tell me what you want…now.”
The demand seemed to startle her. She blinked up at him, and he could almost see the question turning over and over in her mind, like a pebble tumbling downhill. What do I want? What do I want?
It was fascinating, watching her features soften, her eyes grow distant with concentration, her lips press together in thought. It struck him in this dim light that, when she was preoccupied with other things and not concerned with her nervous habits, she was quite lovely.
“Do you want me to make love to you?”
A flash of panic crossed her eyes. “I—well…” Unexpectedly, she let out a nervous laugh. “How do they put it? I believe the moment has passed?”
Unfortunately, it hadn’t passed for him. He had wanted her when he had her pinned to his couch and she was melting in his arms. And he wanted her now, even though her usual charming air of helplessness had been replaced by a tentative streak of will. She might have been offended by the way he’d kissed her and fondled her…but he still wanted her. And what maddened him more than anything was…he knew he’d still want her just as badly even if she felt nothing for him.
“I guess it has,” he lied. But he couldn’t help hoping it would return. If not in the morning, then some time the next day…or the next…or, at least, soon. He was praying for very soon.
This is a turning point in my life. The thought came to Julie in a flash of insight at three o’clock the next morning, as she lay awake in Tyler Fortune’s bed, staring at Tyler Fortune’s condo ceiling, remembering the feeling of Tyler Fortune’s lips against hers.
Julie knew deep within her soul that what had happened the night before, and whatever she decided to do this morning, would determine her future. It was as if a power beyond her imagination had reached down from the heavens, swept her up off the dusty streets of Houston and dropped her down here in Pueblo, Arizona. Which might as well be called Fortuneville for all the power Tyler’s family wielded in this town. And now that she was here, she was being forced to choose between two totally different lives. The most troublesome thing was, she wanted and feared both of her options for different reasons.
Julie tossed on the bed, feeling that if by some chance she could find a comfortable position she might also discover a solution to her dilemma. What were her choices? Return to her safe, humble life, numb to the world, avoiding contact with strangers. Alone. It wasn’t a bad life. But she couldn’t honestly say she’d ever be happy in it.
Or she could keep her word and take one terrifyingly brave leap into the world of the Fortune family. It would be the most dangerous thing she’d ever done. She’d been waiting a lifetime to love and be loved, and children were a guarantee of that love.
Men were different, she thought in frustration, thrusting her hands beneath her head. Men were incapable of love…at least, not the sort women experienced. They pretended sincerity and devotion to get what they wanted. Just as Tyler had pretended his passion for her the night before, because he’d been in the mood for sex. And she’d been convenient.
She didn’t blame him. He was just doing what came naturally to the male of any species. But for just the briefest of times she’d lost herself in the fantasy he’d woven around them. And that had made his walking away from her, after he’d made her need him, all the more painful.
She wouldn’t let that happen again. If she really did stay in Pueblo and he came to her another night, she would give him her body because that was part of their deal. But she wouldn’t surrender her heart.
With the first light of day, Julie leaned over the side of the king-size bed where she’d slept alone and reached down to the floor for her overnight bag. She pulled out a denim skirt and pink oxford shirt, underclothes and panty hose, and took them into the adjoining bathroom. When she finished showering and washing her hair, she used two of the thick white towels stored under the sink to dry off, then blew-dry her hair.
From the other room, she heard the telephone ring. It took Tyler four rings to answer it. He was obviously sleeping as soundly as a baby—unaffected by last night’s drama.
A moment later, as she was applying a thin sweep of pale peach lip gloss, he knocked on her door. “Come in,” she said coolly.
He cracked the door but didn’t step inside, and she was struck by the odd expression on his face—something close to sheepishness. “It’s my grandmother. She wants to know if noon is okay to go shopping.”
Her wedding gown! Once she let Kate buy her a gown, there would be no turning back. Go…or stay? She must decide now. Return to safe dreariness, or step off an emotional cliff and plunge headlong into a colorful but terrifying family? “Noon is fine,” she whispered.
Five
“I know I said this last night, but it bears repeating. I’m so very glad our Tyler found you, my dear. I’ve been so worried about him,” Kate said as she pulled her sleek silver Mercedes convertible into a parking space close to one of the entrances to the fashionable mall at Saguaro Valley.
Julie could only wonder what this proud, gracious woman would think of her if she knew the truth. She felt utterly undeserving of this extravagant shopping trip.
“Thank you,” Julie said, “I hope I’ll live up to your expectations.”
Kate smiled, her pale eyes twinkling with pleasure. “Oh, you will, you will. Now, let’s go have some fun.” As they walked through the elegant etched-glass doors into the art nouveau mall, Kate reached for Julie’s hand. “Let me have another look at this diamond.”
Julie smiled and offered her left hand. It was a beautiful ring. Two perfect carats, the round solitaire set in a gold eight-pronged mounting with no adornments to distract from its blue-white fire.
“Do you like it, my dear?” Kate asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “I told Tyler when we went into the jeweler’s I didn’t want anything too busy. No side stones or fancy modern designs. Just a simple solitaire. I would have been happy with just one carat, but he said you’d send him back if he came home with less than two.”
Kate roared with laughter. “The boy knows his grandmother!”
Although Kate encouraged Ju
lie to try on as many gowns as she liked, Julie’s eye immediately settled on a simple dress of heavy, buttery satin without lace, sequins or pearls. A boat neckline scooped modestly below her throat and over her narrow shoulders. The three-quarter-length sleeves were fitted snugly around her lower arms with tiny satin-covered buttons. She’d never worn anything with covered buttons. They seemed such an elegant touch. The bodice was tapered so close to her own shape it felt like a luxurious second skin, and the skirt fell wide in front of her toes, then lengthened in the back to flow into a short train. Aware of who Julie was marrying, the saleswoman pressed her to try gowns encrusted with glittering layers of hand-appliquéd lace, crystal beads and baby pearls. Kate also attempted to interest her in more elaborate gowns. But Julie politely turned them all down. This was her gown.
“It suits you,” Kate approved at last, “just as your ring does. On your wedding day, you should wear only what makes you happy.”
The veil was chosen as quickly. Few alterations were necessary, only an inch off the gown’s hem. But when Kate informed the boutique’s owner she would personally pick up the gown in two days, the woman looked shocked.
Julie cracked a smile as they left the shop. “Such a hurried wedding…she must be suspicious and just bursting with gossip.”
“I’m sure she is. Pueblo has a small-town mentality and is very conservative, for all its fine stores and new construction. Everyone knows everyone else’s business here—and you snuck up on them, my dear. Within a few hours they’ll all know the wedding date, where the ceremony will be, the name of the caterer, and how many will be in the bridal party.”
Julie frowned. “The church. That’s the real problem, isn’t it?”
“Taken care of already,” Kate assured her with a wave of her hand and a toss of her silver head, “although the outcome is different than I’d originally planned.”
“How is that?”
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