Heart of Hurricane
Page 15
Althea's unhappiness grew with every passing day, until finally she could stand it no more. Though it broke her heart, she decided that the only sensible thing to do was to quit her job and get as far away from Ward as possible. Seeing him every day, being near him, knowing she had lost him, was just too painful.
The morning before they were to return to Houston she typed out her resignation and placed it on Ward's desk before joining the others for breakfast. When she and Ward entered the study a half-hour later, Althea went directly to her desk and pretended to study the notes in her shorthand book while watching him covertly.
A look of puzzlement crossed Ward's face when he noted the plain white envelope in the center of his desk. Picking it up, he removed the single sheet of paper and began to read. As his eyes moved back and forth across the page they grew narrow and his face hardened into a mask of rage. Before he even reached the end he crumpled the paper and slammed his fist down on the desk, making Althea jump.
"Dammit, Althea, I won't stand for this!" he roared. "If you think I'm going to let you leave me, you're crazy! I know you love me, dammit!"
He came around the desk and started for her, and Althea drew back in her chair instinctively. Seeing her face, Ward halted, his mouth compressing into a grim line. "Don't look at me like that!" he commanded in an anguished voice. "I'm not going to hurt you. Don't you know that?'' He flung himself around and stalked to the other side of the room, where he paused to throw her a scowling look over his shoulder. "Not that I wouldn't like to shake some sense into that beautiful head," he admitted disgustedly. "Lord knows, you could use it."
Alarm and hope mingled in Althea's wide blue eyes as she watched Ward's agitated pacing. Hands on hips, jaw clenched, he stormed up and down the room like an enraged beast. "I've tried my best to be patient with you, to give you time to learn to trust me," he grated angrily. "For two weeks now I've kept my distance and given you breathing room, and believe me, that was no easy task. It's been all I could do to keep my hands off you." Exasperated, he raked a hand through his hair and glared at her accusingly. "I've never taken so many cold showers in my life! I've been so damned polite and controlled I could give an English butler lessons. It's enough to make you sick!"
Once again he thumped the desk with his balled fist. "I love you, dammit! And you love me! We could have a wonderful life together, yet you're willing to throw all that away, just because you're afraid I'm like that sorry excuse for a man who calls himself your uncle!" He was so incensed his face was a dark, angry red and the tendons in his neck were standing out sharply. "Well, I'm not like him! And if you can't see that, then, lady, you're as blind as a bat at high noon!"
When she would have spoken, he sliced a hand through the air, silencing her. "All right! So maybe once in a while we'll quarrel. Big deal! That doesn't mean the loving stops. You and I were meant for each other, you little idiot!" Ward raged. "Can't you see that?"
Althea stared at him in amazement. Never. Never would she have believed that she would be glad to hear him rant at her like that ... but she was. She was more than glad—she was delighted!
Her expression gradually changed from wide-eyed shock to pure elation, but Ward was too upset to notice. He glowered at her as though he'd like nothing better than to shake her senseless. "Well, if you think I'm just going to allow you to turn your back and politely walk away, you can think again. You're going to stay right here and we're going to work this thing out together. Do you hear me!"
Watching Ward pacing the room like a raging bull, Althea was having a hard time controlling her amusement. He was so caught up in his own angry tirade that he hadn't even paused to see what kind of reaction he was getting.
"We're going to talk this thing through and do whatever we . . ." Catching sight of Althea's twitching lips, he stopped abruptly, his brows coming together in a frown. "Would you mind telling me just what's so damned funny?" he demanded furiously. "I'm fighting for our future here, and you're sitting there acting like it's all a big joke!"
Joy percolating through her, Althea left her desk and walked to him slowly. Smiling into his scowling face, she slid her arms around his neck, lifted up on tiptoes and, against his mouth, commanded huskily, "Will you just stop yelling and kiss me?"
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10