Double trouble

by Boswell, Barbara

  "You look tired," Kristina said bluntly, as Kayla halfheartedly tried to rub off all the lipstick prints marking her cheeks, the result of many kisses from, many relatives.

  "I think shell-shocked is more like it." Kayla glanced at the shiny new wedding band, remembering the moment Matt had slipped it on her finger. A small shiver tingled along her spine as she recalled the intensity burning in his eyes. *'Looks like I married a politician, in spite of our pledge never to get involved with one."

  "It was a stupid, unrealistic pledge," said Kristina. "As stupid and unrealistic as Matt's belief that all political con-

  sultants are jackals. You are two unique people who can't be stereotyped."

  ''Spoken with the customary lobbyist finesse."

  "Kayla, please try to understand." Kristina took both Kay la's hands in hers and held them tight. "I didn't want you to make the same mistake that I made with Boyd two years ago. I was afraid to trust him or myself enough to make a commitment and I drove him away. I sensed you were going to do that to Matt, and that's why I interfered. I spent two of the most miserable years of my life, regretting my breakup with Boyd before I finally admitted my mistake. But with the baby coming, you can't afford to wait years. I had to act. We had to act!"

  Kayla resumed trying to repair her makeup. She'd tried to stay angry with Kristina, but couldn't. Her actions were her own responsibiUty and foisting the blame on her sister was unfair.

  The twins' eyes connected in the mirror and Kayla smiled wryly. "But since you helped to engineer this wedding, I'll let you call Penny and tell her about it. I'm not up to listening to her moan because I didn't get an ironclad prenuptial agreement signed before the ceremony."

  Kristina's eyes gleamed. ''I'll tell her she's going to be a grandmother. I can almost hear her amend that to step-grandmother. And then she'll go into her 'I'm only a few years older than you girls, certainly not old enough to be your mother' spiel."

  "And certainly not old enough to be Grandma." Kayla grinned in spite of herself. "Penny ages in reverse—she's soon going to be younger than we are."

  "She's sure different from Matt's mother," observed Kristina. "And from the other women I met here today. All the Minteers are different from our relatives, Kayla. If any of the kids in that family were orphaned, there would be a whole slew of people eager to take them." Her eyes met

  Kayla's in the mirror. *'Your baby will have that security, Kay la. It's something we never had."

  ''I know," Kayla said quietly. *'I guess that's part of the reason why I... agreed to go through with this."

  "The other part is because you think Matt is a gorgeous, sexy hunk and you've fallen in love with him, even if you haven't realized it yet," Kristina said bluntly.

  Kayla arched her eyebrows. "When did you become an incurable romantic?"

  "On the night I arrived in Philadelphia and Boyd took me in his arms and told me that we were never going to be separated again. The same night you met Matt Minteer. It was a magical night for us both, Kayla."

  "Everything that has happened since was the result of that one night," Kayla murmured quizzically. It had been, perhaps, the most fateful night of her life.

  And tonight was another—her wedding night. Kayla was more than a little apprehensive as she and Matt left the tavern among shouts and handfuls of rice from the well-wishers. She sat beside him in the front seat of his car, feeling awkward and shy.

  It was so much easier to talk to him when she was angry. She had no trouble thinking of what to say to him then! When had she stopped feeling that consuming anger and outrage? she wondered. Probably when she had realized that marrying him had been her own choice. She'd ceased feeling like a victim of manipulation. It was important for her to feel in control; she could cope with anything as long as she believed she was. Kayla smiled wryly at the insight.

  Matt caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye. He'd been watching her all day, gauging her reactions and responses from those first shocked moments when she'd realized that today was to be their wedding day, to now, when they were finally alone, the ceremony and his family behind them.

  They hadn't had a chance to talk alone together since those tense moments in his old room when she had furiously Ut into him. He admitted to himself that he'd arranged it that way.

  But now here they were, married, and he was ridiculously uncertain what to say to his own wife. He cleared his throat. "Why are you smiling?" he asked bluntly, too bluntly, and he nearly groaned at his lack of finesse. Trying again, he plastered what he hoped would appear to be a friendly, inviting smile on his face and asked, ''Care to share the joke?"

  ''According to your brother Luke, the joke is on you. He accused me of deliberately plotting to get pregnant so you would have to marry me. He sees you as the victim of my nefarious scheme."

  "Well, we both know Luke is wrong. I'm sorry if he said anything to upset you. I'll set him straight about us as soon as I can."

  Kayla shrugged. "You don't have to. It's none of his business, anyway."

  "But I don't want him to think that—"

  "You fell for the oldest trick in the book?" Kayla asked dryly. "I guess it's something of a blow to your ego to have your brother believe that."

  "I was going to say that I don't want Luke thinking that my wife is a nefarious schemer," corrected Matt. "I know you're accustomed to putting words in other people's mouths-—it's what you do for a living—but kindly let me speak for myself."

  "Oh, yes, sir!" She gave him a mock salute.

  He cast her a quick, curious glance. "Do you mind if I ask you something?''

  "You can ask, but I might not answer. Or if I do, you might not like the answer," she finished coolly.

  "Okay. Are you still angry at me? And if you are, how angry are you?"

  Her cool instantly evaporated. ''You expect me to gauge my anger? Like an earthquake on the Richter scale?"

  *'I was simply trying to determine how things stand between us, Kayla. This is our wedding night and—"

  *'Oh, I get it. You were trying to figure out if you were going to score tonight!"

  "Score? I haven't thought in those terms since my college days. Give me a Uttle credit, Kayla. Anyway, we're married. A husband doosn'i score with his own wife."

  ''That's certainly going to be true in your case."

  *'You're telling me you won't sleep with me tonight? Is that it?"

  "That's right. Not only are we going to have separate beds, I intend to sleep in a separate room." She stopped suddenly and turned to him. "Where are we going anyway?"

  He hadn't mentioned a destination and until now, she hadn't asked about one. They were on a dark road, heading into the mountains, the lights from the city glowing in the distance behind them. There were no other cars to be seen.

  "It's a surprise."

  She decided his smile was distinctly menacing. Kayla shivered, but characteristically decided to tough it out. "You'd better not try to take me on some primitive camping trip in the woods," she warned. "Because I categorically refuse to camp."

  "Is that so?"

  "Yes!"

  He laughed wickedly. "Then you're really in for a surprise, Mrs. Minteer." He turned the car onto a two-lane road leading higher into the mountains, deeper into the woods. Not even the faintest glimmer of the city lights could be seen in the rearview mirror now.

  He was actually going to do it! Kayla thought wildly. He intended to camp out on his wedding night! In these cold

  mountains in the middle of March! *'Take me back to Johnstown right now," she commanded.

  Matt kept right on grinning and didn't bother to reply. He didn't turn the car around and head back toward Johnstown, either.

  *'It's too cold to spend the night in a tent in the middle of a forest in the mountains. Furthermore, if I get sick, it won't be good for the baby," she added righteously.

  ** Who said anything about a tent? Tents are for wimps. I like putting the old sleeping bags on top of a pile of le
aves and sleeping right under the stars." He shot her a sidelong glance. "And I hope you don't intend to use the baby as an excuse to get your way for the next eight months."

  ''You're an insensitive bully!" Kayla stormed. ''No force on earth is strong enough to make me sleep on a pile of leaves! I'll spend the night in the car. And—" She stopped speaking abruptly.

  Matt had pulled the car onto a brightly lit roadway that had suddenly appeared, as if out of nowhere. A stone lodge stood at the center of a wide circular driveway. A hand-lettered sign hanging on a post read, Keystone Inn.

  "You were saying?" Matt prompted. "Something about spending the night in the car?" He braked to a stop in front of the building. "I myself am going inside. I have reservations here.'' He opened the car door.

  "You—you—-" she spluttered. "You deliberately let me think-"

  "I plead guilty to the charges." Matt was laughing. "You were so insistent, so indignant, so irate. I had to do it, I couldn't help myself."

  Kayla's lips quivered. In another moment, she was laughing, too. "I'm still irate, you snake! Do you know how scared I was? Sleeping on a pile of leaves, outside, in thirty-five-degree weather?"

  The prospect, which moments before had outraged her, now seemed so ridiculous she laughed even harder. "You're

  a fiend!" She reached over to sock him. He swiftly moved out of her reach.

  ''Let me put your mind at ease, Kayla." He was still laughing. "I hate camping, probably more than you do. I wouldn't do it if I were paid to. I associate all those trees and forest flora in the great outdoors with massive sinus headaches. I have allergies," he explained. "All the Minteers do. Chances are the baby will, too. We can vacation at the beach, away from trees, grass and greenery."

  He got out of the car. Kayla opened her door and was getting out when he appeared at her side to assist her. They stood together, facing each other outside the car. Both were still chuckling at his successful joke.

  Their eyes met and they stared at each other, their laughter fading. Kayla gazed into his thickly-lashed dark blue eyes and suddenly felt shaky and breathless and wildly, excitingly aware of everything around her—the cool, fresh scent of the mountain air, the tree branches crackling in the breeze, the warmth emanating from Matt's tall, strong frame so very close to her.

  "Forgive me?" Matt asked softly. His eyes flickered to her mouth. Her hps were full and beautifully shaped. He remembered their softness, their taste, and a sweetly sharp pain of arousal stabbed him. "I teased you. I shouldn't have."

  Kayla swayed toward him. "I deserved it. I did sound awfully—uh—imperious."

  His hands went to her waist. "As overbearing and dogmatic as you accuse me of being." He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers, a kiss that was much too brief to be satisfying. "I told you we were a good match. I need someone strong enough to stand up to me when I'm on my high horse. And you need someone you can't run all over."

  "It sounds more Hke the clash of the titans instead of a marriage." She went up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. At that moment, she realized how much

  i

  she wanted him to be right, how much she wanted to believe their enforced marriage really could work.

  Matt responded instantly to her unspoken plea. His arms went tightly around her and he lifted her up against the hard breadth of his body as his mouth claimed hers for a deep, hungry kiss.

  Soon, too soon for either of them, he released her. Kay-la's feet were back on solid ground once more, but her head was in the clouds. Matt took her hand and they walked inside in a silence laden with anticipation and arousal.

  A huge mahogany desk ran the length of one wall of the inn and a big brick fireplace dominated the other wall where a fire crackled brightly behind the screened grate. An assortment of comfortable-looking couches and chairs were strategically placed, with the fireplace as the focus, giving the lounge a cozily inviting air.

  "It's lovely," Kayla exclaimed.

  Matt smiled. "We're near several ski resorts, but this place draws a clientele that prefers a more quiet and private atmosphere off the slopes. It's usually booked far in advance, but since there hasn't been much snow this winter we were able to get a last-minute reservation."

  She could have asked him when the reservations were made—undoubtedly before he'd bothered to consult her about marrying her—but Kayla didn't feel like starting another argument. In truth, the last thing she was feeling was argumentative.

  As she and Matt entered their room—a charmingly decorated suite boasting a canopied bed and an enormous claw-foot antique bathtub—she felt romantic and sexy and excited. And enormously touched that Matt had arranged to have their wedding night in a special, romantic place.

  "Look what we have here." Matt was tugging the cellophane from a wide basket filled with fresh fruit, cheeses, small tins of crackers and cookies, and a sleek gold box of chocolates. "Are you hungry?"

  "After all that food at the reception?"

  Matt smiled. 'There was a lot of food but I didn't see you eating much of it. You've got to be hungry. After all, you're eating for two, remember?"

  Kayla groaned at the cliche, but the food in the basket did look tempting. ''Actually, I am feeling kind of hungry. This is the first time all day that my stomach hasn't been tied in a knot."

  She surprised herself. She was relaxed with Matt. Usually, she felt tense and edgy.

  'There's a bottle of champagne," Matt said, opening the small refrigerator in a comer of the room. "That's off-limits for you, in your condition, though. I'll call the desk and ask them to send up some ginger ale."

  "Thank you. That's very thoughtful of you." Kayla swallowed. "It was also thoughtful of you to get this room for tonight. I mean, it would have been practical and convenient for us to have spent the night in your duplex in Johnstown, but—"

  "You're my bride, Kayla, and this is our wedding night. I didn't want it to be practical and convenient."

  She smiled softly. "You have a romantic streak." The knowledge warmed her.

  "If I do, you're the only one who's ever brought it out," Matt said wryly. He thought briefly of Debra who'd found him the epitome of all that was practical, convenient and controlled. Kayla brought forth facets of him he'd never known were there. And instead of being alarmed by it, he felt pleased.

  After they'd eaten and drunk their fill, his romantic streak surfaced again, when he picked her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her carefully on the bed and then came down beside her, taking her in his arms and kissing her with possessive hunger. She was his bride, his wife, the mother of his unborn child. An intense wave of

  protective tenderness surged through him, combining irrevocably with the passion she evoked.

  "You make me feel things no other woman ever has/' he confessed huskily. He molded her to the long, hard length of his body, making her achingly aware of his ardent male need. All rational thought was swiftly receding under the urgent onslaught of passion and emotion.

  Kay la gazed up at him with wide, limpid eyes. She felt weak and soft and hot, completely pliant beneath his hands. The pleasure he so expertly gave her rendered her mindless and she luxuriated in the pure sensuality of their kisses and caresses.

  Swiftly, they dispensed with their clothing, offering each other assistance when needed, sharing an intimacy that seemed seductively familiar, without any awkwardness or inhibitions. They were perfectly attuned to each other, united in an erotic rhythm that was both age-old and distinctively, uniquely their own.

  "Oh, Matt, now, please now!" she said throatily. Her impassioned cry was both a surrender and command, and Matt was eager to accept both.

  "Yes, baby. Yes, love." His body came down heavily on hers and their eyes, intense and revealing, met.

  Their gazes locked. Matt surged powerfully into her and Kayla took him deeply inside, forging the bonds between them into a complex union of physical and emotional needs and desires.

  And together
they savored every moment, every nuance, every thrill until their passion reached flash point and burst into an intense, shattering climax, simultaneously thrusting them to the heights of rapture. They lingered there in brilliant timeless bliss before drifting slowly down into the warm sensuous seas of satisfaction.

  "I wish we could've stayed longer at the inn," Matt said wistfully as he inserted his key in the door of his apart-

  ment. It was shortly before two p.m.; they'd checked out of the inn late that morning to drive to Harrisburg. ''Unfortunately, the legislature is in session tomorrow and we have a vote on a bill that the governor has been pushing since his election."

  He opened the door and ushered her inside. ''Well, this is it. My official Harrisburg residence."

  Kayla took in the combined living-dining room with the miniscule kitchen tucked into a corner. The area was furnished with a huge beanbag chair, doubtless a relic from somebody's college days, a television set and a folding chair in front of a snack tray. It was possible to look into the small bedroom and bath when standing here at the front door. '*You actually live here?" she asked incredulously.

  *'I—uh—guess it is a bit primitive," he admitted, seeing the place through her eyes. "But since the legislature is only in session Monday through Wednesday, everybody usually goes back to their home districts for the rest of the week. I have the duplex in Johnstown and I didn't want to spend a fortune on a place here."

  "Well, if it suits you..." Kayla's voice trailed off. She didn't know how it could. Even three days a week in this dump was three too many.

  "I do have a brand-new mattress on the bed," Matt offered. "It's the best piece of furniture I own."

  "I think I remember you mentioning that at one time." She cast a quick, nervous glance at her watch. "Matt, I really should be heading back to Washington. I have some things I'd like to get done before Monday mor—"