by Lucy Monroe
She'd never teased a man sensually like this but she liked it. She liked it even more when he gave a low growl and made her forget all about breakfast.
* * *
The next four weeks whirled by in a happy daze for Isabel. Living with Alex was more wonderful than she could ever have imagined. He was a fantastic, generous lover and even shared the chores without a murmur of protest. He could cook and dust with the best of them, and had not raised one single complaint about the way her furniture had taken over his house.
It was their home now, he insisted, usually before taking special pains to show her in an intimate way the level of their connection to each other. A feeling of peace and belonging like she'd never known settled over her.
The only cloud in Isabel's otherwise blue sky was the fact that he'd never said he loved her. Sometimes she thought he must, the way he cherished her and made love to her at every opportunity. She hadn't repeated her avowal of love since their wedding night and wondered if, like her, he was just afraid of admitting his feelings and making himself vulnerable.
* * *
Alex pressed the intercom on his desk phone. "Miss Richards, please come in here."
His ever-efficient secretary took longer than her usual fifteen seconds to arrive in his office. When she did arrive, she looked suspiciously vulnerable. Alex forgot about the report he meant to ask about and asked instead, "Are you okay?"
Veronica made an obvious effort to affect her usual look of dispassionate calm and failed miserably. Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm fine. I…"
She seemed incapable of going on yet did not go rushing from the room. He had the feeling she was as unsure about what to do with her emotions as he was. Even a month of marriage and living with an emotional woman like Isabel had not prepared Alex for this sort of display from his secretary. He grasped for something to say, feeling inadequate.
Finally, he settled on, "Would you like to take the rest of the afternoon off?"
She nodded, spun on her heel, and headed toward the door.
Marcus entered Alex's office as Veronica was leaving. He stopped and put his hand on her arm. "Ronnie, what's the matter?" Marcus looked as bewildered as Alex felt.
Silently shaking her head, she rushed from the room.
Marcus looked at Alex. "What's the matter with her?"
"Heck if I know. You're the one who calls her Ronnie. You tell me."
Something crossed Marcus's face that might have been guilt, but he had his easygoing mask in place so fast that Alex wondered if he'd read his friend's expression correctly the first time.
To test it, he asked, "Do you want to go after her?"
Again that look, but Marcus shook his head. "Bettina Fry called. Her client wants to go through with the interview."
"It's been six weeks," Alex said, with a certain amount of disbelief.
"I know. I didn't expect to hear from the agency again," Marcus replied, echoing Alex's thoughts.
"So, who is it?"
"St. Clair."
"St. Clair? Why?" He didn't expect Marcus to know the answer to that question. It had just slipped out.
Marcus's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "I'm not sure, but I can guess."
That caught Alex's attention. "Guess."
"You're the best and you trained me. I can see a guy like St. Clair wanting someone with my abilities on his staff."
Damn. It made sense. "It would keep the entire takeover process in-house for him."
Marcus nodded.
"When's the interview?"
"There isn't going to be an interview."
"Why? St. Clair will probably make you a solid offer. You can't afford to ignore this kind of opportunity, Marcus."
Marcus laughed. "You sound like Ms. Fry, who, in turn, sounds an awful lot like your wife. I'll tell you what I told her. I'm content at CIS and I don't want to go to work for a corporate raider. Not enough flexibility in the job."
Alex felt his mouth crease in a smile. "That's one way to look at it."
"Besides, I've got plans for CIS."
"What kind of plans?" Alex asked.
"I think we should branch out into internal corporate investigations."
"With you heading the new department?" It was a good idea and Marcus was a natural investigator.
"Yep." Marcus smiled. "How is married life treating you?"
Alex appreciated Marcus's hit-and-run method of discussion. He'd planted an idea and was ready to move on. Alex had no doubt the issue would come up again, but Marcus had given him an opportunity to think about it and build an information matrix around the idea.
"I like it." Every day he discovered something else that enthralled him about being married to Isabel. She'd taken his farmhouse and made it a home. The rooms he'd worked so hard to restore were now warmly appealing. He smiled at Marcus. "You should give it a try."
Marcus's smile faded. "Nah. You know me. I'm not the type for long-term commitments."
Maybe that explained Veronica's tears.
"Does she know that?" he asked, indicating the doorway through which his secretary had disappeared.
Marcus's expression closed. "Ronnie knows exactly what to expect from me."
"Apparently, she doesn't like it."
Marcus raised his hands, palms facing outward. "Hey, boss. Don't blame her little display on me. I'm as in the dark about why she's so upset as you are."
Marcus, in the age-old tradition of male ignorance regarding feminine feelings, could very well be the reason for Veronica's tears and not even know it. Alex couldn't blame him. Women were incomprehensible sometimes. Just that morning he'd caught Isabel all teary-eyed in the bathroom. When he pressed, all she would say was that they hadn't had a honeymoon.
She hadn't said she wanted one. How was he supposed to know? Read her mind? He'd assumed that they would take a trip for their first anniversary, or something. He had thought that Isabel would not want to take time off with such short notice. He had been wrong. Wrong enough that Isabel had gotten weepy.
He had to do something to rectify the situation, but he couldn't get away from the office right now. Things with St. Clair and Hypertron were too delicate. St. Clair was itching to move, but Alex was advising him to wait. A takeover bid at this point was not guaranteed success. A few days of patience should pay off when Hypertron announced that their newest technology would be late to market.
The computer industry was an unforgiving one.
* * *
Alex was still cussing a blue streak in his mind as he opened the back door and stepped into the farmhouse kitchen. The delicious smells of Isabel's cooking did nothing to lighten his foul mood. He'd promised to cook tonight, but he'd gotten delayed at the office, so Isabel had been forced to make dinner. Combined with the honeymoon issue, he wasn't expecting one of their typically relaxed evenings that slipped into increasingly intense sessions of lovemaking.
He had expected the newness of their physical intimacy to wear off and for his constant need for her to abate to less dangerous levels. Neither had happened. In fact, the closer he got to seeing her dad's company destroyed, the more he craved the proof of his and Isabel's closeness and his importance in her life.
She'd never repeated her words of love from their wedding night. He couldn't help wondering if the words hadn't been a reaction to the overwhelming physical pleasure they had experienced together. If so, she should have said them again by now. The pleasure they found together seemed limitless.
He tried to ignore the other possibility: that she had said the words in gratitude for his willingness to try for a baby.
As he walked farther into the warmth of the kitchen, Isabel looked up from some papers she had spread on one end of the big oak kitchen table. Her green eyes were surprisingly warm, and her mouth curved in a smile that faltered when she registered the look on his face. "Rough day?"
He felt like growling, like some kind of wounded bear, but shrugged instead. The day had started off on a sour note�
��when both his wife and his secretary had decided to get emotional on him—and had only gotten worse. Hypertron had postponed their announcement regarding the release date of their new technology by two weeks.
The stock had dipped slightly from the delay, but nothing like what would happen when they went public with an actual setback in their schedule, which meant a delay in St. Clair's takeover bid. St. Clair had called, irritated and acting as if Alex had something to do with the announcement that had temporarily stymied his plans.
Alex didn't want the delay any more than the corporate raider did. He just wanted it over, so that he could get on with his life with Isabel. The revenge that had once consumed his thoughts now played the role of ugly stepsister. It was necessary but no longer as palatable as it had once been.
"You're here now," she said sweetly, as she brushed the honey-brown silk of her hair over one shoulder.
An overwhelming need for her softness filled him. He craved affirmation that she belonged to him, that she loved him, even when she stubbornly refused to repeat the words. When he was buried deep inside her and she was going crazy under him, he found it all too easy to believe she felt something for her new husband much stronger than desire.
He went to where she sat and pulled her up into his arms. "Yes, I'm here now." And it felt good.
She made no pretense at resistance when his mouth landed on hers, but parted her lips with surprise at his almost angry desire that quickly turned to enthusiasm. She tasted delicious. Sweet and warm, her soft body became pliant against his as he possessed her mouth. Running his hands down her spine, he felt deep satisfaction when she groaned and arched herself against him.
She wanted him. She always wanted him and he could never get enough of her.
Isabel's hands were busy tugging his shirt out of his slacks. Soon, her hot little fingers were roaming over his chest.
He groaned and broke his mouth from hers to trail kisses down the womanly scented column of her neck. "You smell good."
She laughed huskily. "I smell like chicken parmesan."
"No. You smell like my wife and you feel so good against me, it drives me crazy."
"You drive me crazy, too, Alex. I'll never get enough of your touch. I'm hungry for it all of the time."
Her words were like starter fluid on his already raging libido, and the black mood that had been plaguing him began to lift at her sweet honesty. Her emotional generosity had surprised him at first. Given the way she'd been raised, he would have expected that she would be uncomfortable expressing her feelings, but she wasn't. With the one exception that she hadn't again said she loved him, she expressed her desire for him in a thousand different ways. She complimented him. She touched him. She shared her body with him … unreservedly.
He picked her up and carried her into the living room because he didn't think he could make it to the bedroom upstairs. Besides, one of his favorite fantasies was making love to Isabel on that pristine white couch.
She gazed up at him, a look of wicked feminine promise in her eyes. "Are we going to eat dinner late again tonight?"
"I need you now, sweetheart." His voice betrayed a depth of emotion that made him feel vulnerable, but he wanted to give her as much honesty as she gave him.
Then you should tell her about your part in the plans to destroy her father's company, a voice taunted him in his head. He blocked it out in favor of kissing his wife breathless again. Laying her across the pale cushions, he immediately began to shed his clothing.
Her emerald eyes widened. "You in a hurry?"
"Yes."
Her mouth parted on a sigh and then she was tearing off her own clothes. He noticed she hadn't been wearing any panties seconds before lowering himself to lie on top of her delectable curves. The feel of her naked breasts against him and the warm cradle of her thighs brought a guttural growl from deep in his body. He wanted to bury himself inside of her. Now.
Using the last vestige of his control, he made himself wait, caressing her breasts with his hand and his hungry mouth until she writhed under him, moaning out a litany of pleasure.
She spread her thighs and grabbed his buttocks, pulling him forward. "Now. Alex. You said you didn't want to wait!"
He hesitated only long enough to slip his fingers inside her to make sure she was ready, and she moaned again.
"Don't tease me. I want all of you. Please."
He would have laughed but he was too close to exploding. Unable to hold his control any longer, he drove into her. Fast and hard, glad that since the first time it had gotten easier for him to enter her. He pounded into her wet, silky flesh over and over again, trying with each thrust to imprint her with his possession.
He wanted to slow down, to let her catch up with him, but he couldn't wait. His control was shot and he thought he was going to come before he could satisfy her, but just as he felt himself go over the edge, she convulsed around him.
"Alex."
He shouted his own release.
Chapter 14
« ^ »
Isabel lay under Alex, his passionate shout still ringing in her ears. They'd made love so many different ways since their wedding night, but never before had he lost control like this. She wondered what had caused it and then decided she didn't care. She liked it, liked knowing that Alex let down his guard completely with her in at least this area.
He was so controlled about everything else, so methodical. He always knew what he wanted and went for it. Look at how quickly he'd talked her into marriage. Well, she was taking a page from his book tonight.
She was going for a honeymoon.
"Am I too heavy for you?" Alex spoke against her neck, where his head rested. Although he asked the words solicitously, she sensed he really did not want to move.
Isabel reveled in the feeling of being needed by her husband. "No, my love."
His head snapped up and his eyes burned into hers. "Say that again."
"No?"
His mouth thinned. "You called me your love."
"Yes." Could he doubt it?
The fierceness in him did not abate. If anything, it seemed to grow. "Am I?"
"Are you what?" she asked, hedging for time, for an answer that wouldn't make her more vulnerable than she already was.
"Your love."
Suddenly, it felt as if her heart were going to pound out of her chest. "You want me to tell you I love you?"
Had Bettina been right? Did she have to show Alex how much he liked hearing the words before he would give them to her?
"Do you?" he asked.
Isabel realized that she couldn't hold the words back any longer. She did love him, and why was she afraid to tell him? He was her husband. He was committed to her. Alex wasn't going to disappear just because she let herself love him. He wasn't a nanny her father could fire.
"Yes, I love you very much."
He closed his eyes and shuddered as if savoring the words. Then he kissed her again, this time with so much tenderness she wanted to cry.
Dinner was stone cold by the time they got to it.
* * *
After dinner, Isabel picked up three of the brochures she had been looking at earlier when Alex first came into the kitchen. "I stopped by a travel agent today."
Alex's hand stilled in the act of putting a plate in the dishwasher. "What?"
Ignoring his less-than-enthusiastic response, she repeated herself. "I stopped by a travel agent's office. She's an old friend who used to work with Bettina and me. She had some interesting ideas for a trip."
Alex finished loading the dishwasher, his movements methodical and controlled as usual. He said nothing.
His silence made Isabel nervous, but she wasn't going to back down on this. "She suggested several alternatives, but I like the idea of taking a cruise. There's been a cancellation on a two-week trip to Alaska that sails at the end of the month."
When that idea met with further silence, she decided to give him her other options. "Of course, if you don't w
ant to go on a ship, we could go to one of those all-inclusive places in Mexico. I've got a couple of brochures here you can look at. Then there's always the old standby of Hawaii."
Her own enthusiasm was getting more and more forced in the face of her husband's continued quiet. "Say something."
He shut the dishwasher and turned to face her. "I can't get away right now."
Was that all? "Like I said, the cruise doesn't sail until the end of the month."
"The end of the month might be too soon."
Isabel groped for an answer that wouldn't betray the hurt she felt that he was dismissing their honeymoon so easily. She wanted to be understanding. She really did. "When do you think you could get away?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry, honey. It's just not a good time for me right now." He moved forward as if he planned to take her in his arms.
She stepped back, away from his touch. She needed all of her wits for this discussion, and she didn't have them when Alex touched her. He had rushed her into marriage. He hadn't hesitated to demand her declaration of love. Was it so awful that she wanted this small sign that she was somewhere near the top of his priority list'
She gripped the brochures more tightly. "So, when?"
"I don't know," he repeated.
"You must have some idea." He owned his own business, for goodness' sake.
"I don't." He raked his hands through his hair. "Hell, sweetheart, I wish I did. You're going to have to trust me that as soon as I know when I can take the time off, I'll tell you."
His words had a much too familiar ring. How many times had her father put her off with the excuse of pressing business concerns? She wasn't going to tolerate that sort of thing from Alex.
"What about late next month or the month after?" she asked, trying once more to be fair, to trust him as he had told her to do.
The look of anger and exasperation on his face answered her before he could speak. She didn't wait to hear the words of denial that would accompany it. Turning on her heel, she left the kitchen. She heard Alex curse and say her name, but she ignored him.
She supposed that in the scheme of things a honeymoon wasn't all that important. After all, it was the marriage that really mattered, but that realization didn't mitigate the pain in her heart. What was so unreasonable about asking him to name a date for them to go away together? He'd said he had good work habits, that CIS did not come first in his life.
