The Bride Takes a Powder (7 page)

When they reached a dark spot
between two street lamps, he stopped and faced her. "I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to jump down your throat." Smooth as could be, he trailed a fingertip
across her cheek to trace her lower lip. "That problem is so far back in
my mind right now."

She bit her lip at the tickle his
light touch made. Visions tumbled through her of biting him, of sucking his
finger into her mouth. Actions came to her mind, things she'd never done
before, never imagined doing. Her mind raced in a confused mess. This wasn't
what was supposed to be happening right now. She stared into his eyes, her lips
parting. He lifted her chin with that fingertip, lowered his head, and kissed
her.

Surprised, she held still until his
heat and intent drilled through to her frozen fear-filled soul. She didn't want
this, but his very wonderful kiss made her forget that. Squeezing her eyes
closed, she gave in to the emotions overwhelming her.

He drew her tongue into his mouth,
tangling and teasing. Their mouths mashed tightly together, his arms fiercely
powerful around her. One hand cradled her head, the other engulfed her bottom,
his big hand cupping it and pulling her close.

Her response to his immensely rigid
cock cushioned against her belly and the pulsing ache of her clit left her weak
kneed. She would have fallen but he caught her without releasing her lips or
moving his hands.

Hands locked together, palms
pressing against the muscles of his back, she kneaded the ridges of his spine.
On her breasts, her sensitive nipples, she felt the vibration of his low groan,
heard her answering one.

Chapter Five

"Come up to my place."
Mike barely lifted his lips from hers to utter the plea before he resumed
inhaling her. He wanted Norah Ballard in his bed. Now. He almost sobbed when he
felt her stiffening and pulling away.
No…

Pushing, her hands firmly on his
shoulders, she moaned, "I can't."

"Yes, you can, honey."

"Uh uh." She vehemently
shook her head. "I ca—"

Her house was closer than his
apartment, so he urged her across the street, climbed the steps, and welcomed
the dark shadows and protection of the large wrap-around porch. Pulling her
into his arms, he felt her surrender, and his kisses went deeper, his tongue
rolling into her mouth. For a woman his age, she seemed inexperienced though.
She'd been with that jerk Dunleith at school. They had to have had sex, but she
seemed almost prim.

Backing her against the wall, he
used his hands to protect her from the rough wood and slid his lips along her
jaw to nibble down the long line of her neck. She lifted her chin, angling it,
giving him the silent okay to explore. When he got to the buttons of her silk
blouse, he brought one hand around to open the top one.

The second he touched there, she
shook her head again. "We're outside."

"The stairs." He knew of
the inside stairway to the second floor. "Take me upstairs, Nor. I need to
see you."
Fuck you.
He had one
button undone, and his fingers traced the top of her breast finding the edge of
her bra. His heart thudded heavily at the thought of her round firm breasts
covered with see-through lace. And what color would her nipples be? Pale? Dark?
It wouldn't matter once they were in his mouth. He cupped the back of her head
and kissed her, his crushing mouth open wide, opening hers, suckling her
tongue, tasting her, devouring her. He shook with the hungry need for her. "Please,
Nor."
Fuck me.

Bringing her hands up to his face,
she cradled his cheeks, and held him off. "Mike, no, I can't. Please don't
ask me. I have to go."

"Not leaving town?" Oh
God, he couldn't stand it if she left now. He didn't know what the hell she was
doing here, but she couldn't go now.

"Please let me go."

Good God, her desperation was so
heartrending. Of course he'd stop. He didn't like it, but he'd do it. "Nor,
we can talk about this tomorrow."

***

Norah awoke, sun blazing through
her bedroom window through the curtain she'd forgotten to close last night.
Sprawled on her stomach, luxuriating in the warmth of the bedding tangled
around her. She closed her eyes and dreamily relived last night with Mike. He'd
kissed her with a hunger that surprised her. Garrett's kisses had never been so
fierce.
You've got to stop comparing your
ex-fiancé to Mike especially since Garrett comes out the loser.
Rolling to
her back, she crossed her arms over her breasts. She'd pressed them against
Mike's hard chest. Her nipples had ached at the sensation, and she'd
shamelessly writhed, teasing herself.

The heat of his rigid erection,
hips rocking, certainly proved his arousal. One hand clasped around her hips,
palming her bottom, the other hand cupped her head, his fingers threaded
through her hair. This dual embrace had made her feel cherished, which was
strange since they barely knew each other. She smiled. It was nice to feel you
were important to someone. It hadn't been that—
Stop! Stop comparing them. Don't make this something it isn't. You don't
plan to stay in this town.
Thank goodness she'd had the strength to stop
him from coming up, and he'd graciously accepted her decision to climb the
stairs to her apartment alone. He'd been reluctant but not insistent.

She rubbed her eyes with the heels
of her hands.
Wow!
Mike was actually
the kind of guy she hadn't believed existed. A non-manipulative gentleman and a
gentle man—sweet and confident with faith in himself. Well, he wasn't a hundred
percent gentle. He could kiss pretty aggressively, and he'd been that close to
getting into her bra.

But she believed he hadn't been
part of the test score cheating. As a lawyer she'd need more actual proof, but
as a woman, she knew.

The day was mild and sunny for a
change, and she yearned to be outside. Home in Chicago, she hadn't taken time
to just wander the city streets. Sure, she walked Michigan Avenue, but that was
in and out of the designer shops. Peripherally, she'd noticed the gorgeous
plantings and art pieces in the center dividers and parkways in front of the
businesses, but had she ever stopped just to admire them?

There weren't any unique sculptures
here in Birchwood Falls unless you counted the funny decorated trash cans, but
flowers and blooming trees dotted the park at Courthouse Square and filled planters
in front of the stores.

Sipping coffee on the McMillan
House porch with no work, no legal documents, no interruptions felt truly
decadent. The house, perched on the corner of Birch Boulevard and Route 20, was
in a good position to see all the action, more than she'd thought for a small
town. From her vantage point she could see a condo complex, Birch Park, the
country club, the river, and shops right across the highway. The courthouse was
only a block in the distance.

The river raced along its banks not
quite so wildly as last night. Seemingly endless rain had the townspeople
concerned about flooding. Businesses closest to the water had even started
stockpiling sandbags. From the comfort of the porch swing, she spotted Phoebe
coming her way and waved.

"Morning, Norah. Beautiful
day, isn't it?"

"It sure is. You were
fantastic last night." She motioned the pregnant woman to join her.
Lifting her coffee mug, she asked, "Something to drink?"

"I have my juice, thank you."
Phoebe held up a glass bottle. "I'm not that fond of it so I use my walk
to distract me."

"Can you sit a while?"
The woman fascinated her, and she wanted to find out more about her.

"I'd love to." Phoebe
slowly lowered herself to a rocking chair.

"You said you'd worked in
Chicago? What brought you back here?"

"Until recently—" She
gently patted her burgeoning belly. "—all I ever wanted was to be in New
York or LA. I was singing here at Marietty's waiting for my big break. Then I
met Marc."

"The cop. Right?"

"He wasn't a cop when we met."
Phoebe gazed off into the distance, a dreamy smile on her face. "I was
never going to stay in this burg," she said but with affection in her
voice. "But between my good friends here and Marc's hunting me down in
Chicago, I realized what I really wanted for my life. And I discovered I
already had it." She stopped to catch her breath, her hand on her chest.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yes." Phoebe smiled
serenely. "I'm like a convert to a new religion. What I mean to say is
that belonging to a place and being surrounded by love and support are what I
really wanted. Fame was how I thought I'd find it."

Dismay pricked Norah's heart. Life
should really be that simple. She'd never felt a sense of belonging with
Garrett. It was almost as if they'd been entering a marriage of convenience
with no passion on either side. Sex with no passion. Her whole life was
beginning to fall apart. The truth was it
had
already fallen apart. Did Garrett feel the same way, and that's why he'd fucked
around on her? The thought made her want to vomit.

"And I still get to sing as
much as I want." Phoebe burbled happily on.

"And now you're married with a
baby on the way."

"Yup. Life's pretty good right
now. I saw you and Mike leave last night."

Norah hoped her blush didn't give
it all away. Amazing that she could even still blush. "He walked me home."

"Mike's a wonderful guy!"
Phoebe pursed her lips. "I'm just furious that some jerk has accused him
of being involved in the cheating!"

"Do you think he can prove he
wasn't?"

"He shouldn't have to! Mike is
one of the most honest guys in town, next to my husband, that is. Mike was our
best man. He loves this town and the school. He'd never do anything illegal
like changing test scores."

Norah nodded, amused at Phoebe's
confidence, but she also felt Mike looked innocent. Looks could be deceiving,
but in his case she didn't think they were.

***

School was out for the weekend, and
Mike felt exactly like one of his horny students, something he remembered well
from his own high school days. Kissing Norah had set his heart racing and his
cock throbbing with need. Her soft body was heaven in his hands. That ass, not
a skinny girl's ass but a full firm handful, provoked him to want more. He'd
leaked like a teenage boy at the thought of biting and licking and sucking on
those round butt cheeks. She'd moaned, the sound fracturing his senses. It was
madness, these reactions to her. It had taken all his gentlemanly genes to
leave her at the door when what he really ached to do was bundle her up the
stairs and into bed.

It's been a long time since
college.
You don't know this woman. You
were never more than acquaintances, so slow yourself down, buddy.

Why would the beautiful,
sophisticated woman suddenly appear in B Falls? And stay?
Is she running from something? Maybe a bank robber on the run.
He
scoffed at that. It came from too much free non-female time watching too many
cop shows on TV.
Birchwood Falls CSI
.
He shook his head in amusement and got back to polishing the chrome on the beer
spigots.

All those thoughts careened through
him until he heard the creaking hinges from the entrance.
Well, lookie who just walked through my door.
"Hi, Norah."
He greeted her with what he hoped was a welcoming grin and not a lascivious
leer.

"Mike." She smiled,
nodded, and perched herself on a stool.

"Want something to drink?"
His heart thumped. He couldn't read her.

"No, thanks. Looks like the
rain let up for a bit."

"Yeah, but it's supposed to
start up again tonight. We can't take much more. The river's rising every day."

"Do you think it'll flood the
town?"

He shrugged and frowned. "It
very well could. About twenty years ago, the whole main square was flooded.
Furniture and memorabilia in people's basements were destroyed. There was talk
about building a flood wall along the river, but in the end the town decided to
gamble that it wouldn't happen again."

"That's not a good risk,"
she said.

"They didn't want a wall to
ruin the view of the river. Short-sighted, yeah."

"I've seen a lot of sandbags
stored up."

He gave her a worried grimace. "At
least there's some planning. Dad ordered sand. We'll see how it goes and fill
the bags if we need to. How's your day so far?" He was tired of the river.
He wanted to talk about her. It would be nice if there were a "them"
to talk about. His belly tightened, and his cock thickened.
Damn unruly bastard.

"I ran into Phoebe this
morning. She told me how she and Marc came to be living here. It sounded pretty
sweet."

He propped his hands on the bar. "I
hadn't seen Marc for ten years after high school. It's great that he came back,
finally, to live and even better that he brought Phoebe back. They both deserve
happiness." Her lips smiled but her eyes held a wistful gaze.
Something big must be up with her. A
gorgeous successful woman like her…
She was driving him crazy.
Damn it, just ask her.
"Are you
running from something?" He made his voice low and gentle.

Ignoring his question, she changed
the subject. "Are you positive you don't plan to retain a lawyer to fight
the allegations against you?"

"You really think that's
necessary?" This was the other last thing he wanted to talk about right
now.

"It's always better to have
legal protection. Being Mr. Niceguy won't help you in every situation."

He balanced a foot on the shelf
behind the bar and rested an arm across his knee. "It's worked for thirty
years. I'll be vindicated."

"Well, if you're sure."
She wrinkled her nose in doubt.