A Night to Remember (19 page)

Eleanor blinked. He was being so open with her, so willing to share his emotions. How could she do anything less than bare her own soul, reveal her own feelings now that she finally understood and trusted them?

“I'm a real idiot,” she whispered. “Did you know that?”

“Ahh, sugar.” He took a step forward.

“No, stop. Don't come any closer.” Her throat constricted with unshed tears. She had to get it out before she broke down and starting crying like a three-year-old. “I'm in love with you,” she said softly. “I think I've known it for quite a while, but I haven't had the courage to admit it. To myself, mostly.”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I keep waiting for you to disappear, Joshua. To stop making those nightly phone calls I so look forward to, to stop coming to the library and doing this silly volunteer work that is so far beneath your talents and intelligence. To realize that who I am is not the type of woman you want or need to have in your life.”

“And?” he prompted gently.

“And!” Eleanor's shoulders dropped in frustration. “You keep coming back. Just to spite me, I think.”

“I keep coming back because I love you,” he said quietly.

Her head shot up. “Say that again,” she whispered.

Joshua reached out and took hold of her, lifting her in the air. He lowered her slowly to her feet, sliding her body down the length of his. She trembled but kept her eyes locked on his.

“I love you, Eleanor.”

Her heart soared. Was it possible? One glance at the honesty in his eyes told her it was indeed the truth.

She cupped his face in her hands, then trailed her fingers down over his neck and shoulders and arms, slipping her smaller hand into his. Joshua smiled tenderly, linking their fingers. She moistened her bottom lip, lifted her chin, pressed herself forward, and kissed him.

The warm, sweet pressure of his mouth soon gave way to deeper contact, and his passion poured into her, filling her with a sense of love and comfort that was as undeniable as it was miraculous.

She reached up and moved her hand through his hair, deepening the kiss, still dazed at the notion that he was really hers. Finally. And forever.

Eleanor quickly felt herself becoming lost in his heat and strength. She arched herself closer as the yearning, urgent feeling began building inside her. Oh, how she had missed this! The closeness, the intimacy, the wondrous sense of connection.

Just as the coiled, inner tension began to grow out of control, Joshua broke off the kiss.

“Does the door to this room have a lock?” he asked urgently.

Eleanor laughed, then groaned. “No.”

“Damn!”

She bit back another laugh. Then, suddenly overcome with emotions, Eleanor felt the tears starting to gather in her eyes. Concerned that Joshua might misinterpret them, she buried her face against his broad chest. He slowly stroked her hair, then reached down to catch a tear from beneath her eye with his thumb.

“Do you have something you want to ask me?” he inquired with amusement in his voice.

She rubbed her head back and forth against his chest and sniffled.

“Oh, you have something you want to tell me.”

“Yes.” She lifted her chin and almost burst into fresh tears. His expression was filled with such love and tenderness it nearly stole her composure. “I'm finished with pretending to myself that I don't want us to be together. I really do want to be someone in your life, Joshua. Someone important. Special. Although I am mature enough to admit there are some things about you that bother me.”

“Such as?”

“Well, did it ever occur to you that I might feel a bit insecure because you're prettier than me?”

Joshua moved his hand from her waist to push the stray wisp of hair from her cheek. He bent low and tenderly kissed the spot he had just cleared. “Thanks for the character assassination. Naturally I'm too shallow a man to love you for your inner beauty. I happen to think your outer beauty is damn hot, too, but I don't suppose you want to hear that right now.”

“Mmm, you suppose wrong, Mr. Barton.” Eleanor ran her hands over the solid muscles of his upper arms, still trying to comprehend that this beautiful, physically perfect man was hers. All hers. “I think honesty is essential in a relationship.”

“Absolutely,” Joshua mumbled, nibbling on the sensitive lobe of her ear. “I expect you to be honest with me. As I will be with you.”

“Right.” Eleanor paused for a moment in confusion. The touch of his lips was spreading that lush, fiery feeling way down to the pit of her stomach. For a moment, she completely lost her train of thought and forgot what she wanted to say. “Oh, and by the way, all your money makes me a little nervous.”

“Get used to it.” Joshua didn't even lift his head, but continued kissing and nibbling her neck. His mouth felt warm and rough against her skin. “I'm not giving it away.”

Eleanor pulled back sharply, breathing heavy. “Did I say that I wanted you to? You jump to conclusions much too quickly.”

With a sigh of frustration, he grabbed her by the shoulders. “Okay, I'm too rich and I jump to conclusions. Anything else wrong?”

Eleanor did some fast considering. She cocked her head coyly to one side, then laughed from sheer happiness. “One last thing,” she said, molding herself softly against his hard body. “You talk too much.”

And then she kissed him again, with all the love and intensity that was no longer trapped within her soul.

 

Buried contentedly amid a tumble of silken sheets, Eleanor Graham Barton sighed languidly and drew closer to the muscular male body stretched beside her on the large bed. She felt like she was floating somewhere up in the clouds, awash on a sea of love and intimacy.

The distant sound of lapping ocean waves invaded her mind and she felt the soft kiss of a warm sea breeze against her uncovered back. They had left the windows wide open last night. Or was that yesterday afternoon? Eleanor took a deep breath and tried to clear the fog from her brain.

Time had ceased to have any real meaning. The mornings, afternoons, evenings, and nights had all run together in her mind, creating one giant sensual memory.

She inched closer to her handsome husband, entwining their fingers. Joshua, sprawled on his stomach and snoring softly, instinctively squeezed her hand despite his deep slumber.

She pulled her hand away, but the movement didn't interrupt Joshua's even breathing. She nuzzled his forearm, rubbing the tip of her nose back and forth over the solid muscle. But he continued sleeping. And snoring.

Eleanor smiled. Clearly, she had worn him out. Correction, they had worn each other out. This fabulous wedding trip was turning out to be a test of endurance for both of them. No winner had yet emerged, but she entertained grand hopes of victory.

She giggled out loud and rolled onto her back, hugging herself tightly about the waist.
Just think, I have an entire lifetime of this to look forward to.

Propping herself up on her elbow, Eleanor studied her husband's sleeping form. He was as beautiful as ever. His face was turned toward the opposite wall, so she admired the shape of his head and his gorgeous dark, thick hair. She traced a sensual line down the middle of Joshua's back, then curled her arms around his shoulder blades and kissed the nape of his neck. He stirred and opened one eyelid, but promptly closed it again. Eleanor gave him a playful slap on the butt.

“Time to get up, mister. They have a rule at this swanky hotel. If they don't see their guests at least once every forty-eight hours, they send up a security team to check on them to make sure they're breathing.”

Joshua turned his head toward her, but his eyes remained closed and burrowed in the soft pillow. “I, or rather we, own the controlling interest in this place. Any security personnel that cross our threshold will be instantly dismissed.”

Eleanor knew he was joking about firing anyone, yet a jolt of surprise raced through her. She had no idea he, or rather they, owned part of this very exclusive, very expensive resort. That usual moment of panic hit, but thankfully faded quickly. Realizing how far their wealth extended still had the power to quicken her pulse with fear, yet the reactions were getting milder and were vanishing sooner.

She was gradually starting to get used to the money and all its trappings. She was also honest enough with herself and Joshua to know that it wouldn't be an easy adjustment, but at least it wasn't a major difficulty any longer.

“Joshua, please.” She glanced over at the ultramodern clock on the wall, then pressed her face close to his, their noses touching. “I'm starting to feel like a vampire. We never venture beyond these doors in the daylight. We've been here for five days already and the only time that we even left the room was for dinner in the lovely restaurant on our second night. Or was that our third night?”

“Third.” His voice was gruff with amusement. “We came here to rest, Eleanor. And that's just what I'm doing. Resting.”

She pulled back and gave him a disapproving stare. Resting. Hardly. More like passing out from exhaustion between bouts of mind-bending lovemaking. This was the ideal honeymoon spot, private, secluded, and tropical. Everything they needed to afford them the chance to reconnect after the frantic weeks leading up to their wedding.

And what a glorious wedding it had been! Exactly the type of wedding that Eleanor had always dreamed of—small, intimate, and wildly romantic. Yet despite the much-appreciated assistance of her mother and Rosemary, it had left Eleanor and Joshua physically and emotionally drained.

This time together following the beautiful marriage ceremony was wonderful, precious really, but they couldn't spend the entire fourteen days in bed. Could they?

A large, warm hand snaked through the covers, came up, and possessively covered her breast. Eleanor sighed with resigned pleasure. Apparently Joshua believed they could.

Her eyes drifted down to his waist. The sheet barely covered his arousal. Gracious, the man was insatiable. Yet it gave her female ego a huge boost, knowing it took so little to make him instantly ready for her.

He started stroking her breasts, then reached between her legs. She slid closer, bent her head, and plunged her tongue into his mouth. A deep, sexy growl rumbled in his chest. She could feel his hardness pressing insistently against her hip.

“I want you,” he murmured against her mouth.

His words brought joy to her heart. To be wanted by this man was all she had ever desired and now, now they had a lifetime together to savor that passion. To nurture and grow with it.

Eleanor gave him a fierce squeeze, then rolled out of his reach.

“Hey, get back here.”

“No.” Eleanor scrambled quickly across the bed. Joshua was tangled in the silk sheets, unable to move fast enough to catch her. She reached for the first garment she could find, a lush terry cloth robe with the hotel's insignia embroidered on the breast pocket. After shrugging into it, she wrapped the belt twice around her waist and tied it securely. “If I climb back in that bed, then we'll never get out of it. Or out of this room.”

Joshua looked mildly affronted. “Complaints already, Mrs. Barton?”

She pursed her lips and tried to look serious. “We have been on this glorious island for five full days and haven't once gotten to the beach. Or the pool. I am going to be thoroughly embarrassed returning to the library after my two-week honeymoon in the Caribbean without a tan. At this rate I'll return paler than before I left.”

Joshua cocked a lazy eyebrow. “You could tell everyone it was raining.”

“Joshua.”

“How about a sunlamp? I'll have one installed on the jet. You can relax in a comfortable chair and bake in front of it on the flight home.”

Eleanor cleared her throat. Wild memories of their energetic lovemaking on the private plane ride down to the island made her blush. They had practically attacked each other the moment the pilot had signaled it was safe to move about the cabin.

“I ... ummm ... want natural sunlight,” she mumbled.

A frown creased his forehead, but his grin was so sexy she knew he was remembering that airplane ride, too. “You're right. We might not want to make any definite plans for our return flight that would interfere with our pleasure.”

“Joshua!” she blushed hotly.

“I love you, Eleanor.”

Her throat closed up and tears filled her eyes. No matter how often Joshua said it—and he had been saying it quite often these past six months—she never got tired of hearing it.

Smiling through her tears, she returned to the bed. “I love you, too,” she whispered, touching his cheek.

He pulled back the covers and patted the mattress. “Come back to bed.” He reached out and grabbed her waist, then slid both palms over her curves until one rested on each hip. “I'm lonely without you.”

“Oh, Joshua.” Eleanor felt her resolve melting, yet she knew the moment she lay upon those silken sheets she wouldn't be leaving the room. Again. “Why don't we take a nice stroll on the beach? Or how about a swim?” She lowered her voice to an alluring whisper as inspiration struck. “I can see the ocean from our window. The waves look great. We could try body surfing. Who knows where that might lead.”

“Body surfing?” His hand stilled, then his head lifted. “Will you take off your bathing suit?”

Eleanor bit her lip. Oh dear, now what had she started? “If there's a private beach,” she finally conceded.

Joshua jackknifed out of bed with admirable athleticism. “I know just the spot. The perfect spot.”

Naked, he padded over to the closet. “I know I packed a bathing suit.” He rambled about the room, opening drawers, rifling through neat piles of clothing.

Eleanor quickly grabbed her suit and matching cover-up and headed toward the bathroom.

“I'm ready,” she called out gaily a few minutes later.

“Wait a second.” Joshua narrowed his eyes. He was still naked, but his swimming trunks dangled from the closed fist that rested against his hip. “The last time we went body surfing in North Carolina you teased me mercilessly with that sexy body of yours. And the water was too darn cold for me to do a thing about it.”

“Oh, darling.” She moved forward and embraced him possessively, luxuriating in the feel of his warm chest. “The ocean temperature down here is warm. Nearly eighty degrees. Why else do you think I insisted we come to the Caribbean for our honeymoon?”