Sylvie Sommerfield - Noah's Woman (22 page)

Noah felt a surge of pleasure. She did not mean to refuse him, and given enough time, he meant to convince her that he loved her, and that he could fill her life as she could his.

"How beautiful you are," he said softly, "and how much a part of me I want you to be. You walked into my life so casually, and now I can't bear the thought that you will ever walk out of it." He drew her close to him, and Charity wanted his kiss. She relaxed in his arms and when his mouth gently tasted hers, she felt a rightness about it.

She swept from her mind all she had been told about him, all the plans she had made. As their lips blended and the kiss deepened, all thought but this deep, burning pleasure left her. She had never felt this way in all her life.

Noah, too, was lost to the moment. He felt her soft mouth open to accept his, and his breath caught. He had never loved before, never wanted any woman to be a part of his life, his world, his very soul. But now there was Charity. Beautiful, sweet, innocent Charity.

Gently he lifted her and pulled her across his lap, enjoying the way her arms came about his neck and the sound of her soft sigh of pleasure.

Every sense he had was coming alive in a wave of exuberance he'd not enjoyed for a number of years. He surrendered to the sheer joy of it, and even the sensation of surrender was novel and exciting. He would have Charity as his wife if he had to move heaven and hell to get her. Nothing, not even her inexperience and resistance, would stop him.

Charity, too, was in a state of ecstasy. She felt as if she were floating at an extreme height and clung to Noah, afraid to fall. She savored the taste of his warm, seeking mouth and the delicious new feelings that uncoiled in the depths of her. She had never felt anything so enchanting in her life.

She was confused, and Noah's heated kisses, growing deeper and warmer by the minute, were no help. She was caught in a cocoon of sensual heat that left her weak, yet wanting more. Nothing had prepared her for this.

Noah was struggling for some semblance of control, but it was growing more elusive by the minute. Even through her encumbering clothes his sensitive hands could feel the soft curve of her breast and the smooth arch of her back and her narrow waist.

His hand roamed lower to push up the voluminous skirt and he gave a ragged sigh of pleasure when his hand caressed a smooth, silken thigh. A small murmur of drugged contentment from Charity was all he needed to spur him on.

Noah cursed softly under his breath when the car-

riage came to a rocking halt, but he knew it was the best thing that could have happened, for God alone knew how far he would have gone. He was well aware that his control was slipping as fast as sand through an hourglass.

He righted a still half-dazed Charity and was pleased at the heavy-lidded sensual look in her eyes and the flush on her face.

"It seems we're home, my love."

Charity was too breathless to answer, and too flustered even to think of anything to say. When she put her hand in Noah's to be helped from the carriage, she was grateful for his strength, for she felt as weak as a newborn kitten. She realized, as the cool night air touched her heated skin, that she had come very close to total surrender.

Inside the house, Charity would have panicked if Noah hadn't been astute enough to see her fear. It almost made him feel good. The fear meant she had come as close to the edge as he and that she did not believe in her will to resist any longer.

They stood together in the semidark foyer, inches apart and silent. The distant sound of servants reminded them they were not alone.

"I . . . I had best go up" Charity began.

"Come in and sit by the fire with me for a while, Charity. We can talk."

"No," she said quickly. Just the thought of it sent a trembling through her body. If Noah was her husband . . . no, she could not think that way. "I'm very tired, Noah. I think it best I go up now."

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked quietly.

"No. I'm not afraid of you." She reached out a tentative hand to touch him. "Perhaps, Noah, I'm a bit afraid of myself. Good night."

"Charity" Noah began, a new hope blossoming, but she was already racing up the stairs. He stood for a while, contemplating going after her. Then he faced the realization that he might be destroying something very new and very fragile if he did. Instead he walked into the library for some brandy to keep his mind from picturing a lush and accessible Charity undressing for bed.

But Charity was not undressing. She had turned the corner at the top of the stairs and paused. The door, the one that was always locked, was slightly ajar.

She inhaled a deep breath. Noah wanted her to marry him, and the door to the room that might contain the packet that held Gregory's freedom was open and beckoning.

Again she fought a battle. But even while her mind was in turmoil she was moving toward the door. Her hand gently rested on the door handle. Then she pushed it open, stepped inside, and closed it behind her.

She stood for a few minutes until her eyes adjusted to the semidark room. Moonlight washed it in a hazy glow. Several portraits graced the walls but they were difficult to view and of little interest to her. She moved toward the huge desk that dominated the room.

It was an immense piece of furniture with many

drawers on one side, and a door on the other that opened to reveal shelves stacked with papers. Charity knelt and checked the contents, but the packet she sought was not there. Then she moved to the drawers. Each drawer boasted a small gold keyhole, and she hoped none of them were locked.

She tried the first one, breathing a sigh of relief. It wasn't locked. It took her only seconds to know the packet wasn't there and to go on to the next drawer, and then the next. Hope was waning that she would find what she wanted. Still, there were a lot of other pieces of furniture in the room and she had the time . . . she hoped . . . to search everything.

She closed the last drawer in defeat. She would have to search the rest of the room. She had started around the desk to the large cabinet when the sound of footsteps in the hall startled her. Noah! Was he coming here? The sound of a key being slid into the lock lent her speed. Panic-stricken, she raced into a small alcove and drew the curtains closed seconds before the door opened. She could see into the room perfectly from her darkened corner, and realized that Noah carried a lighted candle with him.

Charity held her breath, wondering if he could hear the thunder of her heart.

Noah stood just within the room for a minute, as if he were hearing or sensing something. Then he smiled slightly and walked to the desk. He set the candle holder on the desk and proceeded to take some papers from the top drawer. He read for a minute and then laid the papers down and walked to a painting

that hung on the wall. It surprised Charity when he slowly swung the painting open like a hinged door. Behind it was a space that held three small shelves. He removed some things and swung the painting shut again. He carried the material back to the desk and added the papers he had taken from the drawers.

Then he left the room. When the door closed behind him, Charity breathed a ragged sigh of relief. When she had gathered her nerve, she left the alcove and walked to the painting. She swung it open and there before her, on the lowest shelf, lay the packet she had been looking for.

She removed it from the shelf and swung the painting shut again. Charity stood stock still, trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing.

If she refused to take the packet, Gregory, who had done so much for her, who had changed her life, who professed his love, would suffer. But if she took it, Noah, who trusted her, who said he loved her and wanted to marry her, would know she had betrayed him. That thought brought a jolt of pain and overwhelming confusion.

She felt like crying but knew that tears would not help the situation. She needed someone to tell her what was right or wrong. Amiee. Yes, Amiee.

Charity slept very little that night. She heard the family return but didn't answer the timid knock on the door. She knew it was Beth, and at the moment she had no answers for Beth or herself. She had felt lost, lonely, and afraid before, but now the misery she felt went beyond those conditions. She prayed for

morning to come soon. She planned to be up and away before anyone else arose. She had to talk to Amiee, level-headed and sensible Amiee. Then she had to make a decision.

Chapter Eleven

The packet lay on the polished table between Amiee and Charity. Amiee had listened in silence, her eyes intent on a tense and shaken Charity.

Words tumbled from Charity in a rush as she explained her dilemma. If Amiee saw beyond the momentary problem to the other more weighty one, she said nothing until Charity finished.

''Oh, Amiee, I owe Gregory this much, don't I?"

"But if you give him this, you will have lost Noah forever. He will feel you betrayed him. But then"Amiee smiled"betrayal is what you had in mind when you went there, wasn't it?"

Amiee's words stung, but Charity could not deny the truth in them . . . the ugly truth.

"Charity, will you consider something without getting angry?"

"Anything."

"Gregory plans on marrying you eventually; he loves you."

"Yes."

"Have you really considered the situation he has put you in?"

"He was desperate," Charity said, but her brow furrowed in annoyance at the subtle doubts that entered her mind.

"Noah has said he loves you, too, and has asked you to be his wife."

"Yes," Charity said softly.

"Has it occurred to you which man must truly love you?"

"Why would I doubt either of them?"

"Such conceit!" Amiee chuckled.

"I didn't mean it that way. I meant to compliment them both."

"Sometimes I truly believe your loving heart causes all your difficulties. You see things through romantic eyes, and that can lead to nothing but trouble."

"You make me sound like a child."

"Sometimes you are." Amiee sighed. "Charity, if you believe both men love you, then you should marry the man you love. If you marry the other, you can only make both your lives miserable. It's time to follow your heart."

She considered Amiee's words and looked inward for the first time. It was Gregory to whom she owed a debt, but it was Noah who made her heart pound and her passion come to life. Of course Amiee was

right. She loved Noah Morgan and could no longer deny it.

"I cannot return the packet to Noah, but I don't want to give it to Gregory either. If I can only remove the threat from Gregory, then I will have repaid him."

"Are you going to tell Noah the truth?"

"I will tell him about my past." She lifted her chin proudly. "I am not ashamed. But I will not bring Gregory into this. I will tell Gregory that I have done all I could to protect him, and that I love and intend to marry Noah."

"I'm happy for you, Charity. I think you've chosen the right path."

"You have not liked or trusted Gregory from the very beginning, have you?"

Amiee did not want to tell Charity that ever since the night she had read the cards, she had been certain that Gregory was the one who was destined to harm her. At least now, if Charity were to separate herself from him and become the wife of Noah Morgan, she would be safe from any threat Gregory might pose. Amiee cared too much for Charity to think of her being hurt any more than she had been.

"It is not up to me to like or not. You're learning to guide your life, and I'm happy for you. I want you to be happy."

"Amiee, you have always been so good to me. Someday I must repay you somehow."

"You owe me nothing but your friendship, Charity. And that is what I value most."

"May I leave the packet with you for safekeeping until I decide what to do with it?"

"Yes, of course. I'll hide it away until you want it."

"Again, I'm grateful."

"But now you're excited. I can see it in your eyes."

"I am, a bit." She smiled.

"I'm going over to see Jason. Do you want to come along?" Amiee asked.

"Yes, I haven't seen him for a long time."

"I'll put this away first." Amiee took the packet into another room and returned in a few minutes.

"Is it safely hidden?"

"Believe me, Charity, no one will ever find it. Let's go."

They used the carriage Charity had come in. When they arrived, they were laughing together as they entered and Jason heard them. He came to the top of the stairs and as they mounted the steps, he opened his arms and embraced them both.

"Charity, how wonderful you look. Like a titled lady."

"She soon will be," Amiee said.

"So," Jason said quietly, "Beth was right."

"Beth?" Charity questioned. Jason flushed a bit at the slip, but they were already walking into his studio. Charity wasn't exactly shocked to see Beth seated calmly on a window seat.

"Beth!" Charity exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming here today."

"I'm letting Jason do another portrait of me," Beth replied. "He thinks I make a good model, and perhaps he can sell the portraits."

Beth's eyes flew to Jason, who stiffened. He did not

intend to lie to Charity or anyone about how he felt for Beth.

Of course, he knew Beth had come to see him often without Charity's knowledge. But if Charity questioned them, he knew he and Beth both meant for the truth to be told.

But Charity didn't question. Being in love now, she forgot her earlier misgivings about their relationship. She had no fear that Beth would not be treated tenderly and well by this man. Somehow their financial problems would be resolved.

"I'm sure that a portrait, done with the eyes of love, will sell well," Charity replied. Both Jason and Beth smiled in relief, and Beth rose and went to Jason's side. He put his arm possessively about her. "I couldn't be happier for you both," Charity finished. She looked casually around the studio, then frowned. "Jason, where is the portrait of me?"

"Ah . . . Charity . . . I'm sorry. After you and Beth left . . . well, things were desperate. Please don't hate me, but . . . I had to sell it."