To Make a Marriage(29)

'Let me,' she said, reaching up to unbutton his shirt, smoothing the  material back to run her hands caressingly over the smoothness of his  skin, fingertips tingling over the silky hair that covered his chest.

There had seemed no opportunity, the last time they'd been together like  this, to actually touch and feel, to learn the contours of each other's  body.                       
       
           



       

Adam's body was lean and hard, his legs long and muscular, skin lightly  tanned-obviously not all of his time was spent behind a desk, on the  telephone, or on a plane!-and covered with fine silver-blonde hair.

As he pulled her in tightly against his body, only thin garments still  between them, Andie could feel the hard evidence of his desire.

She moved sensuously against him, her senses raised to fever pitch, her  eyes deeply green as she looked up at him pleadingly. She wanted more-so  much more!-wanted to be completely naked against him, wanted-

'Not until we're married-remember?' Once again Adam seemed able to read her thoughts, regret in his voice.

She shook her head, reaching out to caress him. 'That doesn't seem important any more.'

'It is to me,' he told her firmly, his hand tightly gripping her wrist.

But as if to take any sting out of his words, his head lowered, lips  closing hotly over one bra-covered nipple, sucking the sensitive tip  into the moist cavern of his mouth.

Andie's head went back, her eyes closing as she groaned low in her  throat, her body feeling on fire as Adam released her hand to caress her  other breast, heated pleasure now coursing through her body.

Her breathing was short and shallow as she felt the sensations building  up inside her, sure that she was going to completely explode as she felt  Adam's caress against her panties.

Waves of pleasure washed over her with ever-increasing pressure, until  she felt as if she couldn't stand any more, her body arching in aching  ecstasy.

The aftermath of that pleasure left her weak and exhausted, lying limply in Adam's arms now.

He raised his head to look at her as she still trembled in his arms. 'Are you all right? I didn't hurt you?'

If that was hurting-!

'No, you didn't hurt me,' she assured him, knowing that Adam had taken  her to the plateau of complete pleasure. 'Although I did feel as if I  had died and gone to heaven.'

Adam laughed huskily, smoothing back the blonde tangle of her hair from  the heat of her face. 'That's how I hoped you would feel!' He reached  beneath them to pull the bedclothes up over both of them. 'And now I  would like a pleasure that was denied me last time,' he said.

She looked up at him, unsure of what he meant. She was pregnant as a result of their last lovemaking, so what-?

He looked down at her with laughing grey eyes. 'The pleasure of having  you fall asleep in my arms,' he explained with playful rebuke.

Andie stared at him in the glow from the bedside lamp. 'But-'

'Sleep, woman,' he commanded, his arm about her as he put her head on his shoulder before reaching out to turn off the lamp.

Andie lay beside him in the darkness. But he hadn't- He had given her pleasure, and yet he-

'We have the rest of our lives, Andie,' he murmured beside her in the  darkness as he sensed her troubled thoughts. 'Tonight I wanted to give  you pleasure.'

And he had.

He certainly had!

Complete. Utterly. Unselfishly … !



'Will you stop pacing up and down on the same piece of carpet, Adam? You'll wear it out!'

He paused to give Rome a glowering glare. But he changed the direction of his pacing, nonetheless.

He had known, after that meeting with Glenda yesterday, Andie's reaction  to it, that he had to talk to someone. Unfortunately, the person he was  closest to in the world-apart from Andie, herself!-was Rome. Who, of  course, also happened to be Andie's father!

Which explained why he was pacing impatiently up and down the  sitting-room at the estate house. He had no idea how to even begin  telling Rome about Glenda!

Rome sighed. 'Is this going to take long, Adam? Because I have a wedding  of my own to go to next week, you know!' he added satirically,  perfectly relaxed as he sat in one of the armchairs watching Adam.

'Very funny!' Adam grimaced.

'I doubt Audrey would share that sentiment if I failed to appear at the  church simply because it took you a week to get round to what you want  to say!' Rome drawled.

Adam stopped his pacing. 'It's all very difficult … '

Rome looked concerned. 'You aren't thinking of letting Andie down, are  you?' He spoke mildly enough, but there was a definite edge to his tone  as he looked far from relaxed now.

'Don't be ridiculous,' Adam came back impatiently.

'That's okay, then.' The older man settled back into his chair. 'Because  you would seriously be stretching the bounds of our friendship if you  were to even consider doing that.'                       
       
           



       

'I've just said I'm not,' Adam snapped irritably.

'I heard you. Just as I heard you the day you came here to explain to me  that you and Andie had been secretly involved with each other for  months, and that you were the father of her baby,' Rome continued  softly, blue eyes narrowed now.

Adam looked at the other man warily. 'It's true, I am. And by the way, it's babies. Plural,' he added.

Rome gave an abrupt nod of his head. 'Andie came to see me this morning to tell me the good news.'

Andie had been here this morning … ?

Adam had left her apartment shortly after eight o'clock this morning,  the two of them sharing a pot of coffee before he'd gone back to his own  apartment to shower and change ready for going to his office.

Except that he hadn't gone to his office, had spent the morning at his  apartment thinking over what he should do about Glenda, finally  telephoning Rome and asking if he could come and talk to him.

But Andie had already been here today.

Why? Oh, obviously she would want to tell her father about the twins, but even so …

Adam frowned. 'I didn't realise that.'

Rome shrugged. 'There's no reason why you should have done. I'm pleased for both of you, of course.'

But.

The other man hadn't actually said that, but it was there in the tone of his voice.

Adam also questioned why Rome hadn't told him he knew about the twins  when he'd arrived a short time ago. Surely it would have been the most  natural thing in the world for Rome to have talked excitedly of the fact  that he was now expecting two grandchildren and not one?

Rome stood up. 'I said I heard you last week, Adam-that doesn't mean I  believed you. Most people who meet me for the first time believe-as they  are supposed to!-that I am just an easygoing man who happened to make a  couple of lucky business decisions early on in my career, and that I  have built on those decisions because of that earlier success. That's  most people, Adam,' he repeated. 'I didn't count you amongst their  number!'

He had told Andie only yesterday that he wasn't most men!

But he knew that wasn't what Rome meant at all. Rome was right; Adam had  never been fooled by that happy-go-lucky philanthropic guise Rome wore  for the general public. Rome had achieved his success by shrewd  intelligence, accompanied by kid-glove ruthlessness.

'Audrey told me I should leave the subject alone,' Rome continued. 'And  while I accede to my future wife's views on most subjects-' he smiled  tightly '-Andie's future happiness is not something I intend letting  anyone play around with.'

He looked across at Adam with narrowed blue eyes, the two men of similar  height and build, the fourteen years' difference in their ages  noticeable only in the lines of experience beside Rome's eyes and mouth.  But it was a difference Adam had always known he should be wary of …

'I am as concerned for Andie's future happiness as you are,' Adam told him shortly.

'Are you?' Rome returned in measured tones. 'Then let me tell you that I  was never fooled for a moment by that story of the two of you keeping  your relationship a secret. Not one single minute, Adam,' he repeated  firmly as Adam would have spoken. 'My daughters were simply not brought  up to be secretive,' he declared with proud affection. 'However,' he  went on, 'at the time, I considered the details of your earlier  involvement none of my business.'

"'At the time" … ?' Adam echoed.

Rome nodded abruptly. 'I'm still not going to pry, Adam; the two of you  have decided to marry, and that is the end of the matter as far as I'm  concerned.'

There was still a but. Adam sensed it.

'However,' Rome said, 'Andie's visit here this morning changed things somewhat.'

'It did?' Again Adam looked at the other man warily. This wasn't turning out at all as he had imagined it would!

Rome gave a stiff inclination of his head. 'My daughter is under the  impression that there's a-complication in your life that may affect your  married life together.'

Adam drew in a harsh breath. He had come here for the very reason of  talking to Rome about that complication. But now he felt on the  defensive.