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“We wouldn’t want her to go to any trouble.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” Christian surveyed her disheveled hair and bare shoulders and she blushed.
“Waffles.” Marc crowed the word happily and tried tugging her off the bed. “Get up, Mama. I’m hungry.”
“I’ll go and arrange it. How long will it take you and Marc to get ready?”
“Half an hour?”
“Are you sure that’s enough time?” Christian gave her a slow, complex smile that would take her hours to unravel. “I don’t want you to feel rushed.”
“It’s fine.”
With Christian lingering half in and half out of her room, Noelle wasn’t inclined to ditch the covers and let him drink his fill of her in the clingy silk nightgown. That he’d seen it last night and much more besides didn’t mean she wanted to parade before him in the light of day.
“Marc, why don’t you go to your room and get dressed?” she said. “I put out your clothes last night. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”
Her son scampered to do as she asked, but although Christian stepped aside to let him past, he showed no interest in withdrawing. In fact, he took a single step into the room. Having a man in her bedroom wasn’t something Noelle was used to. Back when she and Christian had been lovers, she’d grown comfortable with being nude around him. But since Marc had come along, she’d fallen into the habit of conservative modesty. The only time she left her bedroom wearing just her nightclothes was in the middle of the night when Marc was a baby or if he had an infrequent nightmare.
“Shouldn’t you be getting up, too?” Christian asked.
Noelle bit back a tart retort and slid out of bed. As the cool morning air found her bare skin, she shivered and reached for the silk robe that matched her nightgown. She moved with more haste than grace as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. Last night’s confident vixen had been an illusion of shadow and lamplight.
“Don’t you need to check with your cook about Marc’s waffles?” She wanted him to go and take his penetrating gaze with him. The longer he stared at her, the more her poise suffered.
“As soon as you come here and give me a kiss.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I haven’t brushed my teeth, and I’m far from presentable.”
“Do you think I care?” His velvet voice bore a trace of steel. “Come here.”
Her muscles moved of their own accord, setting her on a direct path into his waiting arms. As she crossed to him, the glow of his smile thawed her chilled limbs. A second later, his warm hands slipped around her waist and the ardent pressure of his fingers pulled her snug against his unyielding torso. Abruptly impatient, she lifted up on her toes to bring her lips into contact with his sooner.
The kiss was hot and fast. Electricity arched between them, the voltage off the scale. Noelle’s body came to instant life, and she moaned beneath Christian’s mouth.
Almost as fast as she’d ridden desire upward, she was crashing back to earth. She couldn’t let Marc see her and Christian locked in a passionate embrace, so she broke off the kiss and pushed her palms against the unyielding granite of his shoulders.
“Marc mustn’t...” She sucked in much-needed air to clear her head.
“Damn.” Christian stepped back. Chest heaving, he blinked several times before he managed to focus his gaze on her. “Noelle...”
She had no idea what he intended to say. Nor apparently did he because he merely stared at her for a long, silent moment and then shook his head as if to clear it.
“You said something about checking on breakfast,” she prompted, overjoyed to see that the kiss had rattled him. Before last night he’d always been the one in control. His masterful seduction had swept her along. Past comfort zones and pride, reducing her every defense to ashes while he kept his thoughts private. “Waffles?”
“Waffles.” With a brief nod he turned away, but before he left he spoke over his shoulder. “Take your time. I’ll send one of the maids to check on Marc.” And then he was off, striding down the hallway.
Noelle leaned against the heavy wood door, taking stock of the graceless lethargy in her limbs and the fanciful fluttering of her heart. She touched the tip of her tongue to her lips, noting they were still tender from last night’s fervent kisses.
She closed her bedroom door and headed for the bathroom, determined to enjoy a long hot shower. Catching sight of her reflection, she noticed the invigorating start to her morning had put a smile on her face. The urge to hum surprised her, and she pushed aside the rational side of her brain that wanted to squash all her reckless joy. Monday morning would be soon enough for her return to cold reality. Until then she intended to see where this new beginning with Christian would take them.
Christian was still cursing his lack of control around Noelle as he reached the ground floor. As if summoned by his thoughts, Mrs. Francas popped into his line of sight and he stopped short.
“Is it possible for waffles to be served for breakfast?”
“Cook has a new recipe she will be happy to show off.”
“And could you send one of the maids to check on Marc? I told Noelle we would take care of him this morning.”
