More Than a Man (15 page)

She swallowed, hard and raw. “You’re taking
too much of me.”

“Not enough.” Aya ground his pelvis against
her. Deeper. Deity, how could he be so deep?
Nine
inches
.

Relinquishing her hold on the bed, she twined
her arms around his neck and clasped his head to her chest.
Relentless, he moved, his steady, slow rhythm stoking a hot, raging
fire beneath her skin. The hum in her ears grew louder, closer.
Aya’s teeth found her nipple. He bit and the fire burst from its
confines, unyielding flames licking her inner walls into a frenzy.
He groaned in her arms, against her skin, and she felt his muscles
tremble. Perspiration slicked his skin, made him slippery in her
grasp.

“Too much,” she whispered, but she gave it
anyway, boneless and weightless. The buzz in her ears ended
abruptly.

Aya rose up on one arm and arched his back,
his cock digging deep into her. He shuddered once and tiny pulses
of sensation throbbed against her internal walls as he released.
His groan was guttural, possessing none of the molasses-rich
civility of his speaking voice. The wash of his pleasure vibrated
through her, legs and arms, fingers and toes. He stilled but she
continued to buzz inside, continued to rock beneath him. Above her,
his voice skimmed the surface of consciousness. She ignored it.

But Kendall’s voice was impossible to
ignore.

“You must be Noelle’s new husband,” her
friend said.

She stiffened. Aya’s fingers tightened in her
hair. “I am.”

Kendall cleared her throat. “Is Noelle
around…er, available? I brought coffee. And muffins.”

Aya blew out a breath.

Noelle sighed and, even though she couldn’t
see the telelink, said, “I’m here. Give us a few minutes.”

“A few minutes. Sure. I’ll just let myself in
and wait in the kitchen.” Kendall ended the call and silence hung
over the room.

Noelle moistened her lips and squirmed in
Aya’s tight grip. “Sorry.”

“No more ‘link in the bedroom,” he said.

“It’s my fault. I meant to move it yesterday,
after Mora called.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, promised
against her mouth, “I’m not going to stop for it a third time.”

Noelle shivered. “Maybe I should leave it
after all.”

Chapter Eight

Aya cleaned up quickly and left Noelle to
bathe and dress. He found Kendall in the kitchen, a curvacious
blonde counterpart to Noelle’s athletic brunette. Her face was
familiar, featured in pictures all over the house.

The other woman raised her eyebrows over the
rim of a cup of coffee and looked him up and down. Her gamine
features were saved from cute by a nose that was just a little too
long. “Someone did a very good job putting you together.”

“My wife seems to agree with you.” He leaned
against the doorjamb.

“She would.” Kendall flashed an easy grin
despite the awkwardness of their earlier telelink encounter.
“You’re exactly Noelle’s type.”

He started to shrug off the comment but
stopped himself. “I’m her third husband.”

Kendall nodded, but her expression gave
nothing away. “You are.”

“She doesn’t have any pictures of the other
two anywhere.”

Kendall placed her mug on the island and
tapped her fingertips on the rim before saying, “They didn’t look
like you, if you’re worried about that sort of thing. Noelle…let’s
just say visual reminders are a lot stronger for some people than
they are for others. It was best for her to reclaim her home after
each of her previous husbands passed. She has pictures but they’re
not on display anymore.”

“So she didn’t put them away on my
behalf.”

“No, she put them away on her own
behalf.”

Good. It was good to know she’d already said
farewell, at least to an extent, to men who came before him. He’d
be lying if he claimed he hadn’t worried about lingering
attachments.

She cocked her head to one side, studying
him. Shrewd intelligence and flat assessment filled her eyes. Aya
had a sudden sympathy for anyone opposing her in the courtroom.

“I know Noelle didn’t request a man with an
aversion to coffee,” Kendall said. She pushed an empty mug toward
him and tilted her head toward a disposable carafe. “You should get
some before she comes down and lays claim to more than her fair
share.”

“She does have some greedy tendencies.”

“I do too, especially when it comes to her.
I’m hoping you won’t be super-possessive.”

Aya stilled, his hand poised over the carafe,
and frowned at his wife’s friend. “I’m not going to insist she
spend every second waiting for my whims.”

“Good.” Kendall grinned and slid off the
stool. “Because I scheduled a spa day for her in anticipation of
your arrival, and…well, that day’s today. You’ll be alright on your
own for a few hours, right? After all,” she pointed out, “you were
early.”

Without waiting for his response, she left
the kitchen and started up the stairs. She stopped half way and
turned. “Oh, could you get the bags out of my transpo? They’re for
the party tonight.”

Before he could answer, she sprinted the rest
of the way up the stairs. In heels that were easily three inches.
That explained the difference in height. How did women even walk in
those?

Feminine voices filtered down from the
direction of the bedroom. Aya leaned against the counter and
crossed his arms over his chest, exhaling a long breath. Maybe
Noelle didn’t have such a bad idea with keeping news of his arrival
to herself. He had a feeling he’d find himself defending his
territory on a regular basis.

With a shrug, he went out to retrieve the
bags. While they were out doing their spa thing, he could get
settled in, maybe see about cleaning out that little room he
intended to use as his studio.

Kendall drove a tiny sport-about with barely
enough room for two people and a cup of coffee. The entire back
cargo area was consumed with two large bags, a third overflowed
into the front seat. A huge tote sat on the floor on the passenger
side, a pair of lightshades hooked to the side. He could fit half
his belongings, including the newly purchased clothes, in that
tote.

Shaking his head, he pulled the bags out.
Streamers, tablecloths, napkins. Enough recycleware to outfit an
army. Just how many people were coming tonight?

Amused, he hefted the bags and headed back
inside. At least they didn’t have to worry about food. Evidently
one of Noelle’s friends owned a restaurant.

Propping one of the bags between his hip and
the frame of the door, he slapped his palm to the identilock. It
flashed red. He wiped his palm on his pants and put it back on the
pad. Red again. She hadn’t changed the locks to include him.
Amusement evaporated while he digested the situation. Kendall could
walk right in, but he couldn’t.

He dragged in an uneven breath. He’d been
early. He’d only arrived yesterday. She had simply forgotten.
Except that didn’t ring true with what he was learning about his
wife.

Glowering, he leaned on the buzzer.

Moments passed before she popped open the
door, a puzzled expression on her face. “What are you doing out
here?”

Kendall peered curiously over Noelle’s
shoulder. “I sent him to get stuff from my transpo.”

Ignoring Kendall, he strove for an even tone.
“You haven’t put me on the identilock.”

Noelle’s hazel eyes widened. “Oh, Deity! I’m
sorry. I totally forgot.”

“You’d have to think of it in the first place
in order to forget to do it,” Kendall contributed. To Aya, she
said, “Sorry. Noelle can be a little one-track-minded.”

Not replying, he adjusted his grip on the
bags and straightened. “Are you going to let me in?”

The color drained from Noelle’s cheeks. She
lurched backward, bumping squarely into Kendall, who gripped
Noelle’s arm to steady her before pulling her aside to allow Aya
past.

“I can’t believe you didn’t put him on the
identilocks when you first went through the packet.” He heard
Kendall whisper. “
Noelle
.”

“Everything happened so fast,” Noelle said
defensively, a hitch in her voice.

“What if he went out while we were gone?”
Kendall asked. “He’d have been waiting out there for hours. Have
you taken care of a ‘fone for him yet?”

Conflicting urges of satisfaction and
protectiveness rose, pushing back his anger. Satisfaction that
Kendall seemed to agree with his irritation warred with bone-deep
instinct to protect Noelle, who seemed upset by Kendall’s mild
censure.

Tamping down the urge to get between him, he
walked toward the back of the little house. “I’m going to put these
in the kitchen. Have a good time at the spa.”

In the reflective surface of the ceraglass he
could see Noelle watching him, her expression troubled. Aya dropped
the bags on the table and ran a hand over his scalp, unable to
force the knot in his chest to loosen. Kendall had voiced the words
he wouldn’t allow himself to say. Noelle hadn’t thought of him.

* * *

Noelle's friends overwhelmed her small house.
High, excited feminine voices rose above the calmer tones of the
few men who crowded into the entry behind the women. Aya edged into
the kitchen before anybody made eye contact with him. The wall
between him and the crowd did little to muffle the din. Her friends
seemed nice enough despite their surprise at her third marriage. It
was clear Kendall thought Noelle was crazy, but that didn't extend
to disapproval of him. His relief at her ambivalence surprised him.
Granted, he didn't want her friends to hate him, but he hadn't
expected their opinion to matter much to him personally.

A quick check ensured everything was under
control in the food and beverage department, leaving him free to
slide along the wall and out the doors to the garden.

"You're the third, you know," someone slurred
from the right.

Aya angled toward the speaker. The garden was
dimly lit by paper lanterns. One swayed above the other man's blond
head. "Engel, right?"

"Good memory." Engel tipped his glass back
and drained it before he stepped onto the little patio.

"You came with Mora." Aya folded his arms
across his chest.

"Two for two." The other man smirked. "Or
three for three, depending on your perspective."

"Does it matter to you whether I'm a first or
a third?" Aya leaned against the low wall. He didn’t like this man,
and the fact he would almost certainly have to tolerate him for
Noelle’s sake rubbed him wrong.

Engel lifted a smokeless pipe to his mouth,
paused, and returned it to his pocket. "Nah. There will be a fourth
soon enough."

"You're drunk." Aya straightened. "Maybe
you'd better find Mora and let her know you aren't fit company
anymore."

"I'm no more drunk than you are real," Engel
said nastily. "And after you, Noelle will come to her senses."

"What'll she do then? Turn to you?" Because
that, he realized, was the source of Engel's hostility. He wanted
Noelle.

Engel squared his shoulders and puffed his
chest. "It wouldn't be the first time."

A cocktail of emotions slammed the base of
Aya's skull. Possessiveness. Jealousy. Doubt. Nostrils flaring, he
reminded himself what he’d told her going in to her parents’ last
night. He couldn’t change other people, only his own reactions.
"It's time for you to leave."

Aya mentally counted backward from ten. He
didn't want to strike the man and he wasn't close to violence, but
the strong mix of emotions tied to Noelle were making him doubt his
opposition to violence.

A shadow fell between him and Engel. Aya
glanced toward the ceraglass door as it slid open. Light from
inside turned Noelle's hair red at the ends.

"Why are you hiding out here?" She asked, a
smile tilting her lips.

"Men have to bond somewhere, Nelly," Engel
replied before Aya could respond. "Your new husband and I were
getting to know each other."

Aya watched Noelle's face. Her smile had
frozen over Engel's first words and her relaxed posture stiffened.
Both were interesting responses. The question was, did she want him
to stay away from Engel or did she want Engel to stay away from
him?

"Well," she said. "If you've finished
bonding, I want to reclaim my husband."

The statement went a long way toward soothing
Aya’s raw nerves, but not far enough.

Engel moved first. He clapped a hand on Aya's
shoulder. "See you around, man."

“Nelly. Ugh. I hate when he calls me that.”
Noelle watched Engel go inside, her eyes narrowed and her lips
pressed tight together.

Before she could speak, Aya said, "Remember
when you asked me if I have memories of other women?"

Noelle flinched. "I shouldn't have asked. I
still don't want to know."

He forced his fists to relax. "I don't have
any. But it's killing me knowing you have memories of other
men."

"They're not a threat to you," she said
cautiously. "I have to be honest here. I'm not sure what to do or
what to say to you. You're the first man I've ever been with who's
been angry about previous relationships."

Aya glanced past her to the gathering inside.
Engel met his stare with raised eyebrows.

"Aya?" Tone perplexed, Noelle turned to
follow his line of sight. Inside, Engel quickly turned away from
them and said something to Kendall. He didn't turn quickly enough,
judging by Noelle's low curse.

"Did Engel say something to you? He did,
didn't he?" She spun and reached for the door.

"He's been dealt with." Aya straightened from
the wall and caught her biceps, forestalling her angry departure.
"I don't care about what he has to say. I care about you."

"Whatever he said, it's...I've known him all
my life. He's a friend—
was
a friend—and nothing more. If I
wanted him, I wouldn't be here now." She splayed her fingers across
his stomach and pressed against his abs, hard but not shoving. "You
know
I want you. Deity, you make me crazy with want for you.
You're everything I asked for."