A Noble Pursuit. Meg Lacey

As if on cue, the skies opened, drenching them anew as Shay carried her up the sidewalk.

      “Much more of this and we’re both gonna drown,” he muttered as he stepped onto the porch. He shouldered his way through the front door, then stopped in the vestibule, shifting Juliette in his arms and muttering under his breath.

      Her arm went around his neck—for balance, she told herself, not because she wanted to get closer to him or anything. “Am I too heavy?” She’d said it automatically, praying he wouldn’t release her yet. She could feel his strength, the hard muscles of his arms and chest tense against her body. All she had to do was turn slightly to touch his lips with hers. It was tempting, very tempting.

      “Heavy?” Shay grinned down at her. “Since when are sprites heavy?”

      “A sprite?” She was sure her eyes were starting to twinkle as she stared into his. His green eyes were glowing, and he tightened his arms as if he didn’t want to let her go any more than she wanted him. “That’s rather fanciful, isn’t it? For a man who doesn’t believe in fairy tales?” she teased, just to see what he would do.

      Shay scowled as a stain of red slashed across his cheekbones. “I need my key to get in the other door,” he said gruffly.

      “Where is it? Did you leave it in the car?”

      “No. It’s in my pocket, but I can’t reach it while I’m holding you.”

      “Then you’d better put me down.” She hoped he didn’t hear the disappointment in her voice.

      “Yeah, maybe I should.” Despite his statement he held her a bit tighter. “But it’s not a heroic thing to do, not to a damsel in distress. Forget it—can’t do it. Not when you’re dripping from the knees down.”

      “I’m still wet, whether you’re holding me or not,” Juliette said in a reasonable tone.

      “True. We could be stuck here till your shoes dry. Unless…” His brows lifted in a hopeful expression.

      “Unless?”

      His expression changed. A glint sparked in his eyes. “You wanna get it for me?”

      “Get what? Your key?” Juliette gave him a suspicious look, warned by the challenging light in his eye. “That depends on where it is.”

      “Back pocket, right side.”

      “Back—” He was definitely up to something—something more than taking her mind off the “sprite” compliment that had embarrassed him. At least, she’d taken it as a compliment. Sprites were lovely, magical beings to her. She caught his lips twitching and glanced up quickly to see a teasing glint in his eyes. “Why don’t you put me down? Then you can get it yourself.”

      “I can’t. Your feet are soaking wet and this rug is practically an heirloom, my landlady said.”

      Juliette looked down at the faded Oriental carpet beneath Shay’s feet. “This carpet? Well, it certainly looks old enough.”

      “We don’t want to damage it.”

      “What about your feet? They’re wet, too.”

      “I’m not dripping water the way you are.” He pointed at the ornate pattern, which was now a bit darker than before. “See?”

      Juliette decided he was not only teasing her, he was testing her. Why, she didn’t know, unless he’d seen through her amnesia act. It probably wasn’t the best role she could have chosen for her escapade—not that she’d consciously done so—but it was too late to backtrack now. Juliette looked him boldly in the eye and called his bluff.

      “Back pocket, you said?”

      She leaned around so she could slide her hand down his side, past his waist and over his tight butt. Her fingers hesitated at the top of his pocket, but his eyes held a challenge, and with a quick move she slipped her fingers inside his pocket and began grasping for the key. Her fingers slid over his firm buttocks as she explored the inside of the pocket quite thoroughly, then jerked her hand up and out. She wanted to blow on her fingertips to cool them off. “The key’s not there,” she announced in a tight voice.

      His eyebrows shot up in astonishment. “It’s not? I wonder what I…oh, how stupid. I remember now. I put in on my chain with my car keys this morning.” He lifted his hand and revealed the key ring dangling from his little finger. “Sorry, Red. I forgot. Seems like you’re not the only one with a bad memory.” He leaned down and unlocked the door.

      She stiffened and her voice dripped ice when she said, “You can put me down now.” She knew he was suspicious of her story, and he’d just confirmed it. She’d have to watch it from now on, or run as if the hounds of hell were snapping at her heels.

      “No can do, the same carpet is in the hallway.” Clasping her high in his arms, he practically strolled down the hall toward the ornate caged elevator at the other end.

      Annoyed, Juliette hissed like a wet kitten. She hated it when people patted her on the head and treated her like a fool. “I suppose you pulled that little trick to humiliate me? Right?” She raised her brows to their haughtiest level. “I demand that you put me down immediately.”

      He chuckled as he stepped inside the open elevator and slid the cage shut. He pressed the button for the third floor before he answered her. “Now, Princess—”

      “Don’t call me Princess.”

      “—don’t lose your temper. You tell me what man could resist hanging on to an armful like you? I just wanted to see if you’d lost your spirit along with your memory.”

      Her spirit. He thought she had spirit? Was this man off track! If she had any spirit at all she’d tell her brother that she didn’t intend to get married right now. Especially not to a man she didn’t love and had known practically forever as another brother. Spirit. That’s a laugh. The most spirited thing Juliette had ever done she was doing at this very moment. The only problem was, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do next.

      2

      SHAY SET HER DOWN just outside the doorway to his apartment.

      Juliette looked at her feet and dripping hem. “No heirloom carpets up here, I suppose?”

      Shay laughed. “My landlady didn’t mention the carpets up here at all.”

      Juliette shuddered as she stared at the huge red cabbage roses that sprawled across the moss-green background. “I don’t blame her.”

      Sending her an amused glance, Shay fit his key into the lock and turned the knob. He shoved the door wide and said, “After you.”

      Juliette hesitated at the threshold. After all, the minute she stepped over it she was committed. Whatever happened for the rest of the evening was in her hands. Her breath quickened at the absolute knowledge that she was in control. Right now she could take what she wanted and the rest of the world be damned. No past, no future…only the present.

      “If you’re worried about the carpet,” he said with a wink, “take my word for it—ain’t no roses on this floor.”

      A small laugh gurgled in the back of Juliette’s throat. “Thanks for telling me, but I’m not concerned about the rug.”

      Shay’s expression sobered, his voice suddenly gruff, as if he was trying to allay her fears. “Don’t be concerned about anything else, either. It’s safe.”

      “Like a sanctuary, you mean?”

      “Being a former altar boy, I wouldn’t say anything so sacrilegious.”

      “Since when is safety a sacrilege?”

      “When it’s used to run away from things people should be facing.”

      Juliette froze. It was as if he could see into her