LITMIR.BIZ

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his territorial nature rejected the idea of offering them privacy. After all, Kara was his fiancée—or rather, she had been.

      That had all changed now.

      Her skin dewy from exertion, her eyes dazed and soft in a way Noah had never experienced, Kara leaned back and sighed. “Oh God, that was incredible.”

      “Mmm,” came the husky, satisfied reply. “I can give you more.”

      Looking scandalized and anxious, Kara purred, “Yes?” and came up on one elbow to smile at her lover.

      That’s when she noticed Noah.

      Kara’s beautiful face paled and her kiss-swollen lips opened in a shocked, horrified oh. Her lover, with his dark eyes glittering and bold, lounged back in antagonistic silence.

      Amazingly enough, Kara snatched up the sheet to conceal her body…from Noah.

      Noah shook his head in disgust—most of it self-directed. He’d been a royal fool. He’d treated her gently, with deference, with patience. And she’d cheated on him.

      “Don’t faint, Kara. I’m not going to cause a scene.” Noah didn’t even bother to glance at the other man—there was no challenge there.

      Instead, Noah lent all his attention to the woman he’d expected to be his wife. “Under the circumstances, I’m sure you’ll agree the wedding is off.”

      Kara gasped in panic. Having said his piece, Noah turned on his heel to stalk away. He was aware of the race of his pulse, the pounding of determination that surged in his blood. It wouldn’t be pleasant, ending elaborate plans already in progress. The upper society of Gillespe, Kentucky, was about to be rocked by a bit of a surprise.

      Kara’s parents, Hillary and Jorge, had gone all out on preparations for the celebration. They’d rented an enormous hall and purchased a wedding gown that had cost more than many houses. Guests were invited from around the country, and all of Gillespe was aware of the impending nuptials.

      His grandmother…God, Noah didn’t even want to think about Agatha’s reaction. She fancied herself a leader of the community, and she was tight with Hillary and Jorge, treating them like relatives as well as her dearest friends. In many ways, she already thought of Kara as her own.

      Noah bounded down the spiraling carpeted stairs two at a time, anxious to get away from the house so his mind could quit churning and settle on a course of action. He’d learned at an early age, while being shuffled from one foster home to another, to make cool, calculated decisions and then to analyze the repercussions so that nothing could ever again take him by surprise.

      This time, he had few choices, so his decisions were easy. He wouldn’t marry Kara now, but at the same time, he hated to disappoint his grandmother.

      He’d just started to pull the front door open when a small hand grabbed his upper arm. “Noah!”

      Damn. He’d really hoped to avoid this confrontation. He sighed and turned.

      Kara stared up at him with wet eyes and a trembling mouth. Her fair skin blanched whiter than usual, with none of the rosy glow he’d grown used to. She wore only a hastily tied robe that emphasized the swells and hollows of her body—a body he’d once thought very sexy. Her short golden brown hair was becomingly tousled and as Noah watched, she released him and ran a shaking hand over her forehead, pushing her wispy bangs aside.

      Her shoulders slumped and she looked down at her bare feet. “I’m sorry.”

      A cynical smile curled Noah’s mouth. He could just imagine how sorry Kara felt right now. How could he ever have considered making her his wife? “Sorry you were caught?”

      She clasped her hands together. “There’s more than just our wedding at stake, Noah, you know that. My parents…” She shuddered. “Oh God, I can’t imagine how they’ll react. Everyone has been planning for us to marry for so long.”

      Noah snorted. “Your folks accepted me, Kara, mostly out of respect for my grandmother. I doubt they’ll be brokenhearted not to have me in the family. There’re plenty of other guys they’d rather you marry and we both know it.”

      “They love Agatha.” Kara looked at him, her expression fierce. “I love Agatha.”

      At least that much was true, Noah decided. “Yeah, my grandmother loves you, too.” Much more than she’ll ever care about me. “You’re the daughter she never had, the granddaughter she wants, the female relative to fill all the slots. She dotes on you, and I doubt that’ll change.”

      Kara swallowed hard. “This will kill her.”

      The laugh took him by surprise. “Kill Agatha? She’ll outlive us all.”

      “Noah, please, don’t do this.”

      “This?”

      Big tears ran down her cheeks and she quivered all over, truly beside herself, pleading. Why the hell did women always resort to tears to get their way?

      “Please don’t ruin me. Don’t ruin my family. I can’t bear the thought of everyone—”

      Realization dawned, and with it, a heavy dose of disgust. Didn’t Kara know him at all?

      Noah looked at her sad, panicked eyes and accepted that no, she didn’t. She’d have married him, but she didn’t really know him.

      Just as she’d never really wanted him.

      He said, “Hey,” very softly, and watched her try to gather herself. Any second now he’d have a hysterical woman on his hands.

      Looking at it from her perspective, now knowing what she expected of him, Noah could understand why.

      Feeling a surge of compassion, Noah took her delicate hands in his. “Listen to me, Kara. The wedding is off; there’s no changing that. But why we ended it is no one’s business but our own, all right?”

      Her mouth opened and she gulped air. She wiped her eyes on her shoulder, sniffed loudly. “You mean that? You really mean that?”

      Hell, he was used to worse hardships than censure. Kara had led a pampered life protected from ugliness, never forced to face the harsh realities life often dealt.

      Noah had learned to survive almost as a toddler. He could shoulder the heat much more easily than she. “Yeah, why not?” Then he added, “I’ll break the news to everyone if you want.”

      She pulled her hands free and searched in her pocket for a tissue. “I don’t believe you.” A shaky laugh trickled out. “You’re too damn good, Noah Harper.”

      Now there was a joke. “No, I just don’t relish being humiliated either.”

      Rather than make her laugh, she covered her face and sobbed. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

      “We were obviously never meant to marry, babe, you know that.” It was Noah’s turn to glance up the stairs, but her lover wisely stayed out of his sight. Noah shook his head, still bemused by her choice. “Your secret is safe with me.”

      She threw herself into his arms, leaving him to awkwardly deal with her gratitude. Noah wanted only to escape. Even at the best of times, he’d never totally felt at ease with Kara. She was too refined, too polished and proper—the opposite of him.

      Noah set her aside and said, “Maybe you should think about a quick trip, until you have time to figure out what you want to say. I’ll wait to tell Agatha until tomorrow, to give you time to get away.”

      She managed a pathetic smile. “Thank you, Noah. Really.”

      Kara had just saved him from making a horrible mistake. Though he felt like thanking her right back, Noah merely nodded and walked out. For more than the obvious reason waiting upstairs, tying himself to Kara would have been a disaster.

      For one thing, he didn’t love her. If he had, he wouldn’t

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