LITMIR.BIZ

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away, leaving behind only a lingering warmth to mock her.

      It was gone, and wouldn’t come back. No matter how hard Miranda willed herself to relax. No matter how far she’d already traveled toward fulfillment. No matter how she yearned to feel her husband’s hands on her. The moment was over no matter what Troy might do to arouse her again.

      For one blind moment she thought about admitting her climax had gotten away. It happened. All couples faced an ebb and flow of arousal when they’d been together a while. This shouldn’t be a big deal, wouldn’t have been…

      Except this wasn’t the first time.

      2

      TROY HAD MIRANDA on the verge of coming apart in his arms and then in an instant, he’d lost her. Bonelessness had yielded to stillness. Frenzied reactions had become deliberate.

      He’d been making love to his wife for a long time and knew neither of them could always be on. Miranda knew that, too. But instead of giving him a chance to find other ways to arouse her or at least being honest about losing the mood, she’d distracted him. She’d kickstarted a rhythm he hadn’t been able to resist.

      She’d pretended everything was all right.

      It wasn’t. They had a problem here—more than one because she refused to acknowledge what was happening. He couldn’t be sure whether she was in denial or simply hiding the issue, but all the togetherness they were sharing on this vacation hadn’t succeeded in getting her to open up.

      “Come here, Miranda.” He hoped she didn’t recognize his raw tone for the disappointment it was.

      Threading his fingers around her waist, he helped her maneuver until he could pull her into his arms. She stretched out, her legs twined with his, their bodies pressed close so he could feel her smooth curves against him.

      With a few tugs, he loosed the blindfold until he found himself staring into her sultry blue eyes, a gaze that could be polished and cool or so alive with pleasure. Her expression was shadowed now, unreadable, as if she shielded her thoughts behind an invisible wall. He thumbed her cheek, a touch he hoped conveyed his yearning, the pleasure he felt to be with her again.

      “I love you, Miranda.” He moved in for a kiss, and his mouth caught hers, his tongue sweeping inside to prove he meant what he said.

      He loved her, for better or worse, always.

      Miranda snuggled close and returned his kiss with a longing that might have surprised him if he’d missed what had just happened. But he felt her restlessness now, sensed her need for reassurance, even if he didn’t know what she needed to be reassured about. He couldn’t understand what was happening with her, why she’d gone from hot to cold, unless she talked to him. She wasn’t and that bothered him. A lot.

      When they finally broke their kiss, he leaned back against the chaise. “I just want to lie here and hold you for a while.”

      “Your wish is my command, Lieutenant Commander.”

      He wished she would tell him what was wrong. But he wasn’t going to ask again. The last time he’d tried to get her talking, she’d only given him a bunch of evasions. Then she’d retreated behind her perfect wife persona—exactly what she was doing now.

      She seemed blissfully unaware of anything but this chance to snuggle. Pressing her face against his shoulder, she let her eyes flutter closed and skimmed her lips along his throat, a natural, unconscious gesture that at any other time might have made him smile.

      He wasn’t smiling now, and as he held her, Troy considered his options. She’d been on edge ever since they’d started this vacation. He’d attributed her mood to logistics. Niagara Falls was her hometown, and a vacation to Falling Inn Bed meant close quarters with her estranged cousin, the woman hosting the Naughty Nuptials. Add that to watching her parents gear up for an election and dealing with the antics of her big-hearted, too-wild sister, and Troy thought he’d understood why she’d had them holing up inside the Egyptian Pleasure Pyramid instead of running all around town to visit with family and friends.

      But Troy had been wrong.

      Suddenly everything made sense. Miranda had been trying to reassure him that everything was okay, trying to distract him from what he knew in his gut—they were in trouble. But she’d plastered a smile on her face and pretended that everything was fine.

      Like she’d just done while making love.

      And when Troy thought about it, he couldn’t remember the last time she’d initiated sex. He’d been doing the honors on this vacation. He couldn’t remember back before his latest deployment. How long had this been going on?

      He probably wouldn’t like the answer, but he was glad she’d chosen distraction over faking an orgasm.

      That would have hurt.

      Burying his face in her curls, he inhaled deeply of her scent, so feminine and all Miranda. With only a week left of their holiday, he needed to reevaluate his game plan. Once they headed home, their lives would be full of commitment and routine. It would be all too easy for her to hide, and then he’d get orders and head out again.

      He needed to get Miranda to share what was on her mind now, while they had only each other to focus on, so they could figure out what was happening and how to deal with it.

      He wouldn’t let this go on any longer.

      She’d had her chance to fess up. He was done with evasions, done watching his wife retreat behind that persona she wore in public.

      He wouldn’t let her get away with it anymore. Confrontation would be a tactical error that would only put her on the defensive. No, he had to start pushing, but he had to push purposefully, quietly.

      As if sensing his resolve, Miranda nestled closer and gave a small sigh, her mouth parting around the soft sound. She had a kissing mouth, a mouth that smiled with such dazzling perfection that he always wanted to tease her until she couldn’t resist brushing those moist lips against him.

      Her mouth had been the first thing he’d noticed about her. Miranda was the kind of beautiful that made men stupid. He vividly recalled how his fellow officers who had toured her college group through their naval base had made asses of themselves over her.

      Troy might have gotten stupid, too, had it not been for her too-cool composure that had challenged him. He could still remember how her self-possessed smiles had dared him to make her laugh, or frown. He’d wondered what it would take to get her to let her hair down.

      And make her sigh with pleasure.

      Troy had sensed they were a pair. Two people with adventurous souls. He’d been raised without limits while Miranda had been taught to keep her sense of adventure reined tight. With her high-power family, she’d honed her public persona to a sharp edge, but beneath that composure beat a light heart. He’d wanted to be the man to help her discover that part of herself, and he’d always tried to be supportive.

      But no more.

      He wouldn’t sit around and wait for Miranda to come clean. She’d had her chance. Too many chances. He wouldn’t let her slip away without a fight.

      He wouldn’t let her slip away. Period.

      MIRANDA HAD STARTED the morning off with high hopes of enjoying a relaxing day with Troy. No Naughty Nuptials events. No visits with family or friends.

      She should have known better.

      Crashing and burning on the way to an orgasm clearly wasn’t enough to deal with this morning. Now a phone call from her sister pitched her day from bad to worse, and she was this close to declaring mutiny and abandoning ship on this whole vacation.

      Settling the telephone back on the cradle, she cocked a hip against the desk and stared out into the courtyard, flooded with sunlight from the glass ceiling. What appeared to be a bright day in the Egyptian Pleasure Pyramid’s oasis didn’t feel anything but gloomy and dismal.

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