"Roberts, Nora - Private Scandals" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberts Nora)

Twenty-four hours before, she would have said yes, she realized. Now, with the murmur of conversation around
them, the music drifting in through the terrace doors, the fizz of champagne on her tongue, she hesitated. Marshall
tipped a finger under her chin, a gesture she'd once found endearing.
"Problem?" he asked.
"No. Yes." She let out a breath, impatient with her own wavering. It was time to step back, she thought, and take
stock. "I'm sorry, Marshall, Angela's counting on me to see this party through. And to be honest, things are



moving a little fast for me."
He didn't remove his hand, but she sensed him drawing in. "I didn't mean to push."
"You weren't. You haven't." She curled her fingers over his wrist in a gesture that was both apologetic and
affectionate. "I tend to be cautious--maybe overcautious--in relationships. There are reasons, and I'll explain them to
you, when I can."
"No need to rush." He let his hand drop away from her chin. "You know how much I want to be with you, and it's not
simply sexual."
"I know that." Rising to her toes, she laid her cheek against his. And remembered, very clearly, the feel of her cheek
resting against Finn's as they'd danced.

He was tired, and he didn't tire easily. Years of snatching sleep on trains and planes and buses, of camping out in
jungles and deserts and behind enemy lines had toughened him. He enjoyed the fine linens and mint-bedecked
pillows of luxury hotels, but Finn could sleep just as soundly with his head on a bedroll and the echoes of artillery fire
as a lullaby.
Tonight he pined for bed and oblivion. Unfortunately, there was unfinished business. He might have been a man to
ignore rules, but he never ignored problems.
"That was the last of them." Angela swept back into the living room looking as fresh and lovely as she had hours
earlier. "Everyone was so glad to see you again." She wrapped her arms around him, nestling her head beneath his
shoulder.
His hand lifted to stroke her hair in a habitual gesture. She felt soft, and somehow pink, he thought. It was like being
tangled in a fragrant, climbing vine. If he didn't nip off the feelers, it would certainly choke him.
"Let's sit down. We need to talk."
"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm about talked out." She skimmed a hand down his shirt, then back up to toy with
his top button. "And I've been waiting all evening to be alone with you, to give you your real homecoming." She leaned
forward for a kiss. Her eyes flashed like jagged cobalt when he held her off.
"Angela, I'm sorry. I'm not interested in picking up where we left off six months ago." He kept his hands firm on her



shoulders. "We ended it badly, and I regret that, but we did end it."
"You're not going to punish me for being overly emotional, for saying things in the heat of the moment. Finn, we
meant too much to each other."
"We had an affair," he corrected. "We had sex. It was great sex. And we had a kind of odd friendship. We might be
able to salvage the friendship if we put the rest out of the picture."
"You're being cruel."
"I'm being honest."
"You don't want me?" She tossed back her head and laughed. The sound, like her eyes, was glassy. "I know you do.
I can feel it." Her skin was glowing as she stepped toward him again. Her lips parted, curved, as she watched his eyes
drop to them and linger. "You know what I can do for you, Finn. What I'll let you do to me. You want as much as I
want."
"I don't take everything I want."