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arm away and race down the hallway. She also wanted to turn and drag him back into the bedroom, but of course she did neither, forcing herself to remain unmoved as they went back downstairs. But all she could think of was the strong hand on her elbow, the thumb caressing her with a light, almost absentminded touch; and for a moment she allowed her fantasies a final free rein before clamping a firm hand down on them, summoning up the disapproving ghosts of Wilson and her sister to drive the guilt homeward.
    Noah seemed to have an almost eerie ability to read her mind, for he stopped her at the bottom of the stairs, looking at her with a wry expression. “There’s no need to feel so guilty, Annie,” he said softly. “It wasn’t your fault, you know. You’re only human. I’m sure Wilson will forgive you.” He chose that moment to bring up his other hand and gently brush a stray wisp of silky black hair from her face.
    Anne’s thoughts were far removed from her erstwhile fiancé and wholly concentrated on the man in front of her. Holly was right, she thought miserably. He very well might be the sexiest man alive.
    She managed a bright, no-nonsense smile and deftly pulled away from him. “I think I’ll survive the disgrace,” she murmured, preceding him into the dining room and moving to sit beside her father, determined to keep as far out of his reach as possible for the rest of the night. He was just too damned distracting.
    To her intense disappointment, a determined Holly and a meddling Ashley made that all too easy, so that Anne had little choice but to retire to her bedroom just before one o’clock,leaving Holly with the cognac and her designs on Noah’s virtue. She heard him refuse the cognac as she went, felt his eyes following her; it was small enough comfort during the long hours before sleep would come, when she dutifully tried to bring Wilson Engalls’s tall, blond good looks to mind. Even the memory of the few times they’d made love failed to excite her or even distract her from the stubborn memory of Noah Grant and his enticing mouth. Punching her pillow, she cursed, rolled over and pulled her quilt over her head. Finally sleep claimed her, and with it dreams of Noah Grant so erotic she blushed in her sleep.

Chapter Three
    Noah shut the heavy white-painted door with a silent, well-oiled click. The crystal doorknob winked at him in the dim bedroom light, and for a moment he considered following Anne Kirkland’s half-facetious advice and propping a chair against it. Holly Kirkland didn’t really give a damn about him, but she was bored and obviously unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. It had taken all his not inconsiderable reserves of charm to escape her with his long-lost virtue still reasonably intact, and even so he couldn’t be sure he’d distracted her permanently. She was definitely the type to sneak into his bedroom and his bed sometime in the middle of the night if the mood struck her, and the mood seemed to be hovering about like a dangerous cloud. And normally he would have welcomed that midnight excursion with wry forbearance and a great deal of physical pleasure.
    But not tonight. Definitely not tonight. He’d gotten involved with this as a favor to his father-in-law, and pretty, easy Holly Kirkland was supposed to be a side benefit. A side benefit he no longer wanted. He hadn’t particularly liked what he was being asked to do, but it had seemed no worse than a dozen other chores he’d had to perform since he’d passed hisbar exams. And they were nothing compared to the deal-making and sleazy scuffling that had fallen to his lot as a law clerk. It was no wonder that he wanted out. It was only a wonder that he’d stood it so long.
    It was well past midnight already, and the house was silent. Noah turned and leaned his back against the door, surveying the bedroom with interest. He had the very strong