Honor Bound(59)

When Lucas came in almost an hour later, she pretended to be asleep. They no longer had Tony serving as a buffer between them. But hostility was there, as sturdy as a brick wall, to keep them separated.

* * *

Antagonism continued to seethe between them. On the day Dr. Gene Dexter married Alice Greywolf, Aislinn did her best to put on a good front, pretending that her relationship with Lucas was nothing short of blissful. The wedding decorations weren't extravagant, but there was a distinct party atmosphere in the house. All the guests had a good time. Aislinn had been trained to give good parties. She was a gay, gracious hostess and seemingly enjoyed herself.

The bride wasn't fooled.

"I can't believe you're finally my wife."

Gene and Alice had driven to Santa Fe for their honeymoon. Now, as he held her tenderly, stroking her straight black hair, he couldn't quite believe that his dreams had finally become a reality.

"The church looked beautiful, didn't it?" she asked him.

"You looked beautiful. But then you always do."

"Aislinn went to too much trouble over the reception. I wasn't expecting anything so lavish."

"She's a lovely girl," Gene murmured absently as he kissed Alice's velvety cheek.

"Tony seemed fretful."

"Aislinn told me he'd been crying more than usual. I recommended that she bring him in for a checkup when we get back."

"They're unhappy, Gene."

His arms fell to his sides and he sighed heavily. "I didn't know that we had brought Lucas and Aislinn along on our honeymoon."

"Oh, Gene," Alice said, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tight. She laid her cheek against his chest. He had removed his suit coat as soon as the hotel bellman left the room, but they were both still fully clothed. "Forgive me. I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be worrying about them, but I can't just shut my mind off. Aislinn looks like she's walking a tightrope and Lucas looks—"

"Like a keg of dynamite about to explode," Gene finished for her. "He's more truculent than ever. I've never seen him so brooding and angry." He laughed softly into her hair. "Personally, I think it's a good sign."

"How?" she lifted her head to ask.

He ran a finger along her jaw. "If she didn't disturb him so much, he wouldn't be so touchy and defensive. I think the lady is getting to him in a way no one else ever has. That scares hell out of the fearless Lucas Greywolf."

"Do you think Aislinn loves him?"

"Yes. Undoubtedly. I've done some checking on her father. Willard Andrews is on about every board of governors and chairs about every committee in Scottsdale. A woman of her means, whose father holds that kind of position in the community, could have fought one lone Indian and won hands down. I don't care what he threatened her with, she didn't have to marry your son. Yes, I think she loves him."

"And what about Lucas. Does he love her?"

Gene's brow furrowed as he thought back on the reception brunch held in honor of Alice and him. Every time he had looked at Lucas, Lucas had been looking at Aislinn. And not just casually looking, but watching her with total concentration, oblivious to what was going on around him.

Now that he thought about it, Gene remembered Aislinn carrying a heavy bowl of punch to the buffet table she had set up in the living room. He had seen Lucas rush forward, as though to relieve her of it. But Lucas had stopped short of reaching her, suddenly changing his mind.

And while they had been saying their goodbyes, Gene would bet Lucas's mind hadn't been on his mother and her new husband. The young man had seemed captivated by his wife. His whole body had looked stiff, as though he was physically restraining himself from touching her as she waved goodbye, laughing and calling out good wishes, her blond hair blowing against Lucas's shoulder.

"In my professional opinion, he's got a touch of lovesickness," Gene said now, in answer to Alice's question. "He might not know he loves her yet. Or if he does, he doesn't want to admit it, especially to himself."

"I want them to be happy."

"I want us to be happy. Do you know what would make me deliriously happy right now?" He tipped her head back with his knuckle beneath her chin and kissed her, tenderly at first, then with mounting passion. His arms slid around her waist and drew her up against him. "Alice, Alice," he moaned when he finally lifted his lips from hers. "I've waited so long for this. I can't remember when I didn't want you, when I didn't ache for Alice Greywolf."

"Alice Dexter," she whispered shyly.

He took that as her way of saying that she shared his love and desire. He reached for the back buttons of her simple, apricot linen dress. Ruffles and lace would have swallowed a woman as petite as Alice. For adornment she wore only a pair of gold earrings, the gold chain he had given her last Christmas, and the slender gold wedding band that now encircled her finger.

When all the buttons were undone, he eased the dress forward. "I'm not young anymore, Gene," she said tremulously. "I'm a grandmother."

He only smiled and pulled the dress off her shoulders. His gasp and the shudder that ran through him testified to his delight in her body. She was small, trim, perfect. Her ecru lingerie was alluring without being overtly sexy. It suited the woman who was wearing it. She was modest but had a latent sensuality waiting to be kindled.