Superb and Sexy (Sky High Air #3)(72)

And that was it for her, that was all she could handle. She burst, and he was right with her.

Just as he was always right with her…



Brody opened his eyes and found himself all alone in Maddie’s bed. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand—only half an hour had passed. “Maddie?”

Silence.

Goddamnit. Leaping out of bed, he was simultaneously punching Leena’s cell number into his cell and stumbling around looking for his clothes when a sound in the doorway had him whipping around.

Maddie stood there, wearing jeans and a halter top in the exact color of her baby blue eyes, a mug of tea in her hands, watching him with wry amusement.

Butt-ass naked except for the pants he held in one hand and the cell phone in his other, he dropped both, put his hands on his hips and glared at her.

Her eyes smiled.

“Not funny.”

Now she laughed out loud. “You should see it from my perspective.”

“You’re standing there looking at a naked man and laughing. How in the hell am I supposed to put that in perspective?”

She laughed again, and he just stared at her, realizing she did not do that nearly enough. It transformed her face, made her seem even younger, and frankly, stole his breath. “I thought you’d left,” he admitted.

“I know.” Her smile slowly faded. “I almost did. But the truth is, I couldn’t do it to you.”

Relief filled him, but it was short-lived.

“I couldn’t just leave without telling you.”

“Maddie.” He struggled to remain cool and calm when he really wanted to do that whole dragging-her-off-to-his-cave thing. “You know it’s just a trap.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But I’m still going.”

“Shit.”

“I have to, Brody.”

“Fine. What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to wing it.”

“Terrific.” He hated winging it. “I’m going with you.”

“Why? We’re not a unit, not—”

“Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say we’re not a unit in the real f*cking world. Because we are. Especially when it comes to being stupid.” He strove for lighter. “Seriously, if you go solo now, you’ll just hurt my feelings.”

“You told Noah that a woman can’t hurt your feelings.”

A slow churning panic began low in his gut, along with the knot that had been there since she’d been shot, goddamnit. Because standing there stripped down to just the man and nothing else, the truth hit him in the chest with the force of a Mack Truck.

Noah had been wrong. He wasn’t going to get his heart stomped on.

It’d already happened.

Somehow, he’d come to care about her more than his carefully constructed world, more than his planes, more than his next breath. “I didn’t mean what I said to Noah about the whole not being able to get hurt thing.”

“No? Well, I always mean what I say, and I told you from the very beginning this wasn’t real.”

“Okay, I have no idea how we got so off track here, but you have to promise me that you won’t do anything foolish without me.”

She sipped her tea and said nothing.

“Maddie.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Why? What kind of question is that?”

“A valid one. Why does all of this matter to you so damn much?”

He stared at her, let out a low laugh, and shoved his fingers in his hair. “Because.”

“Because? Your answer is because?”

“Because…” Ah hell. He had nothing left to lose. “Because I love you, damn it.”

Her eyes went wide as saucers, and she took a step back, nearly falling on her ass in her haste to put distance between herself and the crazy naked guy. She smacked up against the wall and held on to it like a lifeline. “What?”

“Yeah, and I can see that just makes your day.”

“Are you kidding? I just told you that this wasn’t real, and your response is I…I…I—”

“You can’t even say the word?” he asked incredulously, clutching his clothes to his suddenly aching gut.

“What is more unbelievable is that you can.” She set down her tea, picked up his pants and threw them at him. “Don’t look at me like I’m an alien, all right? It’s nothing personal. I just don’t put much into that word, that’s all.” She found his shirt and threw that at him, too, which he caught after it hit him in the face.

“What does that even mean, you don’t put much into the word. It’s a pretty damn big word.”

She tossed him his shoes. “Forget it.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t forget it.”

“Okay, fine.” She straightened her spine. “It means I don’t love you back.” Then she softened, her eyes misting. “I’m sorry.”

But not sorry enough, apparently, because she didn’t take any of it back. “Wow,” he said, staggered. Destroyed by words. He’d never have believed it possible.

“Not personal,” she repeated more softly, turning to the door. “I’m assuming you no longer want to come with me.”