The Rogue (The Moorehouse Legacy #4)(35)

“Good night, Mad.”

She walked down the hall, knowing he wasn’t going to stop her.

Inside her bedroom, the window she’d opened that morning was still raised so the storm was blowing the drapes out and the sill was wet. She cleaned up the water, but left the thing open. Now that she was no longer a child, she loved thunderstorms.

Would have loved to have watched this one with Spike from her bed.

God, she felt wretched. Absolutely wretched.

After a quick shower, she put a long T-shirt on and slid between the covers. Curling over onto her side, she stared out at the night. The lightning was intensifying, flashing across the sky. Thunder shook the house. Rain lashed down the windows.

She was going to have to dry off the sill again.

But she would do that later. She closed her eyes and listened to the storm…and drifted into a lonely sleep.





Chapter Eight




Sometime much later, Mad felt something brush against her hip. Something warm. Slow. Heavy. A hand?

She jerked just as Spike’s voice whispered in her ear, “It’s just me.”

“What are you—” When she tried to roll over, she came flush to his hard body. And he was in her bed, not just on top of the covers—she could feel the T-shirt he had on and those nylon sweats.

His hips moved, a surge that brought his erection against the back of her thigh. As she groaned at the heat that poured through her, his hand slipped underneath her shirt, dipped into her waist and moved down across her stomach. She arched involuntarily, her head coming back against his shoulder.

He kissed her neck. “Do you have any protection?”

Surprise had her eyes widening. Okay…this was not a dream, evidently. Because what kind of fantasy had the lovers talking about condoms?

She twisted her head and looked at him. Had he really come to…Well, yes, he had. The answer was in his glowing eyes.

“What changed your mind?” she whispered.

He eased away just enough so she could roll over on to her back. Then he brushed a strand of hair from her face and kissed her lightly on the mouth. His voice was quiet in the darkness, the voice of a lover.

“I thought about something I told your captain, Alex, a couple of months ago. I reminded him that warmth in this life is so very rare…and that when you find it, you need to revel in it.” Spike kissed her shoulder. Then her throat. Then her jawline. “I want you so badly I can’t sleep from the burn. And if the present is enough for you, then tonight, let’s be together. If you still—”

“Yes. Yes…”

His hand swept up until it was just under her breasts, but then he paused. “Mad, I need you to know that I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It won’t last long,” she murmured, imagining where they were going to end up. Wanting it so dearly she almost wept.

“I’m not just talking about the…sex part.”

She laid her palm on his face. “I know. But I heard what you said this morning. I know you’re not looking for long-term.”

“I wish I were different. I wish…a lot of things were different.” He kissed her softly, drawing his palm in circles on her rib cage. “But I’m really glad we’re here tonight.”

She stroked her way up his back, reveling in his strength. His muscles were thick at his shoulders, his spine a graceful line under his skin. She imagined the tattoo under her fingers.

We need a little light, she decided. With a quick move, she leaned to the right and clicked on the lamp.

“I want to see you,” she said as she rearranged herself under him.

He flushed. “Ah, Mad…before this goes too far, do you have something? I would have stopped by a store this morning if I’d known we would be…like this.”

“Oh, um…no. I don’t.”

His hand stopped moving and his chest expanded and contracted. Then he resumed his gentle exploration. “That’s okay. We can do other things. We don’t—”

“You don’t need to worry about it, assuming you’re clean. I’ve never been with anyone and you can’t get me pregnant.”

“I—ah, you’re on the pill?”

“I don’t get my period because of my physical training schedule.” Okay, now she was blushing.

Spike shifted back and looked at her. “Mad…that’s not good for you, is it?”

“It happens to female athletes sometimes. And I don’t plan on being like this forever. When I’m no longer competing at the elite sailing level, I’ll increase my food intake, decrease the exercise and it’ll come back.”

Spike frowned at her as if she’d scrambled him a little and she felt something cold land in her gut. She’d never really thought not getting a period was odd because it wasn’t all that uncommon among the women she knew. But with the way he was looking at her now, it was as if he hadn’t come across someone like her before.

“So…I’m fine,” she prompted. “What about you?”

He rubbed his face, like there were things he wanted to say but he was biting his tongue. “I’ve always been careful. Never without a condom. Plus I had a physical six months ago. I was clean then and I haven’t been with anyone since.”