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Her breath was still coming fast. She didn’t know when she’d experienced such a huge adrenaline rush, first fear, then anger. So it took a while for his words to sink in. To process them. To make them appear possible. The rain calmed further.
“Just hang on. Let me get dressed and find a light.”
She waited, trying to understand what had happened. She’d been asleep. Had woken up, needing to use the bathroom. Had trouble finding it, trouble using it in the total darkness. Made her way carefully back, annoyed at the lightning for holding off when she needed its brilliance. She’d gotten back into bed and sensed him when he moved.
She heard a thud, followed by a curse. Allie grinned savagely in the dark, still shaky and breathless. Served him right. “Having fun?”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks. I’m sure I can just hobble for the rest of my life. Hold on, there’s a kerosene lamp over here somewhere.”
Long pause. Another thud. Another curse. Allie snorted. This sounded like a Three Stooges movie.
“You don’t have to enjoy my pain.”
“Oh, yes, I do.”
“There.” A glimmer as he struck a match, then fed the flame to the wick of a kerosene lamp and replaced the chimney. A soft glow filled the room and showed that he was now wearing jeans. And that he was even more gorgeous than she remembered, with Erik’s blue eyes and strong chin, but darker hair, thicker and curling.
No, no. Until he proved he didn’t deserve her fury and outrage, she could not risk melting into lust.
“So.” She crossed her arms over her chest, wishing he wasn’t getting his second view of her with advanced bedhead and no makeup, wearing a shapeless sleep shirt. “What happened?”
“My dinner appointment tonight canceled, I texted Erik that I was coming. I arrived, came up here, got into bed and you joined me.” He lifted his hands and let them slap down on his thighs. Long, solid, very nice thighs. Not that she was looking. “Nice to see you again, by the way.”
“Well...oh.” What was she supposed to do with that story? So devoid of evil or plot or menace of any kind. Almost disappointing.
“I’m sorry I scared you, Allie. If it’s any consolation, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you next to me. I thought I was alone in here, had started drifting off, listening to the rain, then the lightning flashed and guess what?” He mimed comic terror, clutching his chest, mouth hanging open, eyes bulging with shock.
Allie smiled unwillingly and shrugged, her breathing slowing down. “Well, I guess it’s just a big, weird mess.”
“I guess.” He was standing by the bed watching her, hands on his hips, jeans slung low, chest bare. She hugged herself more tightly, hoping she was covering her nipples adequately because they were reaching for him like baby birds for Mama.
The silence stretched. She had a sudden fantasy of him lunging for her, dragging her down on the bed and covering her mouth with his, her breasts with his hands, her—
“You want a beer or something?”
“Yes.” Her breath rushed out in relief. “I would love a beer or something.”
“Clarissa usually leaves some in the fridge downstairs. Let’s check it out.”
Carrying the kerosene lamp, he led the way downstairs, accompanied by a distant growl of thunder and the now-gentle patter of rain.
There was indeed beer in the refrigerator, plenty of it, plus wine, champagne, at least two kinds of cheeses, orange juice, limes and tonic. The cottage was clearly party central. Jonas opened two bottles of Bass Ale and offered Allie a glass, which she declined.
They sat at the small pale yellow table in the kitchen area with the lamp between them spreading its light surprisingly far into the room.
“Why isn’t there power in the cottage?” Allie took a sip of her beer. She generally preferred a lighter brew, but right now the Bass was seriously working for her. Probably the circumstances. Undoubtedly the man. “Wait, and if there’s no electricity, how is there a refrigerator?”
“It runs on gas, like the stove and water heater. My great-grandfather wired the big house for electricity but was stubborn on keeping this place ‘pure.’ Grandma Bridget felt the same way when she inherited it, and it just stayed that way. I like it.”
“I do, too. It’s sort of romantic.”
He chose that moment to put down his beer and meet her eyes. “It is.”
Allie had trouble breathing. What was it about him? The dim light, the smooth gold of his skin out of which his blue eyes blazed, the fact that he was incredibly handsome and hot and she’d just seen him naked? Yeah, that might be it.
Ulp. She needed to break the silence, but her mind had gone blank. She could only sit there gawking stupidly at him.
