by Robyn Grady
Daniel let out a breath. He half wanted to correct her, tell her she was wrong. That this was the first incredible time. But he decided he’d let her believe what she liked, at least for now.
As his lips trailed across her brow, his hips moved again in a regular controlled rhythm, but as the burn of pleasure turned from scorching to white-hot, his momentum increased. She was moving, too, her efforts to meet him coming faster and stronger, until his climax was a pulsating heartbeat away. Then the walls began to shake and that amazing heat evolved into an almighty blazing pressure. When her hips kicked up to join his, Daniel’s mouth crashed down on hers again.
As they both climaxed, he couldn’t imagine a time when he would ever want this to end.
Wicked?
Where sex was concerned, Scarlet could teach the devil to dance.
* * *
Scarlet basked in the afterglow of her orgasm-like-no-other. His long strong body steaming above hers, Daniel seemed just as spent. Just as satisfied. Was it any wonder that, after making love with this incredible man, she felt not only uniquely uplifted but also was craving more?
Although she couldn’t remember their relationship before today, in her heart she not only knew Daniel McNeal, she cared for him a great deal. Whenever she took in his ruggedly handsome face, that mischievous lopsided smile, instinct said that being together this way was, perhaps, the most beautiful experience of her life. These past few moments spent in his arms—being the lucky recipient of all that sizzling sexual prowess—felt as true to her as the divine order of the universe.
Pretty big statement.
Had she always viewed romantic love in such cosmic terms? Had securing this depth of belonging always been a priority? Tonight she felt as if she’d snatched a taste of the ultimate treasure. The only real essential in this life.
But deeper, in a shadowy place, she also felt off balance—somehow on edge—as if a well-hidden part of her was braced, waiting for some random shoe to drop.
A contented growl rumbled through Daniel’s sternum before, with a final meaning-filled kiss, he rolled off to her side. When his arm slipped beneath her shoulders, Scarlet promptly cuddled in. The corners of her mouth curved up and sleepy eyes drifted shut. That odd shoe-waiting-to-drop feeling faded completely away.
“How are you feeling?”
Scarlet’s hum was dreamy. “Terrible. Talk about a disappointment.”
His arm stiffened before he shifted to gauge her expression. Then, in the misted light slanting in through the terrace doors, the corners of his eyes crinkled and he settled down again. Soon, hot fingertips began to trail up and down her arm. Drifting along on this cozy lull, she wondered if she could read his mind.
“You’re thinking what happens next,” she said.
“I know what I’d like to have happen.”
“Me, too.”
Recovered enough, she moved to swing herself up and over him. Chuckling, he held her back in place.
“Hey, slow down, cowgirl.”
“We had sex.” Brilliant, blistering, must-have-more sex. Her kiss-swollen lips drew a playful ring around his closest nipple. “No reason it shouldn’t happen again.”
“That’s a self-serving argument.”
“Mutually self-serving.”
They’d only licked the surface.
Her mouth trailed higher. When she reached the beating hollow below his Adam’s apple, she twirled her tongue around the dip while her hand snaked down over the steely bumps of his six-pack and lower. His hand caught hers.
Relenting, she exhaled. “I want you, Daniel. There’s nothing sinister or sick in that.”
“You don’t know me.”
Sitting up, she purposely neglected covering herself with the sheet. She liked being naked with Daniel. She couldn’t get naked enough, and she knew now he felt the same way.
“I know everything I need to know,” she said, but he only looked off. Her lips pressed together. “Why is that so hard for you to accept? You were as keen as I was to get that first time out of the way.”
He stared at her. “Our first time?”
Frowning, she rubbed her temple. If they hadn’t been intimate together until now, why did she feel as if they’d been lovers since time had begun? Rounds of recognition fired through her system whenever she looked at him, whenever they touched. That wasn’t imagination. That was previous experience.
Wasn’t it?
Behind her, he propped himself up on one elbow and the rough of his chin began to draw leisurely patterns low on her back. Then his lips dragged over the same primed spots. As her senses responded—scent, touch, smell, popping to life again―she closed her eyes and concentrated on the drugging sensations such simple acts could create. She wanted him to kiss her all over like that…on every fingertip, across her brow, along the sweep between hip and quivering thigh.
She wanted that magic to spill stardust over every parched inch of her. Damn it, she ached to unlock the mystery that made this man so good.
“Scarlet, I’m saying we need to be careful.”
“I thought you were the laid-back type?”
He stopped. “How do you know I’m laid-back?”
Scarlet froze, too, and, as a cool damp broke on her forehead, tried to think. How had she known?
Well…because…she just did. And she didn’t like the way he was dissecting everything she said. Making her doubt intuition when that was pretty much all she had to go on. She got that he was trying to help her recover her memory but didn’t that include finding out how they fit? She needed to know about Daniel McNeal.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said.
Was he laid-back? A lock-up-your-daughters type?
His response was to swing his legs out of bed and head for the attached bath. Scarlet eased out of bed, too. She was tempted to stroll around without clothes…although she didn’t think she was an exhibitionist; she wouldn’t parade about without a stitch in front of just anyone. And if he wanted to know, she just knew that, too. But while Daniel had obviously enjoyed making love tonight, he was torn over the fact he might have taken advantage of her, which he had not. She’d given her consent. More than once.
Still, she didn’t want to stir his pot too much.
She looked around. Not a stray shirt or robe anywhere to be seen. She could sneak a peek inside his wardrobe, she supposed. But he might take that as snooping. Instead, she tugged the top bedsheet out and wrapped herself up, toga style. Then she crossed to the bureau and squinted to see in the misty light.
Typical of a bachelor. Nothing personal in the way of photos or knickknacks. Nothing that would give a glimpse of insight into his life, his history.
Apparently she had her own town house in Georgetown. At the hospital, before saying goodbye, that lovely Cara woman had offered to stay there with her, but she’d insisted on coming home with Daniel. Now, however, she felt a niggling to see her own place. How did she like to decorate? What photos, memories, would she find on the shelves and mantel? What clues would she discover about either liking her life or wanting to bag it?
The click of a door opening echoed through the room. Still gloriously naked, Daniel ambled out of the bathroom. In silvery ribbons of light, he stood feet apart, thighs locked, big shoulders back. Scarlet shivered at the pull of their instant connection, the intense urge to have him hold her again. While his eyes glittered across at her, both his hands flexed at his sides. He studied the toga—and released a grin.
“I’m underdressed.”
She pulled the sheet away and let it drop to her toes. “My mistake.”
His gaze sharpened in a flattering way and, at once, she felt uplifted. She felt…adored. And perhaps that was an accelerated, hormone-induced state but, regardless, as she’d explained earlier, a person couldn’t control her emotions. And just as she felt this connection, the bond that said she belonged with him, she also believed he felt that connection, too.
After a nerve-racking momen
t, he sauntered forward. When he stopped before her, he studied her lips, the slope of her neck. Drawing herself up, she waited again for the hypnotic lure of his touch.
His gaze locked with hers. Then his foot kicked out, the sheet flew up and he caught a handful before shaking out the rest. He thrust the bundle forward.
“Put this on,” he said. “You’ll catch cold.”
Her heart sank. Then she took the damn sheet. And dropped it over his shoulder.
“I think you’re the one who’s into covering up.”
“I’m not trying to cover up anything.” He put an arm out, spun her and, with the motion, the sheet wound around and draped her again.
“Then why won’t you answer my question?” she asked, a little giddy. “Talk to me.”
“It’s your memory we want to jog, not mine.”
Her grin was wry. He sure was a tough one to crack.
Moving to the bed, she sat on its lower end. “Do you really want me to stay with that woman?”
“You mean your mother?” He found a pair of gym shorts slung over the back of a corner chair, which was hidden by shadows. “Thing is, I’d planned to fly back to Australia today.”
While he stepped into the shorts, her chest tightened. Her accident had kept him here? How had yesterday’s Scarlet felt about him leaving?
“Guess you have important stuff to get back to?” she asked.
“It’s just time I left.”
“You’ll visit your house in that Hinchinbrook place?”
“And go out on my yacht every day for a week. Probably anchor down overnight somewhere far away from it all.”
“I might not remember my own life but I know D.C. is hardly away from it all.”
“Kinda my point.”
“What else will you do?”
“Go for a good long ride on my bike. Lie on a beach. Catch up with friends.”
“And family?”
He hesitated. “Sure. Family, too.”
“Then you should go. Go tomorrow. First thing.”
Clearly unconvinced, he rubbed his linebacker chest. “Where would that leave you?”
“Everyone says I’ll have my memory back soon. Probably a couple of days. I’ll stay with Faith Anders.”
“Your father’s home tomorrow.”
Her skin prickled and she shuddered. None of that mother/father stuff felt right. Being there alone with an older couple she didn’t know, she’d feel like the only kid at a party without a friend. Awkward.
She dragged the sheet higher toward her throat.
“Maybe I’ll hang around at DC Affairs. Try to help.”
“You heard Cara. She’s been in touch with your other partner,” he said. “She and Ariella are more than capable of holding down the fort while you recuperate.”
She drew lines in the carpet with her toes. “I suppose I wouldn’t be much use. But I have all this time on my hands. I could have a great vacation, if I only knew what I liked to do. Where I’d want to go.”
“You once said you wanted to see Australia.”
She focused on him and a word flashed into her mind. “Kangaroos.” She surrendered a small smile. “Sorry. That just popped into my head. I wasn’t throwing out the world’s biggest hint.” She added, “And I know there’s a whole lot more to your country than those cute fluffy things.”
He rubbed his jaw. “You really need to see a full-grown red in person.” He wandered over to the bed and sat beside her. “Australia’s big and brassy and, yes, amazingly beautiful.”
She looked him up and down. “Figures.”
He was all that and more. But as much as she wanted to be with him—share more of this—she’d held him up enough. When she got her memory back, she might try to pin him down again.
Getting to her feet, she hooked a thumb toward the living room. “I might go veg out there for the night.”
He glanced at the bed before his gaze lowered and he said, “There are spare bedrooms.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll curl up on the couch and rewind that DVD.”
He nodded slowly, then shrugged. “Want some company?”
“I’d rather watch it on my own, if that’s okay.” She headed out. “Get a good night’s rest.”
She heard the humorless smile in his voice. “You make it sound like I was the one who spent the afternoon in the hospital.”
She stopped at the doorway. “I’ll be gone in the morning.” She gave a weak smile. “‘Thanks for everything’ sounds so twee. But…you know what I mean.”
She walked out of the room feeling his eyes burning two holes in her back and hearing a rendition of doubt going around in her head. Maybe she ought to feel embarrassed, ashamed, by the way she’d come on to him tonight. Hell, maybe when she remembered who she was, she’d be disappointed in herself.
But for the life of her, this minute she couldn’t summon a morsel of regret. She only knew she didn’t have the right to put Daniel through this mental tug-of-war.
After slipping on her discarded shirt, she rebooted the DVD, settled on the couch and tried to imagine how it would feel to have all her memories back. In some ways that was scarier than the void she lived with now. The far more frightening question was…
What if she never remembered her past?
Seven
Yawning, Scarlet dragged her sleepy gaze around the room. A big plasma screen, a popcorn-strewn coffee table, a soft blanket lain across her chest. She blinked several times. Where the hell was she?
A familiar deep voice drifted down to her.
“You looked so comfortable I didn’t want to wake you.”
With a start, Scarlet sat up. A man. Daniel McNeal. She remembered him taking her to the hospital, automatically felt for the bump on her head. Yes, it was still there.
“I remember.”
His chin went up. “Everything?”
“Only yesterday, after the accident.” When he nodded, her attention dropped to his lips, then to his shoulders and chest, encased this morning in a casual button-down. The cuffs were folded back to below each elbow. She focused on his big tan hands and a frisson of awareness ripped through her.
She sat back. “And I remember last night.”
With a crooked grin, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Not easy to forget.”
“I don’t regret it,” she said quickly, to set him at ease if his conscience was bothering him.
“Me, either.”
He put out a hand and she accepted his tug up. Setting aside how warm and strong his fingers felt wrapped around hers—how nice it would have been to have spent last night in his bed—she peered through the sliding-glass doors to the drizzly day outside.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Time we got moving.”
“Places to go,” she reminded herself.
That went for both of them.
“I’ll call Cara,” she said as he brought two full coffee mugs from the dining room table and set one next to the popcorn bowl. “She won’t mind taking me to Faith Anders’s house.”
“I’m taking you.”
“You’ve put up with enough.” Inhaling the rich, just-perked aroma, she warmed her hands around the mug. “I won’t put you out anymore.”
Before falling asleep last night, she’d cemented her decision. On one hand they were incredibly physically compatible; last night proved that when they got together, they were as combustible as a tinderbox. On the other he was reluctant to get involved any deeper on that level. He was adamant she wouldn’t feel anywhere near as chummy toward him when her memory returned. Because of something he wasn’t telling her? Maybe if she spent time with Cara and her parents she’d find out more. Then again her memory might return tomorrow and all would be revealed.
“You haven’t put me out,” he assured her, taking a long pull from his mug.
“You’re flying home today. You need to take care of that. Simple.”
“Wrong. It’s incredibly complicated. Your moth
er entrusted your well-being to me. I’m responsible for delivering you back into your parents’ charge.”
She set down her cup. “I don’t like being treated like a child who needs to be dropped off at day care.”
“Tough.”
A smile touched one corner of her mouth. “You’re way too alpha to be a true geek.”
“Not according to the pack of wolves that raised me.” He’d crossed back to the dining table to collect a pile of clothes. As she joined him, he handed the stash over to her.
“Morgan’s loaned you some casual wear,” he added, “including underwear.”
“Because you mentioned I didn’t wear any panties last night?”
“I didn’t mention it. She guessed.”
Scarlet took the clothes. Holding the khaki pants and orange grunge print tee against herself, she pondered. “Those white patent sling-backs are gonna clash big-time.”
“Morgan also supplied a selection of footwear comprising purple flip-flops and boots that look like they were previously modeled by Minnie Mouse.”
Thirty minutes later, they’d finished enjoying a monster strawberry pancake breakfast that had arrived at the door housed beneath shiny silver domes. Between mouthfuls of coffee, Daniel phoned Cara to get the Anderses’ address and, after she’d assembled her few belongings, they were nestled once again in his dynamite car. Revving out of the undercover parking space into a steady mist of rain, Scarlet wiggled her toes in her Minnie Mouse shoes.
“My parents won’t recognize me, will they?”
“Clothes do not a woman make.” He slid her a playful smile. “Besides, eclectic works for you.”
She struck a hip-hop pose from the waist up. “I have an urge to dive into a dead cockroach spin.”
The cabin filled with the sound of his laughter, so deep and sexy Scarlet didn’t want to think about saying goodbye to it. Saying goodbye to him.
“Hate to break it to you,” he said, “but you’re a huge classical fan.”
A memory clicked and a distant tinkling echoed up from a deep funnel in her brain. The haunting strains of music followed. Then the noise of the rain hitting the windscreen and the swish of wipers faded in. Coming back to the here and now, she glanced across at Daniel. His attention was fixed on the wet road and traffic. Probably best not to tell him about that trickle of insight, she decided, planting her shoes in the foot well. No use getting him or anyone else excited.