Stone Cold Surrender (65 page)

to
that
smile.
“How
was
your
nap?”
she
asked.

He
covered
the
distance
separating
them
and
came
to
stand
beside
her.
“I
didn’t
mean
to
pass
out
on
you
like
that.”

“You
were
tired.”

“Yes,
I
guess
I
was.”

“And
you’re
probably
hungry.
I
can
order
room
ser—”

“We
need
to
talk,
Madison.”

She
turned
back
to
look
out
over
the
city.
“You
know
you
really
didn’t
have
to
come,
Stone.
I
understood
how
things
were
from
the
beginning
so
you
don’t
owe
me
an

explanation.”

Stone
lifted
a
brow,
wondering
what
she
was
talking
about.
“I
don’t?”

She
turned
and
met
his
gaze.
“No,
you
don’t.
You
never

misled
me
or
implied
that
anything
serious
was
developing
between
us.
In
fact
you
were
very
honest
from
the
beginning
in
letting
me
know
how
much
you
enjoyed
your
freedom
and
that
you
never
planned
to
marry.”
She
inhaled
deeply.
“So
you’re
free
to
go.”

He
gazed
at
her
for
a
moment
as
if
enthralled
by
all
she
had

said,
and
then
asked,
“I’m
free
to
go
where?”

She
shrugged.
“Back
to
New
York,
Montana,
on
your

European
book
tour
or
anywhere
you
want
to
go.
I
guess

you
figured
that,
with
your
uncle
marrying
my
mom,
we

should
end
things
between
us
in
a
proper
way
so
there

won’t
be
any
hard
feelings
and
I
just
want
to
assure
you
that
there
won’t
be.
No
matter
what,
Stone,
I
will
always

consider
you
my
friend.”

Stone
took
the
glass
of
wine
from
her
hand
after
suddenly
deciding
that
he
was
the
one
who
needed
a
drink.
He

looked
at
the
glass
and
made
sure
that
he
placed
his

mouth
on
the
exact
spot
that
showed
the
imprint
of
her
lips.
The
white
wine
tasted
good
and
felt
bubbly
as
it
flowed

down
his
throat.
He
emptied
the
glass
then
set
it
on
the

table
next
to
where
they
were
standing.
He
then
met

Madison’s
curious
gaze.
“So
you
think
that’s
the
reason
I’m
here?
To
bring
our
intimate
association
to
a
proper
close?”
he
asked,
managing
a
soft
smile.

She
met
his
gaze.
“Isn’t
it?”

Her
question,
asked
in
a
quiet,
soft
voice,
stirred
something
deep
inside
Stone
and
he
regretted
more
than
ever
that
he
had
never
told
her
that
he
loved
her.
She
needed
to
know

that.
She
needed
to
know
that
each
and
every
time
he
had
made
love
to
her
had
meant
more
to
him
than
just
satisfying
overzealous
hormones.
Yes,
he
had
taken
her
with
a
hunger

that
had
almost
bordered
on
obsession,
and
he
had
always
been
acutely
aware
of
everything
physical
about
her.
But
he
had
also
been
aware
of
her
emotional
side.
That
had
been
what
had
first
touched
his
heart.
Her
love
and
concern
for

the
people
she
cared
about.

Knowing
he
needed
to
get
her
out
of
the
vicinity
of
her

bedroom,
he
took
her
hand
in
his.
“Come
on.
Let’s
go
into
the
living
room
and
talk.”

He
led
her
through
the
bedroom
and
into
the
living
room.

When
she
started
to
sit
beside
him
on
the
sofa,
he
pulled

her
into
his
arms
and
placed
her
in
his
lap.
He
smiled
at
the
look
of
surprise
that
lit
her
features.

“Now
then,
I
think
I
need
to
get
a
few
things
straight
up
front,”
he
said.

She
lifted
a
brow.
“Such
as?”

“The
reason
I’m
here
and
the
reason
I
hadn’t
gotten
any

sleep
in
over
forty-eight
hours.
First
let
me
start
off
by

saying
I’m
not
going
back
to
New
York
or
Montana,
and
I’m
sure
as
hell
not
going
on
some
European
book
tour—

unless
you
go
to
all
of
those
places
with
me.”

Madison
blinked,
confused.
“I
don’t
understand.”

Stone
chuckled.
“Evidently.
And
in
a
way
it’s
entirely
my

fault.
I
failed
to
make
something
clear
to
you
each
time
that

we
made
love.”

He
saw
how
her
throat
tightened
when
she
swallowed.
“What?”

He
met
her
gaze
and
held
on
to
it,
locked
it
with
his.
“That
I
love
you.”

She
pulled
back
and
stared
at
him
in
disbelief.
“But,
but,
I—
I
didn’t
know,”
she
said,
her
words
coming
out
in
a
stream
of
astonished
puffs
of
air.

He
skimmed
a
fingertip
across
her
lips.
“That’s
why
I’m

here,
Madison,
to
let
you
know.
I
think
I
fell
in
love
with
you
the
moment
I
saw
you
on
the
airplane,
although
it
took
me
a
while
to
come
to
terms
with
it.
I
should
have
told
you
before
I
left
for
New
York,
but
I
was
in
a
rush
to
leave
and
decided
to
wait
and
tell
you
when
I
got
back.
The
trip
took
longer
than
I
expected.
I
watched
that
television
show,
just
as
you
did,

but
I
didn’t
think
when
you
heard
what
the
reporter
said
that
you
would
believe
it
had
anything
to
do
with
my
relationship
with
you.
When
she
interviewed
me
I
didn’t
want
to
mention
you
or
tell
her
how
I
felt
about
you,
mainly
because
I
wanted
to
keep
things
between
us
private.
Besides,
I
wasn’t
sure

how
you
felt
about
me
since
we
hadn’t
talked.”

He
leaned
over
and
replaced
his
fingers
with
his
lips
and

brushed
a
kiss
across
her
mouth.
“And
I
still
don’t
know.
I’ve
told
you
how
I
feel
about
you,
but
you’ve
yet
to
say
how
you