Storm Front (Reunited Hearts) (9 page)

Although
it wasn’t cold out, it was damp in the house, so Michael made a fire in the
second fireplace in the house—in the master bedroom upstairs. Allison made more
tea and soup and grabbed the pack of chocolate cookies.

They
all camped out in front of the fireplace, eating lunch and playing Monopoly.

She
felt relaxed and pleased with the way they’d handled the unfortunate
circumstances, even though Michael once again trounced her thoroughly at the
board game. The dog curled up next to the fire to fall asleep, once all the
food had been eaten.

As
Michael put all of his fake-cash winnings back into the appropriate slots, Allison
went to the bathroom and then stretched out on the bed. With a long groan, she
said, “Is it only four o’clock? This day feels like it’s gone on forever. Maybe
I’ll take a nap.”

Michael
neatly folded the board into the box and pressed the lid into place. He glanced
over at her. “That’s one option.”

She
knew that tone of voice. Despite herself, his textured tone sent a ripple of desire
through her. “You have any other ideas?”

He
moved smoothly, getting to his feet and then walking over to the bed. He stood
over her for a minute, looking sleek and handsome despite the fact that he was
once again wearing someone else’s clothes.

A
flush spread from her cheeks down her neck and even farther. Her whole body was
suddenly overly warm as she stared up at his intense blue eyes. They seemed to
smolder, like he might burn her alive.

Recovering
her wit, she quipped, “Did you want to take a nap too?”

The
corner of his mouth tilted up, making him even more irresistible, but he didn’t
respond to her teasing. He just lowered himself onto the bed beside her and
captured her mouth in a kiss.

She
responded immediately, a wash of pleasure overwhelming her at the feel of his
hungry lips and the coiled tension of his body. She stroked his neck and
shoulders, shivering in delight as he moaned into the kiss in response.

She
relaxed back as he slowly started to take off her clothes. She was both
self-conscious and exhilarated at the way his gaze raked over the naked flesh
he revealed.

But
her enjoyment was suddenly lessened by an unexpected prickle of guilt. She felt
friendlier with Michael today—nothing intimate, of course, but more than just a
virtual stranger to jump into bed with.

The
new closeness caused her to feel guilty about the way she’d lied to him the day
before. So, as Michael eased down her pants, she steeled her courage and said,
“Michael, I think there’s something you should know.”

He
raised himself up, gazing hotly down at her face. “Is there?” He leaned down to
nibble his way down her neck.

Allison
arched into his touch in helpless response. “Yeah. I wanted…I wanted…” She
trailed off as his mouth reached the swell of her breasts.

“What
did you want?” he asked, his voice another caress.

“I
wanted to…to tell you about my—” She gasped as his tongue gently flicked her
tight nipple. “My—”

“About
what?” Then his lips closed down around her nipple.

She
moaned, low and long, as pleasure swallowed her up. She squirmed beneath his
ministrations, completely distracted from her intended confession.

When
he let her breast slip from his lips, she tried to catch her breath, although
the kisses he trailed along her belly were just as sensual and delicious.

“About,”
she tried again. “About my…”

Michael’s
face moved lower, until he nuzzled between her legs.

“My—God!”
she cried out, as a sudden jolt of pleasure sliced through her when she felt
him tongue her intimately.

He
laughed huskily, the vibrations making her shiver. “Theology? That’s a deep
topic. Maybe it could wait for a more fortuitous time.”

Humor
vied briefly with lust, but lust easily won out. “Yeah,” Allison breathed,
wriggling her hips in her impatience to feel his mouth again.

She
bucked up against his face when he began to once more pleasure her.

Her
job wouldn’t matter anyway. After tomorrow, she probably would never see him
again.

She
might as well enjoy this while she could.

So
Allison clutched at his head and let him bring her to climax with his mouth, and
then they found other ways to effectively fill the rest of the afternoon.

When Allison woke up
the following morning, she had a heavy feeling in her gut. Even before she was
fully awake, she knew something wasn’t quite right.

She
recognized what prompted the feeling as she started to orient herself. She’d
been sleeping on her back with the weight of something draped across her
middle. Michael was still asleep beside her, his arm slung over her belly. She
was comfortable, and their unconscious positions felt natural, almost intimate.

She
liked the weight of his arm on her as he slept.

And
that was when she realized what was wrong.

Assuming
they could get through the back roads to the interstate, she and Michael would
go their separate ways today. Obviously, this interlude had been intended by
both of them to be simply a one-night-stand that happened to last two days. She
couldn’t even consider a relationship with Michael. She wasn’t about to give
her heart to someone as guarded and wary as he was, and he’d never be
interested in a long-term relationship with her anyway.

He’d
made that more than clear seven years ago, when she’d given him her virginity.

She’d
given him more than that.

And
he simply hadn’t wanted it.

Allison
adjusted her position on the bed and tried to pull up the covers, feeling
emotionally uncomfortable and moving around in an attempt to distract herself. Michael
started to shift immediately, evidently awakened by her restless motion.

He
turned his head in her direction and blinked a few times. “Good morning,” he
said, his voice husky with sleep and something that sounded like fondness.

“Hi.”
She smiled at him, determined to act natural around him and not reveal her
anxiety or the clench of loss in her gut. “I figured you’d always wake up at
the crack of dawn, ready to jump into work.”

The
corner of his mouth turned up as he rolled to his side, sliding his arm off her
middle. “Nothing for me to do here at dawn, and you worked me pretty hard last
night.”

Allison
felt her cheeks warm, partly from the erotic nature of the memories and partly
from self-consciousness over how enthusiastic a sex partner she’d been. But she
wasn’t about to admit her slight embarrassment. “I’m not easily pleased, and
I'm never satisfied with second-best.”

Michael
chuckled. “Evidently.” He leaned over to press a soft kiss on her mouth. “I
never would have believed being stranded in an isolated house could be so
intensely enjoyable.”

His
words sounded like closure, like a friendly gesture pointing toward an
impending parting. Ignoring the twisting of her belly, Allison replied, “Same
here. Despite everything, I had a good time.”

She
had. Part of her didn’t want it to end, but she wasn’t a child or a fool. They
both would have to return to their lives today, and nothing about their lives
would work naturally or easily together—even if other things hadn’t been
standing in their way.

She
groaned softly as she stretched, feeling the muscles in her thighs and abdomen
ache a little from her exertions last night. When she heard some tapping on the
hardwood floor, she turned to look down beside the bed.

The
dog had been sleeping next to the fireplace, where it had spent most of the
evening. But now it walked over and put its muzzle on the mattress, sniffing at
her hand hopefully.

She
couldn’t help but smile at the eager brown eyes. “Sorry. I don’t have any food
right now. I’ll try to find you something when I get up.”

“What
are you going to do with the dog?” Michael asked.

She
frowned at him. “What do you think? We can’t leave it here on its own.”

“So
we take it with us?” His voice was skeptical, but Allison couldn’t tell if he
was disapproving or not.

She
hoped he really wasn’t against taking the dog with them. He’d acted reluctant,
but she thought he secretly kind of liked it. She wouldn’t want any man she’d
slept with to act heartlessly toward a helpless animal.

“Can
you think of another option?” she asked.

Michael
sat up, swinging his legs over his side of the bed. “No. I can’t.”

Sighing
with relief at this sign of Michael’s heart, Allison heaved herself out of the
bed, smoothing down her disheveled hair. “Do you think we’ll be able to get out
of here today?”

“I
hope so.”

For
some reason, his answer bothered her, but she told herself it didn't matter
that he seemed ready to be rid of her.

*
* *

An hour later, they
were in Allison’s SUV and driving back down the country roads toward the
interstate. They hadn’t even tried the direction of the bridge, knowing it
would still be impassable, but they hoped the road in the other direction
wouldn’t be as flooded and they’d be able to get through to the main roads out
of the area.

Allison
held her breath as they crested the hill that had stopped them the day before.
She released it in a rush when she saw the roadway beyond.

“Looks
all right,” Michael said, sounding encouraged. “Still some water but not nearly
so much.”

There
was some standing water in the dip but only a couple of inches. Allison slowed
down some as she drove the car through the large puddles, and she relaxed as
the vehicle got through it with no problems.

“We’ll
be all right if that’s the worst of it,” she said. “The area still seems
deserted.”

“I
guess everyone else evacuated.” Michael leaned back in his seat, his observant
eyes scanning the road before them and the landscape surrounding them. “People
should start coming back today, I imagine.”

They
drove in silence as Allison thought about how completely isolated they’d been
for the last two days. After a while, she let out a breath. “It will be nice to
get a signal on our phones and do things like check email again.”

It
would. She had friends who would be worried about her. Not to mention a job she
needed to keep up with. But even the thought of these basic aspects of real
life caused that clench of heaviness inside her again.

The
more real life pushed its way back into her existence, the more distanced Michael
would become.

She
was distracted with these troubling thoughts and feelings as she rounded a
curve, so she had to slam on her brakes as she nearly collided with a downed
tree, which had fallen across the road.

When
they’d jerked to a stop, Allison tried to catch her breath as she studied the
situation before her. “No way to get around it.”

“No.”
Michael unbuckled, his hand moving to the handle of the passenger door. “It
doesn’t look too heavy. I’ll push it out of the way.”

Allison
shifted the SUV into park as Michael got out and walked over to the tree. She
watched him as he tried to get a grip on a couple of strong limbs to haul the
fallen tree out of their way.

He
was wearing his own clothes again—black trousers and blue dress shirt—but his
sleeves were rolled up and the top buttons of the shirt were undone. His messy
dark hair reflected the sunlight streaming through the branches of the trees
surrounding the road, and his lean body was masculine and powerful—long legs,
broad shoulders, narrow hips—as he exerted his strength to move the tree.

As
she watched, one of the branches he was pulling snapped, and he stumbled back a
step from the recoil. He shot a sheepish look in the direction of the car
before he got a more secure hold on the tree.

It
was then that Allison felt a flood of a feeling she could only describe as
yearning. It wasn’t physical desire, but it was just as strong, just as
visceral. She wanted Michael.
Wanted
him. Not just sex with him but the
intelligent flash of his eyes and the ironic quirk of his mouth and the
eminently human line of his shoulders and the way his shirt clung to his skin
from the wetness of the leaves.

The
feeling overwhelmed her, causing her vision to blur and her hands to clutch shakily
at the steering wheel. It didn’t make sense. She already knew a future was
impossible with him, so this sort of inexplicable yearning could only end up
hurting her.

But
she felt it. She could almost taste it. She was chilled and terrified as Michael
finished dragging the tree out of the way and returned to the passenger seat of
her car.

“What’s
wrong?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as they scanned her face. He was far too
astute, far too perceptive.

“Nothing,”
she lied, putting the SUV into drive and starting off again.