The pleasure slammed into her like a bare-knuckled punch, going beyond anything she’d ever imagined, anything she’d thought she could endure. Shuddering, she hungered for more.
He gave her more. And took more. In the arch of the stone walls, she knew only him—the taste, the scent, the feel of him. She would have given him anything he asked. Each time she thought he would have to end it, he found a new way to send her up and over a new crest.
“More.”
He drew her up then so that they were kneeling, body to body, eye to eye. Still gripping her shoulders, he mouthed the words, “I want more. I want everything.”
The sound was inaudible above the noise of the storm. But her eyes flashed as brilliant as the lightning, in triumph, in need. They worked together then to get rid of the barrier his clothes presented. Once he’d dealt with the condom, she eased him back onto the stones and straddled him. He reached for her to grip her hips, but she forestalled him by capturing his hands.
“Take more,” she said as she straddled him, then lifted her hips and took him inside. “Take all of me.”
His fingers gripped her hips, but trembled as she began to move. “Take everything.”
Eyes locked, hands linked, they rode the storm.
AFTERWARD, THEY LAY TOGETHER beneath the stones. The fury of the storm had passed, but the rain continued to pour in sheets off both ends of the short tunnel. There was a part of Piper that wished they could stay right where they were, tucked away from the world. She knew that was a dangerous thought. It was always a mistake to wish for more than you could have.
But she was pretty sure the mistake had already been made.
Reality check, she lectured herself. And it was then that she remembered just how she and Duncan had ended up naked beneath the stone arch.
He’d invaded not only her privacy, but the privacy of her sisters, as well.
Raising her head, she looked him dead in the eye. “If you think that counts for make-up sex, you’re wrong.”
His burst of laughter filled the space.
She frowned and poked him in the shoulder. “Not funny.”
“I know. Sorry.” More laughter bubbled up. “I’ve just never tried to sort sex into so many different categories. Maybe it’s a difference between the male and the female brain. I’m still trying to sort out buddy sex and monkey sex.”
“Right. Now it’s my turn to laugh.”
To Duncan it sounded more like a snort.
“They’ve done studies on how many times men think about sex during the average day. With all the time your brains spend on it, don’t tell me you don’t sort the experience into categories.”
He grinned at her. “I can’t speak for all men, but I usually think along the lines of good, better, best.” She was lying half on top of him, her arms folded. He took a lock of her hair and twisted it around his finger. “At this very minute, I’m thinking now or later.”
“Later.” She shoved herself to her knees, intending to start searching for clothes, but she cracked her head on the side of the stone arch.
And that was when reality hit her. “No. Oh, no.”
Something in her tone had him sitting up and reaching for her. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”
“No.” She pushed his hands away, picked up his shirt and shoved it at him. “My head’s fine. Or I thought it was. But I can’t seem to think straight when I’m around you. I definitely wasn’t thinking.” She waved a hand. “Do you have any idea what we just did?”
“I have a pretty good idea.”
“You never should have come out here to read my fantasy. I never should have followed you. This was not supposed to happen. What we’ve been doing can’t work. We have to stop right now.”
Her voice was rising. She was rattled and he realized it was the first time he’d seen her that way. He put his hands on her shoulders, but she twisted out of his grip. “Why don’t you explain what the problem is—and fill in the details?”
She waved a hand. “You kissed me and I kissed you back.”
“I’ve kissed you before.”
“Not here. We just kissed under the stones. We made love here. That was not supposed to happen. A sexual fantasy is one thing. A great thing. But I don’t want to have anything to do with the legend and its power. And I certainly don’t want to fall in love with someone. Do you?”
“No.” The answer came out quickly. It was the truth. He didn’t want to fall in love with anyone. Something tightened around his heart.
“Good.” She placed a hand against her heart and rubbed it. “We’re in agreement. What we’re doing. It has to stop now.”
And what if they couldn’t stop it? What if it was already too late? What if he’d already fallen in love with her? There were things he wanted to say. But before he did, Duncan had to work them out in his own mind. What he said was what he knew for sure. “We’ll figure out a solution, Piper. You’re good at that, and so am I.”
But Duncan was careful not to touch her as they gathered up their clothes and dressed. And when she handed him the reading glasses he’d set aside, she was careful that her hand didn’t come in contact with his.
The rain had slowed, and while they’d been safe enough in the stone arch during the Adirondack monsoon they’d just experienced, he wanted to get her back in the castle. He had to agree with her insistence that they put a halt to what was happening between them—because he’d lost track of everything while they’d been making love.
And Piper’s life was in danger.
When they were ready to leave the stone arch, the rain had stopped completely, and the early-evening sun was throwing long shadows across the garden. He figured that Daryl and Vi would be arriving soon.
The sound of gravel crunching had them both turning toward the driveway as a truck pulled to a stop in front of the castle doors. The sign on the door read Margie’s Flowers. Duncan noted that the location was Glen Loch, New York.
He got a bad feeling then, and he kept Piper behind him as they walked toward the man who climbed out. Before they even reached him, he unloaded a vase of red roses.
“For Piper MacPherson,” he said with a smile.
“Do you know who placed the order?” Duncan asked as Piper took the vase.
The man shook his head. “My wife took the order over the phone. They paid extra for a speedy delivery. Not that they had to. We’re mighty grateful for the business that Miss Vi and Miss Adair are bringing in to all the merchants in Glen Loch.” Then he nodded to both of them and climbed back into his truck.
“I can call Sheriff Skinner,” Duncan said as he opened the door. “He might be able to get a phone number or trace the credit card.”
Saying nothing, Piper set the vase on a table in the foyer as he locked the door and reset the alarm.
Duncan wanted to touch her, to simply run a hand down her arm, to tell her that she’d be safe. More than that, he wanted to pull her into his arms, to tell her … The problem was there was too much to tell her. And it wasn’t the time.
Instead, he reached for the note on the vase of flowers and opened it. The message wasn’t written on vellum, but it was clear.
TILL WE MEET AGAIN. AND WE WILL VERY SOON.
The words told him what he’d already known. Time was running out.