Chapter 49

"Change your mind about the bath?" Hannah's voice carried a lot more bravado than she felt. Her lips still tingled from his touch and the tremors she felt had more to do with the kiss she'd just received than the cold rain, but she couldn't tell him that. Not yet.

"Don't tease me, Starr." His rich baritone held a touch of warning but hinted at something more. His strong arms tightened around her waist, molding her to him while her hands slid up to his collar. Her fingers twisted into his hair at the nape of his neck.

She never felt more alive than she did right now. "Don't call me Starr," she whispered, lifting her face to his. Part of her wanted to beg him to kiss her again, but another part worried if he did, she'd never find the strength to make him stop.

Hannah didn't have to make the choice.

His mouth came crashing down on hers. She yelped in surprise only to have that cry swallowed by his own moan of pleasure. His large hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers curling into her hair to hold her captive. His other hand pressed against the small of her back, holding her close.

With one smooth movement, he spun and pressed her against the steamy shower wall. The warm water jolted her chilled body and she stiffened against him for a moment, but didn't stop responding to his kiss.

They stood close together oblivious to the blessedly hot water cascading over them warming them from the outside as something else heated them from inside. Her rapturous moans echoed with his groans of pleasure until she finally had to break away, letting her head fall back. His head lowered, nestling against the soft hollow of her throat. She could feel her pulse pounding close to his lips and the need to have him kiss her there was powerful.

He caressed her under the steaming waterfall, and she felt them both shudder with a shared embrace that went far beyond the reasons they'd stepped into the bathroom in the first place. "You all right, sweetheart?"

She smiled slyly when she heard the huskiness in his voice against her skin. "I'm better than fine." Her own voice was as throaty as his. "But I'm just not sure…"

His mind was telling him the same thing, but it wasn't much against the punitive, glorious, and utterly consuming sensations of their bodies moving together under the warm spray. The sinuous curves of Hannah's body under his hands only added another layer of excitement.

"If we're going to stop," Myles groaned, grabbing at the last shreds of sanity, "we'd better do it soon."

"I know." Her words came out on a long breath, made shaky with desire. "But if we stop – I think – I might go crazy."

He knew exactly what she meant. The force pounding through them demanded to be satisfied – refused to be denied. And when Hannah turned in his grasp, Myles couldn't have denied it if he'd wanted to. It was his turn to gasp out a wordless plea as her hands outlined the contours of his chest through his shirt.

The moment drew itself out until slowly Myles forced reality back. Capturing her hands in his, he longed to pull her back into his arms. As his breathing gradually returned to normal, he realized something was wrong.

Her face was hidden against his shoulder to where he couldn't see her expression. In fact, her hands covered her oval face and when he saw her shoulders shaking in spite of her obvious efforts to hold them still, he realized to his astonishment that she was crying.

"Hannah?" He spoke cautiously, still too caught up in his own skyrocketing feelings to be able to guess what was going on. "Hannah, darling, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. Myles saw the knuckles on her hands whiten as she balled them into fists and realized just how tensely she was holding herself. He hauled in a deep breath and felt doubt replacing any passion that had been filling his whole body just moments ago.

With one arm still around Hannah, he reached out and jerked the shower control to Off. The thick pile of towels shed set out was still within reach, and he slid the door open, grabbing one of them. He wrapped her quivering form and saw her nod slightly, as though she appreciated the gesture. Her dark hair was slicked back from her face, and as she lowered her hands to hold the towel around her, he saw that her eyes looked very wide, and achingly vulnerable.

It obviously had something to do with him. And their actions in the shower had triggered it, for some reason he didn't understand. All of the sudden he was both desperate and terrified to find out what was wrong.

"Will you tell me about it, darling?" His voice was low, but it sounded loud in the stillness of the steam-filled room.

Hannah nodded, but added huskily, "Just…give me a few minutes, all right?"

It was Myles' turn to nod. He scooped up a towel for himself and, wet clothes and all, headed towards the bedroom. At the door, he stopped. "There's a robe on the back of the door you can use while your clothes dry."

She didn't respond, but he didn't expect her too. Closing the door behind him to give her some privacy, he caught himself grumbling aloud as he stripped off his own wet clothes.

"I should have known better," he told himself, pulling on a dry pair of jeans. "I shouldn't have let any of this happen in the first place."

Something inside him was answering back, though reminding him that just a few minutes ago he'd been reveling in the certainty that he and Hannah were made to be together. Their undeniable passion for each other seemed to prove it. Then why was Hannah reacting like this?

"Damn it!" he muttered under his breath. He was on the verge of charging back into the bathroom and demanding some answers when Hannah finally emerged. Her hair was combed back and there was a slightly steadier, but more determined look on her face.

However, Myles wasn't exactly reassured.