'I don't mean that.' She turned away. Out of habit, she set a kettle on the stove, flicked on the burner. 'I've never been the way I was last night, with anyone. So out of control. So... needy. I'm a little surprised when I think back and... Well.' She let out a shaky breath, searched out a filter for the drip cone.
'Surprised? Or sorry?'
'Not sorry, Rafe.' Making the effort, she turned back and met his eyes. 'No, not sorry at all. Uneasy, because I know now exactly what you can do to me. I knew making love with you would be exciting. I didn't know it would be so shattering. Nothing about you is tidy or predictable. The way I like things to be.'
'I want you now. That should be predictable.'
'My heart jumps,' she managed. 'Literally, when you say things like that. But I do need things to be tidy.' Opening the can of coffee, she deliberately measured out scoops. 'I imagine your men will be coming along in an hour or so. This probably isn't the best time to talk this out.''
'Nobody's coming today. There's better than two feet of snow out there, on top of what we already had.'
'Oh.' Her hand faltered, spilling ground coffee on the stove.
'We're snowbound for a while, darling. You can talk all you want.'
'Well.' After clearing her throat, she faced him again. 'I just think it's best if we both understood things.'
'What things?'
'Things.' She bit the word off, furious at herself for hesitating. 'Things that we didn't quite finish outlining last night. That what we're having is a mutual satisfying and physical affair, no strings, no entanglements, no...'
'Complications?'
'Yes.' Relieved, she nodded. 'Exactly.'
Surprised to find himself annoyed with her cool-headed description—one that should have mirrored his own wishes—he scratched his head. 'That's tidy enough. But if that means you're planning on seeing somebody else, it'll get messy when I break him in half.'
'Oh, of all the ridiculous—'
'And cut off his—'
'Stop that.' She blew out a heated breath. 'I have no intention of seeing someone else while we're involved, but if I—'
'Smarter to stop there,' he said quietly. 'Let's just say we have a mutually satisfying and exclusive physical relationship. That suit you?'
Calmer, she turned back to pour boiling water through the filter. 'Yes, I can agree to that.'
'You're a piece of work, Regan. You want the contract in triplicate?'
'I only want to make sure we expect the same things.' She concentrated hard on covering the grounds with water, on being sure not to pour too much water, or too little. 'We haven't taken time to really get to know each other. Now we're lovers. I don't want you to think I'm looking for any more than that.'
'And if I'm looking for more?'
Her fingers whitened on the handle of the kettle. 'Are you?'
He looked away from her, toward the window and the softly falling snow. 'No.'
She closed her eyes, telling herself it was relief she felt at his answer. Only relief. 'Well, then there's no problem.'
'No, everything's dandy.' His voice was as cool and detached as hers. 'You don't want romance, saves me the trouble. You don't want promises, I don't have to lie. We want each other in bed.' He reached for two mugs. 'That keeps it simple.'
'I want you in bed.' Pleased with her casual tone, she took the mugs from him. 'But if I didn't like who you are, we wouldn't have gotten there. I've wanted other men.'
In a deceptively calm gesture, he flicked her hair behind her ear. 'Now you're trying to make me mad.'
The fact that he couldn't see how difficult it was for her to be so open, to keep things simple, made it easier. Oddly enough, this kind of openness seemed completely natural with him. 'I'm trying to give you a complement. I wouldn't have come here last night, hoping you'd be here, if I hadn't cared about you.' 'You came to drop off candlesticks.'
'You're an idiot.' Amused at both of them, she poured coffee. She hadn't realized sexual frankness could be fun. 'You didn't really buy that, did you?'
Intrigued, he took the mug she offered. 'Yeah, I did.'
She sipped, smiled. 'Sucker.'
'Maybe I don't like sneaky, aggressive women.'
'Yes, you do. In fact, you're hoping I'll seduce you right now.'
'Think so?'
'I know so. But I want my coffee first.'
He watched her take another delicate sip. 'Maybe I want my shirt back. You didn't ask if you could borrow it.'
'Fine.' With one hand, she undid the buttons. 'Take it.'
He nipped the coffee from her hand, set both mugs aside. Her smug smile had him scooping her off her feet. She was laughing and assaulting his ear as he carried her back down the hall. The front door swung open, letting in cold and blowing snow and a figure crusted with white.
Shane dragged off his cap and shook himself like a dog. 'Hey.' Casually he kicked the door closed. 'Your car's buried to the wheel wells, Regan.'
'Oh.' With a fumbling hand, she clutched the shirt together and tried to mirror his easy tone. 'We got a lot of snow.'
'Over two feet.' Unabashed, he grinned at his brother. 'Figured you'd need someone to plow you out.'
'Does it look like I want you to rescue me?' Disgusted, Rafe strode into the parlor and dumped Regan on the settee. 'Stay right there.'
'Rafe!' Futilely she tried to tug the hem of the shirt down over her legs. 'For heaven's sake!'
'Right there,' he repeated, and headed back into the hall.
'That coffee I smell?' Shane asked conversationally. 'I could use some.'
'Give me one reason why I shouldn't break your neck.'
Shane took off his gloves, blew on his chilled fingers. ' 'Cause I rode over here in a blizzard to save yours.' He leaned forward, but couldn't quite see into the parlor. 'She's sure got legs.'
'Where do you want to die?'
'Just an observation.' His grin only widened, the MacKade dimple flashing. 'Hey, who knew? I figured you were stuck here, without transportation. Alone. Then, when I saw her car, I thought maybe she needed a lift into town.' Again he inched forward, hopeful. 'Maybe I should ask her.'
'One more step and they won't find your body till spring.'
'If I win, can I keep her?' When Rafe snarled, Shane erupted with laughter. 'Don't hit me, I'm frozen. I'll break.'
Muttering threats, Rafe grabbed Shane by the collar and dragged him down the hall. 'Eyes front, MacKade.' In the kitchen, he found a thermos, filled it with coffee. 'Now beat it.'
'I'm going.' But Shane drank straight from the thermos. 'The wind's a bitch.' Grateful for the heat, he drank again. 'Look, I didn't mean to horn in on your little love nest,' he began, then stopped, lowered the thermos when he read quick fury in Rafe's eyes. 'Hey, are you serious about her?'
'Mind your own damn business.'
Shane whistled out a breath, screwed the top on the thermos. 'You've always been my business. Regan's a real lady. I mean that.'
'So?'
'So nothing.' Embarrassed now, Shane shifted position. 'I like her, always have. I thought about...' Realizing he'd taken a wrong turn, he pulled out his gloves again and whistled a cheerful tune.
'Thought about what?'
Cautious, Shane ran his tongue around his teeth. He really wanted to keep all of them. 'Just what you think I thought. Hell, look at her. A man's bound to think.' Agile, he evaded Rafe's lunging arm. 'Think is all I did. I'm not going to fight you over thinking.' In a gesture of peace, he threw up his hands. 'What I'm saying is, it's great. You hit the jackpot.'
