what they both wanted so badly. It would be so, so easy to crawl under the covers with her and sink deep into her willing body. To lose himself in her heat and softness, and finally quench the feverish hunger burning inside him.
He couldn't be so selfish with his needs, not when there was so much more at stake-foremost the risk of her regretting their lovemaking once she regained her memory. With his hormones rallying in protest of his decision, he strove to let her down gently, in a way she wouldn't construe as an outright rejection.
'I'm expecting a call from Bobby.' Unwinding her arms from his neck, he placed a kiss in each of her palms. 'You get some rest and I'll be back up in a little while, okay?'
An adorable pout puffed out her bottom lip, but she issued no argument, just sought for a kernel of reassurance. 'Promise?'
He nodded, unable to refuse her simple request. 'Yeah, I promise,' he said, sealing his own fate when he'd originally intended to crash on the couch downstairs for the night.
Satisfied that he'd return later, she snuggled deeper beneath the blankets, sighed and let her lashes drift shut.
Unplugging the phone in the room so Bobby's call wouldn't disturb her, Noah went back to his office, knowing it would be hours until he joined Natalie in his bed. He wanted her deep asleep and unaware of him before he dared to slip under the covers with her.
Ten minutes later Bobby called back with the information Noah was waiting for.
'This guy isn't stupid,' Bobby said, a thread of disgust in his voice. 'He paid cash for the flowers and gave the cashier what I highly suspect is a bogus name and an address that isn't his.'
Surprised, Noah asked, 'You ran a check already?'
'Yep, and you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you.'
Feeling distinctly uneasy, he stabbed his fingers through his already mussed hair. 'Give it to me straight, Malone.' The request was unnecessary. Bobby wasn't one to bullshit around with something so serious.
'The guy who placed the order used the name Richard Haynes, who just happens to be a prominent surgeon in San Francisco who is squeaky clean, so I'm fairly certain that isn't the perp's real name, though I'll follow up on that tomorrow.' He paused for a moment, then revealed, 'And the contact address he used on the form came up as none other than Natalie's apartment.'
Noah's stomach cramped as though he'd been sucker-punched. 'He used
'Appears so. How's that for being ballsy?'
Noah rubbed his fingers across his forehead. 'It's goddamn unbelievable.'
The guy, whoever he was, knew where Natalie lived. The knowledge stunned and infuriated Noah, and while he hated the helpless feeling of not knowing the true identity of the stalker, he was grateful that she was safe with him at his house.
'Thanks for the info, Bobby,' he said, grateful, too, for his friend's connections and support. 'I owe you one.'
'Buy me a beer once all this blows over and we'll call it even. In the meantime, watch your back. And Natalie's.'
'I plan to.' He hung up the phone, and turned his attention to the Reno, Nevada, address he'd confiscated from Natalie's place earlier that day.
He booted up his computer, jumped on the Internet and did an extensive search on an online database and a private network he belonged to that narrowed down her old address to an apartment complex. He scribbled down the manager's name and phone number to call on Monday, then spent the next few hours making notes on the various sources he wanted to contact to get a lead on her background, as well as information on the kind of life she led in Reno-where she worked, who she dated and what had prompted her to move.
It was after midnight when he finally dragged himself back upstairs to his bedroom. He slipped into the darkened room quietly, squinting to see his way to the opposite side of the bed where Natalie had fallen asleep. He felt his blood chill when he realized the covers were thrown back and the bed was empty. The light in the bathroom wasn't on, either, and a dozen unpleasant scenarios flew through his head before he could stop them.
There was a movement by the window, a flash of white that captured his attention. His muscles tensed, ready for action, his mind already contemplating the short distance to his gun tucked away in his dresser.
'Noah?'
Natalie's soft, husky voice reached him just as she stepped out of the shadows by the window and came into better focus. He relaxed a fraction, bewitched by the moonlight streaming into the room that silhouetted her body beneath his white T-shirt. Her blond hair was tousled around her shoulders, and a silvery, shimmering light haloed her head. She looked ethereal, and too damned sexy for his peace of mind.
He cleared his throat and stepped deeper into the room. 'Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?'
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. 'As good as can be expected, I suppose. I was just going to come looking for you.'
'You should be in bed.' Stopping in front of her, he narrowed his gaze to better take in her features, wondering if she was in any pain. 'Do you need another Motrin for your muscle aches and your head?'
'No, I'm fine physically.' A small smile touched her lips and her eyes shone with uncertainty. 'It's the mental stuff that keeps throwing me for a loop.'
He gently rubbed his hands up and down her arms, warming her skin, causing his own to tighten in response to touching her. 'Give it time,' he said softly. 'You're not going to regain your memory overnight.'
Her brows puckered in frustration. 'I know that, but when I try to sleep, my dreams are fragmented and confusing, and there's so much I don't understand. I see shadows and I feel like I'm running from something or someone, but I can't grasp what the threat is, or if it's even real.'
Her voice quivered, and he suspected her subconscious was trying to break through with the truth. Her big blue eyes stared up at him as if he held the answers to her secrets and the key to all her hidden depths. He wished he did, but he was learning about her past right along with her.
'I know it's difficult, but the doctor said not to force yourself to remember, because that can possibly suppress your memories deeper.'
'I can't help it.' Moisture glittered in her eyes, and her voice caught with emotion. 'I feel so lost, and there's only one thing I'm sure of at this moment.'
'And what's that?'
Her gaze held his, the vulnerability etching her expression so heartbreakingly real. 'My desire for you.' Stepping closer, she placed her hands on his bare chest and rubbed her soft, cool palms over his hot flesh. 'What I feel for you is so intense and overwhelming, and I know you're trying to be a gentleman because of the accident, but right now I
In a move that stunned him, she peeled the shirt she wore over her head and dropped it to the floor. Sliding her arms around his neck before he could back away, she aligned their bodies from chest to thighs, and nuzzled her lips against his throat. 'Make love to me, Noah,' she whispered huskily.
The blood in Noah's veins sizzled and his shaft thickened against her belly through his sweatpants. Her full, naked breasts and all her smooth bare skin seared him, wreaking havoc with his conscience and personal ethics. He fought his own weakness, but in the end he didn't have it in him to say no to her sensual plea, not when she needed this physical connection in a way that superceded mere sex. He could give her the intimacy her body and soul yearned for, even knowing he'd be sacrificing his own pleasure for hers.
Without a word, he led her back to the bed, pressed her down onto the mattress and positioned himself so that he was half on top of her. With his chest pinned against her lush breasts, he wedged his knee between her thighs and pushed his fingers through her hair, capturing her lips in a hungry, greedy kiss.
She opened to him with a sigh of abandon, welcoming the thrust of his tongue deep inside and meeting it with her own. Ready and willing. Wild and wanton. It was a kiss as seductive as the night, as electrifying as the attraction they'd resisted for too long.
With his free hand, he began a slow, tentative exploration, seeking erogenous zones and all those sensitive feminine places women loved to be stroked and caressed. He trailed his fingers along the silky skin of her neck and shoulders and felt her shiver in response. His hand skimmed lower, until he finally cupped a smooth, firm breast in
