Page 34 of Forbidden Whispers

She blinked. Then she set down her teacup with a clatter and stood up abruptly. “It’s late. We’d better get some sleep.”

Whatever magic spell had been holding them captive was instantly broken. She felt the absence of his warmth beside her like a splash of cold water on her overheated emotions. She needed to get away from him, now, before she said or did something stupid, like ruining everything by sharing her true feelings for him.

“I can sleep here on this little sofa or wherever,” she said.

“Don’t be silly,” Noah said, rising. His voice held a hint of frustration. “There are two perfectly good bedrooms on this floor. I’ll take the guest room across the hall and you can have the master bedroom. I already changed the sheets when I was in there earlier.”

“Okay, well, great. Thanks.” She was already moving toward the bedroom he’d indicated. “I guess...it’s good night then.”

And she was gone.

Chapter 11

Noah was almost grateful when his alarm went off at seven-thirty the next morning. He’d hardly slept, tossing and turning all night as he thought about the beautiful woman sleeping two doors away.

He knew he should have been thinking about Valentina and the dangerous men who seemed to be after all of them. But all he could think about was Maggie. How incredible and brave she was to be helping him like this. And how beautiful she’d looked last night in that little black dress. And later here, with her fresh face scrubbed clean of makeup, her soft rose-petal lips practically begging to be kissed. Not to mention what her curves did to that ordinary T-shirt and cotton boxers. It was criminal.

At first, he’d been frustrated that she’d ended their night together so abruptly. He’d wanted to spend more time with her in ways that didn’t have anything to do with solving the mystery of Valentina’s disappearance or running from a couple of dangerous thugs. But in retrospect, he realized it had been a blessing. He wasn’t certain how much longer he could have resisted the overwhelming desire he’d had to pull her into his arms and kiss her last night.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his hands briskly over his face to wake up. He peeked out of his bedroom door, but he could see that Maggie’s door was still shut. So, he padded into the bathroom, took a quick shower, and dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a short-sleeved button-down shirt that he’d nabbed from Wade’s closet along with the other items last night. He and his two brothers had the same tall, lean, athletic build, making it easy for them to share clothing.

He cleared out of the bathroom, then tapped lightly on Maggie’s door. “Hey, you alive in there?”

He heard a soft moan, then a muffled “No.”

He laughed. “Can I come in?”

“As long as you don’t frighten easily; I can look pretty scary in the morning.”

“I can handle it.” He pushed the door open and stepped into the dark room.

Maggie reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. She sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes while he soaked up a view of Maggie Milena in the morning. Far from scary, she looked lovelier than ever. Her sleep-warmed skin held a rosy golden color that made him long to caress it. And her hair was a tousled, curling cloud that cascaded about her shoulders.

“Is it late?” she asked, picking up her phone from the bedside table.

“It’s eight.” He sat down carefully on the foot of the bed, wanting to be near her but not wanting to make her uncomfortable. “How did you sleep?”