All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [90]
He nodded. "I want to do it again in a bed this time, really, really slowly. I want to taste every inch of you, Natalie. I want to see you in the light. I want to look into your beautiful blue eyes when we come together. I want to watch your face, feel your skin." He ran his finger down her cheek, and she trembled. "You're beautiful, Natalie, inside and out."
A rush of emotion blurred her eyes with tears. "I thought you hated me."
"I tried,"
"This—us—it can't work. You know that. I know—"
He cut her off with a kiss. "I told you to stop thinking—at least for tonight. Can you do that? Can you give us one night?"
The plea in his eyes matched the need in her heart. "I can do that. Let's go home."
Chapter 15
"Oh, my God! That was better than sex," Madison declared when Dylan finally brought the motorcycle to a stop. They'd flown through the streets of San Francisco, up one hill and down the next, with absolutely no regard for the speed limit. She'd been terrified more than once, and she was sure Dylan had intended her to feel that way, but she'd hung on, and she was still alive. Where she was still alive, she wasn't quite sure. They'd crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge to the north and they were now on some remote hillside in Sausalito with an incredible view of San Francisco at night.
Dylan got off the bike and walked to the edge of the hillside. She decided to follow him, hoping he hadn't brought her here to push her off. The flippant thought suddenly took on new meaning as she drew closer to Dylan and to the edge of the cliff. Maybe he had brought her here for that reason. Maybe he was the one up on the roof that night with Emily.
He loved Emily. He wouldn't have hurt her.
But he would punish the person he thought had hurt Emily. Did he think she was the one?
Madison stopped a few feet away from him and ran her fingers through her wind-tangled hair. "What are we doing here?"
Dylan didn't answer right away, his gaze focused on the city before them. "This was one of Emily's favorite places."
She could see why. The lights of San Francisco were stunning, the tall buildings outlined against the dark sky, the bridges on both sides of the city adding the perfect frame. "It's beautiful," she said. "Emily always loved the view from high places." Her voice faltered as she realized how dangerously close they were coming to discussing Emily's last journey up to the sorority house roof. She decided to change the subject. "Did you bring her here on your motorcycle? Maybe with a blanket and a bottle of wine?"
He laughed at that, a sound that warmed his cold, dark personality. "Do you think the Parishes would have allowed that? I brought her here in my parents' car when they thought we were going to the movies."
"It's hard to think of you with parents. Although your brother is nice. We had an interesting conversation about you and your many trips up the tree next to Emily's bedroom window."
"Josh talks too much."
"Why did you bring me here?"
Dylan shrugged.
"Okay, let's move on, then." She paused, took a deep breath, and asked, "Do you still love Emily?"
"Do you?" He shot the question right back at her, along with a razor-sharp look of inquiry. "Did you ever? Or was it all just convenient back then? You lived in the dorms. You pledged a sorority together. Did her friendship mean anything to you? Or are you as cold and shallow as I always thought you were?"
Hearing the anger in his voice, Madison instinctively took a step back. She had always believed she had a thick skin, but Dylan's words had struck home. It took her a minute to catch her breath; then she said, "You thought I was cold and shallow? Did you get that from Emily?" She hoped that wasn't the case. She could handle his dislike, but not Emily's.
"I made my own judgment. You were a party girl, a flirt. You even tried to make out with me one night."
"Most men would have considered that an honor, and you didn't exactly say no all that fast." She watched as he picked up