“Jesse,” she sobbed, “Jesse, Jesse…”
The sound of his name on her tongue filled him with elation.
“Tell me,” he said fiercely. “Tell me what you want.”
“You. You!” Her hands fumbled at his belt. “Jesse. Please. Please. I want—”
All at once, the harsh light of a thousand suns filled the room.
The power was back, and the lights had come on. Every damned one of them.
The huge glass-and-copper chandelier in the entrance to the living room. The spots over the sofa. The alabaster lamps on the glass tables flanking the sofa. Lights blazed everywhere, offering brutal illumination to the most intimate moment a man and woman can share.
Sienna cried out and threw her hand in front of her eyes. Jesse clasped that hand, folded her fingers into her palm.
“Easy,” he said.
She stared at him, eyes wide with shock. He’d seen the reaction before, once in a doe frozen by his sudden appearance deep in a wooded valley, and more times than he wanted to remember in the faces of men who’d thought they were invincible and found they were mortal, after all.
It was a look he’d never wanted to see again—especially on the face of a woman with whom he’d been making love.
“It’s the electricity, that’s all. It’s back on.”
Sienna tore her hand from his. “Get off me.”
Her voice was shaky. Okay. He could understand that it would be. The lights had spooked him, too.
“Sienna. Listen to me. It’s just the power—”
“I said, get off me.”
“Honey, calm down. The lights—”
“Get—off!”
Her voice was shrill. It went with the way she was looking at him, as if he were a monster instead of a man. That was another look he’d seen before. It had been in Linda’s eyes the night she’d walked out.
Wordlessly, he rolled away, got to his feet. She grabbed for the discarded sweats, yanked them on and plopped down on the edge of the hearth.
“Look,” he said carefully, “I know the timing was bad, but—”
“Yes. It certainly was. Another couple of minutes, you’d have had what you wanted all along.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Lock the door, you said.”
“Yes.” His tone was flat. “That’s what I told you to do.”
“What you didn’t bother telling me was that you had a key.”
“I didn’t have a key.”
“I locked the door. You opened it. What? Did you use magic?”
“Sienna—” Jesse ran his hands through his hair. “I was worried about you.”
“Worried I’d steal stuff from the dresser drawers? After all, why wouldn’t I? According to you, I’m here to steal artifacts from the Blackwolf Canyon ruins.”
His eyes narrowed. “Stop it.”
Sienna tossed her head. Despite his growing anger, he couldn’t help noticing the way her soft curls flew around her flushed face. “What a pair we are. Me, a thief. And you a man who—who takes advantage of defenseless women.”
“Watch yourself,” he said, the words low and dangerous.
“God, how I wish it were morning!”
“My sentiments, exactly.”
“There must be a way to get help.” She looked up at him. “Can’t you call someone?”
“I tried, remember? The phones are out.”
“What about using your cell?”
“My what?”
“Or do you need a SAT way out here?”
“A SAT? A cell? What in hell are you talking about?”
“You don’t know what a cell phone is?”
“I have no idea.”
He could almost see the fight go out of her. She said nothing for a long moment. Then she bent her head; her hair tumbled around her face. And he knew she was weeping.
Damn it. He wanted to be angry at her, but how could he be? All his anger drained away. He fought back the desire to take her in his arms and soothe her. No way was he going to touch her again. Instead, he squatted down next to her.
“Don’t cry,” he said gruffly. “This was my fault.”
She shook her head. “No. I shouldn’t have—I’m not the kind of woman who—” She looked up. Her eyes, glittering with tears, focused on his. “I’m sorry for the things I said.”
“Yeah. That makes two of us.”
“It’s just… I don’t understand any of this. We’re strangers.” She took a shaky breath. “And yet, I never wanted a man the way I—the way I wanted you….”
Her honesty caught him by surprise. In his experience, women weren’t usually given to accepting responsibility for their actions.