Free ChasetheLightning by Madeline Baker Page A

her.
     
    His body was hard and unyielding, cushioning the softness of
her own. He tasted like the chocolate ice cream. Chocolate ice cream and
smoldering desire. It was a potent combination. Heat exploded through every
nerve and cell of her body and she sagged against him, her heart pounding
wildly.
    He drew back, his gaze burning into hers. And then he kissed
her again.
    She had been kissed before, many times, but never like this,
never with such intensity, such soul-shattering passion. Heat flowed through
her, touching places long cold, leaving her feeling weak and slightly dazed.
    When he drew back this time, his breathing was as erratic as
her own.
    She looked up into his eyes, her pulse racing, her whole
body on fire, and knew, in that single moment of time, what was missing in her
relationship with Rob.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Trey paced the floor in the bedroom, his bare feet sinking
into the thick rug. He had never been in a home where the floors were
completely covered by anything like this. Expensive hotel lobbies, yes. Houses,
no. But he had never walked through a hotel lobby barefoot. He liked the feel
of the carpet beneath his feet.
    The woman, Amanda, had fled the kitchen when he let her go.
He had scared the hell out of her, he thought. Hell, he was feeling a mite
shaky himself. Women had never been a problem for him. Young, old, married,
single, respectable or otherwise, he’d pretty much had his pick, but there was
something about this one. Pain and fever notwithstanding, he had wanted her
from the moment he had first set eyes on her. And he wanted her now.
    He stopped at the window and stared out at the rain, the
ache of wanting her momentarily stronger than the ache of his wound. He had
kissed women before, a lot of women, but none of them had ever affected him
like this. He had kissed them and forgotten them. Made love to them and
forgotten them. But Amanda… He closed his eyes, the taste of her still fresh on
his lips, his arms anxious to hold her again.
 He stared out the window. He didn’t belong here. As soon as the rain let up,
he would saddle Relámpago and find his way back home… He grunted softly. He had
no home, but he didn’t belong here, that was for damn sure.
    She avoided him the rest of the day, coming to his room only
twice—once to bring his dinner, and again to check on his wound and collect his
dirty dishes.
    He sat on the bed after she left, the long night stretching
ahead of him. He wasn’t used to so much inactivity. He could hear her moving
around upstairs, the sound of water running. Did she have a bathtub upstairs,
too? His mouth went suddenly dry at the thought of her sitting amid frothy
bubbles, her luxurious red hair pinned up, her skin flushed from the hot water,
covered with lather…
    Damn!
    Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by the footsteps
of the thunder people. The fury of the storm seemed to intensify his
restlessness and he prowled through the house, too edgy to sit still. He
switched on a light, switched it off, then on again, marveling that such a
thing was possible. Marveling that he was here, more than a hundred years in
the future. How the hell was he going to get back where he belonged?
     
    Amanda sat back in the tub and closed her eyes. She could
still feel Trey’s mouth on hers, feel his body pressed intimately against her
own. Lord, but that man could kiss! She had always been afraid there was
something wrong with her because, while she enjoyed kissing, it had never set
her on fire. Even with Rob, it had been pleasurable, but never more than that.
Perhaps that was why her sexual encounters had been so few when she was
younger. The boys she had dated in high school had called her cold, a tease,
when the truth was, none of them had made her want more. But this man, this
stranger from the past…one kiss, and she was on fire and aching for more.
    Dear Lord, what was she going to do? She had a horrible
feeling that he knew exactly how his kisses