Free Mallory Rush - [Outlawsand Heroes 02] by Dead or Alive

women. I have a job so I can pay my bills and—"
    "You work? You actually work away from home? This is amazing! What else do you do?"
    "I shop, I max out my credit card, and screw up my checkbook balance." With a small laugh, she said, "now that's amazing—considering I studied accounting before I decided to get a degree in nursing."
    "You went to a school of higher learning?" Unbelievable!
    "State university. I got through on a scholarship, a grant and a loan, and slinging dough at Pizza Hut. Not the easiest way to get through college, but I did it myself and I'm proud of it."
    "As well you should be." Noble regarded Lori with respect bordering on awe. "What an incredible feat you have accomplished. To actually study a profession while you labored at... well, whatever a pizza hut is." Eagerly, then: "What else do women do differently these days?"
    A mischievous smile sparked her lips. "They vote."
    "Good God." Her revelations were hard even to fathom. He wanted to hear more and yet he had already heard too much. Still, he was curious as to how a woman like Lori spent her nights as well as her days.
    Stealing a glance into her private chambers, Noble saw a beacon of comfort. It was a room belonging to a woman, soothing in its pastel hues, wholly feminine in its array of shapes and textures.
    "Might I come in?" he asked, expecting refusal but very much hoping she would allow him to enter.
    Lori silently debated. No man had come through her bedroom doors since Mick had died. She had changed it to suit her feminine whims over the passage of too many solitary years.
    No need to consider a man's lack of decorating taste. No need to plot secretly the washing machine fatality of an ugly baseball cap.
    The heavy, masculine furniture with dark paisley curtains and matching linens was gone, delicate white wrought iron and Battenberg lace taking its place. No, it was no longer a bedroom shared with a man, it was hers.
    She did not want to be alone right now, and knew Noble did not need to be alone either. But still she asked, "If I say yes, do you promise to mind your manners?"
    "I seek no seduction here, only the comfort of your company. I give you my word."
    She motioned him in, struck by how small the space seemed. His powerful presence filled the room, creating an atmosphere of vivid contrasts to tantalize a woman's senses.
    The vision came without warning. She saw them wrapped in moonlight and candleglow, the two of them splayed like ribbons unspooled on a bed.
    The vision passed but left her shaken. Averting her gaze from where Noble stood, openly admiring her decor, she quickly went to an antique chifforobe and grabbed her favorite robe. A ratty, ankle-hugging terry cloth robe meant to give warmth to the wearer but that would put a quick end to a steamy affair.
    "An interesting wrapper," Noble observed. "Is it as serviceable as it looks?"
    "Uh... yeah." Lori suddenly wished she'd dug through her drawers for the filmy pink bit of nothing she put on when she got really depressed.
    After settling herself on a white wicker rocker, she indicated he should sit too. Lori began to rock while he tested the mattress edge gingerly then fairly warmed it with his Levi's-clad behind.
    Mick's jeans; so was the flannel shirt Noble wore with an uncanny air of poise and masculine elegance. It bothered her to admit it, but Noble looked better in Mick's clothes than Mick ever had. She resented Noble a little for that—but not half as much as she resented herself for noticing.
    "So, what's on your mind?" she prompted.
    "Too much and more than I can sort through. I sought you out with the hope you might give me some advice."
    "I have a better idea. You talk and I'll listen."
    "You're sure you don't mind? The hour is quite late and I do tend to pontificate when caught up in a debate—even if it is internal."
    The bedside clock said 3:00 a.m. and she had been due to punch in at seven. Had been. Once she'd said her less than hospitable good night to