“Still…”
“I know. You wouldn’t like feeling like you were sneaking around. That’s not in your makeup.”
Jason seemed taken aback by the insight. “Umm, maybe. Is it in yours?”
She shrugged. “I keep my private life private for the most part, but I don’t normally feel the need for strict secrecy.”
“You really think BiBi would be angry with you if she knew you’d been spending time with me, even though there’s nothing between Corinna and me?”
He simply didn’t understand, and she didn’t know how to explain it. “Maybe she’d get over it, but I just don’t want to deal with it right now. Especially since it will all be over tomorrow, anyway.”
Something flashed across his face, an expression she couldn’t quite read. He shut it down quickly, his features settling into an inscrutable half smile that didn’t lighten his dark eyes. “Then I won’t argue with you any longer. I came to your room tonight because I didn’t want our short time together to end on a bad note.”
“Neither do I. I’m sorry everything became so awkward.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t your fault that things were so complicated between BiBi and Corinna and me this weekend. It will all blow over. Our families have been connected too long for this to get in the way for long. I’m just sorry you ended up in the middle of it. And I’m sorry we never got that last dance because of it,” he added, reaching out to touch her cheek.
“Who says it’s too late?” On an impulse, she stepped toward him, snuggling against his chest. His arms went around her automatically. Linking her hands behind his neck, she smiled up at him and began to sway. Very softly, she began to sing the chorus of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”—what she now thought of as their song.
His mouth curving into a more natural smile, Jason played along, matching his steps to hers, his hands sliding to her hips to hold her closer to him. She was very aware that she wore nothing but bits of satin and lace, and that his hands were very close to the lower hem of her chemise, which had risen when she’d looped her arms around his neck. The sexy glint was back in his eyes, reminding her of the night they’d met. All he lacked was the low-brimmed fedora.
His gaze locked with hers, he lowered his head to cover her lips with his. The lyrics to the song promptly fled her mind, but he didn’t seem to notice the lack of music. Cupping her bottom to draw her even closer to his hardening body, he continued to rock her gently as he nibbled at her mouth, drawing her lower lip between his teeth for a gentle nip that sent a shiver coursing through her. Giving up all pretense of dancing, she leaned into him. Thin satin shifted against her sensitized breasts when she brushed against his chest, making her ache in a way that was both delicious and needy.
The nightie shifted higher, and his hands were beneath it, stroking, squeezing, exploring until she gasped and shifted against him, unable to stand still. Only then did he lift her against him and turn toward the bed. Madison was already tugging at his T-shirt when he lowered her to the mattress, even as he swept her chemise up and over her head.
And to think she’d been tired when she’d left the dance, convinced she would go straight to sleep. Now, as she lay on her side smiling at Jason, who faced her in the bed, she felt wide-awake, unwilling to waste one magical moment in sleep.
“I should probably go. You need to rest for the wedding.” Disinclination underlay Jason’s noble offer, and he made no move to leave the bed, though she knew he would if she gave the word.
Instead, she shook her head against the pillow. “Stay just a little longer.”
He reached out to trace her lower lip with one fingertip. “If it were up to me, I’d stay all night. But that’s probably not wise.”
“Probably not,” she agreed reluctantly. “But just a few minutes more.”
“I hope you’re not too tired at the wedding tomorrow.”
She shrugged. “A little makeup will do wonders. BiBi will never see any bags under my eyes.”
His mouth twisted. “I’m sure she would blame me for that, too. Especially if she were to find out that I really could be blamed.”
Madison made a production of shuddering. “Heaven help us both if that should happen.”
He chuckled wryly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll look as stunning as ever tomorrow. And I’m going to be on my very best behavior. I swear I won’t make one wrong step during the ceremony.”
Remembering their tiff in the garden earlier, Madison winced a little. “Your role really isn’t that difficult,” she conceded. “All you have to do is follow Allen’s lead.”
“I really wouldn’t have missed the rehearsal if the call hadn’t been important,” he said quietly.
“I know. You said it was a longtime patient?”
“Not a patient, exactly, though I’ve seen her a time or two for minor infections. She’s a family friend who needed me to interpret some news her family was given earlier today and to be straight with her about what it meant.”
“I can tell b
y your voice that the news was bad.”
“The worst,” he agreed. “Her forty-two-year-old son has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Already moved to the heart and the esophagus.”