Earth Angel (12 page)

“Miles, you have damaged the family honor beyond repair,” Lettice said. She was smiling, though, an occasional snort of amusement escaping her lips. “You’re nearly as bad as your cousin Rick. I love it.”

“Rick?” He frowned in puzzlement. “Rick’s the upright English gentleman. He’s never done anything bad in his life.”

His grandmother leaned closer. “Except rob a robber’s house. My grandchildren are turning out to be quite a surprise.”

The sergeant beckoned Miles over before he could ask more. He unwrapped Catherine and collected his things. The sergeant was much more courteous this time than he had been the night before.

Out in the sunshine again, he breathed a sigh of relief to be away from the smells and the tension. It had been a long night. Which reminded him …

“Where the hell were you?” he asked Catherine. “I was in there all night!”

“Making bail,” she said, giggling again. “It took us a while to find out which precinct you were in—”

“Where were you when they were arresting me?” he interrupted.

“Yes,” Lettice broke in. “Where were the two of you when they were arresting you?”

“On a mission,” Catherine said. “Miles, I was going to come out of the trees—”

“Trees?” Lettice’s eyes widened. “What were you doing in trees?”

“Hiding,” Miles said. Then he remembered a vital point. “My car! Where’s my car?”

“I got your housekeeper’s husband to pick it up,” Catherine answered. “He must be wondering about all these cars in strange places.”

Miles relaxed.

His grandmother didn’t. “What cars? What strange places?”

He ignored her. So did Catherine, as she continued, “And the reason I didn’t pop up and say, ‘Over here, boys,’ is because that would have given everything away. Why didn’t you tell them about me? You wouldn’t have been arrested then.”

“Given what away?” Lettice asked. “What are you two talking about?”

“You know and I know we would have been arrested for worse,” Miles muttered. Okay, he thought, so he preferred to be arrested for grand theft auto rather than be convicted as a pollution commando, but that didn’t mean he was letting her off the hook.

“See?” Catherine said, nodding in satisfaction. “I knew that, so what are you complaining about?”

“Wait a minute!” Lettice explained. “What are you two talking about, you could have been arrested for worse? What about the cars in strange places? What did you two
do
last night?”

“We put up a sign,” Catherine said.

Miles shot her a dour look. Taking her arm, he dragged her down the few steps to the sidewalk. Her perfume teased his senses, and reminded him that he was covered in jail grunge. “We’re going home. I need a bath and a shave and a nap and a chain for you. Not necessarily in that order.”

Catherine erupted into laughter again.

“What do you mean by a chain for Catherine?” Lettice asked, following them. “
What
were you two doing last night in the trees? Miles, answer me!”

“I can’t give you anything but love, baby,” he sang in reply, feeling like a bewildered Cary Grant tangling with a dizzy heiress, a screwy grandmother, and a full-grown man-eating leopard.

The leopard sounded the easiest of the lot.

“So how was it?” Catherine asked, leaning against Miles’s bedroom door. He was dressed in pajama bottoms, and she watched him concentrate on putting on his watch. She knew it was dangerous to be there, but after her shower she had seen his open door and couldn’t resist teasing him about his unfortunate incarceration.

“Aggravating,” he answered. “Iggy and Righteous William weren’t so bad, though.”

“Iggy and Righteous William?” she echoed, but her mind wasn’t on the conversation. Instead, she was noticing how his biceps bulged slightly. His chest and shoulders were well defined, and his stomach was flat. It was obvious he worked out on a regular basis. Silky dark chest hair arrowed down his flesh, its destination more intriguing than she cared to admit. The pajama bottoms clung to his hips like a second skin. She pulled the collar of her thick terry robe closer around her neck.

“They were my cell mates,” he said, grinning.

“They sound lovely,” she said, and laughed as the image of an Iggy and Righteous William locked up with Miles momentarily overrode her fascination with his body.

“Are you going to laugh all day?” he asked, although he didn’t sound nearly as irritated as he had two hours ago.

“Probably,” she admitted. “Your face when the cops arrested you was priceless. You should have seen it.”

“I’m sure you’ll remind me of it often,” he murmured, walking toward her.

“I promise.” She swiped at her tears. “Lordy, what a night.”

“You’ve got to admit I’m a fun guy.”

“The best, Miles, the best.”

“Just so you know it.” He touched her arm. “Catherine, I have only one question.”

She straightened at his serious tone. “What?”

“What did the sign say?”

That did it. She collapsed against him and roared with laughter. He put his arms around her, literally holding her up. His chest hairs tickled her nose. She tried to regain her composure, but the laughter kept breaking out. The memory of Miles being cuffed and hauled away would stay with her forever.

He sighed. “I hope you’re still laughing when this gets in the papers. Because I’ll kill you then.”

“Oh, come on, Miles,” she said, lifting her head. “It was all a mix-up, and I’ve already straightened it out. It’s never going to get into the papers. Although …” The giggles started once more at the thought of blaring
Philadelphia Inquirer
headlines. That would just about make up for the mess he’d once made of her life.

“That’s right, laugh.” He patted her back. “Get it all out so I can shoot you and hang you and draw and quarter you—”

“It’d be worth it!” she gasped. “Oh, Miles.”

“Say my name like that, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

He tilted her head back so her gaze could meet his. The amusement and camaraderie quickly changed to something else. The sharp clean scent of soap and male invaded her nostrils. Thick heat began to flow inside her, and she unwittingly stroked his warm skin. “Miles …”

Suddenly, he was more dangerous than ever. Even as she realized it, his mouth descended on hers, his tongue thrusting through her astonished gasp.

The invasion was unexpected, bringing surprise and confusion. She knew she should be fighting to get away, but her insides were melting at the taste of him on her lips. Whatever was wrong with Miles, this was right.

Common sense still valiantly rose up in her. She managed to tear her mouth from his. She was panting for breath. “Miles. We have an agreement—”

“You broke it last night.” His eyes were gleaming with satisfaction.

“I did not!” she exclaimed. “I told you I was coming back.”

“All bets are off, Catherine.” He strung kisses along her jaw, just under her ear. Sweet, light kisses that were designed to confuse her.

They were doing a good job of it, she admitted, trying to keep from pressing herself to him. “I’ll escape.”

“I’ve got my tie …” He pulled her closer, his mouth nibbling at her throat, in a way that released a flood of desire in her body.

“The shutoff valves will probably … be discovered
today.” That she had given away the mission didn’t matter. She had to stop the seduction before she succumbed.

“How nice.” His lips grazed hers. Once. Twice. His breath fanned her cheek. “Ah, Catherine …”

“The agreement’s done, anyway,” she said in a last effort to control her wayward emotions. His skin was hot under her fingers, spurring an even greater heat within her. If only he hadn’t made her laugh. Anger kept the armor in place, but laughter opened the gates.

He pushed the door shut behind her. “Then let’s make a new agreement.”

His mouth settled firmly on hers, and she was undone. Her hands crept up around his shoulders, exploring the hard muscles and bone. Her tongue dueled with his. Everything about him was overwhelming her senses, and she could remember how close she had come to throwing away fiancé and marriage to be in his arms like this. An obtuse little voice told her she should have.…

His hands slid down her back, then pulled her against him. She groaned into his mouth as everything inside her went wild. He excited her in a way she hadn’t thought was possible. Miles Kitteridge was the one man who could shatter her control and throw her equilibrium right out the window. Under his suave exterior, he was the bad boy, the man all sensible women ran from, the one who kept them on a string. She felt the challenge to try to change the bad boy, to see if she was the one who could conquer him. She knew he would never love her, but to have the closeness just once, to claim him … just once …

His hands slipped under her robe, and her
flimsy nightgown was no barrier. He had her wrapped so tightly against him, she couldn’t breathe and she didn’t care. His palm grazed her breast, sending electric shock waves to her every nerve ending. Then he cupped her fully, his thumb brushing back and forth across her nipple. She thought she would explode from the sensation.

“Catherine.” His voice was raspy, and it sent shivers of heat down her spine. His hands were leading her to the bed. She couldn’t have stopped herself if she’d wanted to. And she didn’t. It seemed as if she’d wanted this forever.

He stared down at her, almost willing her to stop him as he slipped the robe from her shoulders. It fell in a puddle at her feet. He reached out and traced a finger along her collarbone, down around the curve of her breast, her nipple. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she took a deep breath against the sensual waves rocking her. She opened her eyes and touched him in wonder, letting her hand wander across his chest, pausing to delight in the hard muscles and the tangle of chest hair. He sucked in his breath, then her nightgown joined her robe. His mouth covered hers in a devastating kiss.

Catherine clawed and whimpered at the raw passion that leaped between them. It was too overwhelming and too honest to deny. She fell onto the bed, pulling him on top of her, taking his weight with a deep satisfaction. The feel of flesh to flesh snatched her breath away. He fit her perfectly, and her hips made a natural cradle for his.

His kisses were everywhere, tasting, nibbling, branding. She arched herself into his mouth, the delicious feel of his tongue bringing her nipples to
hard points. She ached for him, realizing now that her verbal sparring with him was only a cover for the passion he ignited in her. Her response to him shook her to the core. But there was more, so much more, that her closeness to him the last few days had brought to the surface. The barrier she had guarded so carefully and had finally let down was not a trap.

Miles knew what little control he had was slipping away as Catherine writhed beneath him. Never had he found such breathtaking passion in a woman. Her hands ignited fires inside him that flowed along his veins like heated wine. He had waited for this—waited years for the slow fire to consume him. Every move she made challenged him, enticed him. He would never possess her. She would possess him. Her hands caressed his back, sliding down his skin, then nearly driving him over the edge as they dipped under the waistband of his pajama bottoms. He reached between them, spanning his hand across her abdomen. She cried out his name and dug her fingers into his hips when his hand slipped lower to find her woman’s flesh tight and hot. His control broke with a vengeance. He kicked his pajamas off, then lifted his body over hers and united himself with her.

“Sweet Lord, Catherine.” He gasped for air. All his fantasies had never even come close to the reality of her.

“Miles, please. I want you very much.”

They moved together in the ultimate gift of man and woman. With every thrust they gave and took in a wondrous exchange. Passion was overcome by need … and more. Catherine arched herself up to him as the sweet oblivion finally overtook her,
and Miles plunged after her, the culmination swift and intense, until there was nothing left in the storm but each other.

Catherine slowly rose to the light again, growing aware of Miles on her, naked and contented. No man had ever claimed her as he had. No man could break her as he could. Too late, she thought in despair as every barrier she possessed snapped back into place. Too late.

She knew she had been a fool to think she could steal this one time with him and walk away. Somehow, despite everything she knew about him, every shred of common sense she had, she had fallen in love with him.

“I do believe we’ve reached a new agreement,” he murmured, nuzzling her throat.

Disappointment shot through her. But what had she expected to hear? she asked herself. His undying love? “Miles, this was a mistake.”

He raised his head. “Catherine, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but this isn’t one of them, trust me.”

That was the point, she thought. She
couldn’t
trust him with her heart.

“Now don’t get all prickly on me after I got arrested for you,” he said, kissing her under her earlobe.

She squirmed at the erotic sensation tingling her flesh.

He spread kisses down her neck. “Catherine, be soft for once … for now.”

She closed her eyes. It was a request she couldn’t deny him, for the moment. But she would have to
correct things later with cold, calculating Miles, if only for her sanity’s sake.

She wondered which would break her more—being with Miles, or being without him.

The telephone blaring in his ear brought Miles out of a dead sleep.

He jumped in shock, disoriented, then scrambled up and snatched the receiver.

“Hello,” he said, realizing at the same moment that Catherine was no longer in the bed with him.

“Miles! You’re there! I’ve called everywhere for you.”

Byrne Wagner’s voice was a bellow. Miles winced, the lack of sleep making him feel as if he had a hangover.

“I have to go, Byrne,” he said, beginning to put down the phone.

“That damn Earth Angel manually turned off the pumping system at the refinery!” Byrne screeched into the telephone. “Everyone was looking for a breakdown and the valves were shut! Meeting as soon as you can get here. This time we’re going to stop that—that—”