Page 52 of Light Me Up

“He’s taking the heat for us,” Noah told her. “He saw me throw Lella over the balcony. I asked him to keep my name out of it. He said he would. So I owe him. If he follows through.”

“I see,” she murmured. “Good man.”

He held out his hand. “Shall we?”

“Oh God, yes,” shesaid fervently.

They clasped each others’ hands and ran towardthe passageway.

Chapter 20

The crumpled evening gown was a tangle of red fabric on the bathroom floor. It was torn and dirty and spotted with Noah’s blood from when he’d carried her.

Caro picked it up and tried to rinse out the worst of the bloodstains. She wanted it cleaned and mended. The dress was a keeper. Something to wear when guts and steely nerve were called for.

Their return to the hotel was more or less a blur. She’d been lucky that Noah still had the presence of mind to find his way through the Palazzo and the garden, and remember the complicated route he’d initially chosen to avoid being seen, because she sure hadn’t. The drive had involved a lot of small, bumpy roads through dark vineyards and fields before they hit main roads again.

The guy at the reception desk gave them a startled look as they’d passed. So what. Rough night, she felt like telling him. But she’d restrained herself.

She’d been so grateful when the door of the suite had finally, miraculously closed behind them. Safe and home. Oh yes.

The shower relaxed her a little, but she still felt jagged inside. Seeing Konig and Noah falling backwards. The end of her world, playing out in her headover and over.

Caro folded up the dress. She put on a hotel robe and made her way back into the bedroom where the TV was droning in Italian, set to local news. Noah wanted a widescreen look-and-listen with the latest buzz about the incident at the Palazzo Bellocchio as soon as it aired.

She opened her mouth to ask if he’d heard anything, andit stayed open.

Noah was fast asleep.

Caro hardly dared to move. She’d never, ever seen Noah sleep. And this was true, normal sleep. His head thrown back, his body sprawled out, his mouth relaxed. His breathing wasdeep and even.

She felt a rush of tenderness so intense, itmade her teary.

The TV station went to a commercial break and the jump in volume startled Noah back awake. His eyes popped open and he looked at her blearily for amoment. “Hey.”

“You’re sexy when you sleep, did you know that?” She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, trailing her finger down over his jaw. His face was battered from the fighting he’d done, but it wasn’t swelling up. His fast-healing gene mod at work.

“Really? Great.” He yawned, and stretched lazily, then stopped short with a wince, rubbing his shoulder joint. “Ouch. That’s talking to me, and it’s not happy. But the rest of me is doing OK.”

“You’re relaxing,” she said in a wondering voice. “Finally.”

“Yeah, I guess. Before that, Iwas refueling.”

The hotel had come through with an awesome assortment of food, considering the late hour. Judging by the stack of empty plates, Noah had been hard at it while she was in the shower, but he hadn’t eaten it all.

“Help yourself.” He gestured toward the tray set up near the nightstand. “Thefood’s great.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” She popped a tiny ball of fresh mozzarella into her mouth while he poured her a glass of red wine. “It’s crazy,” she told him. “I thought I’d need to calm you downthe usual way—”

“Woohoo. Go for it.”

Lusty, too. Huh. Go figure. She ignored his invitation for the time being. They’d get back to that later. “Then I come in here and find you napping. Snoring, no less.”

“Bullshit. No way was I snoring. Now you’re just fucking with me.” Noah selected a thick slice of caciocavallo cheese and devoured it, licking his fingers.

Caro climbed onto the bed and settled herself next to him cross-legged. “How is it that you’re so mellow all of a sudden?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I’m just glad we’re both alive,” he said finally. “I burned all my paranoid energy up, I guess. There’s not enough leftto stay tense.”

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