Damn it! Heart hammeringand not just from the fighthe lunged and his legs folded beneath him. Landing hard, he reached out with his good arm, snagged her by an ankle and yanked, bringing her down with him. Strength failing, head pounding with a relentless beat, he went with expediency and lay full length atop her, pinning her with his weight.
She struggled, still screaming, though her screams had turned to words. A name. Romo.
He didnt know the name, not really, but he was starting to remember the room. They had fallen halfway into a kitchen; a small night-light was on, allowing him to see more details of the homey, feminine space, and triggering the memory of coming to the house earlier in the day, knowing hed be safe.
But if he was safe, why the hell had she tied him up? And why the hell was he practically naked?
Scowling, he glared down at his captive. Shed gone still and had stopped screaming, but her face was pale even in the diffuse light, her eyes stark and staring. And a hell of a face it was, too, even terrified.
He couldnt tell the color of her eyes or hair, beyond knowing that they were both light-hued. But the dimness didnt detract from the elegant lines of her face and swanlike neck, the sculpted arches of her eyebrows and the wide bow of her mouth. Beneath him, her body was lithe and stronghe could feel that strength in the sore places on his shin and arms, and the burn of his injured shoulder where shed yanked against him in her struggles. But although she was strong, she was also wholly feminine, her curves pressing against him, bringing a stir of memorythis one older and more deeply buried.
As he lay atop her, he belatedly realized that hed come here, to this woman, because hed trusted her to help him.
Shame washed through him. Guilt. Im sorry, he said, though he didnt let her up. I was dreaming. Nightmare. Then I woke up, not sure where I was, and my arms and legs were tied.
She took a shallow breath and he thought she might scream again. Instead, she said, Your note didnt give me much to go on. I was trying not to be stupid. Apparently, the bungees were borderline on the stupid factor. He gave her credit for guts, though even as she tried to play it cool, her voice shook.
A roil of memories he couldnt pin down, couldnt place, had him stilling and loosening his hold, then rolling onto his side, taking her with him. She was free to move away, but she didnt. Instead, she lay there facing him, her eyes searching his.
Where have you been? she asked, her voice hitching on a suppressed sob. What happened to you?
I dont know. I dont even know who I am. Who you are. Who we were together. That was what he shouldve said. Instead, he found himself staring, filling himself with the sight of her. Though he was no longer touching her, he felt her curves as though theyd been imprinted on his flesh, creating new memories to replace the ones that were gone. A wellspring of loneliness surged from nowhere and everywhere at oncean ache of longing and a deep sense of loss.
He reached for her blindly, moving purely on instinct. Incredibly, she met him halfway in a kiss that started soft and gentle. Then her lips parted on a small moan of surrender and he slipped his tongue inside to touch hers, tangle with hers. He stroked her hair, her face. She cupped his cheek in her palm.
And, for the first time since hed regained consciousness in the forest, he felt as though he was exactly where he belonged.