“Did you put him in for commendation?”
She laughed a little. “What am I, transparent?”
“To me.” He put his arms around her, drew her in.
“How was he doing when you went by the hospital to see him?”
He smiled into her hair. “Apparently you see through me, too. He looked young and eager, if a bit tired. Baxter bought him an obscene balloon in the shape of enormous breasts. With obvious embarrassment and delight, Trueheart tied it to his bed guard.”
“Yeah, I saw it when I went by. All’s right with the world again. Or as close as it gets.”
“You’re sorry for him.”
She knew he didn’t speak of Trueheart now. “More than I want to be. He’s twisted. Maybe his mother’s death turned him, or maybe he’d have ended up that way anyhow. That’s for the head guys to figure out. I’m done. Guess I should go up and fall on my face for a few hours.”
“I imagine so. We’ll have to keep our date later.”
“What date?”
He slipped an arm around her waist, turned for the stairs. “The date we outlined for when Summerset left for holiday.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” She jerked back, scanning the foyer. “He’s gone? The house is Summerset-free?”
“Left not twenty minutes ago, still limping a bit, but—”
“I must be slipping. I should’ve known. I should’ve felt it.”
She kicked her jacket into the air, wiggled her hips, did what might have been a cha-cha down the hall.
“You seem to have found a stored pocket of energy.”
“I am reborn!” Cackling, she whirled around, pushed off with her toes and leaped on him. “Let’s have monkey sex,” she said as she wrapped her legs around Roarke’s waist.
“Well, if you insist. It so happens I have a pint of very nice chocolate sauce in the parlor.”
“You’re kidding.”
“One never kids about monkey sex with chocolate sauce.”
She laughed like a loon, then crushed her mouth to his—hot and hard enough to make him stagger. And when they tumbled onto the floor, she thought she heard the door close, just a little more.