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‘I don’t understand how you’re not angry with me.’

‘I was,’ Angela admitted quietly. ‘For a while. But you apologised, and I believe you genuinely meant it.’

‘It’s that simple for you?’ He wasn’t sure it would be for him.

‘Yeah.’ She drew him close for another kiss. ‘The way I see it, you made a mistake. A really, really stupid decision, but you’re learning from it, and you’re trying to change. And if I didn’t believe in second chances, I’d be in the wrong line of work.’ She watched him closely. ‘Am I wrong?’

He thought about his answer for a few moments, then shook his head. ‘No, you’re not. I really am trying to be a better person.’

‘I think you’re doing pretty well. From my point of view, you’ve changed quite a bit since we met, and — in case you didn’t notice — I quite like this version of you.’

‘I think I like this version of me better, too.’ He stroked gentle fingers over her leg again, wishing he could take back the pain he’d caused. ‘Does it hurt much?’

‘It did at first, but it’s getting better all the time. And it will be perfectly fine.’ She grinned at him, that irresistible glint of mischief back in her eyes. ‘But in the meantime, I can think of a few ways you could make it up to me.’ She nipped his neck, teasing again.

Well, if she wanted to play, he definitely wasn’t going to complain. He teased his fingers up her side, sliding the lace with them. ‘So, how can I make things up to you? I bet you have lots of ideas . . .’

‘Uh huh.’ She squirmed against him as he stroked up her ribs. ‘Lots of heavy lifting and manly things like that, plenty of animals to feed . . .’

‘It’s dark now, though.’ He slid her top higher, loving the feel of her skin.

‘True.’ Angela gasped when he hit a sensitive spot, near the middle of her back, which he teased gently, making her squirm even more. ‘Most of the animals will be asleep. You’ll have to think of another way to start making amends.’

‘I can be pretty creative, you know.’ He peeled the top over her head and teased his lips over her newly bared skin, eliciting a delicious, breathy sigh from her.

‘Oh I bet you can, Rick.’

His fingers made deft work of removing her bra, and he lay her back against her pillows, taking a moment to admire the frankly mouth-watering view, before fumbling for his wallet and one of his trusty friends. His redundant driving licence winked at him, putting an unexpected thought into his head as he stared at it for a few heartbeats.

‘Everything all right?’ Angela propped herself up on her shoulders, and he had to force himself to remember to breathe. She was absolutely stunning — her hair tumbling every which way in a crazy mess. He couldn’t wait to bury his fingers in those curls while he buried himself in her. ‘Rick?’

He dropped his wallet, along with his jeans, back on the floor and crawled onto the bed. He started at Angela’s feet, stroking, kissing and teasing up her calves and thighs, ignoring the scars he felt so much guilt over. He took his time, enjoying the soft sweetness of her skin and the gentle sighs that drove him crazy, telling him he was doing exactly the right thing.

He could have happily lavished attention on her breasts for hours, marvelling at their warm, natural beauty, and the way she moaned and pushed them more tightly against his lips and fingers, but he had something else on his mind. As much as he was throbbing and aching to make good on his promise of making things up to her, there was something else he wanted to do first. It surprised him, because it hadn’t bothered him in the nearly ten years since he’d adopted the character, but it felt different with her. Like it mattered. More than the throbbing ache between his legs.

‘Angela?’

‘Uh huh.’ Her eyes were closed, in what he could only hope was pleasure, so he placed a kiss on her lips, waiting until her eyes fluttered open and locked on his.

‘You were right, the first day we met.’

‘How so?’

‘When you refused to call me Maverick. You were right, it’s not my real name.’

‘Well, duh.’ Even though she was almost naked beneath him, squirming under his touch, and he was pretty sure ninety per cent of the blood that should be in his brain had relocated, she could still make him laugh with her snark, which somehow made her even more exciting.

‘It’s Ryan. My name’s really Ryan.’

‘Hello, Ryan.’ She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down against her. ‘It’s really, really nice to meet you.’

* * *

Angela bolted awake, her heart thumping and not knowing why. Rick — no, Ryan — was warm against her as he shifted in his sleep, and she smiled and snuggled closer, relaxing again. Her leg twinged a bit, and she ached in the most delicious way that only really, really good sex achieved. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him, contemplating kissing him awake. After last night, she was pretty sure he wouldn’t object.

A wailing siren cut through her thoughts, jerking her out of the sleepy, relaxed state. Right, that was what had interrupted her dreams. She sighed and flopped back on the bed.

‘Shit, is there a fire?’ Rick sat up, shoving the covers back, and she didn’t have the heart to complain about his swearing. ‘Shouldn’t we be doing something?’