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to balance her tray, Maddy had pivoted, walked smack into Marc and knocked the cup of hot coffee he’d been holding all over him.
    She’d been totally mortified. He’d been totally amused. Yeah, the hot liquid stung, but he’d gotten a kick out of the way she took care of the problem, folding and applying napkins to his shirt as if she was dressing a wound.
    Chewing her lip, deep in concentration, she’d been so serious about the task at hand that it had taken a good five minutes before she spotted the twinkle in Marc’s eyes.
    Then she’d risen to her feet, tossed down the napkins and, without a single word, went over and bought Marc another cup of coffee.
    “Here you go.” She’d handed it to him. “I’d say we’re even.”
    His grin had turned into a deep-throated chuckle, and his gaze had scrutinized her from head to toe. “Not unless you sit down and share a cup with me.
Then
we’ll be even.”
    She had. And that’s when and where it had begun.
    Marc didn’t open up easily. He was reserved by nature—a trait which had been accentuated by his covert role as a navy SEAL. Yet with Maddy, he was relaxed, comfortable. She was easy to talk to. She didn’t pry and she didn’t pursue any subject he chose to avoid. She was open about her own life—a small-town girl who’d read six biographies on Florence Nightingale and had always wanted to be a nurse. ROTC had paid her scholarship to college, and she’d gone on to be a navy nurse, stationed here in Bethesda Medical Center. From the additional info Marc had made sure to dig up, Maddy had completely undersold herself. It was no wonder she’d become an E.R. nurse. She had an incredible gift. There were military guys in the hospital who, by all rights, should have died from their injuries, but hadn’t—thanks to Madeline. She wasn’t beautiful, but there was something incredibly sexy and stunning about her. Dark hair, big brown eyes, delicate features and a body to kill for, she possessed a certain warmth and style that was impossible to miss.
    The sexual pull between them had been instant and overwhelming. Even that first evening, when Marc had done nothing more than walk her to her door and kiss her good-night, they’d both felt the burn. It had taken all Marc’s self-control not to back her into the apartment, tear off her clothes and bury himself inside her until neither of them could breathe.
    Maddy had felt the same. He saw it in her eyes when his lips left hers—the wonder, the astonishment, the desire. And her heart had been racing; he could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest.
    All from one kiss.
    One kiss that had led to another date, and then another.
    By that third date, Marc’s iron control snapped.
    He was barely able to get through dinner before he tossed down his napkin and stared straight into Maddy’s eyes.
    “I can’t do coffee and dessert,” he said bluntly. “I’ve got to get inside you.”
    Maddy didn’t bat a lash. She folded her napkin neatly, placed it beside her half-eaten meal and rose.
    “I’ll get my coat. You get the check. I’ll meet you outside in five minutes,” she replied.
    It took Marc three.
    They sat apart in the taxi, not even daring to touch each other. They both knew that once they did, it would be all over. But the sexual tension in the backseat was so thick it was suffocating.
    By the time Marc kicked her apartment door shut and reached behind him to flip the lock, Maddy was unbuttoning his shirt. Marc finished the job for her, shrugging out of the shirt and tossing it aside.
    Then he reached for her, pulling her against him.
    He took her mouth in a devouring kiss that nearly brought them to their knees. Maddy pressed herself against him, and Marc backed her toward the bedroom, never breaking the kiss. He pulled off her clothes as they staggered down the short hall and into her room.
    They were naked when they hit the bed.
    Neither of them could withstand the preliminaries—not this first time.