She almost collapsed in relief. “Thank God. I thought you were dead.”

If he was dead, then this had to be heaven, because the Mystery Woman was sitting astride him, her warm hand pressed against his chest, her nifty butt resting on his thighs. Black dots floated in front of his eyes, and he struggled to regulate his breathing.

Kate leaned closer. “Your heart is racing under my hand.”

He gritted his teeth and thought that was nothing compared to what was happening under the center seam of her sweatpants. He firmly grabbed her and lifted her, leaving wet handprints on the sleeves of her shirt.

“I’m okay. I was just stunned for a minute.”

He sat up slowly, flexing his arms and legs, amazed that nothing seemed broken. Tomorrow he’d probably feel like a truck had run over him. Rain drizzled onto the top of his head and dripped off the tip of his nose. He set his mouth in a grim line and narrowed his eyes. “Outta my way, woman. I’ve got a score to settle with this roof.”

“You’re not going back up there.”

“Damn right I’m going back up there. Hell, us hero types don’t let a little thing like a broken back stop us. When there’s a damsel in distress, we go for it. Grab the gusto, full speed ahead, man the torpedoes.”

Kate followed him up to the third floor and unlocked the trapdoor that led to the swing-down stairs and roof access. “Be careful!”

His face lit up. “Would you care if I got hurt?”

“Of course I’d care. I mean, you’re my neighbor.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And, uh, you’re a nice person.”

“That’s true.” He leaned toward her. “Anything else?”

Kate pushed the bangs back from her forehead, shifted from foot to foot. He had a terrific voice, she thought. It had turned deep and rumbly, very sexy, very comfortable, very intimate. The sort of voice that made her feel as if she’d known him for a thousand years. The sort of voice that said that as far as he was concerned, she was the only woman on the face of the earth. And his eyes confirmed it. They were frankly admiring and slightly predatory.

“Do you live alone?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“Not married?”

“Nope.”

“Engaged?”

“Nope.”

“You aren’t gay, are you?”

His mouth curved at the corners. “No. Want me to take a blood test?”

“Maybe later.”

The husky resonance returned to his voice. “That sounds promising.”

“You shouldn’t get your hopes up. I’m impulsive and emotional—about everything but sex.”

“Sex is serious stuff, huh?”

“You bet.”

“Good. I’m a serious kind of guy.”

Kate smiled. “I know. I could tell that from the literature you select for yourself. You ever read anything besides X-Men?”

“Spider-Man.”

“Is that how you got up on my roof just now? Spider-Man techniques?”