If the same thing was happening to her, there was still time to stop it before she, too, became so consumed by needs, so ruled by desire, that nothing would ever be the same again.

In the film, the relationship had spawned violence. Instinct told her that there was something between her and Cliff that could do the same. There was little moderation in either of them. It was extremes, she knew, that played havoc with human nature.

Maybe fate had brought her to this serene little plot of land with its undertones of violence. The same fate might have brought her to this taciturn, physical man who seemed connected with both the tranquility and the danger. The question now was whether she was strong enough to deal with the consequences of each.

What, Maggie asked herself while she stared into the darkness, would happen next?

Because nothing was as he’d expected it, Cliff was silent. He’d wanted passion, but he’d never imagined the scope of it. He’d wanted what her song had whispered of, but the reality had been much more dramatic than any words or any melody. He’d been certain that once the tension between them had been released, once the lure had been accepted, the needs would lessen.

It was true his body was sated with a pleasure more intense than anything he’d known, but his mind— Cliff closed his eyes, wishing his mind would rest as easy. But it was too full of her. So full that he knew even a touch would set his body raging again. That kind of need was a shade too close to dependence for comfort. They had nothing to offer each other, he reminded himself, nothing but outrageous mutual desire.

And suddenly he remembered a line from her song. “Desire is madness.”

If he could have stopped himself, he wouldn’t have touched her again. He was already reaching for her.

“You’re cold,” he murmured, automatically drawing her against him to warm her.

“A bit.” There was an awkwardness she didn’t know how to alleviate and a need she didn’t know how to explain.

“Here.” He tugged the tangled spread over her, then pulled her close again. “Better?”

“Yes.” Her body relaxed against his, even as her thoughts continued to race.

They lapsed into silence again, neither knowing quite how to deal with what had flared between them. Cliff listened to the rain beat against the window glass, adding to the sense of isolation. Even on a clear night, he knew, you would see no light from a neighboring house. “Are you having trouble staying out here alone?”

“Trouble?” Maggie hedged. She wanted to stay exactly as she was, wrapped close around him, warm and safe and untroubled. She didn’t want to think now of staying in the big house alone, of sleeping alone.

“This place is more isolated than most around here.” How soft she was, he thought. It brought him an odd sort of contentment to feel her hair lie against his shoulder. “A lot of people, even if they were raised here, would have trouble being this far back and alone, especially after everything that’s happened.”