“I'll tell you what's wrong!" he roared, "I'm trying to quit smoking!" Then he strode angrily to the truck, leaving her standing there.She blinked her eyes, and slowly a smile stretched her lips. She strolled to the truck and got in. "So, are you homicidal or merely as irritable as a wounded buffalo?""About halfway in between," he said through clenched teeth."Anything I can do to help?"His eyes were narrow and intense. "It isn't just the cigarettes. Take off your panties and lock your legs around me, and I'll show you.”

“God, I love you," he said, and laid his head on her belly, his arms locked around her hips.Madelyn slid her fingers into his hair. "It took you long enough," she said gently."What I lack in quickness, I make up in staying power.""Meaning?""That I'll still be telling you that fifty years from now." He paused and turned his head tokiss her stomach.”

“amusement in her eyes and had to grin. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice dropping to a low, intimate tone that excluded everyone else in the cafe and made several women draw in their breath. Her mouth quirked in that self-amusement that made him want to grab her to him. "This isn't one of my good days. The only thing holding me together is static cling." "Come home with me, and I'll take care of you." She looked him in the eye and said quietly, "Give me one good reason why I should." Right there in front of God and most of Crook, Montana, he drew in a deep breath and took the gamble of a lifetime, his words plain and heard by all, because no one was making even the pretense of not listening. "Because I love you." Maddie blinked, and to his surprise he saw her eyes glitter with tears. Before he could start forward, however, her smile broke through like sunshine through a cloud bank. She didn't take the time to go around the counter; she climbed on top of it and slid off on the other side. "It's about time," she said as she went into his arms.”

“Just as he’d done to her, she slowly moved up and down, caressing him with her body, drawing out his response. He ground his teeth together, fighting not to come when she was just as determined he would.Frustrated, she wondered why he was holding back—until she heard herself moan, and realized the friction was working on her, too.The battle there in the shower was in close-combat conditions. With the clinging grip of her body she tried to wring a climax from him, locking her legs around him and pumping hard. He slowed her down with that one arm around her hips, grinding her against him and sending her response rocketing.”

“Okay, you're right; she's so hot I could walk on three legs every time I see her.""Now you're talkin'.""I'll break your back and chop off your legs if you call her.""That's my boy!”

“He whirled her against the refrigerator, his hands hard on her waist. Startled, she dropped her purse and keys to the floor and looked up at his set face and narrowed savage eyes. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he said with clenched teeth.She didn’t have to ask what he meant. Those moments when Pavón’s pistol had been trained directly at her head had been long and terrifying.“I stayed in the—” she began, but he cut her off with a kiss that was wild and hungry and deep. He lifted her onto her toes and pressed in hard against her, grinding his erection into the softness of her mound.She yielded immediately to that outraged male aggression, wrapping her arms around him and transforming it into sheer lust.”

“The door creaked as it began to open.Gray moved like lightning, slapping his left palm against the door and slamming it shut before it hadopened more than a fraction of an inch. "Hey!" a woman squawked indignantly from the other side."This one’s occupied," he said hoarsely, not missing a beat with his plunging hips. "Go somewhere else."Faith couldn’t say anything. Her eyes widened with alarm, but all she could do was look helplessly up athim.Gray’s lips drew back over his teeth and his head dropped forward as he began hammering faster. Hisface was flushed, satisfaction only a few moments away.Faith shuddered wildly as the coil of tension suddenly released and the fierce, pulsing flood of sensationswept through her. Shivering and pushing hard against him, she buried her face against his chest and bithis shirt to muffle her gasping cries.He kept his hand flat against the door, gripping her bottom with his right hand to anchor himself. Heshoved hard into her, twice, three times, again, then bucked violently. His head fell back and a harsh,guttural cry rumbled up from his chest.There was an insistent banging on the door. "What are you doing in there?" the woman said in shrill,grating tones. "That’s the lady’s room! You aren’t supposed to be in there!"Slowly Gray’s head came up. The expression in his eyes was indescribable, as if he couldn’t believewhat was happening. He took a deep breath, and exploded. "Goddamn it, woman!" he roared withfurious indignation. "Can’t you tell I’m busy?”