39 THE NIGHT IN CHICAGO 02

to pull him closer. He took his time with each breast, kissed the tender skin beneath her earlobes, skimmed her abdomen with strong callused fingers until he found her and didn't know how she could wait much longer. And she told him so.

He left her briefly, and when he returned to the bed she realized he'd remembered the protection she'd foolishly forgotten.

"Thank you," she whispered, as he slid over her.

That made him smile. "You Eastern women are very polite."

Which made her blush.

He leaned forward, positioning himself between her thighs, and she opened her legs to allow him access. He rested his very large, very warm male member against her.

"I don't want to rush you," he said, as if he had to explain.

"You are not." It was the opposite, she realized. If he didn't take her soon, she was sure to explode in a million pieces if he so much as kissed her again. Her cowboy leaned above her and slanted his mouth across hers in a searching kiss that made her ache with wanting. He kissed her as he slid into her, as she became accustomed to the size of him, as he moved deeper and then withdrew in slow, tantalizing movements. She didn't know how long he made love to her that way, his mouth pressed against hers in a kiss she didn't want to end. He was kissing her when she climaxed, when her cries sounded against his mouth, while her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck. His thrusts increased, deepening more than she thought possible, until he dragged his mouth away from hers and, his lips against her shoulder, shuddered violently within her.

Rose, nestled deep into the mattress, her body held fast by a contented naked man, prayed the storm would never end.

*****

"THE RUNT'S ASLEEP," Andrew announced as he stood in the doorway. No way was he going to enter that bedroom again, not with Roro sitting there by the bed with a lapful of quilts and that wistful expression on her face. "I had an idea...."

But he stopped talking when she glanced at him. He could have sworn she looked guilty. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." She looked at the quilt and started fussing with the material as if she was trying to figure out how to fold it. "I will be right there."

Andrew lingered in the doorway. "I had an idea," he began again, noting that her cheeks were flushed. These northern women weren't used to Texas weather, he reminded himself. He should be taking better care of her instead of leaving her in a second story bedroom without even a damn fan to move the air around. What the hell was he thinking?

"What's your idea?"

She didn't look at him. "That's a lovely idea. if there's a wedding."

"Yeah," He ignored the if part of her reply.

"Yes."

Oh, hell. He had to get her out of this room. Andrew was beside her in six quick strides. He lifted the quilt from her hands and tossed it on the bed, then held out his hand to help her up. Touching her was a mistake, but Andrew knew he had to get her out of his bedroom and out of his his house before he lost all self-control.

"Come on," he said, his voice gruff. "Let's go into town and get something cold to...." And then he tugged her into his arms and he was kissing a woman who was kissing him back as if she'd been thinking about the same thing he had---hot sex, naked bodies and all the in the world to enjoy it.

"I don't think we need a storm," she whispered against his lips.

"No, sweetheart," Andrew said, tossing her onto the bed. He followed her down and half-sprawled over her while she put her arms around his neck and welcomed him against her. "In fact, it's hotter than hell in here. Why'd you change your mind?"

"I have a good memory," she confessed.

"Yeah," he said. "Me, too."

"It's going to get us in trouble."

"How?"

"I'm not sure." She sighed and reached for his shirt. Unbuttoning each button took an incredibly long time, but Andrew figured it was worth to feel her fingers on his chest. He'd waited a long time for her to touch him again. "But this is going to be a problem."

He sat up, slipped the shirt off his shoulders and tossed it to the floor. "Honey, the only problem we have right now is how to get our clothes off fast enough."

"You think?" she asked, reaching for his belt buckle.

"Yeah." And it turned out to be more of a problem than he figured, Andrew realized, what with helping each other as working up a sweat and wanting each other so badly they could bare take time to kick off their shoes. He fell backward on the mattress after getting rid of his boots, and Rose surprised him by climbing over him. Skin like satin moved across his thighs and chest, his penis swelling against her abdomen until she took him in her hand on guided him inside her. She was perfect, tight and hot around him, and he couldn't believe she was on top of him, leaning forward to kiss him as she moved her hips to take every inch of him deep inside.