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A shudder of pleasure and anticipation rippled through her.
«All right?» Whip asked.
«Yes,» she whispered.
Whip pressed into Sha
«Still all right?» he asked, his voice strained.
Sha
Whip froze.
«Is it too much?» he asked, withdrawing.
«I want more, not less,» Sha
Whip’s eyelids lowered for an instant as a shudder racked his body and soul. Then he looked straight into Sha
«Not yet,» Whip said, laughing, retreating.
«When…?» she cried.
«When your body is shivering and you’re all around me like hot, wild honey. Then I’ll take you, Sha
One of Whip’s hands moved down Sha
Whip’s hand slid beneath Sha
She did. He knew, because he felt the sultry pulses of her pleasure caressing his hungry flesh. The world darkened around him as desire coiled violently, pulling him down into the hot center of Sha
«Sha
Dazed, shivering, Sha
«Now, honey girl. Now.»
He took her with a smooth, powerful thrust, not stopping until their bodies were as deeply joined as it was possible for a man and woman to be.
Sha
Then he felt the secret, deep pulses within Sha
Whip’s last thought was that he hoped Sha
19
Reno rode up to Sha
But whatever birdsongs the meadow and forest might have had to offer were being drowned out by Prettyface’s savage barking.
«That’s enough, Prettyface!» Whip said, walking out of the cabin. «Reno is a friend. Friend!»
Prettyface didn’t think so, but he subsided into snarls and then a grumbling kind of silence.
Reno’s green eyes looked at the dog with deceptive laziness. His left hand wasn’t exactly on the butt of his revolver, but it wasn’t very far away, either.
«Real sociable type,» Reno said dryly.
«He’ll warm to you,» Whip said.
«I’ll hold you to that.»
«Just don’t try to come here when I’m gone.»
«When will that be?» Reno asked coolly.
Whip didn’t answer.
Reno glanced from Prettyface to his brother, wondering if Whip was any closer to solving the problem of his conflicting passions for a distant sunrise and a pretty widow lady.
Then the cabin door opened and a woman with a walk as sultry as the summer day came toward Reno.
«Judas Priest,» Reno said beneath his breath as he dismounted in a fluid rush. «No wonder you’re between a rock and a hard place.»
Whip said nothing, simply watched Sha
Reno watched all of it, his brother’s tender smile and sheltering arm, Sha
Sha
Reno touched the rim of his hat to Sha
«Sha
My woman.
Though the words weren’t said aloud, Reno sensed them very clearly.
So did Sha
Reno’s hard fingers lifted Sha
Sha
«A pleasure, Mr. Moran,» she murmured, rising.
«Reno, Mrs. Smith,» he corrected gently, holding Sha
«Then you must call me Sha
For an instant Reno’s dense black eyelashes shuttered his reaction.
No wonder Whip is having such a wrestling match with his conscience, Reno told himself silently. Sha
Or was.
«In any case, Silent John is dead,» Sha
«A lot of men will be relieved to hear that,» Reno said beneath his breath as he released Sha
«I beg your pardon?» she said.
«Silent John was, um, well-known around Colorado Territory,» Reno said.
«His reputation — and Prettyface — went a long way toward keeping me safe while he was gone,» Sha
«Prettyface,» Reno said, glancing toward the huge brindle hound. «Hell of a name for something that, um …»
Tactfully, Reno didn’t finish the sentence.
«Maybe you’d like to be the one to call him ugly,» Whip offered, smiling as he remembered Sha
Sha
«No, thank you,» Reno said promptly. «My mama didn’t raise any dumb ones.»
Whip laughed out loud.
«Come on inside,» Whip said. «We were just sitting down to lunch.»
«Only if you’ll let me put something on the table. Eve packed enough food for two.»
«Why?»
«She wanted to come along, but when we got to Cal’s place, Ethan was feeling puny and so was Willow.»
«Are they all right?» Whip and Sha