Truly Madly Yours

His hands stilled.

“All over. She touched the tip of her tongue to the side of his throat.

“Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, he groaned. “When do you have to meet your friends?

“What friends?

“You said you were meeting friends tonight.

“Oh, yeah. Shed forgotten about her lie. “Its not important. They wont miss me if I dont show up.

He pulled back to look at her. “What about the dogs?

“I really do have to let them out for a while. What about Gail?

“I told you not to worry about her.

“Are you seeing her?

“I see her.

“Are you having sex with her?

She could see the dark corners of his mouth pull into a frown. “No.

Delaneys heart swelled, and she planted her mouth on his, devouring him with a hot kiss that left them both breathless. “Come with me.

“To Henrys?

“Yes.

He didnt speak for a moment, and she couldnt tell what he might be thinking. “Ill meet you there, he finally said. “I need to talk to Louie, then swing by the drugstore.

She didnt have to ask why. He pressed his lips to hers, then he was gone. She watched him walk away, his long, confident strides carrying him back into the park.

On the drive to her mothers, she tried to tell herself that Nick was hers for tonight, and nothing else mattered. She felt the slight vibration of the metal studs digging into snow and striking pavement and told herself that tonight was enough, and she tried to believe it.

When she opened the front door of her mothers house, Duke and Dolores greeted her with wagging tails and wet tongues. She let them out and stood on the sidewalk as they jumped into snow up to their bellies, two brown dogs in a thick blanket of white. Shed remembered her gloves this time and packed a few snowballs for Duke to catch in his mouth.

Maybe she could convince Nick she was enough for him. She wanted to believe he wasnt involved with anyone else. She wanted to believe him when hed said he wasnt having sex with Gail, but she couldnt trust him completely. She tossed a snowball to Dolores. It hit the dogs side and the Weimaraner looked around without a clue. Delaney knew there was more between them than sex, and Nick had to know it, too. She could see it in his eyes when he looked at her. It was hot and intense, and after tonight, maybe he would want only her.

I cant be faithful to one woman, and you havent said anything to make me want to try.

He wanted her. She wanted him. He didnt love her. She loved him so much she ached. Her feelings hadnt happened like a slow blissful glide through the tu

As she made another snowball, she heard the Jeeps engine before she saw the headlights pulling into the drive. The four-wheel drive stopped beneath a pool of light in front of the garage, and Duke and Dolores bounded across the yard to the drivers side, barking like mad. The door swung open and Nick stepped out. “Hey, dogs. He bent to scratch them behind their ears before he looked up. “Hey, wild thing.

“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?

He glanced back down at Duke and Dolores. “No.

Delaney threw the snowball and nailed the top of his head. The light snow disintegrated on impact and powdered his dark hair and the shoulders of his black parka. Slowly he straightened, then shook his head, showering the night with white flakes. “I would think youd know better than to get into a snowball fight with me.

“What are you going to do, give me a black eye?

“Nope. He moved toward her up the sidewalk, the heels of his boots sounding ominous in the still air.

She reached for more snow and packed it lightly in her gloved hands. “If you try anything fu

“You got me scared, wild thing.

She threw the snowball and it exploded across his chest. “I owed you that. She took a step backward into the yard and sank in white powder up to her knees.

“You owe me a lot. He grabbed her upper arms and lifted her until the toes of her Doc Martens hardly touched the ground. “By the time Im finished collecting from you, youre not going to able to walk for a week.

“You got me scared, she drawled. He looked at her through lowered lids, and she thought he would pull her against the length of his body and kiss her. He didnt. He tossed her backward. A startled squeal escaped her lips as she flew a few feet and fell spread-eagle in the snow. It was like landing on a down pillow, and she lay there stu

She tried to draw a deep breath and couldnt. “Youre kind of heavy.

He rolled to his back, taking her with him, which was exactly where she wanted to be. Her legs rested beside his, and she grabbed his collar in both her fists. “Say uncle and I wont have to hurt you.

He looked up at her as if she were crazy. “To a girl? Not in this life.

The dogs jumped over them as if they were hurdles, and she picked up a handful of snow and dropped it on his face. “Come and look at this, Duke. Its Frosty the Basque Snowman.

With his bare hand, he brushed the white flakes from his tan skin and licked them from his lips. “Im going to have a real good time making you pay for this.

She lowered her face and slipped the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip. “Let me do that for you. She felt his response in the catch in his breath and the tight grasp on her arms. She kissed his hot mouth and sucked his tongue. When she was finished, she sat up across his hips, her wool coat fa

“Icicle? He slid his hands beneath her coat and up her thighs. “Icicles are cold. Youre sitting on twelve hot inches.

She lifted her eyes to the night sky. “Twelve inches. He was big, but he wasnt that big.

“Its a known fact.

Delaney laughed and rolled off him. He might be right about that hot part, though. He certainly knew how to set her on fire.

“My ass is frozen. He sat up and Duke and Dolores jumped on him. “Hey, now, he said as he pushed them away and helped Delaney to her feet. She brushed the snow off his parka; he brushed it out of her hair. On the porch they stomped their feet, then went inside. Delaney took his coat and hung it on the rack by the front door. As he looked around, she took the opportunity to study him. He wore a fla

“Have you ever been in here before?

“Once. He returned his gaze to hers. “The day Henrys will was read.

“Oh, yeah. She glanced about, trying to see the foyer through new eyes, as if shed never stood there before. It was a typical Victorian. White paint and wallpaper, dark wood and wainscoting, thick handwoven rugs from Persia, antique grandfather clock. Everything was rich and somewhat oppressive, and they were both aware that if Henry had been interested in being a father, Nick would have grown up in the huge house. She wondered if he considered himself lucky.