LITMIR.BIZ

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lips touched hers, and in that instant, she knew that the world as she’d known it had ceased to exist. For she was really, truly kissing Mac, and now nothing would ever be the same.

      * * *

      TESS HAS BEEN forbidden fruit for so long that when Mac placed his mouth on hers, he half-expected a lightning bolt to strike him dead. Instead, her velvet lips welcomed him so completely that he drew back, his heart racing. Damn, this was going to be good. Too good. A man could lose himself to a kiss like that. If he’d ever secretly wondered if she was a virgin because she wasn’t sensual, he’d been dead wrong. She was on fire.

      “Mac?” she whispered. “Is something—”

      With a groan he returned to her full mouth, committing himself to the kiss, to what would follow the kiss. To hell with what it might cost him. But he had a sinking feeling it would cost him more than he could ever guess.

      For her mouth was a perfect fit for his. He didn’t have to think about kissing Tess—it happened as effortlessly as breathing. She opened to him as if they’d been doing this for years, and although his body pounded with excitement, her invitation to pleasure seemed natural, almost expected. And he accepted without hesitation—tasting her richness, probing her heat, shifting the angle so he could deepen his quest.

      Joy surged within him as she responded, pressing closer, moaning softly as he made love to her mouth. He thought of all the wasted years when she’d been there, only a touch away. But she was here now, so alive and warm in his arms, so ready.

      Very ready. As she molded herself to him, he could feel her nipples, tight and aroused, pressing against his chest. His erection strained against his jeans. If he didn’t slow down, he’d violate the terms of tonight’s agreement and make love to her out here in the desert. That couldn’t happen, first of all because he believed what he’d said about not rushing the process, and second because he had no birth control with him.

      With great regret he drew back, breathing hard. The sun had gone down, and the stars didn’t allow him to see her expression very well. He wished he could, but maybe it was for the best. Tonight promised to be intense enough without being able to see desire written all over her face.

      “I…liked that,” she said. Her breathing was about as ragged as his.

      “Yeah.” He rubbed her back and took a deep breath as a chorus of crickets started up in the nearby sagebrush. “Me, too.”

      She wound her arms around his neck and leaned back to look up at him, although she probably couldn’t see his expression, either. “You’re aroused again. I can tell by your voice.”

      “Any guy would be aroused if you kissed him like that.”

      “Was I too…uninhibited?” She sounded genuinely worried.

      “God, no. You were great.”

      “I wondered, because I don’t usually get so…” She paused. “Excited.”

      Man, he loved hearing that. “Really?”

      “Especially the first time I kiss someone. You’re, um, very good at this kissing business. I guess it’s all your practice that gives you such good technique.”

      “That wasn’t technique.” He loved running his fingers through her hair. “That was… I don’t know. You inspired me, I guess.”

      “Oh.” There was a world of self-satisfaction in that tiny syllable.

      He began itching to kiss her again. And he had all the rest of the territory labeled as “making out” to enjoy. Even knowing he wouldn’t have the ultimate experience tonight didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for the next step. “Ready to climb in the back of the truck?”

      “I’ve been thinking. Are you sure you should?”

      He laughed. “I think we dispensed with that a while back. No, I probably shouldn’t, but I will anyway, because it’s still the best solution.”

      “No, I mean, with the way you react when we kiss. I’ll bet you’re not used to just making out with a woman and not finishing the job. You’re liable to get awfully frustrated.”

      He grinned down at her. “So are you. That’s the idea—to build up to the main event, so we’re really ready for it.”

      “I can understand that strategy for me, because of my lack of experience, but I’m afraid I’ll be torturing you. I know from my reading that some men are able to draw out foreplay for a very long time, but I’m sure they extend that time gradually, so their bodies are used to delayed gratification. You wouldn’t be in that category.”

      He sorted through that little speech until he thought he understood. “Are you saying you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for my benefit?”

      “I…yes, I am. We don’t have to stop with just making out if you find that you’re too…uncomfortable.”

      Oh, God. Heaven was within reach and he’d been caught unprepared. He took a deep breath. “Well, as willing as you are to make the supreme sacrifice for me tonight, it won’t be possible. I don’t have birth control with me.”

      She met his declaration with stunned silence. “You don’t?”

      “Of course not. What, you think I carry a supply around with me at all times, just in case I get lucky?”

      “Not even in your wallet?”

      “Not since high school. These days I have a much better idea of what will and won’t happen with a woman, and I plan accordingly.”

      She seemed to be digesting that. “What about in the glove compartment of your truck?” she finally asked.

      “Are you kidding? My mom’s been known to borrow my truck, and she’s also been known to get a speeding ticket now and then. I can imagine how much she’d love finding condoms in the glove compartment when she’s digging for the registration papers.”

      She gazed up at him. “You know, I’m glad to find out you don’t keep some around at all times.”

      “You had me pegged as some sort of sex machine, didn’t you?”

      “Not exactly a machine, but everybody thinks you installed that spongy mat in the back of your truck so you could have fun with your girlfriends.”

      He let out a sigh of exasperation. “I put that mat in the back of the truck when Mom started refinishing antiques, so she could haul them around without damaging the finish on the furniture.”

      “Not for making love?”

      “No.”

      “And so you’ve never—”

      “I didn’t say that. And this discussion’s over.” He swung her up in his arms before she traveled down that road any further. Of course he’d made love in the back of the truck, but he didn’t want to talk about it now.

      “What are you doing?”

      “I’m taking charge and carrying you to the back of the truck. It’s the manly thing to do.” She didn’t resist, so he concluded she had faith in his self-control. He was putting a huge amount of faith in it, himself.

      “Then I guess you don’t want to talk about your love life anymore,” she said.

      “You’ve got that right.” Specifically he didn’t want to talk about or think about any other women he’d been involved with, in the back of his truck or anywhere else. They’d been wrong for him, but he hadn’t realized how wrong until a few moments ago…when he’d kissed Tess.

      CHAPTER SIX

      TESS SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the blanket and waited for Mac to crawl into the bed of the truck and join her. The night was still very warm, but she felt shivery with

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