Page 22 of Pure Temptation in Cowboy Boots

“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?”