AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Amy listened to the silence from the adjoining room for a long time before she couldn’t stand it any longer. She could almost hear Owen’s brain grinding away in solitude.
It struck her that he had probably spent a lot of his life alone. The very nature of his chosen profession indicated that he was accustomed to relying solely on himself. There was a core of strength in Owen Sweet that rarely developed in those who relied on other people.
He possessed an old-fashioned, Wild West sort of character, she thought. He was the kind of man who, a century earlier, would have ridden into town alone, cleaned out the bad guys, and then left without a backward glance.
She pushed aside the covers, got out of bed, and padded to the closed door that linked the two rooms. She put her ear against the wooden panel and listened. Still no sound. But she was certain that he was not asleep.
She knocked once, very softly. Owen opened the door immediately.
Almost as if he had been waiting for her.
She smiled tremulously up at him. “You’re not in bed.”
“I’m thinking.”
“I know.” She shivered. “I can’t sleep, either. I keep seeing those headlights coming straight toward us.”
“Amy.” He drew her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
Amy felt something inside her begin to relax. She rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s all my fault. I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“For what?”
“For getting you into this mess. I swear, I never had any idea that this would get so complicated.”
He framed her face in his powerful hands. His eyes gleamed in the shadows. “You don’t have a clue just how complicated things have gotten, do you?”
Before she could answer, his mouth was on hers.
His kiss was different this time. Instead of reckless eagerness and hot passion, there was gentleness and a tender warmth. Amy gave herself up to the sweet persuasion without a single qualm.
“Amy?” His voice was ragged but under control.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, yes, yes.”
“Thank God.” Owen whispered against her throat. “I thought I was going to go crazy.”
He picked her up and carried her through the doorway into his room, then set her down amid the turned-back sheets of his bed. She looked up at him with dawning wonder as he stripped off his shirt and jeans.
She loved him.
The realization came with quiet certainty, not as a bolt out of the blue. Amy knew that she had recognized the truth deep inside weeks ago. She reached up to take him into her arms.
Owen came to her then.
His body was heavy with desire. Amy felt him shudder at her touch. His hands trembled slightly as he eased aside her quilted robe.
“I’ve never wanted anything so much in my life,” he said against her mouth.
He kissed her throat as he undressed her. And then he lowered his mouth to her breasts. Heat flooded Amy’s body. Owen’s hand slid upward along her leg, squeezing gently. His fingers moved to the inside of her thigh. Amy gasped.
Owen covered her mouth once more, drinking in the small sound she made. He cupped her softness and then probed, opening her to his intimate touch. She gave another muffled cry and clutched at his shoulders. A frantic sense of urgency stormed through her.
Owen continued the tender torment, stoking the flames within Amy until she could not stand it any longer. She twisted on the sheets.
“Owen, please.” She parted her legs and fought to pull him to her. “Please.”
“I think I’ve been waiting for this forever.” Owen leaned across Amy to open a drawer in the bedside table.
