Derringer had dropped by.
She hadn’t heard from him since the night he had taken her to school. Maybe he had finally admitted to himself that he only wanted one thing from her and had moved on to some other willing female. The thought of him making love to someone else had her hurting inside, but she could deal with it the way she’d always done. It wasn’t the first time she’d known the man she loved was sleeping with others and it wouldn’t be the last. But it hurt knowing someone else was the recipient of his smile, his look and his touch. More than anything, a part of her wished she hadn’t experienced any of it for herself. But then a part of her was glad that she had and would not trade in a single moment.
Moments later, with a cup of hot chocolate in her hand, she moved toward the living room to watch her movie. She had a fire blazing in the fireplace and it added soothing warmth to the entire room. Why she wanted to watch a romantic movie when she lacked romance in her own life was beyond her. But then, women had their dreams and fantasies, didn’t they?
Lucia had settled back against her sofa with a cup in one hand and a remote in the other when the doorbell rang. She frowned, wondering what on earth could get Mrs. Noel to come across the street in this weather, unless her heating unit was on the blink again. Standing, she placed the cup and the remote on the table and headed for the door. She looked out the peephole and caught her breath.
Derringer!
Denying the rush of heat she immediately felt between her thighs, seeing him standing there and looking sexier than any man had a right to look—this time of day and in this horrid weather—she drew in a deep breath and fought the anger escalating in her chest. She would not hear from him for a week or so and then he would show up at her place unannounced. It didn’t matter that she had told him to leave her alone. That was beside the point. The only point she could concentrate on was that he evidently thought he could add her to his booty-call list. Well, she had news for him.
She snatched the door open and was about to ask what he was doing there, but wasn’t given the chance to do so.
Derringer didn’t give Lucia the chance to ask any questions, but leaned in and covered her mouth with his. He not only wanted to silence her, he also wanted the heat from his kiss to inflame her as they stood just inside with a frigid snowstorm raging outside. There was no doubt in his mind the kiss had enough spark, power and electricity to light the entire city of Denver. And he felt it all rush through his body.
She didn’t resist him, and at the moment that was a good thing. He didn’t need her resistance, what he needed was this—the taste of her all over his tongue.
He had tried not thinking about her all week. Hell, with the delivery of those horses he’d had enough to keep his mind and time occupied. But things hadn’t happened quite that way. She’d still managed to creep into his thoughts most of the time, and he had awakened that morning with a need to see her so intense that he just couldn’t understand it. And nothing, not elephant snowflakes nor below-zero-degree temperature would keep him from her. From this.
He finally pulled back from the kiss. Somehow they had made it inside her house and closed the door behind them and that was a good thing. Having an X-rated kiss on her doorstep would definitely have given her neighbors something to talk about for years.