“Arent you going to say anything?

He glanced at her, then returned his gaze to his pants. “Dont tell me youre one of those women who like to talk afterward?

Something wonderful and awful had just happened, she wasnt quite sure which. Something more than sex. Shed had her share of orgasms in the past, some really good ones, too, but what shed just experienced was more than getting off. More than waves crashing and the earth quaking. Nick Allegrezza had taken her someplace shed never been before, and she felt like sitting down and crying about it. A sob escaped her throat, and she pressed her fingers to her lips. She didnt want to cry. She didnt want him to see her cry.

His gaze shot to her as he shoved his shirttails into his pants. “Are you crying?

She shook her head, but her eyes began to water.

“Yes, you are. He threaded his arms through his suspenders and snapped them in place.

“Im not. Hed just given her the most intense pleasure of her life, and now he calmly got dressed as if this sort of thing happened to him all the time. Maybe it did. She wanted to scream. To curl up her fist and hit him. Shed thought theyd shared something special, but obviously they hadnt. She felt raw and exposed, her body still aching from his touch. If he said something nasty, she was afraid shed shatter. “Dont do this to me, Nick.

“The damage is done, he said as he retrieved his jacket from the floor. “Tell me youre taking some form of birth control.

She could feel the blood drain from her face and she shook her head. She thought back to her last period and felt a glimmer of relief. “Its the wrong time of the month for me to get pregnant.

“Honey, Im Catholic. A lot of us are conceived at the wrong time of the month. He pushed his arms through the sleeves of his jacket and straightened the collar. “I havent forgotten a condom in about ten years. How about you?

“Ah ... She was a woman of the nineties. In charge of her life and her body, but for some reason she couldnt talk about this with Nick without getting embarrassed. “Yeah.

“What exactly does ah ... yeah mean?

“Youre the first in a really long time, and before this, I was careful.

He studied her for a moment. “Okay, he said and tossed her underwear and pantyhose to her. “Wheres your coat?

She clutched the garments to her chest, suddenly feeling shy and embarrassed. An odd delayed reaction, considering what shed held in her hand a few moments before. “On a rack by the front doors. Why?

“Im taking you home.

Home had never sounded so good.

“Get dressed before a maid decides she needs some towels or something. His unreadable gaze stared into hers as he pulled on his cuffs. “Ill be right back, he said, then slowly opened the door. “Dont go anywhere.

Once she was alone, Delaney looked around the room. She spotted her handbag by her left foot, a velvet pump beneath a step chair, and the other beside an empty bucket. Without Nick to distract her, thoughts and self-recriminations came rushing at her. She couldnt believe what shed done. Shed had unprotected sex with Nick Allegrezza in a linen closet in the Lake Shore Hotel. Hed made her lose complete control with nothing more than a kiss, and if it werent for the lingering physical proof, she probably wouldnt believe it even now.

She carefully sat on the step chair and put on her underwear and pantyhose. Just last month shed assured Louie that she and Nick wouldnt do anything to cause gossip at his wedding, yet shed had wild sex with his brother behind an unlocked door where anyone could have caught them. If anyone found out, shed never live it down. Shed probably have to kill herself.

Just as she pulled her hose to her waist and shoved her feet into the shoes, the door swung open and Nick entered the small room. She had trouble looking at him as he held her coat open for her. “I need to tell Lisa Im leaving.

“I told her you got sick and Im taking you home.

“Did she believe you? She glanced up quickly, then shoved her arms into her wool coat.

“Narcisa saw you run out of the dining room and told everyone you looked like death.

“Gee, maybe I should thank her.

They left out a side door, and white downy snow drifted from the black sky and settled on their hair and shoulders. A new layer slid inside Delaneys pumps as she made her way across the parking lot toward Nicks Jeep. Her feet slipped from beneath her, and she would have fallen on her behind if he hadnt reached out and grabbed her upper arm. His grasp tightened as they walked across the slick ground, but neither of them spoke, the only sound the crunch of snow beneath the soles of their shoes.

He helped her into the Jeep, but didnt wait for the engine to warm before he shoved the four-wheel drive into gear and headed away from the Lake Shore. The inside of the Jeep was pitched in darkness and smelled of leather seats and Nick. He stopped at the corner of Chipmunk and Main and reached for her, practically pulling her into his lap. The tips of his fingers touched her cheek as he looked down into her face. Then slowly his head lowered and he pressed his mouth to hers. He kissed her once, twice, and stayed the third time to leave a soft lingering kiss on her lips.

He pulled back and whispered, “Buckle your seatbelt. The wide tires spun until the knobby tread found traction, and cool air blasted Delaneys warm cheeks from the heater vent. She buried her chin in the collar of her coat and cast a sideways glance at him. The dash light cast his face and hands in a green glow. Melted snow glistened like tiny emeralds in his black hair and on the shoulders of his tuxedo jacket. A street lamp illuminated the inside of the Jeep for several seconds as he blew past her salon.

“You missed the turn to my apartment.

“No I didnt.

“Arent you taking me home?

“Yep. My home. Did you think we were finished? He shifted into a lower gear and took a left along the east end of the lake. “We havent even begun.

She turned in her seat and looked at him. “Begun doing what exactly?

“What we did in that closet wasnt near enough.

The thought of his fully nude body pressed to hers wasnt exactly abhorrent, in fact it turned her insides warm. As Nick had said earlier, the damage was done. Why not spend the night with a man who was very good at making her body come alive in ways shed never known possible? Shed been on the wagon a long time and wasnt likely to get a better offer in the foreseeable future. One night. One night she would probably regret, but shed worry about that tomorrow. “Are you trying to tell me—in your own typically macho way—that you want to make love again?

He glanced at her. “Im not trying to tell you anything. I want you. You want me. Someone is going to end up wearing nothing but a satisfied smile on her lips.

“I dont know, Nick, I might talk afterward. Do you think you can handle it?

“I can handle anything you can think up, and a few things youve probably never even thought of.

“Do I have a choice?

“Sure, wild thing. I have four bedrooms. You can choose which one we use first.

Nick didnt scare her. She knew he wouldnt force her to do anything against her will. Of course, around him, she seemed to pretty much abandon anything resembling a will of her own.

The Jeep slowed and turned into a wide driveway lined on both sides with Ponderosa and lodge pole pine. Out of the dense forest rose a huge house made of split log and lake rock. Its cathedral windows spilled panels of light on the freshly fallen snow. Nick reached for his visor and the middle of three garage doors opened. The four-wheel drive rolled between his Bayliner and Harley.

The inside of the house was just as impressive as the outside. Lots of exposed beams, muted colors, and natural fibers. Delaney stood in front of a wall of windows and looked outside onto the deck. It was still snowing, and the white flakes accumulated on the rail and landed in the Jacuzzi. Nick had taken her coat, and with the ceiling so high and the rooms so open, she was surprised she wasnt cold.