Whirlwind - Janet Dailey Page 0,49

that’s our waiter, headed for our table. We don’t want our steaks to get cold.”

They took their seats again. The steaks were tender and juicy, the baked potatoes crisp and fluffy, topped with cheese, sour cream, and bacon crumbles, the bread hot from the oven. Lexie was hungry, and so was Shane. They finished their meals and caught another ride back to the arena. Sitting quietly in the back of the cab, Lexie sensed that the moment of truth was at hand.

She’d mentioned to him earlier that she was planning to sleep in the truck cab. Shane hadn’t tried to talk her out of it, but she wasn’t naïve. In his world, any woman would be eager to share his bed, especially after an enjoyable evening and a great meal.

But was she ready to be part of that world? Could she spend the night with Shane, knowing that after the next rodeo, there would likely be another woman in her place?

Then again, if she turned away a man whose touch set her on fire, would she regret it for the rest of her life?

Shane had been quiet, too. As the cab let them out in the parking lot and drove away, he turned to Lexie and gathered her in his arms. His kiss, searching, seeking, even demanding, made everything clear.

“I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you sleep in that truck,” he growled.

And just like that, the decision was made. She wanted him. All of him. Even if it was only for one night.

Leaving the lights off inside the luxurious trailer, he locked the door behind them. Last night, he’d offered to sleep on the sofa bed. Tonight, Lexie knew that wasn’t going to happen. Two brief relationships since the night of that fateful, drunken college party had taught her what to expect. But when Shane took her in his arms, the rush of fierce desire that burned through her body left her breathless. Her arms caught his neck, fingers furrowing his hair as she pulled him down to her. Her mouth opened to his kiss, responding with tongue thrusts, tasting, and nibbling.

“I wanted you the first time I saw you,” he murmured between kisses. “Now all I can think of is having you.”

“Having me how?” she whispered, teasing.

“Like this, for starters.” Clasping her rump with his hands, he lifted her against the rock-hard bulge beneath his jeans. Her legs wrapped his hips. Her head fell back as he pushed against her, the pressure sending heat swirls through her body. She moaned, shuddering against him once, then again, but knowing it wasn’t enough. Her hands tugged at his clothes. “I think we’re in the wrong room,” she gasped.

“So do I. But I know how to fix that.”

They left a trail of clothes all the way down the hall. By the time they reached the bed, Lexie was down to her bra and panties. Shane’s jeans and the supportive bike shorts he wore for bull riding were down around his boots. He lowered her to the bed, then kicked them off before pausing to add protection.

Lying on her back, she looked up at him as he leaned over her. The outside security lights, filtered by the window curtains, cast his taught, muscular body into patterns of light and shadow. Here was a man with the physical strength and reckless courage to mount a nearly-2,000-pound bucking bull—a man who was about to make love to her.

He lowered himself to the bed. Lying beside her, he pulled down her bra straps and kissed her nipples, stroking and suckling as they hardened. The depths of her body pulsed with need, tightening and lightly throbbing. One hand slid down her belly to invade her lacy panties, stroking the moist, sensitive surfaces until she moaned and pushed against his fingers.

“What do you want, beautiful?” he whispered, nibbling at her ear. “Tell me.”

“I want you inside me. Now. Please . . .” She breathed the words.

He chuckled softly. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

The panties vanished somewhere under the covers as he moved over her, brushed a tender kiss on her lips, then thrust deep. Her breath eased out as he filled the needy hollow inside her. “Yes . . .” she whispered. “Oh, yes . . .”

She arched her hips to match his movements, every gliding push triggering exquisite shimmers in the depths of her body. Her legs cradled him as he rode her slowly, building to a wild, sensual rocket ride that burst like