by Anne Stuart
“I don’t want it to be. They died. We’re going to live.”
He kissed her then, sliding his hand behind her neck to bring her mouth to his, and she let herself sink into it, into him, so there was nothing but his mouth, his body hard beneath hers, his rock-solid arms holding her, and when he used his tongue she felt the wet hot lick of desire wash through her, as life filled her veins once more.
She pushed back from him, breaking the kiss. “You don’t have to love me, you know,” she said, suddenly guilty. “I’m not always this pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic at all. And yes, I have to love you. I’ve given up fighting it. Now why don’t you curl up and get some sleep while I get back on the highway. The Louisiana State Police are broad-minded, but it’s still daylight and I don’t think they’d overlook roadside sex. Don’t worry—I’ll wake you when we find a bed.”
Another knot of hope and desire turned inside her. “But what about your work?”
“Remy can take care of the Committee—I’m long overdue for a vacation, and my partner Bishop can get his ass back from his honeymoon. We’re going to drive until we feel like stopping, and then drive some more.”
“And when we stop?”
“We’ll fuck like rabbits. Does that suit you?”
“Yes,” she said, slipping back into the passenger seat with a shaky sigh. “And I promise not to cry anymore.”
“You can cry all you want. It’s hard to lose a family.”
“Not when you’ve found your real one,” she said.
He kissed her again, short and hard. “Remember that.”
He pulled out onto the highway again, catching her hand in his strong one as they headed west into the setting sun.
About the Author
Anne Stuart is a grand master of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than forty years in the romance business, and she still just keeps getting better.
Her first novel was Barrett’s Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974, when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she’s written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal, and mainstream contemporary romance.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on many bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as into the pages of Vogue, People, USA Today, Woman’s Day, and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
She’s just celebrating her fortieth wedding anniversary with her luscious husband, and she lives by a lake in northern Vermont, where she enjoys an empty nest, fabulous grandchildren, and overacting in local theater. She has so many books she still wants to write that she plans to live forever.
