After positioning themselves side by side on the top step, a silence fell like a load of bricks between them.
Amanda cut him a side glance. His profile was more rigid than a piece of wood. In fact, he could’ve passed for a wooden statue. What was boiling inside him? she wondered. It appeared he wasn’t about to make things easy for her.
Yet it was all she could do not to ignore caution and throw her arms around him. “Noah—”
He faced her, that tortured expression having deepened in his eyes. “I suppose you’ve come to tell me it’s official.”
Confusion threw her off track. “What?”
“Your engagement to Gordon.”
“Not hardly.”
His eyes narrowed, but not before she saw that same bright light flare again. “Oh?”
“I’m not going to marry Gordon,” she said in a husky tone.
“Is that what you came to tell me?”
“No.”
“Okay, you’re giving notice, going into private practice.”
“Noah, stop it,” she said softly.
“If I stop talking, I’m liable to maul you right here on the spot.”
A tremor slipped across her skin, but Amanda’s eyes twinkled. “That sounds like a good idea to me.”
His gaze locked with hers for a feverish moment. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he demanded in a rush.
“And what is that?”
“If you’re playing games—” His voice was wobbly now.
“Shh,” she whispered, then leaned over and, without touching him, placed her lips against his. “I’ve been too stubborn for words, Dr. Noah Howell. I love you now and forever.”
He grabbed her behind the neck and pulled her lips onto his, this time in a long, sizzling kiss that moments afterward had them both struggling for breath.
“Oh, Noah,” she cried, her heart in those words.
Unabashedly, he took her hand and placed it on his lap. Her heart shot up another notch as she felt, then cupped the pulsating hardness.
He moaned.
She pressed.
“God, Amanda,” he said in guttural tone. “I could take you right here.”
“And I could let you, only I don’t think the law or your neighbors would approve.”
“To hell with them.”
“I love you.”
His throat worked as if he were choking. “If you don’t mean—”
“I do, with everything that’s in me.”
“And I love you.”
“Then, why are we sitting here?”
“If we go inside and I make love to you, then there’s no turning back.” Noah’s eyes pierced hers. “I’m not letting you go again.”
“Even if you did, I’d come back.”
He grazed her cheek with his eyes and the back of one hand, then stood. With their arms around each other, they walked inside.
* * *
“Yes, oh, yes!” Noah pleaded. “Don’t stop.”
Without answering him, Amanda continued to move atop him, feeling his fullness high inside her, yet sensing he was as near a release as she was.
But she wanted their timing to be perfect.
“Help me!”
His hands tightened on her hips, and when she began to move faster and with more intensity, he seemed to rise higher inside her.
“Oh, Noah,” she whispered, her moist, heated body suddenly collapsing on top of his wet one as a hard spasm rocked them both.
Once they had reached the bedroom, they had discarded their clothing in a frenzy and had fallen onto the bed. He’d taken her instantly, though he’d made sure she was wet and ready.
Now, limp and spent, he was smiling at her. “Can we do that all over again?”
Amanda pinched him.
He laughed, then hugged her tightly. “So when are you going to marry me?”
“After you ask me.”
“Smarty.”
Her fingers caressed his chest, then edged lower. “I’d forgotten how good it was between us.”
He groaned. “Not me. I dreamed about being inside you all the time.”
Her breathing turned shallow. “You did?”
“I swear it.”
She increased the pressure, feeling him grow hard again.
“Are you enjoying torturing me?”
Without answering him, she began a massagelike movement.
“How `bout today?” he ground out, as if in pain. “Us getting married, that is.”
“What about your mother?”
“What about her?” Noah’s voice was so hoarse she could barely understand him.
Amanda’s touch continued.
“Do we have to talk about her now?”
“Yes,” she insisted.
“She’ll come around, you’ll see, especially when she holds our child in her arms.”
Her hand stilled. “Are you sure…you want another child?”
“Oh, honey, how could you ask that? Of course I want to make a baby with you.”
“Maybe we’ve already done that.”
“I couldn’t think of anything I’d like better.”
She frowned suddenly. “I hate the thought of getting married without Randi—”
He brushed her lips. “Me, too, but maybe we won’t have to. We have to think she’s all right.”
Amanda’s fingers busied themselves again.
“If you don’t stop now I’m going to—”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” she said in a teasing voice, lifting a leg over his thigh and guiding him into her.
Moments later, he sighed, cradling her against him. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t wait.”
“Me, neither.”
“So what about your job?” he asked, running his hand through her soft hair.
“Do I still want to leave Vanderbilt? Is that what you’re asking?”
“Yep.”
Amanda hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “I love working ER.”
“I love working you.”
She pinched him again. “I’m serious.”
“Oh, honey, so am I.”
“You couldn’t still be—”
“Horny?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I am. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you, which means I’ll probably walk around the hospital with a permanent hard-on, unless you do leave.”
She chuckled at that image. “Some of your patients might not take too kindly to that.”
“Who cares?”
“You do.”
He grinned.
“Seriously, I’ve always wanted to go into sports medicine.”
“Then go for it. I’ll back you. Money’s no problem, especially now that I’m going to be chief of surgery.”
“Oh, Noah, that’s great!”
“I’m pretty proud.”
“What about Riley?”
“I imagine he’s sucking on bitter weeds about now.”
“Well, I hate it for him, but I love it for you.”
He kissed her on the top of the head. “That’s my girl.”
“Still, I’ll pay you back.”
“Forget that. What’s mine is yours. Don’t forget that, either.”
“Oh, Noah, I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“Despite all the heartache and tragedies, this has ended up being the best thirty-six hours of my life.”
“I second that, my love.” He kissed her on the nose. “You’ll never be sorry you gave me a second chance.”
She kissed him long and hard before looking deep into his eyes. “Forever.”
“Forever, my love.”
Grand Springs, Colorado, hasn’t seen rain like this in years. Despite the warnings, people weren’t prepared. But these severe weather conditions help people dig deep and discover their strengths, and at the same time finally admit what they truly want from life. Dr. Karen Sloane wants her daughter back, but does she want her husband? What about Ran
di Howell? She ran away from her own wedding, hopping in a truck headed anywhere but Grand Springs. And poor John Doe doesn’t know if he’s even from Grand Springs. Could these lives and many others ever be the same? Read and see….
Up next, Strange Bedfellows by Kasey Michaels.
eISBN-13: 9781460330678
LIGHTNING STRIKES PART 3
This is the revised text of a portion of a work first published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited in 1997.
Copyright © 1997 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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Lightning Strikes Part 3 (36 Hours) Page 8
