Linda Howard

But never had he felt more enthralled than he was right now, sitting beside Evie on a weathered old dock, with a blazing afternoon sun, almost brutal in its clarity, bathing everything in pure light. Sweat trickled down his back and chest from the steamy heat, and his entire body pulsed with life. Even his fingertips throbbed. It took all of his formidable self-control to prevent himself from pushing her down on the dock and spreading her legs for his entry.

In the rest room next door there was a long, explosive sound of gas releasing, then a contented 'Ahhh.' Grace clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back the hysterical giggle that rose in her throat. She had to finish before he did, or he might hear her. The competition was the strangest in which she'd ever engaged.

I read somewhere that flying is like throwing your soul into the heavens and racing to catch it as it falls.""I don't think mine would ever fall," he murmured, looking at the clear cold sky.

Nice is good. It doesn__ sound exciting, but think about it. I think Mr. Perfect would be kind to kids and animals, help old ladies across the street, not insult you when your opinion is different from his. Being nice is so important it__ close to being number one.

So it isn't that the act is awful, but sometimes the man is.""Exactly. One's modesty is useless and it's painfully intimate, but not awful." She took a deep breath."The opposite, in fact.

Is it time for your period, or somet

I__ Sam Donovan._ __ know who you are. Mrs. Kulavich told me. I__ Jaine Bright._ __ know. She told me. She even told me how you spell your name._ Now, how on earth had Mrs. Kulavich known that?

...a kid, maybe eight years old, ran up and poked her in the ribs with a plastic laser weapon, making electric zinging noises as he repeatedly pulled the trigger. __ou__e dead,_ he said victoriously. His mother came hurrying up, looking harassed and helpless. __amian, stop that!_ She gave him a smile that was little more than a grimace. __on__ bother the nice people._ __hut up,_ he said rudely. __an__ you see they__e Terrons from Vaniot.__he kid poked her in the ribs again. __uch!_ He made those zinging noises again, taking great pleasure in her discomfort. She plastered a big smile on her face and leaned down closer to precious Damian, then cooed in her most alienlike voice, __h, look, a little earthling._ She straightened and gave Sam a commanding look. __ill it._ Damian__ mouth fell open. His eyes went as round as quarters as he took in the big pistol on Sam__ belt. From his open mouth began to issue a series of shrill noises that sounded like a fire alarm. Sam cursed under his breath, grabbed Jaine by the arm, and began tugging her at a half-trot toward the front of the store. She managed to snag her purse from the buggy as she went past. __ey, my groceries!_ she protested. __ou can spend another three minutes in here tomorrow and get them,_ he said with pent-up violence. __ight now I__ trying to keep you from getting arrested.___or what?_ she asked indignantly as he dragged her out of the automatic doors. People were turning to look at them, but most were following the sounds of Damian__ shrieks to aisle seven. __ow about threatening to kill that brat and causing a riot?_ __ didn__ threaten to loll him! I just ordered you to.

Don__ kiss me,_ she said warningly.__ don__ intend to,_ he replied, smiling a little. __ don__ have my whip and chair with me.

Is it time for your period, or something?" He turned around, all controlled aggression, and damned if he didn't push the button again. "What is it about having a period that makes women so bitchy?"" By the time the sentence ended the sweetness was long gone, my jaw was clenched, and I think my eyes were bugging out. Wyatt took a step back, belatedly looking alarmed.

She should have remembered her past experiences in the relationship wars and not let herself get so excited. Evidently her hormones had overruled her common sense and she had become drunk on ovarian wine, the most potent, sanity- destroying substance in the universe.

If only gossip weren't so titillating. Sweeney tried to control an avid desire to know more, to dig for all the dirty details.The temptation was great. Dirt was like fat; it made life more delicious.

The only choice you have right now is the color you want the house painted, and your choices are white and white." She was yelling by the time she finished, her face flushed.

Love by itself isn't enough; it's never enough. There had to be other things, such as liking and respect, or love would get worn away by the realities of everyday life.

The magazine said to blend. Daisy blended for all she was worth, trying to spread that dark stuff around.

What are you doing?_ she cried in protest.__laying,_ he said, the single word rough, almost guttural.

His head jerked up. For another moment he was motionless. Her lips were parted slightly, trembling. Her eyes looked heavy. Her nipples were hard little circles plainly visible though the wet dress, her arms limp at her sides as she let him look. He shuddered, and his control snapped. She couldn't move. He walked toward her without taking his gaze from her, without seeing or hearing anything else, a primal male animal intent on mating. He was breathing hard and deep, his nostrils flaring. Water dripped off him as he moved. She waited, shaking with need and fear, because he was out of control and she knew it. It was an exhilarating terror, freezing her but at the same filling her with an anticipation so acute she was almost in pain. Then his hands were on her, and she moaned aloud from the sudden release of tension. She didn't have time to respond. She had expected to be swept up in his arms and carried to bed, but he had gone far beyond paying attention to niceties. Nothing mattered to him but to have her, right then.

Sudden, hell. I've been hard for two months.