Stone Cold Surrender (24 page)

stacked
up
all
his
strong
points
all
day.

She
offered
him
a
smile.
A
part
of
her
was
tempted
to
offer
a
lot
more.
He
had
just
that
sort
of
effect
on
her.
“All
right.
I
just
need
to
grab
my
luggage.”

“I’ll
get
it,”
he
said,
entering
her
cabin,
immediately
filling
the
space
with
his
heat
and
making
her
totally
aware
of
him,

even
more
than
she
had
been
before.
She
watched
as
he
glanced
over
at
the
luggage
she
had
neatly
lined
up
next
to
her
bed.
Then
he
looked
at
her
and
she
heard
him
swear

under
his
breath
before
moving—not
toward
the
luggage

but
toward
her.

“I
don’t
know
what
decisions
you
made
about
us,”
he
said
in
a
low,
husky
voice.
“But
I
thought
of
you
all
last
night
and
I

swore
that
as
soon
as
I
saw
you
this
morning
I
would
do

something.”

“What?”
she
asked,
trying
to
ignore
the
seductive
scent
of
his
aftershave
as
well
as
the
intense
beating
of
her
heart.

“Taste
you.”

Madison’s
breath
caught
and,
before
she
could
release
a
sigh,
Stone
captured
her
mouth
in
his.
As
soon
as
their

tongues
touched
she
knew
she
would
remember
every

sweet
and
tantalizing
thing
about
his
kiss.
Especially
the

way
his
tongue
was
dueling
with
hers,
staking
a
claim
she
didn’t
want
him
to
have
but
one
he
was
taking
anyway
as
he

tried
kissing
the
taste
right
out
of
her
mouth.
His
tongue

was
dominating,
it
was
bold
and
it
left
no
doubt
in
her
mind
that
when
it
came
to
kissing,
Stone
was
an
ace,
a
master,
a
perfectionist.
She
placed
her
arms
around
his
neck,
more
to
stop
from
melting
at
his
feet
than
for
support.
He
had
a

way
of
making
her
feel
sexy,
feminine
and
desirable;

something
Cedric
had
never
done.

Moments
later,
when
he
broke
off
the
kiss
and
slowly
lifted
his
head
to
look
down
at
her,
she
couldn’t
help
asking,
“Got
enough?”

“Not
by
a
long
shot,”
he
said
hotly
against
her
moist
lips.
Then
he
leaned
down
and
kissed
her
again
and
Madison
quickly
decided,
what
the
heck.
Once
she
had
told
him
of
her
decision
about
them
he
wouldn’t
be
kissing
her
again
anytime
soon,
so
she
would
gladly
take
what
she
could
for
now.

Her
common
sense
tried
kicking
in—although
it
didn’t
have
the
punch
to
force
her
to
pull
from
his
arms
just
yet.
Her

practical
side
was
reminding
her
that
she’d
only
met
Stone
two
days
ago.
Her
passionate
side
countered
that
bit
of

logic
with
the
fact
that
in
those
two
days
she
probably
knew
him
a
lot
better
than
she’d
known
Cedric
in
the
three
years
they
had
dated.
Stone
was
everything
her
former
fiancé

was
not—including
one
hell
of
a
kisser.

Desire
surged
through
her
and
she
knew
if
she
didn’t
pull

back
now
the
unthinkable
might
happen.
But
then
a
rebel

part
of
her
that
barely
ever
surfaced
hinted
that
the

unthinkable
in
this
case
just
might
be
something
she
should
do.

She
didn’t
have
much
time
to
think
about
it
further
when
Stone
lifted
his
mouth
again
and
she,
regretfully,
released
her
arms
from
around
his
neck
and
took
a
step
back,

putting
space
between
them.

“I
guess
I
better
grab
that
luggage
so
we
can
leave,”
he
said,
keeping
his
gaze
glued
to
her
face.

“That’s
a
good
idea
and
I
don’t
think
there
should
be
any
more
physical
contact
between
us
until
we
talk,”
she
said
softly,
trying
to
hold
on
to
the
resolve
she’d
had
that

morning.
The
same
resolve
his
kiss
had
almost
swiped
from
her.

She
watched
as
he
arched
a
dark
brow.
“You’ve
made
decisions?”

Her
gaze
held
on
to
his.
“Yes.”

He
nodded
then
walked
across
the
room
for
her
luggage.

“Tell
me
about
yourself,
Stone,
and
I
would
love
hearing
about
all
of
your
books.”

Stone
briefly
glanced
across
the
seat
of
the
truck
and
met
Madison’s
inquiring
gaze.
They
had
been
on
the
road
for
over
an
hour
already
and
she’d
yet
to
tell
him
of
any

decisions
she’d
made.
Even
when
they
had
stopped
at
a
café
for
breakfast
she
hadn’t
brought
their
relationship
up.
Instead
she
had
talked
about
how
beautiful
the
land
was,
how
much
she
had
enjoyed
teaching
last
year
and
about
a
trip
to
Paris
she
had
taken
last
month.
She
was
stalling.
He
knew
it
and
knew
that
she
knew
it,
as
well.

“Do
you
want
to
know
about
Stone
Westmoreland
or
about
Rock
Mason?”

A
bemused
frown
touched
her
face.
“Aren’t
they
one
and
the
same?”

“No.
To
the
people
I
know
I’m
Stone
Westmoreland.
To
my
readers,
the
majority
of
whom
don’t
know
me,
I’m
Rock

Mason—a
name
I
made
up
to
protect
my
privacy.
I
should
correct
that
and
say
it’s
a
name
my
sister
Delaney
came
up
with.
At
the
time
she
was
eighteen
and
thought
it
sounded
cool.”

She
nodded.
“And
which
one
of
those
individuals
are
you
now?”

“Stone.”

She
nodded
again.
And
although
she
had
made
her
mind