Stone Cold Surrender (33 page)

He
smiled.
She
hadn’t
had
enough
of
anything
yet.
After

putting
her
canteen
back
in
her
saddlebag
he
went
around
and
got
back
on
his
horse.
He
leaned
over
and
handed
her
reins
to
her.
“Come
on,”
he
said
huskily.
“Let’s
continue
our
ride.”

Six

U
p
until
a
half
hour
ago
Madison
thought
she
was
hungry,
but
now
something
was
affecting
her
appetite…or
rather
someone.

Stone
Westmoreland.

She
tilted
her
head
as
she
watched
him.
He
was
standing
some
distance
away
tending
to
the
horses.
She
was
sitting
on
a
stump
eating
one
of
the
sandwiches
Mrs.
Quinn
had
packed
for
them
and
drinking
a
cold
can
of
cola,
while
her
eyes
were
glued
to
Stone.

She
was
attracted
to
him.
There
was
no
use
denying
it

since
that
fact
had
already
been
established
a
few
days
ago.
But
what
she
couldn’t
understand
was
why
she

couldn’t
get
past
it.
Why
did
a
part
of
her
want
to
act
on
it?

It
seemed
that
although
her
mind
was
definitely
on
him,
his
mind
was
on
the
horses.
He
hadn’t
looked
her
way
since

they
had
stopped
for
lunch.
She
should
have
been
grateful,
but
she
couldn’t
deny
being
bothered
by
the
fact
that
he

could
dismiss
her
so
easily.
But
then,
hadn’t
she
laid
out
the
ground
rules
last
night?
And
hadn’t
those
ground
rules

included
a
statement
that
anything
developing
between

them
was
to
be
placed
on
the
back
burner?
Evidently
he

had
taken
her
at
her
word
and
intended
to
adhere
to
it.

She
let
out
a
deep
sigh
and
the
sound
must
have
caught
his
attention.
He
lifted
his
eyes
to
hers,
holding
it
for
several

long
moments,
saying
nothing
but
looking
at
her.
She
met
his
gaze
without
flinching
while
desire
stirred
in
her

stomach,
hot,
thick,
the
likes
of
which
she’d
never

experienced
before.
Without
a
sound,
without
a
touch,
and
over
the
distance
of
twenty
feet,
she
actually
felt
the
heat
of
his
gaze
as
tiny
shocks
of
warmth
began
inching
all
the
way
up
her
spine
to
flow
through
her
body.
She
even
felt
heat

forming
between
her
legs.
Especially
between
her
legs.

And
the
appetite
forming
in
her
stomach
had
nothing
to
do
with
regular
food.
She
continued
to
look
at
him
while
trying
to
cling
to
her
composure,
her
resolve
and
her
sanity.

Her
throat
tightened
when
he
began
walking
toward
her
and
the
heat
surging
through
her
got
hotter.
She
had
never

appreciated
a
Western
shirt
and
tight
jeans
on
a
man
until
she
had
met
him.
She
couldn’t
imagine
his
tall,
muscled

body
wearing
anything
else…unless
it
was
nothing
at
all.

Her
breath
caught.
She
wished
she
could
strike
that
thought
from
her
mind,
call
it
back,
and
not
think
about
it.
But
the

deed
was
done.
That
wicked
thought
went
right
along
with
the
dreams
she’d
been
having
about
him
lately.
The
man

exuded
raw
sex
appeal
without
trying
and
she
was
fully

aware
of
him,
more
so
than
she
needed
to
be.

“You
okay?”

Madison
shook
her
head.
Not
sure
words
would
come
out
of
her
mouth
even
if
she
wanted
them
to,
but
she
forced

herself
to
speak
anyway.
“Yes,
I’m
fine,
Stone.”

He
nodded
as
he
continued
to
look
at
her.
“Can
I
use
some
of
that?”
he
asked
indicating
the
small
bottle
of
liquid
hand
sanitizer
she
had
brought
along.

“Sure,
help
yourself.”

She
watched
as
he
uncapped
the
small
bottle
and
poured
some
in
his
palm
and
then
began
rubbing
his
hands

together
in
slow
motion.
She
immediately
thought
of
him
rubbing
those
same
hands
all
over
her…in
slow
motion.
She
glanced
at
her
soda
can
wondering
if
there
was

something
inside
it
other
than
soda
that
was
making
her
dizzy
with
such
wanton
thoughts.

“This
is
a
beautiful
spot,
isn’t
it?”

His
question
got
her
attention.
She
shifted
her
gaze
away
from
his
hands
to
take
in
the
beauty
of
their
surroundings.
“Yes,
it
is.
I
wish
I
had
thought
to
bring
a
camera
along.”

He
lifted
a
brow.
“I’m
surprised
that
you
didn’t.”

She
was
surprised,
too.
“I
had
other
things
on
my
mind.”
And
those
other
things,
she
told
herself,
were
what
she

should
be
concentrating
on
and
not
on
Stone.
She

continued
to
watch
him
as
he
recapped
the
hand
sanitizer