Free Desert Rain by Elizabeth Lowell Page A

you,nin‡. Dont you know that?
    Linc, you dont know me. Not all of me.
    He glanced upward in exasperation.
    Thats the idea of the truce, remember? Linc asked the sky. We stop arguing about silly
     things and talk about rings and weddings and babies.
    Holly trembled and hugged Linc hard. The kiss she gave him was almost desperate.
    You do want babies, dont you? he asked finally.
    I want your babies, she whispered. I always have.
    Linc lifted his head and looked down to the golden-eyed woman in his arms.
    Then please trust me, he said in a low voice. Ill be very gentle with you. Id given up
     hope of ever holding you and Im afraid of losing you all over again before I even have a
     chance . . .
    Linc couldnt finish. He didnt have the words to describe his yearning for the warmth and
     happiness that he once had felt with Holly. So instead of speaking, he simply kissed her
     with all the longing he had felt through the years they had been apart.
    Holly didnt resist the kiss that stole her breath, replacing it with Lincs, or the tongue
     that touched every part of her mouth in mute pleading.
    When he finally lifted his head, she sighed and smoothed her cheek against his warm neck.
     Truce? he asked huskily. Truce. Good.
    Linc set off toward the tent with a purposeful stride, still carrying Holly in his arms.
     Where are we going? she asked. The tent. The tent?
    Linc looked down at Holly, surprised by the hint of nervousness in her voice. I thought Id
     put my clothes out to dry, he said, smiling slightly. Holly tensed, but said nothing. Linc
     stopped walking. You told me you havent had much experience with men, he began.
    She nodded.
    Are you a virgin? Linc asked.
    You make it sound like terminal acne.
    Are you or arent you?
    Does it matter? Holly retorted. This is the modern world, you know.
    I know. Thats why Im asking. You look as innocent as an angel, Linc said, but you didnt
     act like a virgin this morning.
    Sorry about that, Holly said in clipped voice. Chalk it up to false advertising. Im as
     virgin as they come.
    Linc stared at her angry face in frank surprise.
    My God, he said after a moment. Dont they have any men in New York?
    Crawling with them.
    Well?
    She hesitated, then shrugged.
    They werent you, Linc, she said simply.
    Holly felt a tremor move through the man holding her. His lips brushed over her eyes, her
     mouth, her forehead.
    The kisses were so gentle Holly couldnt stop the upwelling of emotion that transformed her
     eyelashes into black nets glimmering with captive tears.
    I dont deserve you, Linc said huskily.
    Hollys lips trembled into a smile.
    Youre stuck with me, she whispered.
    For a long moment he simply held her. His eyes closed as he let her words and her presence
     sink into him like water into dry land.
    Then he eased her down his body until her feet touched the ground once more. Slowly he
     released her.
    Ill get Sand Dancer, Linc said. You get properly dressed. The way that jacket keeps
     flopping open would test the self-restraint of a saint, and God knows Im not one of them.
    Arent we going totodry your clothes?
    Holly sensed a flush creeping up her face and wanted to curse. She felt like she should be
     digging a bare toe in the dirt, chewing on the end of her braid and saying brilliant
     things like Aw, shucks.
    Linc had a way of cutting through the sophisticated shell she had built around herself
     that was as maddening as it was . . . reassuring.
    Slowly Lincs thumb traced the high, slanting line of Hollys cheekbone and smoothed the
     silky arch of her eyebrow.
    Get dressed,nin‡, he whispered, before my good intentions go up in flames. Holly studied
     Linc for the space of several breaths. Just because Im a virgin? she asked. Yes.
    Its a curable condition, she pointed out reasonably.
    No arguments, remember?
    Her eyes darkened even as they narrowed.
    I wouldnt dream of arguing with you, she said sweetly. Welldiscuss it over breakfast.
    Giving Linc her best