Free Desert Rain by Elizabeth Lowell Page B

Shannon smile, Holly turned and walked back to the tent, letting her
     hips swing just that extra bit every step of the way.

Desert Rain
    Eight
    The interior of the tent was warm. It was filled with golden light that seeped through
     tiny pores in the canvas.
    It was also a mess. Clothes were strewn everywhere. So were other things. The duffel had
     been all but emptied out in Hollys earlier frantic search for aspirin.
    But when she looked around the tent, all she really saw was memories of Linc. Heat
     zigzagged from her breastbone to her knees as she relived the instant the sleeping bag had
     fallen away from his lean hips.
    She had stared at him. She had liked every bit of him that she had seen.
    And she had seen it all.
    Even worse, she had wanted to go back to him, to kneel by his side, to run her hands all
     over his sleek body . . .
    Is that why Linc said I didnt react like a virgin?she wondered silently.
    What does he expect a virgin to do when she sees the man she loves naked? Scream? Faint?
    With a wry twist to her full lips, Holly unzipped her pants and kicked them aside. She
     wore nothing underneath the jeans because she had been too cold to worry about underwear
     last night.
    I wonder what Linc would have done if he had discovered that?she asked herself.Screamed
     and fainted?
    Softly she laughed aloud at the thought of anything making Linc scream or faint.
    Laughter faded as Holly tried to undress. The jacket zipper was as stubborn as ever. She
     peered down at it.
    A single look told her that the zipper was hopelessly off track. With a shrug, she slipped
     the jacket down over her hips and stuffed it into the bottom of the duffel.
    For a few moments she stood naked in the warm tent, remembering how Linc had looked in the
     light pouring through the open canvas flap.
    Would he think I was as beautiful naked as I thought he was?
    The memory of Lincs very male body caused a stirring in Holly that was becoming familiar.
     Fine wires of sensation tightened, teasing her with their promise of pleasures she had not
     yet felt.
    And, according to Linc, Im not going to feel.
    She muttered something that wasnt a normal part of her vocabulary as she pulled underwear
     out of the duffel.
    The bra and matching briefs were made of indigo lace. Their blue-black color made Hollys
     skin glow like dark honey, but she was in no temper to appreciate the sensual contrast
     between lace and skin.
    Impatiently she yanked on her jeans again. She buttoned the rumpled blue chambray blouse
     all the way up, which was how she usually wore it.
    Then, deliberately, she undid a few buttons. The result was just enough cloth to cover the
     indigo lace of her bra.
    Some of the time. If Linc wants a virgin,she thought,Ill give him a virgin. On a blue
     chambray platter, hot and
    steaming, garnished with sage!
    The image made Holly smile, then laugh at herself. She fastened one more button, brushed
     her hair, braided it quickly, and put on her shoes.
    When she was finished dressing, she straightened the clutter inside the tent with the
     efficient motions of an experienced camper. On the way out, she grabbed a canteen and the
     firewood she had stored in the tent to keep the wood dry.
    Holly started a campfire inside a ring of stones as easily as she had made order out of
     the tents chaos.
    When the flames had eaten solidly into the wood, she balanced a metal grate on the stones.
    She filled a bright new coffee pot with water she had hauled last night from the springs.
     Then she set the coffee pot on the grate and watched it darken with the sooty caress of
     woodsmoke.
    After a moment she poured water into the mess kits biggest pot and put it next to the
     coffee on the grate. Finally she picked up the latrine shovel and set off into the brush.
    The tent is ready when you are, she called over her shoulder.
    Although she couldnt see Linc, she knew he would be nearby, probably giving Sand Dancer a
     rough grooming