Free Snowball's Chance by Cherry Adair Page A

her, he’d called 911 about the dead body sprawled in the middle of the road. The Good Samaritan had, thank God, made the call, but Kendall had almost bled out because the man had stayed in his vehicle until the cops arrived.
    â€œYes.” She burrowed tightly against Joe, shaking hard enough to shatter. “I got away.”
    At what cost? Joe thought, wrapping her in his arms and holding her tightly. Damn. He hated that he was in a hurry-up-and-wait position. He didn’t like not having options. He had a fantasy of getting Kendall to safety, then returning to the house to wait for Treadwell himself. One on one.
    Before the cops arrived and made a nice, polite arrest, Joe wanted just half an hour with the son of a bitch. Just long enough to give Dwight Gus Treadwell the punishment he so richly deserved.
    He listened to the storm die down beyond the sealed windows and checked the safety on the H&K.
    He could tell she was too agitated to remain in bed. She was antsy. Hungry. No, thirsty. They went down to the kitchen, Joe wearing only jeans, Kendall wearing nothing but his white sweater. Her long, pale legs and unfettered breasts did amazing things for his favorite sweater. He found everything about Kendall Metcalf sexy. From her incredible red hair all the way to her slender feet and bright red toenails. And pretty much everything in between.
    Carrying the extra oil lamp, they took the radio downstairs with them so they could keep apprised of the weather situation. Dim nightlights, powered by the generator, glowed throughout the house.
    They stood at the center island in the semi-darkness eating cookies washed down with eggnog. Then Kendall decided she needed protein, and ripped off chunks of turkey breast, feeding them to Joe as he leaned a hip against the counter, supporting her body against him.
    â€œHear that?” She lifted her head. “The wind’s dying down. Let’s go now.”
    He felt the same urgency. But going out in that would be suicide. He shook his head, looping a long strand of fiery hair behind her ear. “But it’s still blowing hard enough to knock us off our feet if we ventured outside. Sorry, honey. We have a few more hours to wait.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “Let’s get you back in bed. You’re shivering.”
    She gave him a flirty look under her lashes. “You could warm me.”
    Where the hell had this woman been all his life? “I could, yes.” Joe slid his hands to her hips and started bunching up the sweater. It skimmed up her bare body like some kind of fantasy, making him hard and hot.
    With a laugh, she spun out of his hands and dashed across the kitchen. “I don’t want to make love on this cold tile floor.” She hesitated in the doorway, a silhouette in the darkness. “Race you upstairs.”
    Joe bit back a smile. “I’ll give you a seven-minute head start.”
    â€œShow-off.” Her voice faded, and he heard the soft thuds of her running footsteps as she sprinted across the great room.
    She was easy to catch. She wasn’t running very fast.
    He caught her by the waist when she was on the fifth step. She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck as he took her down. He fought to drag his sweater over her head, while she wrestled him for his jeans. Her long hair clung to the white wool as he tossed the sweater aside, leaving her bare and beautiful.
    Her mouth curved, and her pretty eyes glittered up at him as she lay naked on the stairs. She started to laugh. “You know this is physically impossible, don’t you?”
    His mouth silenced her. Nothing was impossible.
    He braced his hands on the riser on either side of her head as her knees came up to hug his hips. Her hips lifted to greet his first thrust.
    It was over in minutes, leaving them with ragged breath and sweat-dampened skin.
    He sucked in deep, gulping breaths, somehow managing to position himself so that