There was a need hammering deep within her that she didn't understand, but evidently Chance did, since he seemed to sense just what she wanted, just what she needed, even if she wasn't certain. The only thing she was sure about was that he had taken their kiss to a level she hadn't known possible.

The sound of a car door slamming made her remember where they were and what they were doing. The honking of a horn indicated that someone was behind them waiting for their vehicle to move. Still, Chance took his time easing his mouth from hers. She could barely think. She could barely breathe. And she could barely break the connection of the dark eyes locked with hers.

"I think the truck is clean enough now, don't you?" he asked throatily against her moist lips with a sound that sent sensuous chills down her body.

Kylie didn't trust herself to speak at the moment. When he released her, she slid out of his lap and back across the seat. She'd read about women being kissed senseless but never in her wildest dreams had she thought such a thing was possible. Boy, had she been wrong.

She snapped her seat belt back in place as she felt the truck move forward. When they were back in the sunlight, a dose of reality struck. They'd been in the midst of making out in his truck like teenagers. She inhaled deeply, wondering how she could have let things get so out of hand.

"It was inevitable, Kylie."

She glanced over at him. Just because what he said was true didn't mean she liked hearing it.

"Please don't have any regrets," he said softly.

How could she have regrets when she had been a willing partic.i.p.ant, just as much into the kiss as he had been? However, she did intend to have her say. "We need to have more control, Chance. How can we expect our kids to have control if we don't?"

He pulled the truck to the side and parked it, and then glanced over at her. "They're kids, but we're adults, Kylie. Our wants and needs are more defined than theirs. And a lot more profound."

"Sounds like a double standard to me."

"It's not. That kiss we shared has nothing to do with our kids. That was strictly personal, between me and you."

She stared at him, hoping he understood what she was about to say. "I don't have any regrets about the kiss but it can't happen again, Chance."

A slow smile played across his lips. "That's easier said than done, Kylie. I tasted your response. You're a very pa.s.sionate woman, moreso than you even know. You've denied yourself pleasure for a long time and now that your body has savored just a sampling, it's going to want more."

She didn't like what he was insinuating. Okay, so she had been a little greedy back there, but still, she had her morals.

"And your principles have nothing to do with it," he said as if he'd read her mind. "So don't even think it. It's about needs that are old and primitive as mankind. I have them and you have them, too."

She frowned. "And I'm supposed to jump into bed with any man just to appease him?"

"No. Only with me."

He evidently saw the startled look in her face, because he then added, "But I'm willing to wait until you're ready."

Kylie inhaled and decided it would be a waste of her time to tell him that no matter how much she had enjoyed their kiss, when it came to an affair, she would never be ready. Especially not with him.

Another night and Chance couldn't sleep a wink. But at least tonight he wasn't being kept awake wondering how it would be to kiss Kylie since he'd gotten a real down-to-earth experience earlier that day.

And it had been better than he'd imagined.

The moments their lips had connected he had felt a slow sizzle all the way to his toes. The more he'd kissed her, the more she had wiggled closer for a better connection, and while his truck was getting the wash it really hadn't needed, he was inside with her locked in his arms, and getting hotter by the second.

She had felt like she belonged in his arms and the firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s that had been pressed against his chest had felt like they were meant to touch him that way. More than once he had been tempted to ease his hand under her blouse and cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, ma.s.sage them, lift her blouse and lower his head and actually taste them.

The only reason he had finally lifted his mouth from hers had been to breathe in some air. He had heard the car behind them blowing the horn but he would have stayed right there and ignored the sound if he hadn't needed to breathe. What he'd told her was true. She was one responsive woman but he hadn't meant it as a bad thing. He was beginning to realize that everything about Kylie Hagan was all good.

He glanced over at the clock. It was a few minutes past eleven. He wondered if she was still awake. He reached for the phone, deciding there was only one way to find out.

Trying to get to sleep that night was torture for Kylie. The vivid memory of their kiss in Chance's truck, her sitting in his lap while his tongue stroked her mouth into sweet heaven, kept her wide awake.

She remembered the feel of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, their fullness, their sensitivity, and how at one point she had wanted his lips to bestow the same magic on them that he was giving her mouth. Then there was the feel of his body growing hard beneath her bottom. She would have given anything to feel that same erection cradled into the V V of her thighs. of her thighs.

Feeling frustrated in the worst possible way, she was about to get out of bed when her telephone rang. She reached over and picked it up. "h.e.l.lo."

"I just wanted to hear your voice one more time tonight."

Kylie breathed deeply at the seductiveness of Chance's tone. She had wanted to hear his voice again, too, but hadn't had the nerve to call him. He was definitely bolder than she.

"Kylie?"

She swallowed hard before saying, "I'm here."

"Yes, but I wish you were here."

She shook her head. "That's not a good idea."

"Your opinion and not mine."

"We all have opinions."

"Yes, and we all have the capability of getting a good night's sleep. At least some of us do."

She lifted her eyebrows. Was he having trouble sleeping as well? "Try counting sheep."

"I tried that and it didn't work. Any more suggestions?"

She pulled herself up in bed and relaxed against the huge pillow. "We could talk."

"About what?"

"Anything you want to talk about-except what happened this afternoon."

There was a pause, and then he said, "Okay, fair enough. I'll let you choose the topic."

"All right. Tell me about Marcus. Whenever I ask Tiffany about him the only words she can fix her mouth to say are, 'Oh, he's simply wonderful.'"

Chance chuckled. "Hey, I'm the kid's father. Do you expect me to admit to any of his flaws? If she thinks he's wonderful, then who am I to disagree?"

"Be serious, Chance."

Evidently there was something he sensed in her voice that let him know she needed to know about Marcus before actually meeting him on Sunday.

"On a scale of one to ten with ten being exceptional, I'll give Marcus a nine. He isn't perfect but for the past sixteen years he has been a son any father would be proud to claim. He's smart, and he's also sensitive, something he inherited from his mother. Cyndi was a warm, loving and sensitive person."

The undisguised love she heard in his voice let her know that he had cared for his wife very much. "How old was Marcus when his mother died?"

"He was nine and he took her death hard. Thankfully, he had my parents, Cyndi's parents and my brothers and cousins. Still, there were times when I worried about him. I made Cyndi a promise the day before she died that I would do everything within my power to make sure that Marcus had all the opportunities that we either didn't have or didn't take advantage of, especially when it came to college."

She nodded. No wonder he was so intense about his son staying focused to get into a good university.

"Marcus knew of his mother's dreams for him and after she died it was as if he was trying to honor her memory by doing everything that she'd wanted. He was always at the top of his cla.s.s, and I never had to remind him to do homework. He tried so hard to please me because I think in his mind, pleasing me meant pleasing his mom as well."

"And then here comes Miss Tiffany...."

Chance chuckled again and in her mind she could actually see a smile lighting up his eyes. "Ahh, yes, here comes Miss Tiffany. But before Tiffany came football. I hadn't wanted him to play. I had played in school and I knew how grueling practice could be. I wasn't sure Marcus could handle it and still keep his grades up. I think that was the first time the two of us b.u.t.ted heads."

After a pause he said, "Luckily he had his uncles on his side. It took my brothers to make me see that I was being unrealistic and that it wasn't all about making good grades. Marcus had a few more years in high school to go, and kids these days need to be well-rounded and I was keeping him from being that."

"So he started playing football?"

"Yes, and the girls started calling...and calling and calling. My phone was a regular hotline. But I think they annoyed him more than captivated his interest. At least until Tiffany."

"Tiffany used to call your house all the time?" Kylie asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, and that's what's so strange. I can't recall her ever calling. That's why I was taken aback when I found that note and was stumped further when Marcus told me, in no uncertain terms, just how he felt about her. It was as if she appeared one day out of the clear blue sky."

Kylie nodded. It was as if Marcus had appeared out of the clear blue sky as well. He'd definitely been one well-kept secret.

"Now it's your turn."

"My turn?" Kylie echoed.

"Yes, to tell me all about Tiffany so I can be prepared."

Kylie's lips tilted into a smile. "I don't think anyone can ever get fully prepared for Tiffany. She's smart, funny and extremely outgoing. An extrovert if you've ever seen one. I think that's why she's having trouble making friends at school since we moved here. I don't think the kids know how to take her. They see her genuinely exuberant nature as being insincere and phony."

Kylie's smile then widened. "There is, however, something that I do think you should know."

"What?"

"I told Tiffany that as Marcus's father you would want what was best for him."

"And?"

And she feels certain that you're going to like her when the two of you meet because she is definitely the best."

Chance laughed. "Sounds like a person with a lot of confidence."

"A little too much at times. It comes from her dad's side of the family."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with having an overabundance of confidence."

"Remember you said that when you meet her on Sunday."

There was a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in Chance's voice when he said, "I will. And by the way, is there anything you need for me to bring?"

"Yes, a lot of prayer just in case Tiffany and Marcus don't want to go along with our plans for them."

"h.e.l.lo."

"Marcus, are you awake?"

Marcus clutched the phone as he buried his head back underneath his pillow. "Tiffany, it's Sat.u.r.day morning. n.o.body gets up before eight on Sat.u.r.days."

"I do. Some of us have ch.o.r.es to do and the earlier they get done the better. I only called this time of the morning because you said your dad always plays basketball every Sat.u.r.day morning with his brothers, and you told me to call if I had anything to report."

Marcus removed the pillow. She had gotten his attention. "And you have something to report?"

"Yes. Your dad called here last night. And it was late."

Marcus lifted a curious eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"Your phone number showed up on our caller ID this morning and it showed the time as close to midnight. That means our parents are talking after-hours. That's a good sign."

"But what if he just called to get directions to your house or something?"

"At midnight? Think positive, Marcus."

"Okay. But we should be able to tell if anything is going on when we see them together tomorrow, right?"

"I hope so, Marcus."

"Yeah, I hope so, too, considering how much of a pain in the b.u.t.t I've been to my dad over the past week."

Chapter 5.

By the time Chance and Marcus arrived at Kylie's home on Sunday evening, Chance was chomping at the bit to see her again.