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He reached with a shaky hand into the inner pocket of his blue blazer and pulled out a small black box wrapped in velvet When he flipped the lid open, she gasped at the sparkle of diaht of the streetlanized it as a classic Italian engage One that syel, and make me the happiest man in the world"

"Yes" The word flew out of her mouth before she could think, before she could process anything ed him back to his feet so that she could wrap her ar and box crushed between them "Yes, I’ll , so sweet, so passionate that she could hardly believe all of this was real It had happened so fast, fro offered his heart and soul

When they finally drew back froorgeous engageer Mary stared in wonder at it, thinking just how much her mother would have loved this moment If only she could call her with the wonderful news…

But, suddenly, thinking of herfor her estranged faht Mary’s fears back to the forefront

"I don’t--" She sed hard as she made herself face Jack "What if I don’t kno to be a wife? What if I’ one half of a whole? I’ve only ever been on my own as an adult"

"So have I," he said in a soft voice, "but that’s just because I aiting to kiss the prettiest girl in the world under the ether"

Easy He made it sound so easy And because she badly wanted to believe that it would be, she echoed his, "I aiting for you, too"

Mary and Jack stopped to kiss at every corner, so the walk back to her house took twice as long as it otherould have By the time they made it to her front door, she was ainst-the-door lovein’ in the Rain

But instead of tearing her clothes off the moment they were inside, Jack put his hands on either side of her face and held her gently

"Mine"

He said the word softly, but she heard the possession--and the wonder--in the simple word as it fell from his lips

"Yours" Emotion made her voice unsteady "Always"

Slowly, reverently, he ran the tips of his fingers over her eyebrows, cheekbones, lips and earlobes By the time he reached her neck and then the hollows of her collarbones, she was beyond desperate for more of him

"Jack, please"

He leaned forward and slid his bristly cheek against her sht," he ht I proht," she insisted, just as she had the first night they were together, even though she knew that when Jack Sullivanher pleasure--nothing could deter hi off her scarf and coat and then his own, he slid his fingers through hers and led her into the bedroo, but it was just the right size for the two of thereatest pleasures"

He ather her hair up over one shoulder and began to pull down the zipper that ran from her neck to the center of her back She could feel the heat of his fingertips through the silk che

Slowly, so slowly it s, he slid the wool off her shoulders and arave it an impatient shove down over her hips A ainst her neck, and then she was arching into his touch as his large hands slid froasped when his thu her head so herhi hands nother still with one large hand over her stoers over the bare skin at the top of her stockings In her girlish dreams of love, and then later, in her adult experience of real-life passion, she’d never expected to feel this much…or to want this much But every time Jack touched her, she sparked, lit into flames and then her to cover the daers beneath it as he breathed the sweet endearainst hih her as deeply as the caress of his hand just had

The next thing she knew, she was in his ar her down on the bed After he quickly unzipped her boots, he unhooked her garters to roll one stocking down her leg Her breath was co

He was still wearing his sports coat and slacks, and she felt deliciously naughty in only her bra and panties as she rose to her knees to take off his jacket

"One of life’s great pleasures," she agreed as she unbuttoned his shirt Even the sound of his belt buckle co undone excited her, as did the caress of his hands over her skin as he stripped the final bits of lace from her body