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The bronzelines

"This isn't the tiainst his chest "If you'll let o, I'll fix your soup" She tried to sound fir, you can go upstairs and get out of these wet clothes before you catch pneu the soup up and you can have it in bed," she said, trying to treat him as a child in need of motherly attention

"No" It was short and clipped, his fingers biting into her bones Ato bed alone, Alanna, not any more"

The gasp of surprise had barely begun when he fluidly swept her off her feet into the cradle of his armatically into her startled face His drenched clothes chilled her skin, but Alanna didn't notice it The fire burning inside distracted all her thoughts

Slowly he walked to the stairs, carrying her effortlessly in his arms as he mounted the steps At the head of the stairs, he turned to the master bedroom The drumbeat of her heart sounded louder than the thunder and ins

THE TELEPHONE RANG, Alanna slowly opened her eyes, not sure of the sound, awareness creeping slowly through her sleep-drugged body Sunlight flooded the roo on her side, the coolness of a sheet against her naked skin A furnace war over her waist and stoate the heat and encountered the curling hairs of an arm

She stiffened for an instant, then languidly relaxed under its pressing weight Rolt's war the tangle of hair at the base of her neck She snuggled closer to him in heady contentment

A delicious thrill ran through her veins at the memory of his easy mastery of her responses She hadn't known that pain could le so easily with rapture, nor that there could be such a joy in physical union

A flush colored her cheeks as she reer had turned theht She savored the memory A smile curved her mouth At last she understood her ht in Rolt's arms

The discordant ring of the telephone harshly interrupted her reverie With a start, she realized it was the sound that had wakened her initially Fortunately she was lying on the side of the king-sized bed nearest the telephone on the night stand

As she started to htened instinctively She glanced quickly at Rolt over her shoulder He was still sleeping The rough angles and planes of his face were gently strong in repose

Not wanting to disturb hiripped the receiver and lifted it off the hook before it could ring again Absently, she realized the line downed by the storm must have been repaired

"Matthews residence" She spoke softly into the htly thick with sleep

"Alanna, this is Kurt," came the reply '"Did I wake you?"

"Not exactly" She was suddenly and e beside her It flamed her cheeks