Tall, Dark & Western. Anne Marie Winston

just a little thing. I’ll hold you high so your feet don’t touch the floor.”

      She smiled and let him pull her out amid the dancers, but when he faced her and held out his arms, she suddenly realized she would be stepping into the embrace of a man she barely knew. Other women do it all the time, she told herself. It’s just dancing.

      But deep inside she was afraid that with this man, it might be much more than that. And when his arm slipped around her waist and his brawny strength encircled her, it felt so right that she automatically relaxed and let him lead her.

      They danced several dances. Marty taught her the steps, patiently reminding her until she had mastered his movements. He was a strong lead; all she had to do was stay loose and let him put her where he wanted her.

      She was very conscious of the words of one romantic song, and when Marty pulled her in and tucked her head under his chin, she could have stayed there all night. They swayed to the three-step, waltzing slowly on the crowded floor, and she fought the urge to press herself closer, to burrow into his warmth and strength and let him take care of her.

      “There’s something I’ve got to ask you.” His voice was a low rumble above her head, and she tilted her face up so that she could see his expression.

      “What?” Yes, you can kiss me. Please kiss me!

      Marty lowered his head until his lips brushed her ear. “Do you wear that stuff you sell?”

      His tone was deep and husky, and his hands drew her even closer as his lips lightly caressed the outline of her ear. Arousal rushed through her so fast that she sagged against him; his arms tightened and his hands slipped over her until she was held flush against every inch of his big body. Every hard, male inch.

      She swallowed. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” Good heavens, Juliette! Whatever possessed you?

      His feet stopped moving for an instant. Then he twirled her in a deep turn again, molding her body to his, and she heard him chuckle. “All right. Do you have a time frame in mind here?”

      She gazed up at him. “A time frame?”

      “For a wedding,” he prompted. “I’d like to marry you.”

      She opened her mouth. Then she shut it again without a word. Heavens! She’d expected to have more time to think about this. “I’d like to marry you, too,” she said, “But—”

      “How does Friday sound?” he asked her. “I can get the license and make the arrangements, and we’ll start the new year with a wedding.”

      Her eyes widened. “This coming Friday? That’s—that’s soon!”

      He nodded, smiling at her reaction. “I don’t have a reason to wait. Do you?”

      She started to say yes, but the word wouldn’t come out. “Well, uh…I guess not.”

      “Good.” He took a deep breath and, held as she was against him, the action lifted her clear of the floor for an instant before he set her down again. Automatically she glanced at her watch. It couldn’t be nearly nine. Could it? Good heavens, she had to get home to Bobby! Ruefully she thought that a week could have passed while she was in Marty’s arms and she wouldn’t have noticed.

      “I have to go,” she murmured regretfully.

      “Yeah, I’ll be sorry if I don’t get going, too.”

      But he made no move to let her loose.

      Finally she stepped back, slipping her hands from his. “I really do have to go.”

      Marty reached over the railing separating the dance floor from the tables and snagged his jacket and her long winter coat, holding it for her to slip on before he shrugged into his own. Then, as if he’d been doing it for years, he took her hand and led her out of the bar to the parking lot, where they’d parked their vehicles not far from each other.

      He walked with her until they reached her car, stopping beside the driver’s door, still holding her hand in a loose clasp.

      “Juliette…” His voice was low and hesitant.

      “Yes?” She realized she was whispering.

      “I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer than just one evening.”

      She nodded, glad that he was feeling some of the magic that she was. “I know.”

      He stepped closer, took her hands and placed them on the shoulders of his jacket, then pulled her against him. “I’m going to kiss you,” he said.

      And as his head blotted out the stars, and the warmth of his arms around her banished the chilly December air, she wondered what she’d have done if he hadn’t. She wanted to feel his mouth moving on hers worse than she’d wanted anything since she was about five and she’d thought she would die if she didn’t get that doll at Disneyland.

      His breath feathered across her cheek, and then the kiss she craved began as his lips settled onto hers. The sensation was exquisite. His mouth was warm and firm as it moved over hers, and she slipped her arms up around his neck, offering herself to him in a wordless motion that he clearly recognized.

      She’d missed this, the warm physical pleasures two people could share. But as Marty’s tongue flicked along the line of her lips, outlining the shape of her mouth, she had to be honest with herself. She didn’t ever remember feeling quite so shaky, trembly, totally turned on before.

      Then his mouth grew bolder, and she stopped thinking as she parted her lips, letting him in. He gathered her closer so that she could feel the arousal confined by his jeans and her breasts were crushed against his chest. She twisted slightly, whimpering a little into his mouth in an unconscious plea for more, and he answered her, bending her backward over his arm. His mouth devoured hers, burning a hot path down her throat as he nuzzled beneath her open jacket, over her throat. He nipped at her collarbone, and she shivered in his arms. Then his mouth slid lower, grazing the upper swell of her breast. He raised a hand and brushed aside the fabric of the little black dress and he was suddenly, shockingly, suckling her breast right through the lacy fabric of her bra.

      She arched against him, gasping at the sharp, exciting sensation. Between her legs, an aching throb demanded satisfaction, and she squirmed against him until she was half-astride his thigh.

      And then he lifted his head. He went completely still and so did she. He shifted her so that she was upright, facing him, and they both made small sounds of protest as she slid over the rigid flesh at his loins.

      She realized her fingers were gripping his hair so hard it must hurt. His chest was heaving, and every muscle in his big body was like steel. Deliberately she relaxed her fists and slid her hands down to rest against his chest. As sanity returned, embarrassment set in. What was Marty thinking of her?

      “We’re standing in a parking lot,” he said through gritted teeth. He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “The things I want to do to you, with you, aren’t going to happen in a parking lot or any other public place. And they aren’t going to happen until we know each other better.”

      “Thank you,” she said quietly, wondering if the heat in her cheeks was producing a glow in the evening light. His restraint touched her. “I don’t—this isn’t the kind of thing—” She stumbled over the words, because they weren’t true. She did, and she had, and very possibly she would have, with him.

      “I know.” He pressed a kiss to her brow. “I know. It’s not my style, either.” Then he placed a gentle finger beneath her chin and tipped her face up, inspecting her as she stared back at him, wide-eyed. “Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?”

      “Um, I think so.”

      “Write down your phone number for me.”

      “Oh. All right.” He released her so she could dig through her purse, and she quickly did as he requested. “Here,” she said, handing him the slip of paper. It was still hard to