Stone Cold Surrender (37 page)

he
had
a
feeling
that
that
delivery
would
be
so
much
to
his
liking
that
he
might
start
getting
crazy
ideas
about
wanting
to
keep
her
around.

He
closed
his
eyes
and
clenched
his
jaw
tight.
The
last

thing
he
needed
was
to
think
of
any
woman
in
permanent
terms.
And
he
refused
to
let
a
beautiful,
proper-talking,

brown-eyed,
delectable-smelling
city
woman
come
into
his
life
and
change
things.
All
he
needed
to
do
was
remember
that
episode
with
Durango
a
few
years
ago
to
screw
his

head
back
on
tight.
The
first
time
his
womanizing
cousin
had
let
his
guard
down
and
fallen
for
a
city
woman,
he’d

been
left
with
scars
for
life.

But
then
Stone
knew
Madison
was
nothing
like
the
woman
who
had
ripped
out
Durango’s
heart.
Madison
Winters

wasn’t
like
any
woman
he
knew.
He’d
been
so
hell-bent
on
introducing
her
to
sexual
pleasures
that
he’d
outright

forgotten
how
long
it
had
been
for
him.
He
hadn’t
slept
with
a
woman
in
over
a
year
after
practically
shutting
off
his

social
life
to
complete
his
last
book.
And
the
last
few

women
he
had
been
involved
with
had
been
downright

bores.
The
need
for
physical
intimacy
was
tugging
at
his

insides,
making
him
feel
things
he
normally
didn’t
feel;

making
him
want
something
he
usually
didn’t
think
twice

about
doing
without.

But
still,
when
all
was
said
and
done,
no
matter
what
torture
he
was
going
through,
the
woman
in
the
other
room
was
his

main
concern.
Her
needs
outweighed
his
and
more
than

anything
she
needed
to
understand
how
it
felt
to
be
driven
to
lose
control,
to
act
impulsively
and
to
be
spontaneous.
She
deserved
to
experience
reckless
pleasure
and

uncontrollable
passion
at
least
once.
And
as
he
moved

away
from
the
door
and
walked
toward
the
connecting

bathroom,
he
knew
he
wanted
that
one
time
to
be
with
him.

Madison
placed
her
hand
on
her
forehead,
feeling
her
skin
and
wondering
why
she
was
beginning
to
feel
so
hot.
But
deep
down
she
knew
the
reason
why.
Anytime
she
was

within
close
proximity
to
Stone,
her
temperature
went
up
a
few
degrees.
There
was
no
way
she
could
deny
that
she

wanted
him.
And
hearing
the
sound
of
the
bath
running
and
knowing
that
he
was
in
the
bathroom
naked
and
wet
wasn’t
helping
matters.

Ninety-six
hours
was
the
equivalent
of
four
days.
That’s
how
long
she
had
known
him
and
here
she
was
thinking
all
kinds
of
naughty
thoughts.
There
were
still
some
things
about

Storm
Westmoreland
that
she
didn’t
know,
but
she
felt

certain
there
was
a
fair
amount
that
she
did
know.
She
had
a
feeling
that
the
same
description
he
had
given
his
uncle
earlier
that
day
could
also
be
used
to
describe
him.

During
the
ride
up
the
mountain
he
talked
about
his
family
and
she
knew
he
was
close
to
them
and
that
all
the

Westmorelands
had
a
special
relationship.
And
she
knew
that
he
also
had
a
love
and
deep
appreciation
for
nature.
That
was
evident
when
he
had
pointed
out
various
plants

and
trees,
as
well
as
telling
her
about
the
different
types
of
wildlife
that
was
found
in
these
parts.
And
she
had
a
feeling
there
were
times
in
his
life—possibly
while
working
on
one
of
his
novels—that
he
sought
solitude
more
often
than

others.
But
at
the
same
time
he
would
feel
comfortable
in
any
type
of
social
gathering
if
that
was
where
he
wanted
to
belong.

And
she
knew
that
although
he
would
be
the
last
person
to
brag
about
his
work,
she’d
heard
her
girlfriends
say

countless
times
that
he
was
an
excellent
storyteller.
She

even
remembered
one
of
her
friends
staying
overnight
at
her
place
after
reading
one
of
his
thriller-chiller
novels,

because
she
was
frightened.
That
was
one
of
the
reasons
Madison
had
decided
never
to
read
his
books.
She
lived
alone
in
her
apartment
and
the
last
thing
she
needed
was
to
start
looking
over
her
shoulder
or
waking
up
during
the
night
at
the
slightest
sound.

Madison
had
discovered
after
reading
the
newspaper
at

breakfast
yesterday
morning
that
Stone’s
latest
book,

Whispers
of
a
Stalker,
was
still
on
the
New
York
Times

bestseller
list
even
after
twelve
weeks.
During
the
ride

today,
Stone
had
also
shared
with
her
information
about
his
involvement
on
a
national
level
with
the
Teach
the
People
to
Read
program—a
program
aimed
at
fighting
illiteracy.