Stone Cold Surrender (53 page)

She
knew
why
he
was
asking.
The
man
her
mother
had

married
instead
of
Corey
Westmoreland
had
been
her

father.
“My
heart
aches
for
the
three
of
them.
What
if
there
was
someone
who
my
father
would
have
preferred
to
love.
I
think
it’s
ridiculous
for
parents
to
plan
their
children’s
future
that
way.
I
won’t
ever
do
that
to
my
kids.”

Stone
had
been
rubbing
her
back.
He
suddenly
paused.
“Kids?
You
plan
to
have
kids?”

She
looked
up
at
him
and
smiled.
“Yes,
one
day.”

He
nodded.
That
meant
she
also
planned
on
getting

married
one
day.
Hellfire.
He
sure
didn’t
like
the
thought
of
that.
“You
need
to
get
into
bed
and
try
and
get
some
sleep.”

He
saw
awareness
flash
in
her
eyes
when
she
suddenly
realized
he
wasn’t
wearing
a
shirt.
“I’ll
only
get
into
bed
if
you
get
in
with
me.”

He
shook
his
head.
“With
your
mother
and
Uncle
Corey
at
the
end
of
the
hall,
I
don’t
think
that’s
a
good
idea.”
He

didn’t
want
to
bring
up
the
fact
that
he
doubted
he
could
lie
beside
her
for
any
period
of
time
without
wanting
to
make
love
to
her,
and
their
lovemaking
tended
to
be
rather
noisy.

“Please.
I
promise
to
behave.
Just
stay
with
me
for
a
little
while.”

He
looked
down
at
her
and
knew
she
had
no
intention
of

behaving.
He
would
stay
but
would
somehow
dredge
up

enough
control
to
behave
for
the
both
of
them.
“All
right,
into
bed
you
go.
I’ll
stay
with
you
for
a
little
while.”

“Thanks,
Stone.”

He
walked
her
over
to
the
bed
and
pushed
the
covers

aside.
She
slid
in
and
he
slid
in
beside
her
and
pulled
her
into
his
arms.
She
automatically
shifted
her
body
in
a
spoon
position
against
him
and
he
knew
she
felt
his
arousal

through
his
jeans.
“Wouldn’t
you
be
more
comfortable
if
you
were
to
take
off
your
pants?”
she
asked
in
a
soft
voice.

He
tightened
his
arms
around
her.
“Go
to
sleep,
Madison,”
he
growled
in
her
ear.

“Are
you
sure
you
want
me
to
do
that?”

“Yes,
I’m
sure.
Now
go
to
sleep.”
He
knew
he
didn’t
want

her
to
do
that
but
under
the
circumstances
he
had
no

choice.
He
hadn’t
missed
the
looks
his
uncle
had
given
him
at
dinner.
Corey
and
Abby
were
curious
about
his

relationship
with
Madison.
Although
they
hadn’t
asked

anything,
they
had
gone
quiet
when
Madison
had
innocently
mentioned
they
had
stayed
at
the
Quinns’
cabin
for
two

days.

A
few
hours
later,
the
only
sounds
Stone
heard
were

Madison’s
soft
even
breathing
and
a
coyote
that
was

howling
in
the
distance.
He
leaned
over
and
kissed
her
lips

then
slipped
from
the
bed
to
return
to
his
room.
Before

opening
the
door
he
glanced
back
over
to
look
at
her
and
knew
that,
if
he
had
been
in
his
uncle’s
shoes
thirty
some

years
ago
and
Madison
had
been
her
mother,
there
was
no
way
he
would
have
let
her
go
and
marry
another
man.

There
was
no
way
on
God’s
green
earth
that
he
would
have
allowed
that
to
happen.

Nine

T
he
next
two
weeks
flew
by
and
Madison’s
heart
swelled
each
and
every
time
she
saw
her
mother
and
Corey

Westmoreland
interacting
together.
It
was
quite
obvious
the
two
were
in
love
and
were
making
up
for
lost
time.
She
had
never
seen
her
mother
smile
so
much
and
it
seemed
that
Corey
had
brought
out
a
totally
different
woman
in
Abby

Winters.
Her
mother
enjoyed
cooking,
baking
and
thought
nothing
of
helping
Corey
do
chores
around
the
ranch.

The
days
of
the
prim-and-proper
Abby
Winters
were
over—
but
not
completely.
She
still
set
the
table
like
she
was

expecting
guests
for
dinner
and
occasionally
Madison

would
hear
classical
music
on
the
disc
player.
Madison

liked
the
change
in
her
mother
and
more
and
more
she
was
accepting
Corey’s
role
in
her
life.

Madison
then
thought
about
her
own
love
life
or
lack
of
it.
Stone
still
came
to
her
room
every
night
and
held
her
until
she
went
off
to
sleep.
In
respect
for
her
mother
and
his

uncle,
he
refused
to
make
love
to
her
although
she
always
tried
tempting
him
into
doing
so.

She
had
looked
forward
to
today.
Her
mother
and
Corey

had
mentioned
a
few
days
ago
that
they
would
be
gone

from
the
ranch
most
of
the
day
to
visit
another
rancher
who
lived
on
the
other
side
of
the
mountain.
That
meant
that
she