Black Out

THE BLACKOUT

…Part of him—the part that was on alert all the time—knew they were almost alone now. When the elevator stopped at the twentieth floor, the woman who exited gave him a look of part greed, part shock that would have been embarrassing in other circumstances. Right now, he didn’t give a good damn. All he cared about was the fact they were finally, completely alone. As the door closed behind the woman, he turned Samantha around in his arms and kissed her. Dimly, he felt the car lurch upward. He didn’t care about anything but finally tasting her. His tongue thrust into her wide-open mouth and traced the inner cavern. He felt her hands moving from around his neck, down his chest, finally reaching his button fly. Damn, why didn’t I unbutton those sooner?

PRAISE FOR THE BLACKOUT

“Imagine a power failure trapping you in a high-rise elevator with the man you’re about to divorce—a man who still wants you as badly as you want him and there’s no one in the car but the two of you…The Blackout is an absolute must read. It’s steamy hot, fast-paced, and very well written by an extremely talented writer.” —Chris Grover Author of Where’s Michelle? and Without A Clue “The Blackout is just the story for anyone who’s ever fantasized about making love in an elevator. I know one thing: if I had to be caught in a blackout, I’d want a cowboy like Cody to pass the time with! Trixie Stilletto’s rodeo-riding hero is as sexy as they come…literally. This story is a sizzling good time.” —Megan Hart Author of Playing the Game and Passion Model

ALSO BY TRIXIE STILLETTO The Quarterback

THE BLACKOUT BY TRIXIE STILLETTO

AMBER QUILL PRESS, LLC http://www.amberquill.com

THE BLACKOUT AN AMBER QUILL PRESS BOOK This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. Amber Quill Press, LLC http://www.amberquill.com All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review. Copyright © 2003 by Trixie Stilletto ISBN 1-59279-176-X Cover Art © 2003 Trace Edward Zaber

Layout and Formatting provided by: ElementalAlchemy.com

PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To the staff of Amber Quill Press for believing Trixie isn’t just a one trick wonder. Thanks guys! To all those folks who lived through the great blackout of 2003, here’s hoping you get to spend the next one with the one you love.

THE BLACKOUT

CHAPTER 1

Samantha Sloan walked across the marble floor to the bank of elevators. She joined a large group of people waiting for the first available car. Today was a turning point for her. She would ride up to the thirty-second floor, where she would sign the papers that would end her six-month mistake called a marriage. She closed her eyes at the wave of pain that rolled through her. How could so much change in such a short time? She wished she could feel anger. At herself, at Cody. There was no anger, however. All that was left was the pain of failure. And searing memories of passion that had been more than she had ever known—a passion so hot it had burned like a raging inferno. Even now, knowing things were hopeless, memories of them together caused her libido to kick in. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, feeling a little vindicated when she tasted the tiny bit of blood she’d drawn. No, she wouldn’t think about their passion. She wouldn’t think about their fun, exciting times together. She wouldn’t think about their 1

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laughter. She had to think about the scene she’d walked in on that night in Houston. The surprise weekend that had turned into a surprise on her. The scene of Cody and the naked brunette was one that forever changed how she looked at herself and her life. Finally a bell signaled the arrival of the elevator. She straightened her black skirt and moved forward. Time was passing. Her future awaited. It had to be better than the immediate past. * * * Cody turned to look out the glass wall as the elevator moved from the underground parking garage through a shopping mall and then burst into the world of Manhattan. Fame had its perks he guessed. He’d been able to get this elevator at the underground garage on the merit of his name alone. Name…what a joke. He was Cody Winston, king of the rodeo circuit. A man who had a reputation for riding the toughest bulls and broncs with dexterity and balls-out determination. Among the other cowboys on the International Rodeo circuit, he was also known as a guy who stayed in the game despite the pain. He had the doctor’s bills and x-rays of countless broken ribs, a punctured lung, more broken arms and legs than he could remember and even a ruptured spleen to prove it. In short, he was a man’s man who had never failed at anything he’d ever tried. Until Samantha Sloan. He stared out the glass at the throngs of people clogging the late workday afternoon of Manhattan. His pulse sped a little at the sight of shapely legs cutting a swath through the crowd. Could it be her? That was just the pace at which she moved. Like she was ten minutes late and two dollars short for a sale at Bloomingdale’s. And that passion for life had turned their sex into the hottest, sweetest pleasure he had ever known. 2

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His disappointment was acute when the fast-moving woman moved into sight. It wasn’t her. Not even close. He closed his eyes against the wave of pain. And saw again the pain on her face that night in Houston. He hadn’t even been able to explain. But then, what could he have said? He had tried. He had called her over and over that night. He had quit the rodeo competition before the final event—something he hadn’t done even when a doctor had ordered him to do it after being thrown and stomped on—to follow her back to her apartment here in Manhattan. She hadn’t been home—at least to him. Now, six months later, they had come to this. He was here. Hoping for one last chance to explain. Hoping for one last look at her beautiful face. But his lawyer had reached him just as his car was pulling into the garage. Samantha would most likely not be here. What had he expected? The only people at this meeting would be him and a bunch of hungry, fee-gouging lawyers. He’d blown it with Samantha. He was a failure at the most important game of his life. The one thing more important than all the rodeo championship buckles, all the endorsement campaigns, all the money in the world. Samantha Sloan. As the elevator door opened at the lobby level and a wave of people surged on, night fell on Manhattan and the lights in all the buildings surrounding them rose. Cody felt that sensation deep inside kick in again. He shifted slightly, but the two guys—one nearly four inches taller than his own six-foot-two, and the other clearly wider than the ass end of any bull he’d ever mounted—right in front of him blocked his view to the front of the large car. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shove, but instead he prayed. Finally, he got his wish. The wide one shifted slightly. Satisfaction. It was her. He’d recognize that flowing blonde hair, the curve of her spine, the flare of those hips anywhere. She was here. 3

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Now he had to convince her to give him one more chance. And he had thirty-two stops to do it. In a crowded Manhattan elevator. He smiled. Piece of cake. * * * Samantha felt it like a raw touch, and her body betrayed her instantly. She was suddenly sweating. Not with fear, but desire. Her clit was burning and her nipples were hardening. What in the world was the matter with her? She felt as if someone was touching her, stroking her, feasting on her body like she was the cherry on the top of an ice-cream sundae. If she were alone in the elevator she would be tempted to stick her hand under her skirt, and give herself the little pop of satisfaction her body was suddenly demanding. That thought was almost more astounding than the fact she was nearly ready to come for no apparent reason in the first place. There was no question, after this meeting was over, she was going to have to go see a shrink or sex therapist. Because she was definitely going crazy. A bell sounded and the elevator glided to a stop. Second floor. Only thirty more to go before everything changed. * * * Cody didn’t believe in luck. Or rather he didn’t believe in a random happening based on nothing more than chance. He believed strongly if you worked hard, trained hard and planned for every contingency, you made your own luck. When the fat guy got off the elevator on the second floor, he thanked his lucky stars and moved one step closer to his woman. He gave the tall guy who was leering intently at Samantha’s gorgeous legs a warning glare. The guy took the hint, moving back into Cody’s old spot. Now Cody was in the perfect position. To do what? Tap her on the shoulder and say “Hello, old friend. Fancy meeting you here.” That would go over like a lead balloon. Hmmm, what he really wanted to do was touch her. Intimately, deeply, 4

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completely. Not possible or even legal most places, but certainly not in a crowded elevator in the middle of Manhattan. He grinned wickedly to himself and the woman standing to his right straightened her back and thrust out her boobs. Sorry, doll, he said silently. You don’t have what I’m looking for. Not anymore. He edged a little closer to Samantha and breathed in. He could smell her hair, and he closed his eyes and luxuriated in the moment. It always reminded him of wildflowers and silk. His fingers itched to touch, but he controlled the urge. What the hell, he thought. He’d been arrested before and probably would be again. At this point, he had nothing else to lose. * * * At first, Samantha thought she was really going bonkers. She felt the breath brush the back of her neck and instinctively ran her hand over the spot that tingled. They were at the fourth floor now and more people got off while one or two got on. The elevator car was huge. According to the inspection sticker on the panel above the operating buttons, it had been licensed to hold fifteen people. Although a few had gotten off at each floor, the additions were probably keeping it right around that number. But that didn’t matter. She’d been in crowded elevators all of her adult life. For God’s sake, she lived in Manhattan, and it was the place that had made elevators like this standard. But never before in her life had she felt a seductive caress brush the back of her neck. And never had she been so completely turned on by it. They were on the sixth floor now…only twenty-six more to go. And she wanted to come so badly she thought she might melt. She nervously crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to hide the state of her nipples, and earning an aggravated glance from the woman next to her after she brushed against her sleeve. Maybe if I do some deep breathing exercises I’ll calm down, she thought. Calm down, hell. What she needed was to cool off. She looked 5

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over at the woman next to her, wondering if she felt like the elevator was a sauna as well. But the woman looked completely unperturbed. There it was again. Samantha shivered. Unfortunately, they were still packed in like sardines so she couldn’t turn around and see who was behind her. But she was tempted, oh so tempted, even if it meant gouging the people beside her with her elbows. She could push her way to the back of the car, then at least she’d have the glass behind her instead of this terribly rude person. Of course, that wouldn’t help the condition of her clit, but maybe it would slow down the pulse beats pounding wildly on her outer lips. She felt fingertips dance down her spine, resting for only a second on the indentation of her vertebrae. The touch raced through her like an electrical charge. The sound of the bell announcing arrival at the seventh floor made her jump backwards, landing against a hard, hot, definitely male body. Hands clamped momentarily around her hips, steadying her. The hot arc of desire went straight to her core. She could feel her clit swelling, her juices edging out and soaking into the cotton lining of her silk panties. There was only one man on the face of this whole earth who had the ability to make her come with just one touch. And that man was the one she was about to divorce. Now her dilemma was simple. Should she turn and slap him into next month? Or should she relax and enjoy the lure and ride of forbidden satisfaction for the last time? They were on the eighth floor now. Twenty-four more to go. And Cody was torturing her slowly and deliciously. The amazing fact was, considering where they were, how they were, his touches were the type that would make the average teenager roll their eyes in boredom. Boredom was the last thing Samantha felt. His fingers tiptoed around the waistband of her skirt. She held her breath wondering if he would be able to get his fingers beneath her 6

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waistband. The skirt itself had been tight, outlining her hips faithfully, but because she had been so upset the last few weeks, she’d barely eaten and the skirt was a little loose around the waist. She had cursed herself this morning for letting the situation upset her so much she was skipping meals. Now, she wished she had skipped more. Cody didn’t even attempt to test the elasticity of her waistband though. His fingers moved up her spine and rested on the deep vee in the back of her knit top. She felt her skin quiver a little when his fingertips rested lightly against her and bit her lip to keep from crying out. The spine is not an erogenous zone, she reminded herself. Unfortunately, the message wasn’t getting through to her body. Her nipples were thick and her breasts felt like they had swelled to twice their normal size. She closed her eyes and remembered the last time they made love. He had satiated himself on her breasts as if they were a meal fit for a king, suckling, tonguing, and spreading gentle love bites over every inch of them. A feathered touch whispered across her skin and she closed her eyes against the sensation. An unbidden picture flashed into her mind of Cody’s lips lingering just where his fingertips were now dancing. How she managed to keep the moan rolling through her body from escaping she never knew. She licked her suddenly dry lips and concentrated on making certain no one knew that she was dying to feel Cody’s cock deep inside her right this minute. The elevator bell dinged. They were on the tenth floor. It wasn’t surprising she had missed the ninth floor all together.

7

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CHAPTER 2

Cody couldn’t believe his luck. The crowd in the elevator was staying steady and he was growing harder with each passing second. When the elevator lurched a bit and she rocked back against him, it was heaven on earth. Her lush ass pressed against his cock had it as randy as a bull in a pasture with a herd of cows in heat. Just how much of what he wanted to do could he do surrounded by people? He traced the edge of her spine with his fingertips, imagining there was no barrier of knit between her skin and his. He knew if there were no material, it wouldn’t be just his rough, scarred fingers on her. He’d be using his teeth, lips and tongue on her. He’d be slaking his hunger, inhaling the feel and taste of her like a starving man. He found if he closed his eyes, the sensations became even more intense. His entire body was living, breathing, and being, through his fingertips. It no longer mattered where they were because the other people in the elevator had ceased to exist. Every time she made the slightest move against him, he felt like he 8

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was getting a shot to his cock from an electric cattle prod. She was now leaning completely into him and every shift of her body melded them closer together. He’d never really understood the allure of foreplay. Oh, he’d tried. Honestly tried. And Samantha had never complained. Now, here in this crowded elevator with the bright lights of Manhattan surging to life around them, he finally got it. He was more aroused than he had ever been in his life. As aroused as he was, knowing Samantha was right there with him made the intensity greater. The satisfaction coursing through him that he was finally able to give her something was almost as potent as the desire that was like a raging forest fire in his blood. Almost, but not quite. Part of him—the part that was on alert all the time—knew they were almost alone now. When the elevator stopped at the twentieth floor, the woman who exited gave him a look of part greed, part shock that would have been embarrassing in other circumstances. Right now, he didn’t give a good damn. All he cared about was the fact they were finally, completely alone. As the door closed behind the woman, he turned Samantha around in his arms and kissed her. Dimly, he felt the car lurch upward. He didn’t care about anything but finally tasting her. His tongue thrust into her wide-open mouth and traced the inner cavern. He felt her hands moving from around his neck, down his chest, finally reaching his button fly. Damn, why didn’t I unbutton those sooner? He could have already been inside her. She stooped and he started to pull her back in his arms, greedy for every minute he could hold her pressed to him. When her mouth traced the outline of his erection in the jeans, he felt as if he was going to come right then and there. “Hurry, Samantha. Please.” He was begging. He didn’t care. He wanted—no he needed—to plunge deep inside her tight cunt. He needed—no had—to feel her wrapped tight as a glove around him. He had to feel his cock plunging into her moist, pulsing cunt, her well9

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developed pelvic muscles milking every drop he had to give. Her bright red fingernails circled one of the metal buttons on his fly. Had he thought he understood the point of foreplay? He wanted to scream his frustration. As the button slipped from the hole, Samantha’s tongue flicked out and tasted the very tip of him that had swelled well above the lowriding briefs he wore. Her tongue felt warm and smooth. When he felt its tip delve into the slit of his cock and dance away, he closed his eyes, willing to endure any amount of frustration, any length of foreplay if only she would continue tasting him as if he were the finest sweet to be savored. It seemed to Cody time was now being measured not in seconds and minutes, but completely in the beat of his pulse racing through his body and to the tip of his cock. He flexed his thigh and hip muscles, not to move forward but to stay still, scared that any movement would end the delicious torture she was bestowing on him. Seconds became like the drip from a played-out well, or grains of sand falling through a needle-sized hole, or the spurts of breath escaping his lungs as he battled for control. Her fingers drifted like a feather over the tip of him. The pulse beat like a kettledrum there now and he prayed she would take him in her mouth. Much too soon, her fingers moved away. She undid the remaining buttons and pushed his jeans and shorts down to his knees. His cock was at last blessedly free and jutting forward at full mast. From her haunches she looked up at him and he held his breath. When her wet, hot mouth finally covered the tip, he groaned at the pleasure that rushed over his body like a warm wall of water. She licked and nibbled all around the knob, murmuring her pleasure. He couldn’t understand the words. He didn’t care. He understood the desire from the flush covering her face and neck, and felt it in the quivering of his own muscles. He knew he was leaking come. How could he not? But he still had 10

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enough control not to shoot his load. When that happened, he wanted to be buried so deep inside her neither would know where one began and the other stopped. She didn’t take him completely in her mouth, however. She stood, smiled mischievously and started raising her skirt. The elevator lurched again and the track lighting flashed once. Then total silence. “What happened?” Samantha asked. Cody let her go. “I think the elevator’s stuck. It’s probably just a glitch.” Samantha walked over to the back wall of glass. “I don’t think so. Look across the street.” Cody’s desire was only slightly dimmed. He felt odd striding over to her with all his glory still standing at full attention. Although it was early evening, total blackness met them. Manhattan was dark. * * * “How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” Samantha asked. “I don’t know,” Cody replied. The ardor of a few minutes ago had dimmed, partly out of the concern about what had happened to the power, and partly because maybe they’d each come to their senses. Samantha was sitting with her back against one of the elevator’s sidewalls. Cody was resting against the glassed back wall. Samantha had a pang of regret, wishing they’d finished what they’d started before the lights went out. But as erotic as that had been, this was reality. Being stuck in a powerless elevator, in a powerless building, in a powerless city took precedence over the best sex she’d ever had. It also brought back the reason they were both stuck on this elevator tonight. “I thought you were in Calgary this week,” she said, mentioning the 11

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current stop on the rigorous professional rodeo tour schedule. “I haven’t been on the circuit. Not for six weeks.” “Why?” Samantha almost didn’t want to know. Perhaps he’d met someone. Or perhaps the woman in the Houston hotel room had convinced him to quit. “Competing and the rodeo were the loves of your life.” “Not anymore.” His tone was brusque and matched his clipped sentences. Samantha huffed out a breath. Cody had never been the greatest communicator in the world. Sometimes she wondered if that very lack would have caused their demise as a unit later on had their marriage lasted. “So what are you doing now?” “How’re things in the marketing business?” They spoke at once. Samantha laughed a little in relief. Cody chuckled. “You first,” Samantha said. “You know nothing changes in my life.” Samantha wondered if Cody heard the dissatisfaction in her voice. “I’ve gotten out of the rodeo business—at least the riding part of it,” he said. “Are you finally going to settle down on your ranch in Wyoming?” she asked, feeling a pang of regret. She had feared so much about Cody during their brief marriage. His sport was so dangerous and she had been constantly worried there was going to be a fall or accident that would not only be career ending but life ending. Although Cody made great money with every rodeo championship he won, the few times he didn’t win the title, he also didn’t win any money. He’d told her in the early days, there were many weeks he had actually lost money. “Well, we finally got the ranch house built,” he said. “And they finished the roof on the horse barn just a couple of weeks ago.” Samantha bit her bottom lip. What she really wanted to know, she 12

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would never ask. “That must be satisfying with winter coming on. Now, all you need is to get started on your dream of building a rodeo horse breeding ranch.” Cody laughed softly. The sound made her skin pebble with goose flesh and her nipples harden with desire. “Takes a lot of do-ray-me to get a good breeding stock started. I don’t have that much left from the championship. Now, with the divorce and everything, it’ll probably be a lot longer before I can raise the bounty.” Samantha narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean ‘with the divorce and everything?’ I specifically ordered my attorneys I did not want or need alimony.” “I pay for my mistakes,” Cody said. She heard the beginnings of his temper in his voice. That was fine. They obviously weren’t going anywhere. At least for a while. Let him throw all the tantrums he wanted. “Let me see if I can explain this in a way you can’t possibly fail to understand. I…Do…Not…Want…Your…Money.” She stood and started pacing. The elevator was completely dark now. They were high enough above the ground that, although they saw the lights of emergency vehicles moving below them, it didn’t bring any light into their prison. As she marched, hoping to work off some of her own anger, or whatever emotion it was boiling through her blood, she ran smack into Cody. She closed her eyes against the wave of need that ran through her. “What do you want then, Samantha?” he asked softly. She could feel the brush of his breath as it bathed her forehead, then her cheeks and finally hovered above her lips. She was suddenly dying of thirst. But this thirst could only be quenched by one thing. Cody. She bridged the tiny gap between them by whispering the word that had filled her heart, her body and finally, her mind. 13

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“You.” As she brought her lips to his, he groaned and pulled her tightly against him. The passion that had been stoked sky high in the crowded elevator flared back to life. Clothes fell away under the onslaught of desperate hands. His and hers worked as one. Mouths met and melded. Tongues tasted and danced. His and hers entangled in intimate choreography. Fingers kneaded, pinched and soothed, stroked and tested in an orgy of touch and feel. Samantha wrapped her legs around his lean waist, hooking her ankles together while his hands held her butt cheeks and his fingers delved down her crack and into the moist folds of her vagina. She held his head and fused her mouth with his as he raised her up and lowered her onto his turgid length. He impaled her with several hard thrusts and she felt her inner muscles tightening and drawing him deeper against the mouth of her womb. Amazingly his cock swelled even more and he ground her clit against his pelvis before she felt his seed pouring into her and swallowed his groan of release. Finally he stopped thrusting and she laid her head against his damp chest. She could feel his heart pounding and smiled dreamily. She sighed, knowing at least one of them was satisfied. “Thanks, darlin’. After the torture of this elevator, I really needed that.” Cody’s voice rumbled under her ear. “But I think there was one little thing missing.” He moved, and suddenly Samantha was lying on her back on the floor. If she tilted her head back slightly, she could see the glassed back wall of the elevator. She looked nowhere but at Cody’s face, mere inches from her own. He ran slow, delicious kisses along her face, tracing her eyebrows and eyelids with lips and tongue. Then he moved to her nose and cheeks, paying true homage to the soft skin there. 14

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Samantha felt her desire, which had been banked, flare up another notch. How does he do this to me? How could he touch any part of me and turn it into the hottest erogenous zone ever? He didn’t give her time to ponder those questions as he took her mouth, sipping at her lips and sliding his tongue in and out, out and in. Slowly tracing the edge of each tooth, lingering for a moment on the small chip in her top row as if giving comfort for the injury long forgotten. Samantha felt as if she was happily drowning in his taste, in his exploration of her mouth. She felt him growing hard again within her and flexed her hips to take him deeper. He broke off the kiss. “No, darlin’. This one’s for you.” He moved and a small cry of distress slipped from Samantha’s mouth as she felt his penis slide away as well. But the feeling of loss was only momentary. Soon, his mouth and fingers were attending to her breasts. While he suckled and tongued one nipple, he gently pinched and soothed the other. Her breasts were swollen and heavy when he finally left them and moved between her legs. He blew a short breath against her mound and Samantha felt her clit quiver in response. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured. “Every night I fall asleep and dream of you, your taste, your smell, your essence. Please let me have you.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond. Not that she could have made her brain send the signal to her mouth. Her entire body was focused on the pleasure he had given it and talking, thinking, in fact doing anything other than feeling was quite impossible. Using his thumbs he spread her inner lips wide and then she felt his tongue stroke long and slow across her. She screamed as her orgasm rolled over and through her. Her voice bounced off the walls of the elevator and she felt tears of joy race down 15

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her cheeks. * * * When she became aware later, she had no idea how much time had passed. She felt deliciously exhausted, complete and replete. “Samantha?” Cody’s voice sounded odd, unsure. “Uhhmm,” she replied. That was about all she was able to manage. “Are you okay?” “Oh, yeah,” she all put purred. “Much more than okay.” “Good. It’s my turn again.” With that, he took her legs and raised them until they were resting against his shoulders. He mounted her and thrust so deep inside her she felt as if he would split her neatly in two. He thrust and thrust, pounding into her repeatedly with a ferocity that told her more eloquently than any words how much he needed and wanted her. While she’d thought she was replete only minutes before, she quickly learned that wasn’t even close to this time. She matched him stroke for stroke, cry for cry as they raced once again to the summit and fell as one over the precipice. “I love you!” Cody shouted as he found his final release. “I love you,” Samantha said as she felt his quaking body still. Finally, still entwined, they slept in the silent, dark cocoon of the elevator.

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CHAPTER 3

“Folks, this is the fire department.” The disembodied voice from the ceiling awoke them both a short time later. Cody scrambled up and looked to the ceiling. They were still in the dark, so he couldn’t see anything. He looked out the back wall and saw a bunch of fire and rescue trucks, lights flashing, on the street thirty floors below them. “Yes, we’re here,” he shouted, hoping if the fire department could speak to them, they could also hear them. “We’re stuck in the elevator.” “We hear you. There’s been a city-wide blackout,” the voice said again. “I think we figured that out,” Samantha grumbled. “Shush. Yeah, we know. Any idea how long we’ll be stuck in here?” Cody asked the ceiling. “We’ve got a crew on the floor above you. We’re trying to hand crank the elevator, but that’s going to take a while. We need to know if 17

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there are any injuries and how many people are stuck in there?” “We’re fine,” Cody called. “And there’s just the two of us.” “Good. Do you two need or want anything?” “Depends on how long you think we’re going to be stuck in here,” Cody replied. “Cody, I’m really getting pretty thirsty,” Samantha said. “Okay,” he replied then spoke to the ceiling again. “My wife here is a little thirsty. And is it possible to get some light down here. It’s pretty dark.” “Yes. We’re sending an EMT down right now. He’ll come through the ceiling access. And check you both out just to be sure there’s nothing wrong.” Cody heard Samantha scrambling around behind him. “Hurry,” she hissed. “You’re naked and so am I.” Cody grinned. “That’s all right. I certainly don’t mind you being naked. And I don’t think you minded either a little while ago.” But he got down on his knees and began searching for clothes as well. It was one thing to tease Samantha, and quite another to stand there in the all together when some EMT came through the ceiling. He bumped into Samantha and feeling the curve of her soft skin, gave her a quick squeeze and heard her curse. “Damn it, not now, Cody.” He felt the cloth of his jeans slap him in the face. “You’ve got the world’s worst timing. I don’t know how you ever won a single championship.” He grinned. She was right of course. She was right about everything. But he didn’t care. He just felt too damn good to argue with her. “What a mess. I can’t find my bra and underwear.” “Don’t worry,” he stood and pulled on his jeans, buttoning them up efficiently. “The EMT will probably have a couple of flashlights. We can find everything we’ve missed then.” “Then he’ll know what we’ve been doing, for God’s sake,” she 18

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snarled. “Well, hell, Samantha, it isn’t likely he’s going to say anything. And even if he does, what do you care? We’re married.” Then it hit him. “Do you still want the divorce?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer. “Do you?” Her voice was so soft he almost didn’t hear it over the rasping of his breath in and out of his chest. “Hell, no. I didn’t want it in the first place. You’re the one that started this whole mess.” “Are you saying I didn’t have cause?” He detected a little anger in her voice along with a lot of pain. “Look Samantha. I know what you think you saw that night in Houston. But I also know what was in my mind and in my heart. That woman did come to my room. She wanted to do an interview…she said.” “An interview. Right. I may not be a journalist, but I don’t think they do interviews with their blouses off.” “Of course not.” Cody ran his hand around the back of his neck. He knew this was the most crucial moment of his life. He had to make Samantha understand. He had to make her see the truth. “When I let her in the room, she was fully dressed. But she had come early. I had my father on the phone. I was telling him about my plans to retire from rodeoing and everything else.” “Okay. But how did the woman get out of her blouse?” Samantha didn’t sound believing, but she also didn’t sound sarcastic either. Cody knew this was the kicker. The truth was so ridiculous he didn’t know if he believed it himself. But he wasn’t going to lie to her. Ever. So his only option was to tell the truth and hope with everything inside him that she believed it. “It was a suite, remember?” At Samantha’s nod, he continued. “I went in the bedroom to finish my call to Dad. I wanted to tell him that I 19

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was moving to Manhattan with you.” “Wait a minute. We never talked about you moving to Manhattan,” she said. He shrugged. “What else were we going to do? I wasn’t going to ask you to give up your career and live with me in Bumfuck, Wyoming.” “It isn’t Bumfuck. It’s beautiful,” she said. Her words threw Cody off a little bit. “You think the ranch is beautiful?” “Of course.” He shook his head. He was surprised she thought so highly of his future home and he didn’t know how to deal with it. First he had to make her understand about Houston. “Anyway, I went into the bedroom to tell Dad that he’d have to continue running things for a while or we could hire a foreman. I was going to take a job I’d been offered as a sports reporter for one of the newspapers in Manhattan. The pay wasn’t great and I’d have to do some traveling, but I’d have been with you most of the time. That was all that mattered to me.” “Oh, Cody,” Samantha said. He heard the tremor in her voice. “I know. It was stupid of me to leave the woman alone in the room. But I didn’t want her to hear about the job until I told you. Hell, I hadn’t even told the sports editor of the newspaper I was going to take the job. I thought it wouldn’t be right if everyone saw it in the Houston paper first.” He took a deep breath. This next part was painful to admit. Not only because he had so much riding on it, but because putting it into words showed just what an idiot he had been. “When I came out of the room, there she stood with her blouse off and working on her skirt. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Next thing I know, you come waltzing into the room. And everything spun right out of control.” 20

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He heard her sniffle then felt her move until she was standing at his side. “I know…what an idiot. And you want to know the real kicker? She wasn’t even a reporter. She was just a fan. And I was just an idiot.” The sniffle from Samantha was louder this time. Cody sighed. “I know that story goes a long way beyond believable, but it’s the truth. Do you think you can find it in your heart to believe it? Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me for being such an idiot?” He put one arm around her, relieved that she didn’t pull away. It tore at him though when he felt her shoulders shaking. “I’m sorry, baby, so sorry. I’ll do anything you ask if you’ll forgive me. Wait a minute. Are you laughing?” He felt her hands move and cover her mouth, but she was too late to contain the snort that escaped. She was laughing, damn it. “I’m sorry, Cody. I can’t help it. It’s just too funny. I keep picturing that hotel room. And now I can see the look on your face when I came in. It all fits.” Cody felt the relief course through him. If she were able to laugh about it, surely she would be able to forgive him. “You weren’t laughing that night,” he felt compelled to point out. “No. I admit it was a shock finding you with a half-naked woman. But I can also see it happening the way you said. You’re just such an idiot when it comes to what people want from you. It must be the good ole-boy in you.” Cody shrugged. “What can I say? You’re right.” “And although I know you wanted to surprise me, please, in the future, don’t. Because if you’d have told me about the offer from the newspaper, I’d have told you it wasn’t the job for you.” Cody scratched his chin. “Why? I think I’d be good at it. I took some journalism classes in college, you know.” “I don’t doubt that you’ll be a great writer. But you don’t want to be 21

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working at a newspaper. Maybe a magazine…or heck, you’d be a great fiction writer. Not a newspaper hack, though. You should be spending all your time and energy getting your ranch up and running. I know better than anyone what it’s like working at a job you hate. It’d drive you crazy inside of two months.” “Well, I’ll do whatever it takes to stay here with you,” he declared. “No, you won’t,” she said. “Oh yes, I will. Now, I let you have your way for the last six weeks. But that’s long enough. For once in our marriage, you’re going to do as I say. We are not leaving Manhattan.” Samantha touched his lips with her fingers stopping his words. Then she covered his mouth with hers. He got lost in her kiss. It was only the loud thump of someone landing on the elevator’s roof that drew him back. Samantha drew away slightly when the door opened and a flashlight shone inside their elevator. “Hello, folks. My name is Matt and I’m with the fire department. You okay down there?” “Yes we are,” Samantha answered. “We’d just like to go home. To Wyoming. Together. We’ve got a ranch to run.” Cody laughed feeling as if the world had finally righted on its axis. “That’s right. Get us out of here. We’re going home to Wyoming.”

22

TRIXIE STILLETTO

“Life is a smorgasbord of men. I believe in diving in like a starving woman hitting an all-you-can-eat buffet! “Seriously, I love men and have been fortunate enough to work, and play (thank God) with some of the most intriguing ones on this fair earth. There’s a little piece of each one in every hero I create. I’ve had all manner of odd jobs, such as waitress, cook and bottle washer for an all-night dive, truck driver, and, of course, writer. I write erotic romances because it’s much more fun to keep the bedroom door wide open. “My philosophy in life is simple. Love what you do and who you’re with and they’ll love you in return. Come and join me as I dive into the next delicious dessert.”

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