If he was to take me, it had to be because it was also my ardent desire, and it must only be because I wished to surrender willingly and gladly. And I... did want to surrender, more than anything else in the world. ‘Please touch me down there,’ I whispered, ‘between my legs, I want to feel you … ‘ I paused and then said even more quietly, ‘inside me.’ Nicolo looked at me and smiled, ‘my dear Elizabeth, today I will take you on a journey to paradise,’ and he kissed me on the lips for the first. Hank's inertia carried him across the room to crash into the opposite wall. The two figures on the bed stirred and Hank shot them both with his forearm stunners at the same moment. Hank bounced off the wall, yanked the Western-style bedclothes from the mattress and wrapped the two people in sheets and blankets."Amanda, guards at the door!" Hank announced through Amanda's implants.Amanda responded immediately--when the door opened the guard lit up with a stun bolt and dropped. The man behind him. John's hands, strong and white. And other hands, strong and brown. Little Cloud's hands.As Leah reached the bottom of the hill, she headed south, toward the center of town, toward the shore of the river where she had first met John. John had never liked Little Cloud, she remembered. That day so long ago he had shoved the young Sioux warrior-boy away from the dripping wet little girl. Leah had gasped her thanks to the proud looking warrior. She had never been so close to an Indian before.But her. I’d jokingly told Caryn about it. I didn’t realize she took me seriously. I needed to be a little clearer when I was goofing around.“Did you already order them?” I asked, hoping she hadn’t.“To get that many roses, I had to pay for them up front. They need to know what day so they can get them shipped in the night before and ready for you.”“What do you mean, ‘ready for me’?”“They have to have the cards I ordered tied to each one. Frank also wants to do a press release. Ari got permission from.