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sprawled in her living room. Nick
    Savage was everything that had traditionally attracted women to cowboys.
    He had a handsome, suntanned face that was attractively open and
    ragged, and he was over six feet tall. He had the casual western manners
    that thrived in Texas, and he wore the local style of clothing well. The feet
    on her coffee table were encased in hand-tooled gray leather, and the gray,
    western-cut suit he wore was perfectly detailed from the yoked shoulders
    to the flare-legged pants.
    As usual, Nick wore the huge, inlaid-silver belt buckle that proclaimed
    his past championship status as a rodeo star. It was a trifle unfortunate
    that a small paunch was beginning to appear over the edge of the buckle,
    but there was still enough masculine, western-style arrogance about him
    to pique any woman's interest. Sophy felt quite lucky that he had taken to
    her at the party where they met.
    Cradling a brandy glass in each palm, she walked out of the starkly done
    black-and-white kitchen and into the colorful living room. Sophy's love of
    exotic, eye-catching hues was evident not only in her apparel but
    throughout her home.
    The melon-colored couch on which Nick lounged was set off by vanilla
    walls and a jade green carpet. The rainbow-hued easy chair by the
    fireplace had a mate on the opposite side of the room, and here and there
    dramatic touches of black underscored the vivid effect. It was a room that
    fit her personality and her lifestyle.
    "Ah missed you this evenin', darlin'." Nick draped a casual arm around
    Sophy's shoulders as she sank down beside him and curled her feet under
    her. He smiled, fingering one of the huge sleeves of the blouse she wore.
    "This new?"
    "Umm." Sophy swallowed a sip of brandy. "Just finished it yesterday.
    Like it?"
    "Oh, I like it well enough. Just don't fancy you wearin' it for the first
    time with that visitin' nerd." Nick moved his fingers absently on her
    shoulder.
    For some reason his use of the term "nerd" to describe Max bothered
    Sophy, although she admitted she might easily have used it herself. With a
    touch of restlessness, she put down her brandy glass and sat forward to
    restack the magazines that had been pushed onto the rug by the flying
    Stetson.
    "You sure do subscribe to a lot of those business magazines," Nick
    observed, watching her idly.
    "A woman who has plans to start her own business has to do a lot of
    groundwork." Sophy smiled, piling a government pamphlet profiling
    successful entrepreneurial women on top of a magazine describing women
    in business.
    "All your plans still goin' along fine?"
    "Oh, yes. In a few more months I should have the financial backing I
    need."
    "Won't be no need for my woman to work, you know," Nick said softly.
    Sophy ignored the comment about not needing to work and told herself
    that the possessive sound of "my woman" was very nice to hear. She
    gracefully yielded the brandy glass when he reached out to remove it from
    her hand, and then she allowed herself to be drawn close.
    Nick's kiss was warm and pleasurable, his mouth moving on hers with
    undeniable expertise. Sophy gave herself up to it, wondering what it would
    be like when she and Nick finally went to bed together. Soon. The time
    would soon arrive. Nick had been so considerate, so patient, so respectful
    of her desire to be certain…
    "I wish to hell I didn't have to get up at five tomorrow mornin'," Nick
    groaned a few minutes later.
    "That trip to Phoenix?"
    "Yeah. You'll be a good girl while I'm gone?" Nick nuzzled her neck.
    "Of course."
    "You'd better." He got reluctantly to his feet, collecting the Stetson.
    "Much as I hate to leave, I reckon I'll have to get goin'. Long drive back out
    to the ranch."
    "When will you be back?" Sophy asked conversationally as she walked
    beside him to the Lincoln. There was very little of the long, white luxury
    automobile that wasn't decorated with chrome. The license plate was
    personalized with the brand of Nick's ranch, the