"What are the odds, can you just tell me that?" Amanda ignored her
suitcase when it landed with a thud at her feet and popped open,
spilling her clean clothes onto the--whatever the stuff was--covering
the floor. She was just too tired to care. After high stepping over
the mess, she flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Lee smiled and bounced down next to her. He leaned back and sighed,
his shoulder just brushing hers.

"Fair, I suppose, considering our luck." He grinned. "We could make
the best of it, though. I mean, just because our car broke down,
it's midnight, and the only motel in town is `Ye Olde Story Book
Cottage,' why can't we have some fun? When was the last time you
slept in Little Bo Peep's meadow? Come on, Amanda, where's your
sense of adventure?"

"Somewhere back on Interstate ten, I think. I haven't seen it since
lunch." She swiveled around to take in the ambiance. "For goodness
sake, look at this place. Bo Peep must've been an incompetent
decorator."

Instead of carpet, the floor was plastered with wall-to-wall green
astro-turf, which added an outdoorsy, if crunchy, feel. Of course,
there was an up side to the unique pasture, since hay fever wouldn't
be a problem. Overhead, the sky-blue ceiling was dotted with puffy
white clouds, but the cotton ball and glue gun concoction somehow
fell short of expectations. The dust bunny coating on the ceiling
fan spoke volumes about the maid service, and Amanda struggled to
squelch her curiosity. What other corners did the cleaning staff cut?

She was almost too tired to care. Almost . . .

A pole and post wooden corral surrounded their bed, and Amanda was
lying on several wooly sheepskins. With all these dead sheep, Bo
Peep couldn't have been a watchful shepherd, either.

Lee pointed to the back of the door. "Wanna try it on?"

Oh, no, not that.

She smacked his shoulder. "Don't even think about it. I'm not going
to put on a `Bo Peep' costume." Although she had to admit, the
shepherdess outfit was kind of cute, if a little skimpy. But who
knew where it had been? The oversized shepherd's crook resting near
the door was pretty odd, but she supposed it went with the theme.

Lee pulled her into his arms, and she snuggled against him, enjoying
the way his voice rumbled in his chest as he spoke. "Let's just get
a good night's sleep, okay? Things always look better in the
morning."

Things were starting to look better right now, but she didn't feel
like letting go of her disappointment quite yet. The annoyance was
slipping away, though. Somehow, his strong arms always soothed her.
She was so warm, so comfortable. But, first things first; it would
only take a moment to scoop some nightclothes off the floor and
get . . .

-----------------------------------------------------

Amanda dragged the comb through her hair a final time, re-adjusted
the bath towel, and bumped the bathroom door open with her hip. Lee
was folding wrinkled clothes and stuffing them haphazardly into his
bulging suitcase, and she shook her head. Falling asleep in your
travel clothes wasn't the best idea.

His expression brightened as she tiptoed gingerly across the room,
trying to ignore the stiff plastic turf tickling her bare feet. Lee
watched her, his grin broadening into a predatory smile. Without
warning, he pounced. Amanda squealed when he swung her up into his
arms and settled her on the top rail of the low fence.

"OUCH. Ouch--slivers!" She was back in his arms in a heartbeat.

Still holding her close against his hip with one arm, Lee whipped a
sheepskin from the bed and draped it over the top rail of the little
wooden corral. In a second fluid motion, he re-deposited her on the
wooly perch.

"Better? I can rub it, if you want. Or does it need a kiss?" He
gripped the fence on either side of her, and his lips touched hers.
She leaned into the kiss, sore bottom almost forgotten, and nearly
fell off when he pulled away.

Lee's warm gaze traveled from her damp hair, down her body, to the
tips of her bare feet. "Now I like this costume."

She trembled when he touched the knot of the towel, just above her
breasts, and sucked in a sharp breath when he caressed the damp skin
over her heart. A flick of his strong fingers, and the towel fell
away, revealing her to his hungry eyes.

"No fair." Her voice cracked. "I want to see you, too."

"Hmmm. Little Bo Peep isn't so innocent, is she."

He stepped back and unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time.
Slowly. Each bit of cloth falling away to reveal more of his muscled
chest. She longed to run her hands across that broad expanse of hard
flesh but only watched, as he tugged his shirt from under his belt.

Lee shrugged the confining material off his shoulders, and the shirt
slid to the floor. His muscles glided under his taut skin, and she
reached for him, needing to touch him. To caress him. To yank him
down onto the wooly sheepskins and . . .

Relenting, he stepped between her legs and enfolded her in his
petting arms, capturing her lips with his own. Her breasts slid
against his warm skin as he deepened the kiss, plundering her mouth.
When he pulled away for the second time, she went with him, sliding
right off the fence. Before she hit the floor, Lee scooped her up
and plopped her back on the top rail.

"Now stay there." His voice was husky, and his smoldering eyes sent
shivers up her spine.

When his fingers touched the top button of his jeans, Amanda gasped,
as a jolt of longing rocked her body. As he unfastened his Levis--
first one button, and then another--her muscles clenched with desire.

A rhythmic sound thrummed from deep within his chest, and it took a
moment to register. And then she couldn't stop a giggle from
bubbling through the longing. Lee was humming a melodic counterpoint
to his sexy striptease. With a grin, he freed one slim hip, then the
other, sliding his tight jeans down his thighs to pool at his
ankles. She stretched to touch him as he stepped out of them, still
agonizingly out of reach.

She was caught by his hazel eyes, pinned by raging desire, and
struggling not to laugh. Squirming on the hard rail, she
overbalanced and slipped back, only to be caught in his arms.
Again. Skin to skin.

Now firmly on the rail, she shivered as he ran his hands along the
outside of her thighs, and then slid hot fingers between her knees.
His electric touch trailed fire, and she gasped. Soothing,
caressing, he gentled and then teased her. Amanda relaxed into the
gentle pressure, and Lee eased between her legs, until his arms were
once again around her once more, his body pressed close to hers.

She almost climaxed from his simple touch. When his lips overwhelmed
hers, his sweet tongue begging for entrance, she felt him smile
against her mouth.

He could play her like a musical instrument, but two could play at
that game. When her trembling fingers caressed him, he sucked in a
breath, and it was her turn to smile. Still caressing his warm
length, she guided him to her center.

His grip shifted to her hips, and his first thrust was almost a shock-
-so strong, so deep. She held him close, meeting thrust for thrust.
No one had ever completed her this way. No one else ever would. She
cried her love into his mouth, sharing breath and soul, while his
body jerked with the force of his climax, deep inside her.

It was over too quickly, like it always was. Amanda wanted the
physical connection to last forever, like the joining of their
souls. But she would take what she could get.

If only they could stay this way forever, but a sharp pang from her
sore bottom broke her mood. "Ouch!" She shifted on the rail.

Lee swung her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. Setting
her gently on the edge, he smiled. "Turn over."

Feeling a little silly, Amanda rolled onto her stomach and waited.
And waited. "Well?"

"Hmmm. The view is nice." She could almost hear his grin.

"Stop that. Come on . . . please?" Just as she was about to roll
over and smack him, she gasped.

Lee settled next to her on the bed. "Look." He laughed. "You
really did have a splinter." He held the offending dagger between
his thumb and forefinger. "I can't believe you didn't feel that."

"I was occupied." Amanda smiled.

He glanced at his watch. "It's nine o'clock now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Checkout isn't until ten o'clock." He grinned down at her, the
spark of mischief in his eyes sparking something warm and familiar
within her. "How can we occupy ourselves until then?"

Amanda slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down. "Oh, we'll
think of something."

The End