But Reno made no further move to force her. He simply held her so that she didn’t have to make any effort at all to stay close to him. Slowly she relaxed, letting his arms support her.

«I’m still waiting for my kiss,» Reno said.

«I think I’ve kissed you more than once.»

«And I think you haven’t kissed me at all.»

«What was I just doing?»

«Teasing,» he said bluntly. «Nice enough, but not what I had in mind, and you know it as well as I do.»

«No, I don’t. I’m not a mind reader,» she retorted, irritated that he hadn’t been half so unsettled by the slow, gliding kiss as she had.

«I know what you are. You’re a saloon girl with fast hands who promised me the one thing she can’t deliver — an honest kiss.»

Eve opened her mouth to ask Reno what he thought an honest kiss should be. Then she remembered what he had said about kissing.

I like it hot and deep. Take that quick little tongue and rub it over mine.

Before Eve could lose her nerve, she brought her lips against Reno’s open mouth and touched his tongue with her own. The nubby, velvety texture she felt intrigued her. Tentatively she ran the tip of her own tongue over him once more, tracing the shape of his mouth. In the course of her explorations she discovered how smooth and silky the underside of his tongue was.

She didn’t notice the gradual tightening of Reno’s arms or the quickening of his breathing. She didn’t notice that she was being lured more deeply into the kiss with every speeding heartbeat. All she knew was that Reno’s taste and warmth were more intoxicating than the French brandy Don and Donna had so loved.

Eve didn’t question the growing urgency that claimed her. She simply tightened her arms around Reno’s neck, trying to get even closer to him, seeking a more complete merging of their mouths.