Excerpt of Winning Opal's Heart:

With edgy eagerness, Opal watched Legs closely as he turned off the light. He murmured something. Call it women's intuition, but she started a new chapter in her life, that was totally different than she'd known because of him.

Johnny’s men played cards in the back room downstairs of the Wisecarver Estate. Opal took slow, deep breaths to calm herself.

As though he could read her mind, Johnny said, "I understand your shakiness. Most women lose it when they're eighteen or nineteen."

Johnny had warned her earlier. After all, he certainly had every right, since legally he was her husband.

"Don't be afraid. It's as normal as..."

"Having babies?" she asked, uptight and nervous.

He scratched his temple. "Well, yes."

"I—I don't know." She felt his eyes on her.

"You'll be fine."

* * * *

Johnny pulled the draperies open. The moonlight streamed into the quiet bedchamber and illuminated the bed and her. He shed all his weaponry. Johnny stood at the dresser and pulled the chain of his pocket watch, bringing it out of his vest pocket of his beige jacket. Every time he thought of her lately, he got hard. He slipped out of his vest and hung it in the closet, all the while knowing Opal watched.

She stood across the room, and he had her attention. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything or anyone and hopefully this night he'd finally have her. He'd never seen Opal as beautiful as she appeared that very moment, wearing the leaf green dress he'd bought her at Marshall Fields. The ecru wallpaper, deep gold carpeting, the medium-gold bedspread enhanced the color of her coppery hair.

I want to know what it's like to lay with her in bed and hold her in my arms. I want to make her feel comfortable and make her come. He gazed into her wide eyes. Her lower lip trembled; her distress seemed genuine. Never, in my entire life, did a woman test my control as much as she has in the last several weeks. His body thrummed with tension, and he surveyed the concern etched on her face.

In uneasy silence, she lifted her chin.

He loved her full, pouting lips. Johnny brushed a fingertip against their fullness. It'll feel good to have my cock inside her.

"It's time."

She gave an uncomfortable shrug. Her eyes hooded as she looked down.

"That didn't come out right. Sorry. I'm not meaning to be pushy."

"I know. It's not a problem."

"I'm a man with man's needs."

"I know."

He felt more tenderness toward her than he'd ever felt for any woman. A bit more softly, he said, “I find you to be very beautiful. I'm lucky to have you." He was surprised as hell that she hadn't been snatched up and married by another man.

"Thank you."

The ache in his groin intensified, and all he could think about was having her.

After a moment, she looked up and nodded. "It's--yes. I guess it really is time."

He stepped closer and pulled the whalebone combs from her hair, letting her heavy tresses fall to her shoulders. "You're sure?" he asked, as he stretched out a hand and ran it down the coppery length.

Do I detect a hint of panic in her voice? He rimmed her ear with his tongue. It’s probably normal. I’ll settle her down.

"Yes, I am sure."

He kept his voice light and reassuring even as an old familiar ache began building in his loins. "I'll take it slow and easy since you've never done it. How's that?"

"That's good." As though she fought off an attack of nervousness, her voice dropped to a whisper and she stammered, "I-I appreciate it." She cleared her throat.

"It's been awhile for me too. Contrary to popular belief, I don't sleep around a lot."

Her eyebrows rose. "You don't?"

"No."

He watched her cross the thick carpet like a cornered rabbit and stop at the bureau. Is she experiencing second thoughts? He watched her slip out of her pumps and put them in the closet. Maybe not. She seemed tense, perhaps wondering what would happen next. Johnny began undressing by untying his necktie.

I want to be a passionate, thoughtful lover for her first time.

He unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way and pulled it from under the waistband of his trousers, all the while enjoying lingering traces of her fragrance.

He sat on the edge of the bed and shed his boots. A tense, shuddering sigh left her lips as he rose to standing and unfastened the waistband of his pants. The garment slipped down his hair-dappled, strong legs. He pulled them off the floor and draped them on a nearby chair. He hooked his thumbs into his underwear and took them off.

Opal glanced at his erect member and looked away.

Again, he approached her and drew her close until their body bodies mingled. He touched her tummy. "All those tense emotions inside will melt away when we have sex." Again, he drew her kisses deeply into his mouth, only less gently this time. If he started touching her intimately, he'd be unable to stop. Keeping his voice low he said, "Let's go to bed." He nuzzled her neck.

"Okay," she said, gazing into his eyes.

"Let's start with a kiss."

He put a hand under her chin, tipped her face up, then brushed a peck along her temple, jaw and cheek. She seems to enjoy it. He picked up her hand and drew it to his lips. Eyes closed, he dragged air into his lungs. Cocking his head to one side, Johnny watched her reaction, to see if she approved of his friendly takeover.