by Diana Palmer
“No, I don't have a spare horse,” Gabe replied with a cold glare at Maggie. “I'm trying to get my calves branded, tagged and inoculated, and my herd out to summer pasture. Meanwhile, I'm being driven crazy by new hands who have to be led around like kids, I'm trying to keep supplies on hand with my ranch foreman off on sick leave, I'm a week behind on paperwork that my secretary can't do alone…I don't have time to be hounded by tourists!”
“Gabriel, there's no need to be rude,” Janet chided.
He stood up. “She's your guest, not mine,” he told his mother. “If you want her entertained, you entertain her.”
And without another word, he left them sitting there, arrogantly lighting a cigarette as he went.
Maggie shivered as she stared after him half-angrily. “A person could freeze to death just sitting near him,” she muttered.
Janet shook her head and reached for her coffee. “I'm so sorry.”
“You aren't responsible for his actions, and at least now I understand a little better than I did,” Maggie told her with a smile. “It's all right. I'd like to stroll around a little, if you don't mind.”
“I don't mind,” Janet returned. “Just do stay out of his way, darling,” she cautioned.
“You can count on that!” Maggie laughed.
She went out the back door, in fact, tugging on a yellow windbreaker over her beige blouse and jeans. It was still a little nippy, but she loved the coolness. She loved the outdoors, the land stretching lazily to the horizon, dotted with mesquite trees and prickly-pear cacti and wildflowers.
It was so different from her home in the middle of downtown San Antonio, so removed from urban traffic. Although the city was delightful and there was plenty to see and do, and colorful markets to visit, she was a country girl at heart. She loved the land with a passion she'd never given to anything else. Even now, with an enemy in residence, she could hardly contain her excitement at having so much land to explore, to savor.
She walked from the backyard down to the fence that stretched to the stables and stared over it at the few horses that were left. Most of them had gone out with the cowboys who were working the far-flung herds of cattle.
Her eyes were wistful as she stared at a huge black stallion. There wasn't a patch of white anywhere on him, and he looked majestic in the early-morning light. He tossed his mane and pranced around like a thoroughbred, as if he knew that he had an audience and was determined to give it its money's worth.
“Do you ride?”
The rough question startled her. She whirled, surprised to find Gabriel Coleman leaning against one of the large oak trees in the backyard, calmly smoking a cigarette while he stared at her.
She shifted a little. He looked bigger than ever in that old long-sleeved chambray shirt, and its color emphasized the lightness of his eyes under the wide brim of his hat. He was formidable in work clothes. So different from Dennis, who'd always seemed a bit prissy to Maggie.
“I…don't ride very well,” she confessed.
He nodded toward the stallion. “I call him Crow. He was a thoroughbred with a bright future. But he killed a man and was going to be put down. I bought him and I ride him, but no one else does. There isn't a more dangerous animal on the place, so don't get any crazy ideas.”
“I wouldn't dream of taking a horse without asking first,” she said levelly. “Perhaps you're used to more impetuous women. I'm careful. I don't rush in without thinking.”
His eyes narrowed at the insinuation, and he took a long draw from his cigarette. “Then why are you down here?” he asked coldly.
“Your mother invited me,” she said.
“Why?”
“Why do you think?” she countered.
He smiled, and it wasn't friendly. He threw down the cigarette and moved toward her.
It was a deserted area. The house was hidden by a grove of oaks and pecan trees, and none of the men were around. Maggie, who'd had nightmares about physical intimacy since her marriage, began to back away until the cold bark of another oak tree halted her.
“Nervous?” he chided, and kept coming. “What of? I heard what Mother said the first night you were here. I know what you came for, Maggie. So why run away from it?”
She felt her body going rigid as he loomed over her, her eyes wide and green and frightened. “You don't understand…” she began.
“So you keep telling me,” he said shortly. He rested his hands on either side of her head, blocking off all the exits, and he smelled of wind and fir trees and leather as he came even closer, favoring his right side a little where the arm was swollen.
“What is this?” she breathed.
“You're another consolation prize,” he said with a mocking smile. “My mother thinks it's her fault that I'm such a lonely man. She brings me women by the gross. But I'm getting damned tired of being handed women on silver platters. When I marry, if I marry, I can choose my own bride. And I'll want something fresh and warm and sweet-smelling. A country girl—not a social butterfly who's been passed around like a plate of hors d'oeuvres.”
Her lips opened to retaliate, but he pressed his thumb over them in a movement that startled her into silence. He'd always seemed like a cold, indifferent sort of man, but there was experience in the way he played with her mouth, and her surprise widened her eyes. How incredible, after all these years, to be this way with him, to see him as a man instead of an enemy; to feel the impact of his masculinity in a different way, a sensual way. Yes, he was experienced. His eyes told her so, and she wondered how she could have thought him cold when just the brush of his finger against her warm mouth was sending her mad.
“Yes, you like that, don't you, Maggie?” he whispered, his voice deep and slow and faintly contemptuous. “You didn't realize how sensitive your mouth was, did you? It can be teased and provoked into begging for a man's lips,” he said softly, tracing the upper lip with the very edge of his thumb so that he could feel the moist underside and watch its sudden helpless trembling. “Like that,” he murmured, increasing the pressure, seeing her face flush, her lips part involuntarily. Her body tautened, and he smiled because he knew why.
“No,” she said on a sobbing breath, and even as she said it, she realized that he wasn't paying the least attention. He was powerfully made; she could feel the strength of him threatening her, the warmth that radiated from him with a leathery scent not at all unpleasant. Years ago, she'd dreamed of being touched, kissed, by him. She'd wanted him, and she'd known he was aware of it. But she'd also known, as he had, that such a thing was forbidden between them—because of her age. Her age had protected her…then. And she'd thought he was too cold to be tempted. Fool!
“Did you ever wonder?” he asked unexpectedly, tilting her chin as he bent. “Did you ever wonder how my mouth would feel moving on yours?”
Tears stung her eyes. It was fascinating that she could feel like this with him, that she could be hungry, physically, after what Dennis had done to her. She felt her own fingernails gripping the hard muscles of his upper arms, tugging gently. “Gabe,” she whispered, giving in to the raging attraction.
“What did my mother offer you, Maggie?” he breathed against her mouth.
“Offer…me?” she whispered brokenly.
He moved closer, his legs suddenly trapping hers, his body demanding as his mouth hovered warmly over her lips. “She brought you down here for me. She's given up bringing me career girls, so now she's dredging up old memories. She wants me to marry you.”
“Marry…you?” It was barely penetrating her hazy mind.
“Don't pretend,” he said. His eyes were cold, not loverlike, as they met hers. “I heard you both plotting. Well, I'm not in the market for a wife, little Maggie,” he said curtly. “But if you want to play around, I'm more than willing. You always did burn me up….”
Even as the last word faded in the air, his mouth came down on hers. But the tenderness she'd expected wasn't there. He was rough, as if the feel and taste of her had sudden
ly taken away his control. He made a sound, deep in his throat, and groaned as he pulled her too close and hurt his swollen arm. But he didn't let go. If anything, he was more ardent.
She felt his rough heartbeat and felt his strength with mute terror. “No!” she burst out. “Not…like this!” She tried to twist away from him.
He caught her hips with his, pressing them back against the rough bark of the tree. “What's the matter?” he taunted, lifting his mouth long enough to look down at her. “Does it take the promise of a wedding ring to get you in the mood?” His mocking voice sounded odd. Deep and slow and faintly strained.
Tears welled up behind her closed eyelids. Men weren't so different after all, she thought miserably. Sex was the only thing they wanted. Just sex. It was Dennis all over again, showing her how much stronger he was, forcing her to yield, taking what he wanted without the least thought of her comfort. She began to cry.
“Is it that bad?” he asked, his voice even and cold.
Her lips trembled. “I don't want…that,” she whispered brokenly. “I don't want anyone. I just want…to be left alone.”
He scowled. It seemed to get through to him finally that she was suffering him. Just that. Just suffering what he was doing to her. He could have sworn there was desire in her, at the beginning. But now she only looked afraid. She was as stiff as a rail, unyielding, cold.
With an economy of motion, he released her. She folded her arms across her breasts, trembling as she looked at him.
“Why the pretense?” he asked calculatingly. “Didn't my mother tell you why she invited you here?”
She swallowed, clutching herself tighter against a sudden burst of wind. “Listen,” she began, her voice shaking a little with reaction. “The only reason I came here was for some peace of mind. I have no inclination whatsoever to be your…your wife or your mistress or even your friend. It would suit me very well if I never saw you again!”
“Then why are you here?” he demanded coldly.
She smiled shakily. “I'm running away,” she confessed. “Trying to find a way to keep my ex-husband from taking my little girl away from me. She's terrified of him, and so am I. He's remarried and has most of my money. And in a lawsuit for custody, I'll very likely lose. My daughter has a trust, you see. Dennis wants control of it.”
He stared at her as if he'd been struck from behind. “Ex-husband?”
She nodded.
“Did he get the divorce, or did you?” he asked coldly.
“I did,” she confessed.
“Poor man.”
“He had enough women to console him, before and after,” she returned, her voice empty and dull.
His chin lifted as he looked down at her. “Are you that cold in bed?” he asked, half angry and half frustrated because he'd wanted her and he'd thought she'd wanted him back.
She stared at him unblinkingly, without speaking, until he had the grace to turn away, as if his own question had shocked him.
“Where is your daughter?”
She moved away from the tree slowly, careful to keep some distance between them. He lit another cigarette and leaned back against the tree she'd just vacated to study her curiously.
“She's in boarding school in San Antonio,” she said. “Janet said that I could bring her here…”
“Hell!” he ground out.
“You don't need to worry about more people cluttering up your ranch,” she said with what little pride she had left. “I'll be leaving as soon as the next bus is out, and Becky won't be coming up here, I promise.” She shuddered as she looked at him, feeling the force of his masculinity even at a distance. She could still taste him on her mouth. “If there's no bus today, I'll hitchhike.”
His pale eyes narrowed. “Afraid of me?” he taunted.
“Yes.” And it was no lie.
He took a draw from the cigarette. “And what will you tell my mother about your abrupt departure?”
“I'll think of something.”
“She'll be upset,” he returned. “I've got enough trouble without having her in hysterics.”
“I don't want—”
“How old is the girl?” he asked curiously.
“She's just six.”
“What in hell is she doing in a boarding school, then?” he demanded. “What kind of mother are you?”
Tears threatened. “I have to work,” she whispered. “I was afraid to leave her at home after school and on Saturdays, afraid Dennis might try to kidnap her. He threatened that. At the school, she's protected. He'd need a court order.”
He sighed heavily. “What a hell of a life for a child that age.”
He ought to know, she thought suddenly, and almost said it. But she had enough on her plate without deliberately antagonizing him.
“When does she get out of school?” he persisted.
“Next week. Next Friday.”
He studied his cigarette for a long moment, then those cold eyes touched Maggie's face. “All right. Bring her here. But the two of you keep the hell out of my way, is that clear?”
“I don't want to stay here…”
“You'll stay,” he returned shortly. “It's too late now. I won't have Mother upset. Besides,” he added, “at least you won't be running after me like her other ‘guests.’”
“That's a fair statement.”
He looked down his crooked nose at her, his hard lips smiling quietly. “Did I bruise you, honey?” he said in a tone that curled her toes. “I wanted to do that when you were sixteen. And you might as well not look so shocked. You wanted me to do it when you were sixteen.”
She lowered her eyes. It was the truth. He'd been her very dream of perfection.
“Maggie.”
She looked up again, her large green eyes sweeping his hard, dark face. “Yes?”
He shouldered away from the tree and caught her sudden withdrawal from him. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“All right,” he said with the first gentleness he'd shown since her arrival. “I won't touch you again. You'd better do something about your lip. I cut it when I kissed you.”
She touched it with a finger and found a trace of blood there. She hadn't felt it. But she hadn't experienced so much emotional turmoil since her divorce.
He pulled out a handkerchief and offered it, noticing that she went to great lengths to avoid any contact with him when she took it and dabbed at her lip.
Her face felt hot, her knees weak. Odd that he should have such a profound effect on her. Perhaps it was just reaction.
“He hurt you, didn't he?” he asked suddenly, his gaze forceful. “He hurt you sexually.”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Then for God's sake, why have his child?” he demanded.
“I didn't have a lot of choice,” she said, hiding her face.
He lit another cigarette, keeping his eyes on the match so that she wouldn't see them. He mumbled something harsh and forceful.
“It's all past history now,” she said, and lifted her eyes. “I just want to pick up the pieces and raise my daughter. I don't want to trap you into marriage, honestly. I don't want anything to do with men, ever again. So I'll be glad to keep out of your way, if you'll stay out of mine.”
He lifted his chin as he drew on the cigarette. “I don't bargain, honey.”
“Don't call me that,” she said coolly.
“I always used to. Have you forgotten?” he asked, his voice oddly quiet. “I never tossed those words around like some men do, either. Too bad you didn't listen.” Before she could pursue that, he was off on another subject. “Do you have a good lawyer?”
She shifted. “I suppose so.”
“I'll make sure you do before the custody suit comes up.”
“Listen here, Gabriel—”
“You were the only woman who ever called me that,” he murmured, smoking his cigarette while he studied her. “I like it.”
She tried again. “I don't want—”
“I'll fly you to
get the little girl,” he added, turning. “Let me know a day beforehand, so that I can arrange things.”
“Will you listen!”
His eyebrows shot up. “To what?”
“I can arrange my own life….”
“You've made a hash of things, from what I've seen.”
“I can do without your opinion!”
“Pity. You could use a few pointers. And before you jump to any conclusions,” he added maddeningly, “I take back my offer to play around with you. In fact, I'll be generous and take back every damned thing I've said since you came here.” He pursed his lips as he searched her puzzled eyes. “You're like a virgin, aren't you? Afraid of sex, nervous of men…”
The blush got worse. Her fists clenched beside her body. “Are you quite through?”
“For now.” He pulled the hat lower over his eyes. “Stay away from that stallion,” he cautioned again.
She glared after him. Overbearing, domineering…She held the handkerchief to her lip again and caught a whiff of his spicy cologne. Why that scent should make her heart race was beyond her reasoning. Before she could wonder about her reaction, however, she turned furiously and went back into the house.
She spent a restless night worrying about whether or not she should just go back to San Antonio and make a stand there, without a vacation.
Her mind laughed at that. Some vacation, with Gabriel Coleman making vicious passes at her and threatening to take over her whole life. Of course, she had to admit that he'd gotten the whole situation wrong because of Janet's past matchmaking. And what he'd overheard that first night could have sounded like a plan to trap him at the altar.
She flushed, remembering what she'd confessed about having had a crush on him. Had he heard that, too? It would have been hard to miss, though, because at sixteen her eyes had followed him everywhere. The girls had even teased her about being so taken with him, and she didn't doubt that they'd told him, too.
He'd always been more man than the average woman could handle. Something in her had always been, and still was, a little afraid of him. But underneath the cold, hard exterior, there seemed to be a surprisingly gentle man. She'd had a glimpse of that, and she'd warmed to it helplessly. Gentleness was the one thing she'd never had from Dennis, who took and gave nothing in return. Looking back, she could see his deviousness with clear eyes. But at eighteen she'd been flattered by his charming attentions and been on fire to marry and have children.