Give Me Tonight

could sense Ben's wry smile.

'All coming back to you?' he inquired dryly, his hand sliding upward until his thumb rested in the valley between her breasts. The heat from his palm seared through her blouse. Swallowing hard, she said nothing, concentrating on bringing Jessie to a stop.

When the sound of the mare's hooves had gone and all was still, Addie was acutely conscious of that hand, the caress of his thumb in the hollow of her bosom. 'And this was all for my benefit,' Ben said softly. 'I had no idea it would be such an enjoyable morning. Tell me, how far in advance did you plan this? Or have I been treated to a spontaneous performance?' One part of her mind demanded that she struggle away from him in outrage, but she was confused and strangely weak. Not a sound escaped her lips. Her heart was thrashing in her chest, her breathing shallow. His thumb stroked the undercurve of her breast as she sat there facing away from him, and Addie was tormented by shame and pleasure as she felt her nipples harden. What am I doing? she wondered frantically. Stop him!

Ben was silent, but Addie could feel his chest rising and falling at a slightly faster rate. With horror, she felt his hand begin to move upward, and she grabbed his wrist, making a strangled sound of protest. His arm dropped away from her, and he dismounted leisurely. Then he turned around to face her, bracing his hands on either side of the saddle.

They stared at each other in silent fascination. Addie waited for him to jeer at her for the way she had let him touch her. It had been disrespectful and insolent, something she should have demanded an apology for. Ben's eyes raked over her, and he swallowed hard, the only indication that he'd been affected by her. For different reasons, they each chose to pretend it hadn't happened.

'All right now?' Ben asked quietly. For once, there was no mockery in his gaze.

'Yes,' she answered, nearly inaudible. 'I think I can ride her now.'

'Sure?' he pressed, and for the first time his tone was gentle.

'Yes. '

Almost reluctantly he pulled away and strode to his horse. Addie watched him with wide eyes. She actually missed the presence of him at her back, the hard arm around her, his voice close by her ear. He had meant to taunt her, had taken liberties in order to teach her a lesson, but his closeness had had a different effeet than either of them expected. Something was terribly wrong with her, to find a man she knew to be a murderer soattractive.

She tried to find excuses for herself. It's all because of the men I'm used to. He's different from them. He has things they'll never have. The men she'd dated had been preoccupied with the defeat that faced them daily, the unemployment, the scarcity, the lack of control. Their lives had been robbed of the security their parents and grandparents had enjoyed, Sooner or later they were forced to move to the city for work. Their women were hard and sophisticated, scornful of love, eager for excitement.

And here was Ben Hunter, the exact opposite of those weary young men. Arrogantly he had made his own place in a rough world. Life was his to tame, or at least he thought so. It had been a long time since she had met a man with Ben's confidence, his vitality. He would never be bullied by a woman, never be crushed by her scorn. He's not used to a woman who'll stand up to him, she thought, and that realization made her more than a little intrigued. It would be soulsatisfying to force his respect for her, to make him acknowledge that he couldn't dominate her.

His face was inscrutable again as he mounted his horse. To look at him, she would never have guessed anything out of the ordinary had happened. Self consciously she did what she could to fix her clothes, knowing she was disheveled.

'Let's go,' Ben said dryly. 'I think we've kept Jeff waiting long enough, don't you?'

She nodded and applied her heels lightly to Jessie's perspiring sides. When she was assured that the mare was going to give her no more trouble, Addie cleared her throat and tried to appear as unruffled as her companion.

'Why are you going to the Double Bar?' she asked.

'Business.'

'Concerning what?'

'That unbranded calf we recently acquired.'

Addie couldn't hold back a triumphant smile. 'The one we branded that you said was fair game? The one we stole in order to teach them to keep their strays off our land?'

'Yeah, that one. And while you're looking so self satisfied, you should know they moved their boundary line into our territory yesterday to pay us back for it. Ripped our fence clear out of the ground. '

'You're joking!'

'No, ma'am. In some territories, that's enough of an excuse to reach for a shotgun.'

'What are you going to do?'

'Work out some kind of compromise with Big George. It won't be difficult. Sunrise and the Double Bar are big enough outfits to handle a few range disputes. Besides, everyone's got their eyes on this little romance between you and Jeff. The only one who likes the idea of a possible marriage more than your father is George.' Ben smiled sardonically. 'Neither one of the doting papas is going to do anything to stand in the way of true love.'

Addie was stunned. 'I'm not getting married to anyone.'

He arched a dark eyebrow and smiled skeptically.

'You sure managed to get a lot of people excited about the possibility.”

'What if I decide we're not right for each other? What if I break things off with Jeff?'

'You do like to buy trouble for yourself, don't you? I'd say you'd better tread lightly this time. The Johnsons don't like to be toyed with. And when it comes to his son, Big George is mighty sensitive.'

Addie was silent with anxiety as they crossed the border between the Sunrise Ranch and the Double Bar. 'A line rider from the Double Bar rode up to greet them, his gray roan stamping as the riders stopped and exchanged greetings.

''Mornin',' Ben said, and the cowboy nodded, meeting his eyes with cool challenge. When range disputes had occurred, it took several days before excited tempers were calmed down. Everyone was involved in the controversy, from the bosses on down to the ranch hands.

'Your business?'

'Paying a friendly call,' Ben replied.

'Just being neighborly,' Addie tacked on nervously, earning a killing glance from her companion.

The line rider's eyes were admiring as they flickered over her. ' 'Mornin', Miss Warner. Fine day, ain't it?'

'Just fine,' she replied with an appealing smile, one which he returned without hesitation.

'You two go right on along, Miss Warner.'

When they were out of earshot of the cowboy, Ben scowled at her. 'There isn't a man in Texas who's safe from you.'

'I wasn't flirting!'

'The only men you don't flirt with are the ones you're related to.'

She longed for a way to puncture his arrogance. 'I guess you know everything about me. Isn't that right, Mr. Hunter?'

'There's one thing I don't know.'

Addie pretended to be shocked. 'Imagine that. What could it possibly be?'

'Where you were during those two hours yesterday.'

'Why do you care about that? What difference could it make to you?'

'It's a small town. Hard to stay out of sight that long. Cade and I went over that town with a fine-tooth comb, and there was no trace of you. '

'Did anyone say where they had seen me last?' He gave a short laugh. 'Old Charlie Kendrick said he saw you vanish into thin air. Of course, he'd been drinking deadshot for three days straight.'

'Vanish,' she repeated shakily, and managed to laugh. 'How ridiculous.'