woman feel just like river slime,' she said, as sweetly as she could. He arched a brow, and she saw fleeting amusement light his features. She could hold her own in any fight, she thought, but only for so long. She needed to escape him now.
'I didn't mean to make you feel like… river slime.'
'Don't worry. You already did so. Last night.' With a sweetly mocking smile, Kristin turned to leave.
Then she paused and turned toward him again, biting her lip. She kept forgetting how much she needed him. Her eyes must have widened with the realization, for he was smiling cynically again and pouring himself another shot of whiskey.
'Don't worry,' he told her smoothly. 'I'm not walking out on you. Not yet.'
Kristin moistened her lips. 'Not yet?' she whispered.
'Why, Miss McCahy! I really couldn't leave a lady in such distress, could I?'
'What do you mean by that?'
He raised the glass. 'Take it as you will, ma'am.'
Kristin swore under her breath and strode over to him again. She snatched the glass from his hand and thought seriously of pouring the contents over his head. His eyes narrowed, and she quickly reconsidered.
She swallowed the whiskey down so quickly that her head spun in an instant and her throat burned with the fury of a brush fire. A double shot, straight. But she steeled herself, and she still managed to smile sweetly. 'You don't owe me anything.'
'No, darlin'. You owe me.' He smiled, took the glass from her and poured another double. 'And I'm real anxious for the next installment.'
Kristin snatched the glass again and swallowed the liquid down. She didn't know if she was alive with anger or with desire.
She slammed the glass down and tried to spin around. He caught her arm, pulling her back. She tossed her head back, staring into his eyes.
'Isn't it what you want?' he asked her.
'I want revenge, nothing more,' she told him.
'Nothing more?'
'I want you to — I want you to stay. I want to hold on to the ranch. I just want to hold on to what is mine.'
'The precious ranch,' he muttered darkly.
Fear fluttered briefly in her heart. 'Cole…Mr. Slater, you really wouldn't… you wouldn't go back on your word, would you?'
'Not so long as you follow the rules.'
Her head was really spinning now. He had poured so much whiskey, and she'd swallowed it down so fast. He was so warm, and so damn vibrant, and so shockingly male. And she'd already been in bed with him.
Her mother would be spinning in her grave, Kristin thought.
He was using her. He was using her because he had loved another woman and now he just didn't give a damn.
'Your rules! Just don't forget that the place belongs to me!'
She wrenched free of him, and this time she walked out. She wasn't afraid of him leaving. He was having too fine a time torturing her to leave now.
When she reached the dining room, she was startled to discover that he was behind her. He had followed her, as silent as a wraith. It was disconcerting.
'Stop it!' she demanded.
Shannon came out of the kitchen. Delilah was behind her. Both women stopped, startled.
Cole ignored them both. 'Stop what?' he demanded irritably.
'Sneaking up on me!'
'I wasn't sneaking up on you. You told me it was time for supper, so I followed you.'
'Whoa!' Shannon murmured, looking at her sister. 'Kristin, you've been drinking!'
'Yes!' she snapped, glaring at Cole. 'And I'll probably do a whole lot more drinking before… before…'
'Oh, hell, will you just sit the hell down!' Cole growled. He caught her hand, pulled out a chair and directed her into it with little grace. Her wide skirts flew. He pressed them down and shoved her chair in.
Kristin wanted to be dignified. She wanted to be sophisticated and elegant, and most of all she wanted to be in control. 'You arrogant scallywag!' she said quietly, her voice husky with emotion.
'Kristin, shut up.'
That was it. She started to push herself away from the table, but his hand slammed down on hers, holding her fast. 'Kristin, shut up.'
'Bas—'
'Now, Kristin.' He came closer to her, much closer, and spoke in a whisper. This was between the two of them. 'Or else we can get up and settle this outside.'
The whiskey seemed to hit her anew right then, hit her hard. She thought she was going to scream. She burst into laughter instead. 'Outside? With pistols?'
'Hardly, but you can call it what you want, darlin'.'
The buzz of the liquor was nice. If he stayed around too long, Kristin thought, she'd find herself turning into a regular old drunk.
'Shall we eat?' Cole asked politely.
There was silence in the room. Shannon was staring at him. 'Sit!' he told her.
Shannon sat hastily, then lowered her head before looking surreptitiously over at Kristin, who hiccuped loudly.
Cole groaned, then he looked up at Delilah. 'Don't you and Samson usually eat?'
'Oh, no, sir!' Delilah protested. 'Why, you know it just wouldn't be right for black folks —'
'Delilah, cut the… er —' He broke off, looking from Samson to Kristin. Shannon was about to laugh.
'Manure,' Kristin supplied.
Shannon did burst into laughter. Even Delilah grinned. Cole said, 'Get your husband, woman, and sit down and eat. I once had the opportunity to discover that a black man could save my hide as good as a white one. Let's just have supper and get it over with, shall we?'
'Yessir, yessir,' Delilah said, chuckling. 'My, my, my,' she muttered, moving off toward the kitchen.
Kristin sat primly, her hands folded in her lap. Her dress felt ridiculously heavy, now that she was sitting. She felt as if she was about to fall over. She realized that Cole was looking at her, but it didn't matter very much, and that was a nice feeling.
Delilah walked back in from the kitchen.
Cole gazed at her expectantly. 'You've never washed her mouth out with soap, huh?' He indicated Kristin.
Kristin decided that she could sit straight. She told Cole that he reminded her of the stuff that people needed to wipe off their boots before they came in from the barn.
Shannon gasped, and then she began to giggle. Delilah stood stock-still. Samson, coming in behind his wife, turned an ashen color.
Cole was dead still. Explosively still. And then explosively in motion.
He was up, and Kristin sobered enough to know a moment's panic as he came around behind her and purposely pulled her chair away from the table. He lifted her, and her petticoats and hoops and skirt went flying. Kristin swore at him and pounded on his back.
'Cole!' Kristin gasped.
What manner of man had she let loose in her home, she wondered.
He started for the stairs.
'What are you doing?' she shrieked.
'Putting you to bed.'
'I don't want to go!'
'My rules, Miss McCahy.'
They were all watching her, Shannon and Delilah and Samson, and they weren't doing a thing to save her.
