"Yes," he answered as he steady the mare, his hands soothing her. "And you are?"
"Kate. Kate Holden."
She was a good head shorter than him, her dark brown hair tucked under a dusty, battered Akubra. The red and black checked shirt which had seen better days hung on her slight frame; the sleeves rolled up to her elbows showed tanned arms. Her jeans, faded and dirty, were tucked into scuffed brown boots. She looked like a homeless waif.
"What can I do for you, Miss Holden?" A strange feeling tingled his scalp. Crossing his arms, Magnus watched the emotions roll over her face, a face that belonged to a Botticelli angel, not a dusty cowgirl. He suddenly realized he craved this woman with a passion that almost frightened him. Magnus pushed the feelings down and tried to concentrate on her next words.
"You were trying to negotiate with my father, weren't you?" she asked.
He nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak until he knew what she wanted.
"You wanted to buy us out, but that's something I can't do. I wondered if you'd be interested in buying water rights instead?" Kate was wary of the man in front of her. She stood dead still even though her heart thudded. With his heavily muscled arms, he looked every inch the hard businessman her father had warned her about. She had no choice. She had to try and talk him into buying what she had to offer.
"I hardly think this is the place to conduct a business meeting, Miss Holden," he said, looking down at her, a frown marring his brow. "But if you would care to come up to my office we can continue this conversation. Jock, would you mind putting the mare back in her stall please?"
Kate watched him stride away without a backward glance. Looking helplessly toward Jock, she shrugged her shoulders. Damn the man. We've only just met and already he has me running after him. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and hurried to catch up with Magnus.
He led the way up onto the veranda and held a door open for her to enter. "Shall we?" he asked, taking her arm and guiding her down the wide hallway to his office. He dropped his body into the huge old leather chair behind his desk, then leaned back casually.
"Now, you were offering me water rights, is that right?" He picked up a pen from the desk, twisting it between his fingers while he kept his gaze on her.
"Y-yes," Kate stammered, startled as the fax machine rang. She was out of her depth in this plush house, the man opposite her making her insides turn to jelly. Ignoring the noise, she sat on the edge of the chair opposite him and continued. "You only offered my father money for the farm because you wanted the water."
"How do you know what I want, Miss Holden?" He sat up in his chair and reached to grasp the single page that spewed from the fax machine.
"That's what I was told." Kate could feel her stomach rolling and willed herself to settle down, clasping her hands in her lap.
"What if I asked for more than water rights, Miss Holden?" Magnus asked as his gaze scanned what appeared to be a sheet of figures and then found hers. "What if I said I wanted to buy the rights to your body as well?"
Kate shrank back into her chair as his words registered. She must have heard him wrong, surely. "What did you just say?" She gripped the arms of the chair, her fingers digging into the soft leather. A wave of shock went through her body, the air squeezing from her lungs. Panic gripped her chest, and Kate shook her head. "No, you didn't just ask me that."
"You heard me well enough." He glared at her. "You and the water rights are to be one package."
"You obviously do things different in the big city, Mr. Lane, but out here in the country it is customary to date a lady before trying to get her into bed. I'm not for sale like a bale of hay." Kate's very being bristled with anger and lifted her chin.
He leaned forward over his desk and shoved the paper toward her. "I think you can be bought, if this is anything to go by."
Kate grabbed the sheet. She ran tongue over her dry lips before dropping her gaze to scan the figures. She looked back at Magnus, her breath escaping her in a heavy sigh. "Where did you get this information from?"
"I have my sources," Magnus replied. "The bank is giving you two weeks to come up with quite a considerable amount of money that we both know you don't have. What I suggest is this: you sign over the water rights to me for the next twelve months with an option to buy you out completely." He looked at the paper she held and then his gaze met hers. "And you become my mistress for, shall we say, six months to begin with, and I will cover your debt with the bank for that period. We can renegotiate both terms when they are due."
"You insufferable bastard," she cried, rising from the chair. "What makes you think that I want to get into bed with you? I will choose my own lovers. I can't be brought with your money."
"If you default with the bank, I will be ready to buy the land anyway, and you will be homeless along with your staff. Is that what you want?"
Kate turned from him to look out of the window while her mind reeled. She knew that the bank was going to send out the sheriff soon; it was just a matter of time. She was trying to deal with the death of her father while failing to come up with a solution to their problem. It would be easy to say yes to him. He was rich; it was no wonder he was
