Page 23 of Texas Honor

“I feel pretty good, too,” he returned, putting an affectionate arm around Lillian. “Been behaving?”

“Yes, sir. Pills and all.” Lillian glared at her niece. “It’s pretty hard not to take pills when you’re threatened with being rolled in a towel.”

He laughed warmly, glancing over at Mari. “Good girl.”

“I should get medals for this,” Mari returned, her eyes searching his, searching his face, quiet and curious and puzzled.

He hugged Lillian. “No doubt. What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”

“Finally,” Lillian said with a grin. “Things are back to normal. You should see all the food I’ve saved up.”

“Don’t just stand there, both of you, go fetch it,” he said, looking starved. “I’ll die if I don’t eat soon!”

Lillian responded to his order, producing an abundance of hearty food. While Ward dug in, Mari watched him with pure admiration. She’d never seen a human being put it away with such pleasure. He didn’t seem to gain an ounce, for all his appetite. But then he was on the run most of his life, which probably explained his trim but masculine build.

He finished the last of the dressing and sat back with a heavy sigh to sip his second cup of coffee while Lillian, despite offers of help and threats, pushed a trolley of dirty dishes out to the kitchen and dishwasher.

“She won’t slow down,” Mari said. “I’ve tried, but she won’t let me take over. I called the doctor, but he said as long as she was taking her medicine and didn’t overdo standing on that cast, she’d be okay. I do at least get her to sit down, and I help when she lets me.”

“Good thing her room’s on the ground floor,” he remarked.

“Yes.”

He studied her over the rim of his coffee cup, his eyes narrow and quiet and full of green flames. There was no amusement in them now, no mockery. Just frank, blatant desire.

She looked back because it was beyond her powers of resistance not to. He held her in thrall, his darkening eyes full of promised pleasure, exquisite physical delight. Her body recognized that look, even if her brain didn’t, and began to respond in frightening ways.

“I should bring in the dessert,” she said as she rose, panicked.

“I don’t want dessert,” he said deeply.

She thought she knew what he did want, and she almost said so, but she dropped back down into her chair and put more sugar in her already oversweet coffee.

“Keep that up, and you can take rust off with it.” He nodded toward her efforts with the sugar bowl.

She flushed. “I like it sweet.”

“Do you?” He reached over and stilled her hand, his fingers lightly caressing it. While he held her eyes, he took the spoon away from her and linked his fingers slowly with hers in a light, caressing pressure that made her want to scream with frustrated hunger.

She couldn’t help it. Her fingers contracted, too, convulsively, and she looked at him with aching desire.

His face went hard. “Suppose we go over those phone messages?” he asked.

“All right.”

They both knew it was only an excuse, a reason to be alone together in the den to make love. Because that was surely what was going to happen. Being apart and then experiencing this explosive togetherness had taken its toll on them. He stood up and drew her along with him, and she could feel the throbbing silence that grew as they walked down the hall.

“Don’t you want dessert?” Lillian called after them but not very heartily. She was grinning too much.

“Not right now,” Ward replied. He looked down at Mari as he opened the door to the den, and there were blazing fires in his steady, possessive eyes.

Mari felt her lips part as she looked up at him. She started past him, feeling the warmth of his big body, the strength and power of it, and smelling his spicy cologne. She could hardly wait to be alone with him.

Just as he started to follow her into the room, into the secret silence of it, the heady atmosphere was shattered by a loud knock at the front door.

He cursed under his breath, whirling with such unexpected violence that Mari felt sorry for whoever was out there.

He opened the door and glared out. “Well?” he demanded.

---