Page 31 of Texas Honor

“Yes. So am I.” He searched her eyes gently and started to lean toward her, but his survival instincts warned him against it. Instead, he stood up with a smile and went to the door. “Good night, honey. Sleep well.”

“You, too.”

He closed the door without looking back, and Mari stared at it for a long time before she drew a shuddering sigh and turned out the light.

CHAPTER EIGHT

MARIHARDLYSLEPT.She felt his hands all through the night, along with a new and curious kind of frustration that wouldn’t subside. Every time she thought about Ward, her body began to throb. These new feelings frightened her because they were so unexpected. She didn’t know what to do. The urge to cut and run was very strong.

Lillian was hobbling around putting platters on the table for breakfast. She looked up, smiling, as Mari came into the room dressed in jeans and a pullover burgundy knit blouse.

“Good morning, glory,” Lillian said brightly. “Isn’t it a beautiful day?”

It was, in fact, but Lillian seemed to be overjoyed at something besides the great outdoors. “Yes,” Mari returned. She glanced at the empty chair at the head of the table.

“He’ll be back in a minute,” the older woman said knowingly. “Looks like a storm cloud this morning, he does. All ruffled and absentminded. Been staring up that staircase ever since he came downstairs, too,” she added wickedly.

Mari darted into the kitchen. “I’ll help you get breakfast on the table,” she said quickly, avoiding that amused gaze. At least Lillian was enjoying herself. Mari wasn’t. She was afraid.

She and Lillian had started eating before Ward came back. He looked tired, but his face brightened when he spotted Mari. He smiled without really wanting to and tossed his hat onto a side table before he sprawled into a chair. His jeans were dusty and his blue checked shirt was a little disheveled.

“I’ve washed up,” he told Lillian before she could open her mouth. “I had to help get a bull out of a ditch.”

“How did he get into the ditch?” Mari asked curiously.

Ward grinned. “Trying to jump a fence to get to one of my young heifers. Amazing how love affects the mind, isn’t it?”

Mari flushed. Lillian giggled. Ward leaned back in his chair, enjoying the view, watching Mari try to eat scrambled eggs with forced enjoyment.

“Don’t you want something to eat, boss?” Lillian asked.

“I’m not really hungry,” he said without realizing what he was giving away to the old woman, who beamed at him. “But I’ll have some toast and coffee, I guess. Sleep well, Mari?” he asked as Lillian handed him the carafe.

Mari lifted her eyes. “Of course,” she said, bluffing. “Did you?”

He shook his head, smiling faintly. “Not a wink.”

She got lost in his green gaze and felt the force of it all the way to her toes. It took several seconds to drag her eyes down to her plate, and even then her heart ran wild.

Ward watched her with evident enjoyment, caught up in the newness of having a woman react that way to his teasing. Everything was new with Marianne. Just ordinary things, like sharing breakfast, took on new dimensions. He found that he liked looking at her. Especially now since he knew exactly what she looked like under her clothes. His eyes darkened in memory. God, how exquisite she was!

Mari felt his intent stare all through her body. She could have made a meal of him, too, with her eyes. He looked so good. For all his huge size he was lithe and graceful, and she loved the way he moved. He was as sensuous a man as she’d ever known, a very masculine presence with a disturbing effect on her senses. She didn’t think her feet would ever touch the ground again. Just being near him set her on fire. She wanted to get up and touch him, put her mouth on his, feel his arms crushing her to every inch of that long, elegant body. Her fingers trembled on her fork, and she flushed with embarrassment when he noticed her nervousness.

“Come for a ride with me,” Ward said suddenly.

She looked up at him. “Now?”

He shrugged. “Lillian can answer the phone. There’s nothing pressing for today. Why not?”

“No reason at all,” Lillian agreed quickly. “Go ahead. I’ll handle the home front.”

Mari submitted before she could begin to protest. Why pretend? She wanted to be alone with him, and he knew it. Her blue eyes searched his green ones longingly, everything plain and undisguised in her oval face. He felt explosive. Young. A boy again with a special girl.

He threw down his napkin and got to his feet, hoping his helpless urgency didn’t show too much. “Let’s go,” he bit off.

Mari followed him. She barely heard Lillian’s voice behind her saying something about having fun. Her eyes were on Ward’s strong back, her body moving as if she were a sleepwalker. She was on fire for him. Whatever happened now happened. She loved him. If he wanted her, she wasn’t going to stop him. He had to feel something for her, too. He had to care just a little!

He saddled two horses in stark silence, his hands deft and firm as he pulled cinches tight and checked bridles.

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