Chapter One

Boston Female Medical College

Lights blazed in the large ballroom where the first recipients of a diploma from Boston Female Medical College danced and celebrated with loved ones. The waltz the band played was slow, making those who weren’t dancing sway in time. They played a series of tunes popular at the time. The golden glow of the gas lights touched on the vibrant face of Annie Lundin as she danced in the arms of a man she seemed to know. She smiled flirtatiously as the young man whirled her around the room. He held her too close. She pushed away, a flush to her once pale cheeks bloomed as if a flower was opening to the sun. She looked nice painted in the rose color. Deke wondered what the man said to her to cause the rise of embarrassment.

By the look on her face, she chastised the man, her lips set in a grim line. Her dance partner didn’t seem to care. He tugged her closer, his hand resting on the small of her back. This time she was able to dislodge herself from him. Her lips set tight, she strode from him, her back rigid. The man did not mean her well. Thinking he should intervene, Deke pushed himself from the wall where he’d been leaning, a soft curse on his breath. He thought better of his plan when another young man joined her. She laughed at something he said then turned from him moving away. What could be described as vicious, the man grabbed her arm, turning her to face him again. Her rescue came from an older man, possibly one of her professors. The tune began, the music livelier. The couple ended up at the punch bowl. As if hot or winded from the exertion, she waved her hand in front of her face, her smile infectious.

Deke Sullivan relaxed against the wall again. His arms crossed in front of him, one knee bent, his foot braced on the wall. For the time being she was safe. For how much longer he couldn’t be certain. He watched. He thought of his mission, something he refused several times, declined adamantly. Jamie Lundin, her father, had paid him to escort Annie Lundin to Denver City, Kansas Territory. The journey would be difficult. She was going to be the new doc in town. What she might not understand was the fact that there wasn’t a single man in the area surrounding Denver City that would come to see her. She would have a few female patients if their men folk would allow them to see a female. She didn’t belong in the west. She was silk and lace, a smile to grace ballrooms not barn dances. Her features so very delicate and fragile surely, she would suffocate or die in Kansas Territory. Her soft hands would end up with callouses. That life couldn’t possibly suit her.

Annie Lundin did not belong to the fierce west. She belonged in Boston or Baltimore, any city, a place with street signs. A place that wouldn’t leech her beauty with the cold winters coupled with the hot summers and the hard work. There was the wind, the snow along with the ice that would cause the weakest to faint.

Geez, he thought of a woman such as this one examining him. He choked back his thoughts, his body hardening in response to the notion. With a quick readjustment to his dress pants, he tamped down the thought of her doctoring him. God, she was a fire brand. Her long blond hair expertly coiffed on top of her head showed the length of her white neck. The tendrils she artfully arranged to curl beguilingly around her face would tempt a saint. He wanted to get close enough to her to see the color of her eyes. Would they be blue, a crystal-clear shimmering blue?

Annie Lundin was dangerous to a man such as he. She could provoke and enchant create fire within that couldn’t be extinguished with one taste. Her small slippered feet seemed to float magically along the floor to the tunes despite her inept partners. Hell, he had two left feet when it came to dancing. Nevertheless, he was tempted to ask for a dance. He wanted her in his arms. His hard gaze focused on the beauty of her.

The night would end. He would have to follow her through the streets of Boston to her apartment. Protect her from the threat her father described in his letter. Jamie Lundin, her father, couldn’t stay for the celebrations. He’d attended yesterday’s graduation ceremony where she spoke. Business called him home. He and his wife, Tira, worried about her; objected furiously when she told them she was going to Denver City. She was so spontaneous, impulsive too. Apparently, she didn’t take the threats against her seriously. Either that or her father was a worrier. Deke knew Jamie Lundin. He wasn’t a man to exaggerate or drum up problems that didn’t exist. The threats had to be real.

Pulling out his pocket watch, Deke stared at the hour. He was bone weary. He’d hoped Annie would grow tired of the dancing hours ago. Their train west would leave early tomorrow morning, dawn. The time to rise would come all too soon. He rubbed his chin, thinking about the miles that lay ahead of them. While he understood she would have a special car to sleep and live in for the short distance they could take the train, he would have to take special care not to soil her reputation. Jamie told him his car was in front of hers. There was a living area and two bedrooms. Her father trusted him with his little girl who wasn’t quite so little any longer.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sight of Annie, striding to the cloak room. It was about time she put a period on this celebration. He waited a moment before following discreetly. Seemingly unwilling to admit she was female all the way down to her toes, she was headed out into the darkness alone. The streets near the campus were not well lit. Four well-dressed men trailed behind her. One might call them dapper. They were drunk, swaggering yet strangely quiet. At one time each had been a dance partner. She fought with all four. Rejected each man.

Beneath his breath Deke cursed into the bleakness of the night. She couldn’t have made this easy for him.

This was what her father cautioned him about, the threatening men she’d been warned against. The same ones she dismissed as harmless. Didn’t she understand a harmless man didn’t exist? He slipped the badge he wore into the pocket of his jacket. If it came to a fight, he didn’t want these men to know he was a sheriff. His jurisdiction didn’t carry sway in Boston. He would do what was necessary to protect the woman who seemed to be able to flirt and carry on leaving her male victims panting with their tongues hanging out and in need of what she so eloquently offered. If she said no, the word should be heeded even if she seduced and charmed, even if she was a sassy little flirt.

Tonight, she made several conquests. Apparently, these men meant to taste what she suggested with her winsome smile coupled with the sensual shimmer in her vibrant blue eyes. Jamie didn’t understand what his daughter with her innate allure was capable of provoking in the weak male species. Just a smile’s promise could get a man hard. She shouldn’t be out alone in the night, in the dark without protection. He assumed he was her protection tonight as well as a host of long cold nights to come. Street lights cast a subtle glow, elongating shadows. Anyone who wished to steal away in the gloomy night could do so without detection.

The men following her didn’t seem to be hiding. She must know they shadowed her. Her pace increased even while he mused once more about the inherent dangers for a female alone in the blackness. A prudent woman would have hailed a carriage. According to her doting father, Annie defied logic. She was an independent woman. He supposed any female who wished to be a doctor in an out-of-way small town high in the Rocky Mountains would have to defy more than rational thought. She would have to possess a good sense of autonomy. The west was dangerous territory. Women were few. Men obsessed over beautiful women. They either wanted them as a wife or a mistress. In either case men wanted a woman in his bed to ease his needs.

When she turned off the well-lit street, he knew the men would act. He picked up his pace, his heart pounding with energy, fighting energy. His strides lengthened. His body toned and hardened in anticipation of the looming confrontation. The shrill scream didn’t surprise him. The silence afterward did.

What he saw ripped through him, blinding rage followed. She was pushed against the cold brick of the building. One man’s hand covered her mouth his other ripped the cloth of her bodice and chemise. Even with the pale moonlight, he saw the white of her flesh, the pink tips that could push any man to lust. Her flailing body was caught by the faint light from the lantern on the far corner. She pounded on the man’s back, screaming.

“No!”

“Ay-ee…ay-ee, ay…ay…yii…” The war cry honed from his time living with the Cheyenne never failed to send chills of fear into the opponent.

He wasn’t Cheyenne. Nevertheless, he had lived with them, learned their ways. The woman he called mother was fullblood Cheyenne. He was as full blood Irish as a man could get.

The first man he encountered he leapt high, kicking him in the chin, toppling him backward. The second he tackled sending him to the ground with the force of the blow. The third man ran. The fourth, his hand thrust forward, never saw the blow that sent his head backward, blood flowing from his nose.

Deke straddled the man, his fist tucked into the cloth of his shirt. He lifted him inches off the ground. “You sorry son of a bitch.” With force, he sent the man back to the ground. His head cracked when it hit solid stone. “She said no!”

He stood, dusting his hands. She’d left. All he could see now was her back, her skirt lifted as she ran. “Well, hell.” He supposed given the same situation if he was female, he would have done the same. In a few seconds, he caught up with her. He walked beside her, adjusting the length of his strides to hers.

“What do you want?” She didn’t look at him nor did she break stride, her rough breathing all that gave indication of the stress. One hand held her skirt high so as not to trip, the other gripped her torn bodice tight.

“Not what you think.”

He couldn’t help grinning. Flushed to such a high color, she was adorable. They pulled up in front of her door.

“Go away.” Dropping her tight fist from her skirt to pick up her reticule, fumbling with one hand, she pulled out a key. With the door unlocked, she tried to slip through the opening without him.

“‘Fraid I can’t let you do that.”

His hand stopped the door from shutting in his face. His foot straddled the door jam.

“Or won’t?”

Striding up the steps, she ignored him. Her back rigid as a boulder, she reached the door to her apartment. Once again, he couldn’t allow her to enter without him. Sometime he would have to explain his purpose. She would object. Jamie warned him convincing her she needed him would never be easy. He would have to stick to her, not let her use her cunning to get away from him. He did have his honor. Duty first. She was his duty, a repayment of debt he owed Jamie.

She inhaled a deep breath, turning on him, her slim fingers still clutching the torn fabric. “What do you want?”

He massaged his chin for a moment, a slow grin forming on his lips, “A glass of whiskey would be nice.” He grinned at the slow mercuric spread of fire he watched growing along her neck to reach her cheeks. Her eyes shimmered spitting liquid heat. Obviously, she didn’t know how to handle this situation. He pushed his hat upward, lifting an eyebrow, studying her. “Too much to ask?”

“Go to hell!”

Ignored now, she set about arranging papers that cluttered her desk, still attempting to keep her grip on her bodice tight. Every now and then he caught a glimpse of rounded white flesh. A valise and a trunk were packed sitting next to the door. She was ready for the morning train. Even while she tried to put up a brave front, her shoulders shook. Beneath sooty, long lashes she eyed him, sized him up from the tips of his riding boots to the top of his hat. Deke didn’t think she came up with any answers.

“You should have hailed a cab.” He told her his voice taking on a soft edge. “If I hadn’t been there… A safe ride home would have been prudent.” He looked at his bruised knuckles. “If you’d done so, I could have avoided the skirmish. Don’t like to fight though I’m damn good at it.” He’d been wishing for more than a skirmish since he first set eyes upon her a week ago. Until now, she didn’t know he existed.

“I didn’t ask for help.”

The prickly little female was bristling with outrage. She waltzed into the bedroom. A few seconds later she emerged with a shawl draped around her shoulders and tied in the front. He’d wondered when she would take care of that small inconvenience that kept her one handed.

“You needed it or…they weren’t forcing you?”

Shaking her head, pointing a long slender finger at him. “Who are you?” She now stood in the farthest away corner of the small living room.

“You should have asked that a long time ago, Annie Lundin.”

Her gasp of surprise didn’t mean anything. He knew her father never told her about the protection he hired to take her to Denver City. Understood she was far out of her realm of expertise when it came to living in a small western town filled with miners and gamblers, dotted with a couple of whores. So high in the mountains sometimes a man had to struggle for air. The men were rough, the women easy. She didn’t fit the bill. He understood protecting this woman would be a formidable task. She was a brilliant, beautiful menace.

“I’m asking now.”

Deke found the whiskey bottle he knew she purchased for Jamie. The bottle wasn’t packed. He poured two fingers before downing half. “Sherriff Deke Sullivan.”

He finished the whiskey, keeping his gaze on her.

“You could have said so in the beginning. Will you leave now?”

“Nope to the leaving. Those men could return. Do they know where you live?”

“I’m not your concern. I’ve got a train to catch in the morning.”

He stepped toward her, “So?”

“I’ve got to sleep.”

“As do I.” He placed his hat on the table by the door, took inventory of the apartment. The bed was too small for both of them. He chuckled thoughtfully. She didn’t seem in the mood to share the mattress though he would never form the words to object if she changed her mind. “Suppose the sofa will have to do.”

“Never!”

Her tiny hands fisted on her hips. She stood her ground.

“Sweetheart, I’m staying here to make certain you and I reach the train in one piece in the morning. I don’t intend to sleep on the floor outside your door.”

With her mouth clenched tight, she raced to him, pushed on his chest. Taken by surprise, he fell backward, bringing her with him. They landed together on the rug with a solid oof. He grunted with the impact. When she tried to push from him, her blue eyes blazed female fury.

“Let me go!”

With those tight little fists, she pounded on him; his chest, his shoulders. Her hair fell around her shoulders, the soft strands sliding against his face and along his hands.

Swearing softly beneath his breath, he grabbed the pummeling hands then rolled. He lay atop her, her hands held above her head. “You should stop when you’re in over your head.”

The shawl fell away. Her partially covered breasts pushed against his chest. The small puffs of air she inhaled to fill her lungs had to hurt. “Will you promise to keep your hands to yourself?”

This was not something he anticipated. What he hadn’t expected was the fabric of her torn bodice opening, her breasts pushing against his chest, exposed. The tight pink buds invited him to taste.

Annie clenched her teeth then nodded. So many more silken strands of her coif came undone to taunt him further, sliding with smooth heat across him, catching in the stubble on his face.

“You’re hurting me.”

“Sweetheart, you hurt me.”

“Oaf!”

Her breasts pushed against his chest.

“As soon as you promise, we can begin again. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about me as well as my purpose here. I will also tell you why.”

The press of her body next to his sent an inferno seething inside flying straight to his groin, his response so swift and hard the sensation caught him by surprise. He should remove himself from her person.

She nodded, her dark lashes briefly closing over her eyes fanning across her cheekbones.

“I need the words. Who the heck could guess what you are nodding at? Say the words, my darling.”

“I promise,” she spit the words out too quickly.

His lips quirked in a half-smile. He didn’t trust the promise. Hell, he wasn’t born yesterday. He wasn’t a half-wit who would fall for her female charms. Who did she think he was? An untried boy? He stood, holding out a hand to help her to her feet.

She ignored the offer. “What are you doing here?”

“Protecting you,” he said his voice bland. “From what I just witnessed you need my protection.”

Dusting off her skirt, Annie stomped to the whiskey and poured herself a stiff drink. After she downed a goodly portion, she closed her eyes, grimacing, straining as the heat slipped down her throat. Her shoulders unyielding, she pointed an accusing finger in his direction, “I don’t need protecting. Go find another woman to guard.”

His laughter barked from his throat. “Someone important to you believes you do. At least he believes enough to have hired me. You’ll get used to me. I’m easy to get along with.”

“Liar!”

He tugged her into his arms intending to make his position to her crystal clear, clear as the devil inside him. Her hands on his chest, she stared at him with the bluest damn eyes he’d ever seen. Unable to stop himself, he slowly lowered his mouth to meet hers. Softly, he brushed his lips across hers, teasing, touching, caressing the fulness he encountered. Heat, enchantment, liquid fire erupted. He expected a slap to his face. Instead, her fingers rose to his shoulders then his neck her nails biting then scraping. He pushed her lips apart as he explored inside the dark sultry heat of her mouth. His hands cupped her buttocks, pulling her closer, so close she was certain to feel the heat of his heavy arousal.

Realizing he was about to take this farther than he should, he let his tongue slip from the warmth of her mouth. When he was inches away, could smell the scent of aroused woman, he grinned then winked. “I make my point.”

This time the slap startled Deke. Dazed by the sensations she elicited, his mind was in a fog. He touched his hand to his throbbing cheek.

“Bastard!”

“You didn’t say no.”

He ignored his blinding need to show her how foolish her action was. He was angry with his stupidity. “We will leave at dawn. Best you get sleep.” Through clenched teeth he grated out his comments.

Annie finished her drink, her body quivering with pent up emotions. He sat down to take his boots off then followed with his shirt leaving his clothing on the floor. His pants unfastened he rose, watching, studying her. She liked the kiss. He scratched his belly.

“What are you doing?” She stood in front of him so close he could reach out, pull her once more into his arms. If he did so, they would end up in the bed together. “Get out!”

“Going to sleep as per your suggestion.”

He winked at her knowing that would infuriate her further.

“Not in my home you’re not.” She picked up his clothing and boots, tossing them toward him. One boot hit him square in his chest.

He grunted. “I am staying in your home. Over the next several weeks, we are going to be close, damn close. Now, my suggestion is that you retreat to the bedroom. If you don’t, I’ll trade sleeping arrangements with you or we could share.”

Head in her hands, she sat on an old ragged chair near the fireplace. He thought he saw her shoulders shaking. Finally, she looked at him. Her eyes shimmered with the tears she refused to shed earlier. Despite her efforts, when she looked at him again, she questioned. “Who hired you?”

Damn, he hated women’s tears. Time for teasing her ended minutes ago. He should have never caried this so far. In his defense, she was so damn adorable when she was angry, he had a devil of a time thinking straight. “Your father.”

When she flew at him again, he was ready for her. “How dare he!”

The answer to him was obvious. She was a menace to all males everywhere with those soft white breasts, the beguiling curves of her wasp thin waist and that delectable little butt, not to mention her captivating blue eyes he was drowning in every time he looked at her. He wanted to taste and squeeze every deliciously mouthwatering part of her. “You’re in need of protection from every male from here to Kansas Territory,” he said unemotionally.

Her hands held once more in his, “You promised you’d keep these.” He placed tender kisses on her knuckles, “to yourself.”

“Oh!”

“You did.” He drew in a long deep breath needing the raw restraint the air might give him. He needed to hold his temper in check. “Sweetheart, don’t like this job. You’re trouble from the get go. Whenever possible, I stay away from trouble. Told your father no, until I couldn’t, until he backed me into a corner I couldn’t get out of.”

“Are you trying to tell me it’s my fault those men attacked me?”

From the beginning she sounded indignant. She had every right to be. She looked as mad as a hornet gettin’ ready to sting.

“Well, honey, you flirt outrageously. Every male at the celebration panted after you. They looked at your breasts popin’ out of that dress of yours…” He lifted his shoulders in a careless shrug. “What did you expect?”

He did regret the words. The attack was not her fault. He should tell her that. For some reason he didn’t understand, he couldn’t keep the taunting words behind his lips.

Her fists were on her hips again, her eyes flashing with heated color, ice blue fire. She pulled in a breath of air, her breasts rising as if to put a period on the point he was making. “How dare you blame something so ludicrous on a woman when a man thinks with his cock and not his head!”

She stared pointedly at his groin which was rising to the occasion.

He regarded her tiny weapons with care as well as her words. She was spittin’ mad. Her audacity intrigued him. For her size she was a whirlwind of hot air. Her attacks always came out of the blue. About this she was right on all counts. He grinned at her. “Think with my cock, do I? Why, sweetheart, where did you hear such things? From that medical school of yours where you took top honors? Thought you were a lady.”

“From every male on this earth!” she retorted with venom while her eyes blazed ferociously.

She looked as if she meant to fly at him again, fists blazing.

“Don’t even think to hit me. I won’t tolerate more than one time. You’ve already passed once. That slap packed a wallop. Knocked my head back a mite.”

“You’re not worth the effort,” she gritted the words out through clenched teeth as she stomped to the bedroom again. She came out with a derringer pointed at his chest. “For the last time, get out!”

“Do you have an extra pillow or blanket for me?” After he sat down, he kicked his feet onto the sofa. “Wasn’t looking forward to the hard pallet on the wood floor. This here sofa’s mighty comfortable for a sofa.”

Her hand shook, the gun still pointed his direction. “You aren’t listening. I told you I want you out of my home.”

He let out the air he’d been holding since he saw the gun. She wasn’t going to use the weapon. He’d stake his life on the fact. “Use the damn thing or put it away. We both need sleep. Dawn will be here early. I for one am tired of arguing. Would rather bed you than exchange more words.”

“Bastard! Devil! I should…”

“Shooting me won’t solve your problems. You still have to get to Denver City in one piece. Without my expertise you won’t make it more ‘un five miles out of Fort Laramie. As soon as you’re so high in the mountains the very air you breathe doesn’t reach your lungs, you’ll have second thoughts.”

The girl was going to be the death of him, not death by derringer, death by headache or…death by arousal. This journey would take forever if he had to listen to her rant and rave all day as well as all night. Kissing her mouth closed was one solution that he’d take more interest in than her war with words.

“Don’t come in my bedroom.”

She didn’t walk to the bedroom but to the whiskey. Not reaching for a glass, she tipped the bottle to her lips. She drank long. Coughed. Wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her eyes firing hotter and bluer.

He lifted his shoulders, staring at her eyes. “Bedding a viper is never pleasant. Might be able to tame the viper to my way of thinkin’.”

“You’ve bedded a viper?” she asked sweetly, her eyes brimming with laughter now.

The about face surprised him. Caught him off guard. Her smile jammed him in the gut before his stomach twisted and his rod swelled more than he thought possible. “No.”

Though he wanted to. During their conversation and struggles, her torn bodice gaped farther open. When he kissed her, it was all he could do not to test the softness of those beautiful white globes of hers.

“How old are you?” The question popped out. Even he understood never to ask a woman her age or how much she weighed not that most knew anyway.

Annie Lundin stared at him as if he lost his mind. She swiped her hands along her dress pulling the fabric lower. As if she suddenly understood what he stared at, she pulled the fabric to cover her, found the shawl that dropped to the floor earlier. He’d seen more than she intended. She was perfection. A man, this man could get lost in all those wonderful curves of hers, die and go to heaven in her flawlessness if invited.

“You’re going to stay here?” She pointed a shaking finger at the sofa. “Don’t you have a place of your own?”

“Damn straight. Right on that sofa unless a certain viper gives an invitation I can’t refuse.”

“Why?”

“Believe we’ve hashed over that…numerous reasons.”

She disappeared again. He caught the pillow and blanket in the face. He grinned.

~ * ~

Sheets and blankets were wrapped around her sprawled legs. Sunlight poured through lace curtains leaving patterns on the floor. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep. Her head pounded in aggravation at the infuriating man in her living room. She drank too much whiskey.

A viper, am I?

I will show him viper!

Throughout the night she pounded her pillow, pushed off covers before reaching for them again when the cool morning air chilled her arms. She urged straggling damp hair from her sweaty face. The glass of water she always kept by her bed was empty. The audacity of that man. Her protector? Never. How dare her father hire a man to guard her. She was an adult. She didn’t need any man to shadow her.

He did come in handy last night.

“Good you’re up. I wasn’t relishing having to shake you awake.”

His darkly raspy voice caught her attention sending a sensual thrill down her spine. She turned to look at him. All she saw was his back. He left as quickly as he showed himself.

All through the night she hoped he was a figment of her imagination. “Go away.”

Her words lacked conviction. It seemed he wouldn’t go anywhere until he was good and ready, until they reached Denver City. While she understood he didn’t want her in his town, he meant to fulfill the contract he signed with her father. With haste on her mind, she scrambled from the bed, hoping to put some clothes on before he barged into the room again. She slept wearing an old thin chemise that was very close to wearing nothing at all.

Dressed, feeling the protection of fabric against her body, she brushed her hair into a severe bun. She was going to disavow him from the notion she was a flirt. She wasn’t. Having a good time, laughing, talking to men, was not flirting. He was from the west, a back woodsman. What did he know about balls? He shot at men to keep the peace. He was a gunslinger. How dare he assume to tell her how she acted?

When she stepped from the bedroom, he handed her a cup of coffee. “Drink up. Time’s a wastin’.”

Her trunk along with her valise no longer sat by the door. Her medical bag was gone. The room looked so empty. She had spent two years here, studying. At one time she thought herself in love. Two weeks ago, the man she thought would be hers announced his engagement to a wealthy Bostonian lady. The man vowed undying love the night before. Her heart ripped apart. He’d been at the celebration, danced with her. Told her he still wanted her. He’d been one of the men who accosted her. Peter Bentley was his name. Along with his friends he attacked her the same night he vowed undying love. She told him she never wanted to see him again.

Flirt, she would if she wanted. However, she’d never fall again for a man’s vows of love. She was never going to fall in love, period. When she looked at Deke, she saw pure male power, fascination, strength, intrigue. Control was evident in the way he stood, by the look in his dark eyes. His broad chest, his height, the way his lips curved sensuously all spoke of male dominance. She would never allow a man to dominate her. She would never take orders from this man.

“You have time to sit, drink your coffee, have a doughnut. You do need to eat something. Gotta keep up your strength.”

He sounded as if he spoke to a little girl. She wasn’t. Couldn’t he see that? For some reason she couldn’t figure, she wanted him to see her as a woman.

Giving in to the realization that all because of her father he controlled her now, her life. She knew she couldn’t get rid of him by wishing him away. She touched her lips remembering the sweetness of his kiss, the sensuously sweet way his tongue explored her, the way she melted into him became liquid heat in his arms. In hindsight, she should have slapped him harder. Instead, she clung to his broad shoulders, ran her fingers through his dark hair. The strands were silk to her fingers.

“Thank you.”

The coffee was delicious, the doughnut sweet and sticky. Butterflies twitted around in her stomach sending strange tendrils of heat to parts of her she’d never actually thought of before. He leaned against the doorframe watching her. His broad arms were crossed negligently in front of him while his eyes studied her, drifting along the length of her form. She squirmed against his boldness.

Half-eaten she set the delicacy back into the sack. “I’ll finish this later.” She sipped the last of her coffee.

One dark eyebrow arched toward the ceiling. He pushed away from the wall. “Not hungry?”

“Can’t eat a bite while you stare at me.”

She sounded petulant. She didn’t want to give him a reason for amusement. Apparently, she did.

Grinning, he offered an arm. She ignored him again, smiling softly when she heard the swear word follow her out the door. He picked up the sack. The sound of his boots tramped on the hard wood. At the bottom of the stairs, he caught up to her then opened the door for her. A hack waited for them. When she tried to ignore his assistance, her foot caught in her skirt. For a moment, she thought she would end up nose first on the ground. So much for her defiance, too bad she never learned from her mistakes. He caught her up before she fell, setting her on her feet.

Without mentioning her most recent fiasco, he led the way to the train cars they would share during the trip west. She rode in these cars with her family when they traveled. This was her first trip alone.

She wasn’t alone.

“My bedroom is the first car. Yours the last.” His husky voice behind her snapped her out of her reverie. She turned, her skirts whirling around her ankles. “We will share this living space. Did you know your father made these arrangements for you? You would have ridden in the main cars if not for his consideration.”

“My father always uses these cars. This luxury is nothing new.”

Now she sounded peevish. She didn’t want him to realize the startling affect his presence had on her, on her nerves.

“That’s what I thought. You’re not going to like Denver City. The town is rough around the edges. There is no luxury anywhere in Denver City,” He paused watching her closely. “Hell, the western town is rough everywhere. You should change your mind. Find a place to be a doctor here in Boston.”

“I’m a doctor, Mr. Sullivan. I go where I’m needed.”

“Deke.”

“I’m a doctor. I’ll set up practice in your rough western town. All will be fine. You’ll see.” Stunned by his rudeness, she scrambled for more words. He didn’t have the right to assume she couldn’t make it on her own. “You don’t know me.”

“That’s true. However, in the last few hours you’ve shown me quite a bit about who you are.”

“What did you learn?”

She couldn’t help her curiosity even though she understood she shouldn’t ask. Would most likely regret the question. Everything he would say would come out negative.

“I’m going to do my damndest to convince you to turn your delectable little backside around and go home. You’re not a woman who is cut out for hard living. The men won’t want to call you doctor. They won’t drop their drawers for you to examine them. You will have no clients.”

She bristled, outraged at his words. “You can’t drive me away with words and threats. What about you? Would you come to me if…?”

“Well, now, oughta tell you no, however,” he paused raking her slowly with his heated gaze, “Depends on your bedside manner. I could get used to your sweet hands examining me.”

“Ass…” she breathed softly. Knew he heard the word.

“I’m the sheriff of Denver City.” He pushed his hat back a trifle, his dark blue eyes focused on her face now. “The way I see this situation once you’re in town, I’ll be defending you day in and day out. Men want one thing from a pretty little woman such as yourself. It’s not the kinda doctorin’ you’ve gone to school to learn.”

“Go to Hell!”

With just a few words and outrageous comments he managed to make her bristle with fury. He tapped into something she didn’t understand. His dark blue eyes turned to black when he spoke of her, of her future in Denver City. He had nerve, damn him. She was terribly afraid he was speaking the truth. She was out of choices.

“Right along with you.” He sat down in a chair by the window. The train was on the move. “Nice place. I’m going to enjoy this trip much more than the one I took to Boston. Though the train doesn’t go far enough. Rode in the regular car with all the regular folks. Before that the stage. You’re goin’ to like that stage real well. After we hit Fort Laramie will be ridin’ horses the rest of the way and trailin’ a couple pack mule with supplies.”

His legs were stretched, long and lean in front of him. The jeans he wore molded around the solid muscle of his thighs. His shirt was unfastened at the top. She caught sight of crisp dark red hair poking from the opening. He was an unyielding wall of muscle and sinew.

“Like what you see?”

His lazy drawl startled her out of her musings.

Flushed, she turned away from him. Back stiff, she marched through the cars to the last one, her sleeping chamber. A few moments of peace and quiet would be nice. He rattled all of her, every nerve stretched thin, every thought convoluted. When she entered, she saw her trunk as well as the valise. Her medical bag sat on top of the trunk. While she slept, he cared for her belongings.

His hands rested on her shoulders.

“Oh!” she gasped out startled by his presence, quickly moving away from the heat of his body, from the frightening energy that possessed him. Her hand atop her chest, “You could let a person know you were there.”

“I called your name twice.” His voice deep and husky seemed to fill the tiny space. “You must not have heard me.”

“What are you doing in here? This is my room.”

She didn’t want to be so close to this man who stripped her to nothingness then sent flames of fire heating her. Something about the confidence he exuded transfixed her. She’d never know a man such as this one. Even the man she thought she loved never touched her senses as Deke did. She did need protection. Guarding her heart against this man would take all she possessed.

“Checking on you.”

“Stay out of this room!”

She wanted to be alone with her thoughts free of his overwhelming presence.

He tipped his hat, “As you wish.” He grinned.

The man didn’t move. She caught her lip beneath her teeth. “Go!”

She pushed on his chest. The mistake was obvious the moment her hands touched him. She felt the sensual heat, the pull she couldn’t resist.

His large hands surrounded her waist. “When I’m ready.” He paused as he seemed to think, “…or when you tell me no.”

She leaned back, staring into his fathomless dark eyes. He was a man to do things his way not hers. Tell him, no? “Mr. Sullivan…”

“I’ve kissed you, sweetheart. Call me Deke. A man can only take so much formality with a woman he’s going to become intimate with.”

His face was inches away from hers. She swallowed hard, wishing for another kiss, not wanting him to touch her again. He tapped a finger on her nose. After that she watched his broad back as he sauntered through the door. She heard his chuckle from the other room.

Deep inside she seethed, her body becoming an inferno of molten liquid fire. He was the most audacious man she ever met. She collapsed into a chair, trying to control her breathing as she stared at the empty space where he stood a few minutes ago. He didn’t want her in Denver City. He hated her. She tried to tell herself she despised him. She didn’t. He intrigued and fascinated every sinew and bone in her body. His dark, dangerous looks, the way he didn’t let his emotions show sent chills of fire down her spine. She wrapped her arms around her body as if that small gesture would smother the flames ignited by his presence. The single kiss touched a part of her she never knew existed. Her finger flew to her lips. Damn the arrogant man. She wasn’t going to allow him to treat her so callously.

In haste, she decided that she would tell him his duties. He needed to understand a few rules about this journey. She wasn’t going to let him walk all over her. She fixed her hair, smoothed her skirts until she felt confidence grow. When she entered the living area, he wasn’t there. He left.

Damn the man.

She found the sack that held her doughnut. She ate. The food churned inside her stomach somersaulting rolling around as if it was doing his bidding. She walked from one end of the small room to the other. Back again. The train was moving faster, picking up speed. When she looked out the window, she watched the city fly by in front of her eyes as the hours dragged. Before, when she travelled with her family, they spent time in the other cars talking and laughing with the travelers. Right now, she didn’t want to see anyone.

Especially not Deke Sullivan.

Especially Deke. There were rules he had to learn. She opened the door. Shut the door. She was a mass of confusion, a maelstrom of frustration.

The sun was high in the sky before he reappeared. He stepped through the door without speaking. She spent all the morning as well as most of the afternoon wondering just where he was…gambling or drinking. He might have found a woman to while away the time with. The pillow she held in front of her became a launched missile. She wanted to hurt him. To show him he couldn’t treat her like so much unwanted baggage. She wasn’t going to let him walk out on her.

Deke caught the projectile before it hit him. Once more, he quirked an elegantly shaped dark brow upward, “What did I do?” he asked sounding perplexed as well as a bit angry. “I left you alone as you requested. Did you want me to stay? I would have obliged you if I understood what you expected of me.”

“You ass!” she bit out clearly showing him her feelings.

She was jealous and she hated the thought. The idea of a woman in his arms…

He shrugged from his jacket, tossed his hat onto the coat stand. “If I’m accused of something untoward, I’d like to know what it is.”

“You’ve been gone.” When the accusatory words left her mouth, she thought to bite her tongue. If he discovered she missed his company, he’d become insufferable. She’d wanted to be alone. He obliged her.

“True.” He loosened the buttons on his shirt. “Did you miss me?”

“You’re not going to undress again.”

She closed her eyes. He was insufferable.

He lifted his broad masculine shoulders all the while staring at her. “Thought I would get more comfortable. You have an objection to comfort? It’s a long trip. We are going to be in close quarters for a while. After we leave this train, we’ll ride a stagecoach. Then…well…then we will be alone together on the trail from Fort Laramie to Denver City. Just me and you, together, alone. You’re going to have to get used to me.”

God in heaven what would he have to take off to get more comfortable? She didn’t want to guess. Unable to help herself, she peeked at him from beneath lowered lashes. He stretched out on a chair, his shirt open to his narrow waist muscles rippling on his flat belly. Crips hair descended lower. He’d unfastened his pants. She gulped air. She remembered all the rules in her head. Now because of his insolence she added another.

“You are not to remove your clothing in front of me,” she blurted, her voice shaking with pent up emotion.

Heat rushed to her face. The implication of what she said startled her.

His eyes darkened to fathomless pits. He barked a hoot of laughter as he leaned toward her his forearms resting against his massive thighs. “Anything else?”

She ran her tongue along her bottom lip. Oh God, she couldn’t do this. His eyes narrowed as if she was quite insane. “Yes. I have a list of rules.”

“Why am I not surprised?” His husky sigh of displeasure or fatigue didn’t go unnoticed. “Go on…”

He crossed his legs at the ankles while his back now rested on the chair. His hands were folded on top of his hard stomach.

“Coming into my private room is expressly forbidden.” She started to ramble more rules.

He halted her with an upraised hand. His lips quirked in seeming amusement, “I see. Nonetheless, I’m being paid to protect you. If there is danger, I will go wherever I need to be. If it’s in your private space, so be it.”

It seemed to her, he didn’t see how his clothing or lack thereof was the problem. He didn’t understand how he created unease within her. He didn’t understand how his simple touch could set forth a maelstrom of emotions inside she’d never encountered. If he chose, he would do whatever he pleased. She couldn’t stop the sudden outburst. Her fists clenched while her temper soared, she yelled at him, “You don’t! You don’t see anything!” She never yelled at people. What was he doing to her even demeanor?

“Of course, I understand. You want me so much that in order for you to keep your innocence intact, you have to demand certain things of me. You don’t want me to invade your sacred space nor do you want to see me with little to no clothing. You haven’t mentioned anything about sharing a bed.”

“I don’t want you!”

His grin sent a wave of newfound butterflies rippling in her stomach then lower to between her thighs. She caught her breath in the back of her throat. Her protest fell on deaf ears.

“Should we test that theory?” he queried softly looking as if he was going to devour her whole. “I think…if I kissed you again…”

“N-no…” She was too quick to object, her hands outstretched as if that simple gesture could hold him off. “My feelings are not an experiment or a theory to test. I don’t ever want you to kiss me.”

“I think testing your rules would make the trip more interesting. You see, I’m bored. Would love to make the days and nights fly by with lightning speed. With you in my bed, we could do just that. We would only have to stop to eat. You know, come up out of the sheets for air along with food.”

“Why would I want to be in your bed?”

She found herself backing away. She wanted to turn, to run. There was nowhere to run.

“You tell me, sweetheart. You’ve men drooling and panting over you since we first met. You can be damn certain I won’t drool. Nor will I pant. I saw them at the dance. Watched one man push you against a wall, his hand exploring your—”

“I screamed.”

“You did. I distinctly remember the weak yell that brought me to your defense. Was the sound made from fright or sexual excitement? Did you want the man’s hand on your breast, touching and weighing your soft feminine jewels? Did you want to be rescued? Or not?”

Her eyes crossed. She frowned at him, unable to put a coherent sentence together. “I don’t want any man’s hand there…on my…” She clenched her teeth, reasoning with this man impossible. She wasn’t going to talk about her breasts with a man she didn’t know.

“Should that be another rule I intend to break? Should I see if you want my hand caressing you intimately, exploring parts of you that will make you hungry as well as wild with desire? Perhaps between your lily-white thighs?” he taunted her. “There are so many places I could fondle you that would make you scream with pleasure.”

Another pillow flew his way. She tried to leave. He caught her in her bedroom. He held her shoulders, his dark eyes blazing.

With a wobbling voice, she continued. “You’re not going to break my rules. You’re not going to test theories. You’re not going to explore any part of me.”

“Hmm…we’ll see.” His lips touched lightly upon hers. “Shall we experiment with what you want as well as what you might not want?”

His mouth was warm and soft. She held herself stiff, unwilling to allow him the sweetest of intimacies he talked about. Giving into this wicked ploy of his was not a choice. His hands drifted downward. His lips swept across her neck then found more dark secret places to explore, along her collarbone, higher to a sensitive spot behind her ear. A soft sigh rippled from her lips as she melted. She closed her eyes wishing he didn’t have such a potent effect on her.

She didn’t want him.

She didn’t want to want him.

His kisses stopped. Her lashes flew open. Her lips parted, moist from the fervent play of his mouth upon hers. She looked into the depth of his dark penetrating eyes. “I could have you right now, sweetheart. If I wanted you, I could have you in my bed anytime. You melt for me.”

He caught her arm as she attempted to slap his face again. She was furious with him. He goaded her. She fell into the game. “You cannot, not now not anytime. I will always tell you no!”

She hated him. She wanted him.

“Another theory to experiment with. Time will tell the true tale. I’m not going to rush you. You are a novice in the ways of love. While you can flirt with the best you cannot tell a man no when he wishes to make love to you. Something you need learn.”

“If you’re trying to dissuade me from my plans your ploy is not working.”

She pushed against his chest. She wanted him to kiss her again, needed to feel the warmth of his mouth on hers.

He tightened his hold upon her. Once again, as if he understood her thoughts, his lips descended to meet hers, the taste evocative. When he pushed inside, she met him, dueled and explored wildly, gave as good as she received. She leaned into him. Heat exploded within her. A cool breeze touched upon her shoulders. He’d removed her clothing, moved the fabric down her arms. His lips explored everywhere across her shoulders, lower until she thought her knees would collapse beneath her. Still, he held her, his hands tightening around her buttocks. He squeezed. Stroked. Explored. She moaned. Purred. Sighed. The sensation was delicious. Her breath caught in her throat when his mouth closed over a nipple. She gasped at the sweetly painful pleasure. He laved then nipped softly, raked his teeth along tender flesh. She pushed against him. Her body constricted with need. She didn’t understand what was happening to her.

“D-Deke…”

“What?” he asked without stopping as he turned the same heated attention to her other nipple.

Her fingers wound into his hair. She arched closer to him, giving him more access. Oh, dear God, she knew this was wrong. Understood she should tell him, no. If she didn’t, he would be more arrogant than before. She didn’t want him to stop. He was right. She couldn’t tell him to stop. Didn’t want to in any case. Wanted to learn what came after the kiss.

Suddenly, she felt the backs of his fingers brush against her. He closed her gown then set her aside. “End of experiment.” His voice was raspy, harsh. “I was right. You were wrong. Pretty damn simple.”

She was shaking violently, her entire body trembling with anger along with the embarrassment and the knowledge that he so easily bested her. Now he tossed her aside as if she meant nothing to him. She would have to be stronger. In the end, gaining more courage. “I’ve more rules!”

“Thought so.” He stepped away from her, sat on her bed, stretching his legs in front of him. He patted the spot beside him. “Come relax while you spout the list I intend to ignore. Don’t abide by rules set down by a woman. They’re usually foolish.”

His grin infuriated her. Under the current circumstances, she would have to be an absolute idiot to sit next to him. Damn his never-ending gall. “No.”

“Then…there will be no more rules, Annie. From now on you’ll abide my terms. Your rules, when you tell me, we can discuss the pros and cons. My terms are nonnegotiable.”

Her hands clasped in front of her. “No.”

She needed to make certain he understood who his employer was.

“Come sit. We can iron out all our differences in a matter of seconds.”

“I’m firing you.”

His grin broadened. His fine white teeth flashed in the dwindling light of the waning afternoon. “Your father told me you’d eventually say that. Won’t work. You don’t pay my fee. Your father does.”

She wasn’t going to stand in front of him and let him abuse her. Whirling, she swept out the door heading to a new destination. On the train she wouldn’t go far. In this instance, she didn’t get past his bedroom before she found herself plucked off the floor. She sifted in a mouthful of air then on a startled gasp the miniscule amount of oxygen she held there rushed out. He tossed her onto his bed. He followed. Her hands now above her head, he straddled her. His hard muscled thighs pressed against hers. He stared down at her. She was breathing hard. She knew what he looked at.

“Listening?” His gleaming white teeth were inches from her face. “It’s well past time you listened to me. Heard me as well.”

Fire raged inside her while she willed herself to calm. She didn’t understand how he could raise her temperature so quickly. “We don’t know each other.”

“I’m willing. How about you?”

“You can’t tell me what to do or not to do. Well, you can say anything you want. It doesn’t matter.”

“Believe me, Miss Lundin, you will comply with my wishes.”

“No!”

“You’ve an infuriating way of not heeding to me. You can’t say no to something that hasn’t been spoken.”

“You’re hurting me.”

Immediately, he let go. She struck his chest with her tiny fists. He grunted. The blow was hard, harder than he probably expected. “Why, Miss Lundin, you can’t seem to keep your little hands to yourself. I can think of other things your hands could be doing that would feel infinitely nicer.”

“If you weren’t sitting on top of me waylaying me, I would never touch you!” Her indignation caused his smile to widen.

“Oh, but I do think you will touch me. Explore my body with fingers as well as lips, teeth, tongue.” Tenderly he ran his knuckles along her cheek. “You’ve the softest skin I’ve ever had the pleasure of feeling. Are you this soft everywhere?”

Heat flamed to her cheeks. His chuckle at her discomfort didn’t suit. “No!”

“I take that as a challenge. Shall I discover exactly where you are not soft?”

~ * ~

With a turbulence of thoughts raging in his aching head, Deke sat in one of the lavish compartments of the train. He sipped the glass of whiskey the sweet little doxy serving this area set down on the table. Raking in his coins, over a thousand dollars, he sat back to watch the other gamblers. At the moment he was done. He didn’t want to go back to Annie. She touched him in ways he didn’t want to consider. Making love to the woman wouldn’t be wise or prudent. God, how she tempted him though. Everything about her enticed him.

Hell, that was one little lady who didn’t belong in the west. The little lady who bedeviled him the first moment he saw her belonged in fancy drawing rooms on the arm of a gentleman. He was no gentleman. Despite the fact Annie didn’t belong with him, he couldn’t help thinking about her. In less than twenty-four hours she became ingrained in his blood. What would happen over the next weeks? They would travel from Fort Laramie to Denver City alone. She would be dependent on him for every need.

He wasn’t going to spare her feelings. No way in hell would the menfolk of Denver City allow her to treat them as their physician. The ones who were wed wouldn’t allow a woman to tend to their wives unless it was in childbirth. He didn’t know how to convince her she didn’t belong in a remote western town. She was so damned determined the fact boggled his mind.

Damn, on the other hand, he didn’t want to let her out of his site. If he bedded her, she would be exorcised from his head. She couldn’t possibly be a virgin. She was thirty years old. Her father told him her age before he finally agreed to the job. He never thought she would become a fire in his soul. Never thought she would be irresistible. No, she was just another woman, nothing more, nothing less. He could bed her and not be touched by the fire she possessed, the response that heated like quicksilver.

He sipped his drink, cashed in his chips then headed for his sleeping car. The days from Boston passed much the same. He argued with her. He left. He won and lost cash. The journey by stage wasn’t much better. He found games at the posting houses where they stopped. She sat next to him in the vehicle, sleeping, sometimes her head on his chest. She bedeviled him. Now, one day from Fort Laramie, he was ahead of the game. He would leave it like that.

He followed her rules. She’d yet to be informed of his terms. They weren’t necessary yet. Once they started on the trail from Fort Laramie to Denver City, she would learn soon enough she would have to do exactly as he told her. In the wilderness, his word was law. If he said jump, she damn well better do it. If he told her to be quiet, he didn’t want to hear one sound. Though she wasn’t inclined to chatter.

What the devil were all his terms? There were the ones on the trail. After that, there were the rules once they reached Denver City.

He supposed the most important one was to keep her safe. She couldn’t wander outside the town. She was not to leave her office unless he accompanied her. Blast it all, even in the tiny town she wouldn’t be completely safe walking along the boardwalk. When passing by the saloon, she should move to the other side of the road. If there was a shootout, she would have to duck for cover. The list went on from there. On the trail, her behavior would be even more important. If he gave her an order, she couldn’t argue.

This was hell. He kept his hands off her. He’d done so by staying away from her, at least until they got on the stage. The miles on the trail would be murder to his unruly body. All that was needed for him to lust after her was to look into her sultry blue eyes. She was fire in his blood. He needed to find a means to send her back to the east coast before he did something they would both regret through eternity.

Mentally, he ticked off what needed to be purchased in Fort Laramie before they left. She would need warmer clothing. The coat she brought with her wasn’t heavy enough for the winter snows that would come their way if she managed to stay in Denver City until October. If she remained until October, she would be there until spring. The high country was unforgiving.

He should have spent the hours regaling her about the dangers she would encounter instead of gambling and drinking. He’d thought to find a woman to ease himself with. Whenever he looked at another lady, his mind traveled to the little viper residing in the plush cars at the end of the train.

Tomorrow would be another hell.

The next few days would be trying for both of them. Barely two words had been shared between them the last days of the trip. He ushered her on the stage in the morning then rode shotgun whenever possible sitting by the driver. When he did see her at the posting houses, she looked away. They were at the last stop before Fort Laramie. He bought a room. After looking at his pocket watch, he decided it was late enough to retire for the night.

The animosity between them would help him keep his hands to himself. He would need to sleep on the floor. A lump formed in his throat. He understood the only way to keep the distance between them was to bait her. He was just too damn tried to do so.

She turned when he cleared his throat, her clear blue eyes shimmering with emotion. She looked as if she wished to speak.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

He sure as hell didn’t want to see her, let alone talk to her right now while he was thinking of the trip to his town, while he thought of her alone with him in the vast forests of the Rocky Mountains.

“I’m not tired. Where have you been?” Her voice sounded accusatory. Her bottom lip trembled. “I haven’t seen you.”

“Didn’t think you wanted me around. I can be obliging when necessary. We could test some of those theories of yours.”

As soon as they came together sparks flew. He saw the fire rush to her eyes, the flames igniting with the few words spoken between them.

“I never said that.”

“Well, honey, I’m not one to cotton to rules set down by a woman. Told you that on the first mention. Had to stay away from you or risk your temper flaring.” She was the little viper he wanted to bed. What he wanted was to wrap his arms around her, pull her against him. If he did so, she would end up tumbled on his bed. “Best you go to bed.”

~ * ~

They were in the stage together. There was no room for him to ride shotgun. “What’s going to happen tomorrow? We are going to reach Fort Laramie by afternoon?” She was tired of spending days and nights alone in the uncomfortable stage even if it meant haggling with Deke Sullivan to have someone to speak with. She was now looking forward to conversation. The first week of the trip, she relished the solitude. This last week she was bored to tears. She was in the mood for a good fight.

“Early morning,” he corrected her while he tugged on his boots.

“What will you do?”

Pulling teeth might be easier than getting questions answered. Was he going to leave her alone in a small room while he gambled and drank? Good lord, he’d done enough of that during the trip out here.

“Need to buy supplies for the journey into the wilderness.”

His reply was curt as he didn’t appear to offer more information.

She bristled. He stepped forward. His hand rested on her shoulder. She felt his heat, the inferno he always generated when he stood near when he touched. She choked back the reply hovering on the tip of her tongue.

“Supplies?”

All she needed was a few simple answers.

“Food, blankets. My horse at the fort. Do you ride?”

He looked at her as if he knew the answer.

Her terror of horses was well known. Her father elaborated, understanding at some point she would have to conquer her fears. She was shaking her head, “No.”

She could learn quickly. She didn’t want to learn.

“Didn’t think so, Boston. You need a caretaker out here. A woman who can’t ride don’t fit. You oughta go home. As soon as we pull into Fort Laramie, I’ll set you up on the first stage headed east. We can be finished with the foolishness that brought you here.”

“Don’t call me Boston!”

He could be such an ass. His language always changed when he wanted to make her leave. She pushed his hand off her shoulder.

Before she could blink or step back, he was holding her. His hand touched her neck. He pulled her close too near for her comfort. “That’s who you are to me. You’re Boston, all city girl, all fancy parlors and pretty dresses. A fancy little teacup held with your pinky sticking out. You’re too soft. You don’t belong in the wilderness where life can go from bad to worse in a blink.”

She tried to turn. He held her tight. His lips found hers, touched, caressed, generated the magic she remembered. Heat whipped through her as if lightning struck. With his large callused hands, he framed her face. She opened for him. He groaned, the sound husky with desire. Just as always, she began to melt. His tongue delved inside, explored touched deeply into secret places. A tiny sigh broke from her.

When he pulled away, he stared at her, his thumbs danced seductively along her neck. “You’re dangerous, a flirt. Too sassy for your own good or mine. You leave a man with no wits. Go to bed, Boston.” He gave her a tiny nudge in the direction of her room. “Tomorrow will come soon enough. Once we’re on the trail you’ll be beggin’ me for more time to sleep.”

Dazed she stared at him wishing he would hold her again, wishing he would leave, wishing she’d never met him. She wanted to curse him. She should run as fast as she could. She wanted him to touch her, caress her as he’d done that first day. If he would hold her, the fear she felt might melt away when he set her on fire. She didn’t want him to know she was afraid. She wouldn’t beg him for anything.

“Annie,” his voice softened. Tenderly, he ran his knuckles along her cheek. “Go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be long as well as difficult for you. You need rest, not a night of playing in my bed. Even though that’s what I want.”

Heat raced to her face. She needed to refute his words. “You’re crude, Mr. Sullivan. I would never play in your bed.”

She wanted to find out what he meant. Needed to know what he could teach her about love. Love, no, she was never going to love a man. Though she did want to know what he meant by play in his bed.