"I do not wish to talk to you at all," she vowed. " Tis you who have forced your unwelcome presence on me. Your implication is exceedingly coarse and completely unappreciated. Pray, sir, say your piece, then leave."

Harrison thought of himself as a practical man. Despite his reputation to the contrary, he took matters of family and money deadly serious. That's why he needed a wife. That's why he wanted Alice to wed a well-connected man.

But the three duels he'd fought-and won-had stained his reputation forever, even though they'd all been unavoidable. The men had challenged him. Each one of the fools had been jilted by spiteful women who'd then goaded their former lovers to fight their current lover: himself. The women had done it for the pride of knowing men had shed blood for them. The men had done it because male pride would not allow them to back down. Foolish men fighting to regain frivolous women. And he'd been the most foolish of all.

Still, he'd never ruined an innocent woman. He'd never even contemplated doing so-at least not since he'd reached his majority. But this woman-this beautiful, headstrong redheaded woman whom he'd known but two days-she was driving him to distraction!

He wanted her. It was that simple and that complicated. And now he was afraid to stand up, for the proof of his desire would be painfully apparent. He'd often had this problem when he was twenty. But he was thirty now, a jaded thirty, at that. No untried virgin should affect him so.

But this one did. Perhaps it would be best if he just said his piece and left.

He cleared his throat. " 'Tis apparent from your curious behavior that you seek to alert your brother to my pursuit. But it will do you no good, Miss Benchley. He cannot evade me forever."

"I'm certain he does not expect to."

"Then what do you hope to achieve with this mad dash you've made to find him before I can?"

"To save his hide from the murderous marquis!" she exclaimed. Her eyes flashed with anger, a clear aqua-green anger. Her breasts heaved with emotion beneath the flimsy linen wrapper. She was magnificent, he thought. She'd been magnificent in every incarnation: her early-morning attire; her bedraggled riding outfit; and now, wet and unadorned, fresh from her bath. How would she look draped in teal silk or cloth of gold, with diamonds sparkling in her hair or a web of gold and pearls draped around her throat? How he would like to find out.

"Well?" she demanded. "Have you no reply to that? Do you admit you mean to murder my brother, simply because he is so unwise as to love your sister?"

Harrison was not a man particularly given to impulsive behavior, no matter what other people thought. But when Jinx stared at him so belligerently, making accusations uncomfortably close to the truth, he reacted impulsively. The chair crashed down when he rose to his feet. Before she could do more than gasp with alarm, he pulled her into his arms.

"What-What are you doing?"

"You're a smart woman, Miss Benchley. Jinx. Figure it out." Then he silenced the protests rising from those pouty lips, from that petulant mouth. He kissed her and realized only then how much he'd wanted to do just that. From his first sight of her, all during the hard riding of the past two days, and culminating in her daring removal from the tub, he'd wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do even more, but kissing was a good start.

So he kissed her as if he and he alone had the right to do so. His lips captured hers in a carnal quest, and after a moment she began to kiss -him back. As if he'd thrown down a gauntlet, she rose to the challenge he set.

She was not sure of herself, but she learned very quickly. Her protests died unsaid and softened into little sighs of acquiescence. She was damp and lithe, a soft, strong armful, and when he pressed her fully to him, she arched nearer, intensifying their embrace. Her arms circled his neck, her lips parted to grant him entrance, and he feared he would embarrass himself then and there.

His hands roamed freely down her back, circling her waist, learning the curve of her derrière. She gasped against his mouth, and he groaned. "Feels good, doesn't it?" '

"Yes," she breathed. "Better than ever I would have guessed."

Harrison deepened the kiss, for he was heady with desire, and drunk with the passion her honest words roused in him. He devoured her mouth, sliding his tongue in and out, trying to rouse her as she roused him. He knew he was going too fast, and he didn't want to frighten her off. But he couldn't stop. His hands explored her sweet body while his mouth demanded she submit.

When she mimicked his caresses with caresses of her own, he nearly came undone. She was sweet and honest, and long overdue for her first sexual encounter-

Her first sexual encounter.

Was he insane?

With a groan he broke their kiss. With a curse he broke their embrace and thrust her away from him. But he did not let her go. He just stood there, holding her shoulders in a stiff-armed stance, his breathing harsh and ragged.

"What are you trying to do?" He glared at her, appalled at what had just occurred between them. What had almost occurred between them. "What in bloody hell are you trying to do?"

For a second she looked stunned. Her mouth gaped open. Her lips-her sweet, rosy, kissable lips-actually trembled. Then the moment passed, her jaw snapped shut, and the passionate sheen in her eyes turned to venom.

"What am J trying to do? Me?" She jerked free of his hold and backed as far away from him as she could.

"The better question is what are you trying to do? First you intrude on my privacy. You interrupt my bath. Then you proceed to kiss me-" She broke off. But though her face colored in a heated blush, her fury did not abate. "You do all that, then you have the gall to accuse me of trying to do something to you\"

She was right on every count. She knew it and so did Harrison. And yet he could not explain the idiocy of his behavior with any amount of logic. So he chose to blame her.

"If you think to lure me into some sort of compromising position and thereby gain a better bargaining position for yourself, it will not work."

"Are you accusing me of trying to gain a husband by such nefarious means? Is that what you are trying to imply?"

"No. That's not what I meant!" Harrison thrust his hands angrily through his hair. It was either that or grab her and silence her in the one way he now knew worked. Except that kissing her again would not be a good idea. "I didn't mean that you wanted to put me in a compromising position then force me into marriage. Not exactly," he added less forcefully.

"Then what exactly did you mean?" she demanded, glaring at him, her fists once more knotted on her hips.

Damn, but he was handling this badly! He didn't want to make it worse now by insulting her, or hurting her any more than he already had. But he didn't trust himself to keep his hands off her, no matter how stupid an idea it was.

Then again, if.he angered her sufficiently, she would be the one to avoid him.

He didn't like*the idea, yet given the messy circumstances of their acquaintance, it seemed to be the best option open to him.

So he answered her question though he no longer believed his own words. "When it comes to protecting your idiot brother, you have already shown yourself to be bolder and more daring than any woman I've ever met. It can be no wonder, then, that I assume you would be willing to buy your brother's safety with the use of your body."

She slapped him.

He deserved it. But though he wanted to apologize to her, he did not. This attraction between them must be killed. It had begun too abruptly. It would have to end in the same manner. So he stepped back from her and gave an abbreviated bow. "I'll leave you now."

When he reached the door, however, she called out. "I'm not turning back, Lord Hartley. You can't scare me off so easily as 3JI that."

He did not think he had. But Harrison kept his own counsel. He did not look back at her or respond in any way. He left and sought his own room where he and a bottle of whisky proceeded to spend a long, restless night together.

How was he to get rid of the difficult Jinx Benchley? He'd kissed her, a stupid move, given who she was and the circumstances of their relationship. He'd seen her naked and run his hands over her delectable body, compounding his stupidity tenfold. Still, he'd not totally compromised her. Somehow he'd managed not to do anything he could not undo.

He stared up at the ceiling, disgusted with himself. He wanted her even though he knew she was not the sort of woman a man could seduce with impunity. But logic fell short when it came to his reaction to Jinx. Though he should put her out of his mind, he could not. He wanted her still.

He heaved a great sigh and lifted the whisky glass once more to his lips. The only solution was to get rid of the difficult and delicious Miss Benchley before he gave in and did something that he could not undo.

Chapter Five

She should have slept the sleep of the dead; she'd been that exhausted. But Jinx was too upset to sleep. Too agitated and bewildered and furious.

By midnight she was seething. How dare he burst into her private chamber?

By two A.M. she was ready to commit murder. How dare he kiss her, then turn around and accuse her of trying to distract him!

By four o'clock, she was sick with shame. How could she have risen, wet and naked from the tub, with him right there? How could she have kissed him so passionately? And why should he not question the purposes of any woman who behaved so?