“This is a very nice horse,” Elspeth said. “He has a much smoother gait than that horrible horse I rode to the cabin. Does he have a name?”

“Blanco.”

“But he’s black as midnight. Why would you call him Blanco?”

“Because he wasn’t. At the time I thought it was hilarously funny.”

“Really?” she asked doubtfully. “I don’t quite see-”

“I was drunk.”

“Oh.” She turned to look at him and a swath of her hair moved against his lips in a silken, sensual kiss. “I’m afraid I paid no attention when you brought me here. How far is it to Hell’s Bluff?

“Too far,” he muttered. “Will you just not move.”

“I’m sorry I bothered you,” she said with hurt dignity. “I only wondered.”

He was wondering too. He was wondering what she would do if he turned her in the saddle, freed himself, and sunk deep within her. He wondered if she would be frightened if he wrapped her legs around his hips and buried his tongue in her mouth. He wondered what she would do if he lifted her breasts to his mouth and suckled his fill. He wondered all these painful, hungry thoughts while the heat built and the swelling in his groin increased and he prayed he’d make it to Hell’s Bluff before wondering became reality.

Elspeth leaned back against his chest and sighed despondently. He was angry with her again. The softness she had sensed in him when he had returned yesterday morning was now completely gone. Her gaze fell on his hand on her stomach that was steadying her on the saddle. It was a beautiful hand, she thought dreamily. His long, tanned fingers were splayed across the blue cotton shirt and looked slim, capable, and strong. She could feel the imprint of each finger through the thin cotton and she suddenly remembered how gently his fingertips had moved over her naked body, touching, brushing and then moving on until…

She moved restlessly against Dominic and she heard him inhale sharply. She tried to turn and look at him again, but his hand on her stomach suddenly tightened, crumpling the fabric. “No!”

His voice held a heaviness, a guttural deepness that sent a queer warm shiver through her. Heat again. The wind that touched her face and pushed the cotton of the shirt against her breasts was no longer cool but scorching. It hadn’t been the blanket, she realized, but Dominic Delaney who had brought the heat. She had always thought fear was cold, and it must be fear that was causing the blood to tingle through every vein.

After all, fear was the natural reaction when a man had nearly ravished you. Yet should she not be experiencing the urge to escape instead of this melting acquiescence? No, it couldn’t be fear, then. Her brow wrinkled thoughtfully as her usual curiosity came to the forefront at this startling realization. She would think about it, examine this new emotion, and determine why it so unsettled her. Elspeth settled her head more comfortably against Dominic’s breast, her gaze on the moon rising above the purple-shadowed mountains, and began to wonder.

She wondered why her breasts were suddenly swollen, the nipples pressing against the soft cotton as if pleading for release. She wondered why the rhythmic pounding of the leather saddle against that most private part of her was causing an ache that held no pain. She wondered why his hand on the gently rounded flesh of her stomach seemed to become heavier and more possessive with each passing moment. She wondered why his warm breath against her ear was causing an odd languor to attack the muscles of her neck and shoulders.

They were silent for the remainder of the journey.

Wondering.

Dominic took no physical action.

Elspeth came to no conclusions.

It seemed a long, long time to both of them before they saw the lights of Hell’s Bluff.

8

“It’s nothing personal, you understand.” Will Judkins’s gaze sidled away from Elspeth’s stunned expression as he opened the door to the hall. “You’re welcome to stay until tomorrow morning. That will give Dominic time enough to find you a place more… suitable.”

She hadn’t realized how cold and stern the hotel owner’s face could be. He had always had a genial smile on his face when she had encountered him before, and he had never shown her anything but kindness. Yet now his manner was brisk to the point of rudeness. “I thought your hotel was a very suitable place for me,” she said haltingly. “I know I’ve been a bother for the last week, but it shouldn’t be much longer until I’m well, and Silver has been preparing all my meals-”

“I don’t look upon that dirty breed’s presence in my kitchen as a help.” Judkins’s lips thinned. “And neither does my wife. That young heathen nearly frightened her out of a year’s growth. She pulled a knife on her and told her to stay out of her way when she came downstairs or she’d take her scalp and hang it on the sign out front. My wife has refused to leave our room ever since, and I’m having to do the cooking for our guests.” His gaze returned to where Elspeth was lying on the bed, and his jaw squared belligerently. “Not that there are many guests left, what with a half-breed and a fancy lady sashaying all over my respectable hotel. I run a place where men can bring their wives and children not a whore-”

“Silver is not dirty.” Elspeth’s eyes were blazing as she sat up straight in bed. “I’d wager she bathes far more frequently than you do. I don’t know about her being a heathen, we’ve never discussed it, but she’s kind and generous and if she threatened Mrs. Judkins, I’m sure your wife deserved it.”

“She did.” Silver pushed the half-ajar door open wide and entered the room carrying a round tray covered by a blue and white checked napkin. “The woman is a screeching fool. She called me a savage.” Her white teeth gleamed as she smiled faintly. “And I showed her I could behave truly as the savage she named me.” She turned her gaze on Will Judkins. “As I will show you if you do not stop bothering us.”