Everything went back to the man she believed to be her father.She stiffened her back.“Do you always blame others for what you’ve done to yourself?”
“You’re changing the subject.You’re denying that moment of, shall we say, interest.”He was relentless in forcing her to expose herself, in making her humiliate herself.
“The same interest I’d have in a rattler,” she retorted.
“Rattlers have some fascinating qualities, Miss Randall.”
“All repulsive.”
He raised an eyebrow.“And dangerous.Remember that.”
He turned around, as if weary of the conversation.“I’m going to clean the fish,” he said.“You can go out if you wish.”Without waiting for an answer, he left the cabin.
Shea wasn’t sure which she disliked more.His attention, or indifference, as if she weren’t worth a moment of thought.But she craved the outside now, the feel of sunlight, and she also had to take care of personal needs.
She quickly braided her hair and tied the end with the blue ribbon in her valise.She hoped he wouldn’t think she was adorning herself for his benefit.Her hair was very fine, and without being bound, it would fly in a million different directions.
Shea looked longingly at a clean dress but decided against it.She felt safer in the shirt and britches.And if there were a chance to escape …
After the exchange today, she felt the need more than ever.
Rafe sat on the stump, took his knife from the sheath on his belt, and gutted the fish, trying to keep unwanted thoughts at bay.
He’d made a mistake, and he knew it.He shouldn’t get into conversations with his prisoner, and he especially shouldn’t acknowledge that odd electricity between them.He didn’t understand why he bothered to duel with her.He should just ignore her, pretend she didn’t exist.
But for a few moments after he’d entered the cabin and watched her brush her hair, he hadn’t felt quite so alone, quite so empty.Her hair, caught in the joint light of candle and sun, had rippled with gold and fell in silky waves across her shoulders and down her back.She had looked very fetching.And he’d found himself aching in places he thought immune to tender feelings.
And so he had baited her.
Dammit.
He reminded himself that his quarrel was with Jack Randall, not a woman who accidentally wandered into the middle of his private war.He would have to make some allowances.Ifshe would cooperate.He just didn’t know how far he could trust her.
Rafe finished cleaning the fish and was threading them through the spit he’d taken from the stable when she came out.
He stood.“I’ll make a bargain with you, Miss Randall.”
She looked at him with suspicion.
“I’ll give you five minutes of privacy, no more, and hope you have enough sense to know these mountains are far more dangerous than I am.”
It wasn’t a question.It wasn’t even a bargain that she could see.Not until she knew what was expected in return.
“You said a bargain?”
“Your word you won’t be foolish enough to try to escape.”
“You said you wouldn’t believe me if my oath was wrapped in angels’ wings,” she reminded him, not knowing exactly why.She should accept.She should give her promise and then ignore it.A promise to a criminal was no promise at all.
But it was.To her.How did he know that?
“It’s really quite simple,” he said.“If you are that foolish, I won’t have to worry about you at all.You will never survive these mountains.”His words quickly dispelled any notions that he had softened in some way.
“Then why worry about me escaping at all?”
“It would inconvenience me, Miss Randall.I would feel duty-bound to save you from your own foolishness.I might, or might not, succeed, and I don’t like failure.”He regarded her thoughtfully.“Are you foolish, Miss Randall?”
He’d spoken so chillingly, it was clear he didn’t care about her, only failure.There were several warnings there, she knew.
