He took off his hat and tossed it on the table. “I only met up with them this morning and rode along with them since we were heading in the same direction. They came here for horses—and I came to see you.”
All of a sudden, the Indians were forgotten. “You mean Lucas, don’t you?”
“No, I mean you. In fact, it suits me just fine that Luke’s not around.”
His eyes fixed on hers, a yellow-green so bright they seemed to glow. His gaze held her immobile as he closed the space between them.
“Lucas will be back soon,” she told him in a breathless whisper.
“So?”
“So you’ve wasted your time coming here if it was only to see me.” She managed to sound a bit bolder.
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that.”
He reached for her, but her hands held him off. “Don’t, please. I’ve made a commitment to Lucas since I saw you last. He and I…we’ve—”
“So he’s bedded you.” His mouth tilted mockingly. “I told you before that makes no difference to me.”
She took a deep breath. “It does to me!”
“Does it? Let’s find out.”
He knocked her hands away and brought her up hard against him. His mouth came down on hers with brutal force. She squirmed, then gave up after a moment, for his arms were like steel. And then, unbidden, her body began to respond to him. And just as suddenly, Slade shoved her away from him.
Sharisse stumbled back against the wall, bewildered. Hadn’t she been through this before? In the mountains, just before they joined Billy? Then, too, Slade had kissed her only to release her. Was all of this just a cruel game he was playing, or did he have a conscience after all?
“Well, I guess the question has been answered, hasn’t it?” Slade’s voice sliced through her. “You’re as fickle as a woman can be. Or is it that my brother isn’t enough man for you?”
“What are you talking about?” she demanded angrily. “Youkissedme!”
“But you kissed me back, woman!”
So she had. Lord, what was wrong with her? They were two different men, not the same man. Why couldn’t she separate them? Well, when her senses weren’t being bombarded, she had no trouble separating them. It was only when they held her close that she couldn’t control herself. Did she really desire them both? No! She couldn’t accept that about herself.
“Why did you kiss me if you didn’t want me to kiss you back?” she asked.
“Did I say that?”
“Oh, will you stop confusing me? You were angry about it. You can’t deny that.”
“You know me so well, do you?”
His expression closed off, and a nervous chill ran down her spine. How did you deal with a man who could instantly conceal even the most powerful of emotions? He might be in a murderous rage without her even knowing it.
“What do you want from me, Slade?”
“No pretenses. When I make love to you, I don’t want recriminations afterward.”
“You…you don’t mean—?”
His laugh cut her off, a most ominous sound. “I didn’t come all this way just to talk.”
“But I don’t want you!”
As soon as she said it, she remembered that he was convinced otherwise.
“If…if I did respond to you, Slade, it was only because Lucas has ignored me lately.”
