Give Me Tonight(18)

Slowly she uncovered her eyes and let her arms drop by her sides as she leaned on him. You shouldn't let him touch you, she told herself dazedly, knowing how wrong it was, but she didn't want to move away from him. Not yet. His hands were strong but sensitive as they worked down to her shoulders. There was a brief hesitation before he let his palm drift along her spine, stroking gently.

A strange, overwhelming silence settled over them. Addie wondered why he was holding her in such a way, and why she wasn't fighting him. Of course it meant nothing. When he let her go, she would hate him just as much as she had before. But for a few moments she let herself bask in the feeling of being safe and protected. Was it really Ben Hunter holding her? He was warm and living and vital. No ghost, no demon, no shadow of the past. His arms were warm around her, his body sinewy and hard.

There was no sign of what he was thinking or feel­ing. His breath touched her hair in light, even gusts, while his heart beat steadily underneath ·her ear. The silence went on for so long that Addie knew it had to be broken. She searched for something to say, but the more she tried, the more difficult it was to think of anything. The odd panic grew until she was com­pletely tongue-tied. It was with relief that she heard him speak.

"Are you in pain?"

"N-no." She pulled away slightly and raised a hand to her hair self-consciously. He looked down at her with those unnerving green eyes, causing her cheeks to flame. "I'm s—sorry," she stuttered, having no idea what she was apologizing for. "I couldn't breathe—"

"I know." His arms loosened and withdrew from around her, and he made a pretense of straightening his shirt collar. "It was obvious you were a little shaken up," he said tonelessly, looking around and reaching for her hat, which lay just a few feet away.

It dawned on Addie that they were both making ex­cuses for what had happened. She accepted her hat without a sound, bending her head over it while the hot green scent of sun-warmed grass rose to her nos­trils. The sun blazed on her hair, striking off golden highlights. Ben watched her covertly as she refastened the hairpins of her chignon.

She looked up then, her brown eyes wary, and Ben was startled by her tumbled appearance. He'd never seen her look anything but cool and perfect. The be­ginnings of a new awareness of her stirred inside him, and all his senses were awakening. To his disgust, he realized that with the slightest encouragement he would have taken whatever she cared to offer. She'd had him right where she wanted him.

But unlike before, she made no move to seduce, taunt, or tease. There was a touch of fear in her eyes, and no end of anxiety. Was it all an act? There was no way of knowing.

Addie fumbled with her hat, trying to set it on her head at the right angle, while her mind raced with worry. I can't pretend I'm Adeline Warner anymore. I'm no good at it. But was there any choice? There didn't appear to be. She was trapped here, and it seemed there was no going back. This was a real world, just as real as the one she had come from, and she could either thrive in it or be eaten alive. She would have to continue as Adeline Warner. There was noth­ing else to do, nowhere to go.

And she couldn't let herself forget, ever again, that Ben Hunter was her enemy. Addie looked at him, ex­periencing a shock when she met his eyes, so keen and aware. Some part of her was finally able to grasp the danger of him. Of all the disasters that could hap­pen, the very worst would be to find herself close to him again. She moved away from him, trying to get up, and he took her hand, pulling her to her feet. Ad­die jerked her hand away as soon as she was able, rubbing the back of it as if to erase the grip of his fingers.

Ben shook his head slightly, his eyes locked on her face. "What's happened to you?"

She stiffened, her insides going cold. "Nothing's happened. What do you mean?"

"You've been acting strange ever since Cade found you yesterday. Your face, your expressions . . . every­thing's different."

No one else noticed a difference in her, not even Russell or May. Uneasily she wondered just how per­ceptive he was.

"I don't feel like humoring your whims, Mr. Hunter. Nothing about me has changed."

"Then tell me this—how is it in the space of twenty-­four hours that you've forgotten how to ride? Why didn't you remember about what happened between us in the stable? Why are you walking around as if you're seeing everything for the first time?"

"My father doesn't pay you to pester me with stupid questions," she snapped, and he grinned, seeming more at ease.

"That sounds like the Adeline I'm used to. And for once you're right. I don't get paid for asking you ques­tions. I get paid for taking care of business, and that's what I'm supposed to be doing. So if you're feeling better . . ."

"I . . . " Nervously she looked at Jessie, who now stood with the reins hanging down to the ground. "I need a few more minutes. "

He stood up and resettled his hat. "I've got to be at the Double Bar. Right now. "

"Then go! And take Jessie with you. I don't want anything more to do with her. "

"Are you serious? How the hell are you planning to get back home?"

"I'll walk back."

"Don't be a fool. That'll take you hours. No ­knowing you, it'll take days." As she met his eyes defiantly, he swore, and his hands flexed as if he longed to shake her. "Of all the mulish, unreasonable, trou­blesome females I've ever come across . . ." In the silence which followed, he noticed the trembling of her lower lip, the residue of her reaction to all she had just gone through, and his exasperation was tempered with an emotion she couldn't quite identify.