Chapter Three

      Danetta sighed over her boss’s new and distant attitude in the days that followed. He didn’t offer any more conversation that wasn’t absolutely necessary, he didn’t talk to her unless it was about the job. He didn’t even treat her like a younger brother anymore. She had become a piece of office equipment, and he barely looked at her. She’d gone back to her sedate way of dressing, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered if she’d come to work nude. He’d said they weren’t going to complicate their relationship, and boy, was he keeping his word!

      She felt alone, even more than she had when she moved here to stay with her cousin Jenny over two years ago. She’d wanted to be independent, to live her own life, and her parents had supported that need. But now she missed the family. She missed Jenny, because her cousin was a good listener. Jenny was still off in the southwest on some hush-hush assignment. She wished she’d thought to ask Eugene last week if he’d heard from Jenny, but it hadn’t been a good time.

      She needed someone to talk to because she hadn’t realized until now how big a part of her life she’d allowed Cabe Ritter to become. She looked forward to coming to work because he was somehow bigger than life to her. His smile made her tingle, his vibrant masculinity challenged and excited her, his dry wit made her laugh. Just being around him made her feel more alive than she’d ever been before.

      She’d had erotic dreams about him ever since that morning in his big Lincoln when he’d woken all her senses with his ardor. But that morning might never have been, because his new attitude was so determinedly business. And Karol was very much in evidence now. Cabe almost seemed to flaunt her, as if he wanted to make sure Danetta didn’t get any romantic ideas about him.

      She finished the letters she’d been typing and put them aside, her slender fingers lightly resting on the stack. Perhaps he was even trying to freeze her out of his office. The thought made her uneasy. She’d gotten used to his moods and his tempers, and she didn’t like the idea of working for anyone else. But if that was what he wanted…

      He came in even as she was formulating distasteful plans for her future, and she jumped at the opening of the door.

      “Nerves?” he commented. “That’s new. What’s wrong?”

      She handed him the letters with a hand that shook.

      “For God’s sake!” he burst out. He put down his attaché case, laid the letters aside, and pulled her out of the chair, still holding her hand. “Let’s have it. What’s wrong?”

      “Do you want me to quit?” she asked, her voice uneven.

      Every trace of expression left his face. “Do you want to?” He threw the ball back into her court.

      She lowered her eyes to his nice white shirt. “It’s a good job,” she said stiffly. “But if you’d rather I left, I will.”

      “I don’t know what I’d rather,” he said heavily. He’d tried not to be aware of her, he’d tried being cold, but it was backfiring. He’d hurt her again, and he felt terrible at her vulnerability. Why couldn’t he forget that look on her face when he’d started to kiss her? Why couldn’t he find any solace in Karol’s company?

      With a long sigh, he brought her slender hand against his chest. Under the thin fabric of his shirt, Danetta could feel his chest, the warmth of his body. Cabe was silent as he pressed her fingers against him and he fought the need to do much, much more than that.

      She felt herself melting inside. His broad chest felt hard and warm under her hand, yet it felt soft there, too, as if he had hair on his chest. She’d never seen him stripped to the waist, but suddenly she wanted to. She wondered what he looked like under his clothes, and how it would feel if he put his arms around her and kissed her the way he kissed his women, the way he’d whispered to her that he would that morning at Harry Deal’s rig.

      She drew in a slow, shaky breath. She couldn’t seem to breathe properly anymore, and now she knew her mind was going, too. Only a crazy woman would allow herself to be curious in that way about Cabe.

      His fingers stroked her neat nails, smoothing over their silky tops. He heard her breathing change and marveled at the way she stood against him, so docile and quiet. It had flattered his ego when Ben Meadows and his father had suggested that shy young Danetta had a crush on him, then it had floored him when he’d made that involuntary pass at her in the car. He hadn’t counted on her effect on him, any more than he’d expected her contempt for his life-style—or rather what she thought was his life-style. He’d often wondered what Danetta would do if he made a real pass at her. He’d been tempted a lot in the past few weeks, thanks to his father’s constant remarks about Danetta, bringing her vividly to his attention. She was pretty and she’d begun to disturb him physically. He’d tried ignoring her, but that only made it worse. Now he was touching her, and he knew even as he did it that it was his most regrettable mistake to date.

      “Your fingers are like ice,” he commented, his voice deep and husky because she smelled of lavender and her softness made such a contrast to the women he’d filled his life with in recent years. Women chased him, but their very aggressiveness irritated him. There was nothing aggressive about Danetta, and she was innocent. Her innocence made his head spin with exquisite fantasies about teaching her the mystery of intimacy. He couldn’t forget the look in her eyes when he’d whispered how he wanted to kiss her….

      “It’s a little chilly in the office,” she said. Was that really her own voice, sounding so breathless? “I’ll turn the thermostat up.”

      “Yes, you do that.” But he didn’t let go of her hand. He pressed it closer and moved it a little, and she could actually feel his heartbeat.

      His hand moved to her throat and his thumb pushed under her chin, raising her mouth. He looked down at the soft pink bow of it, at the soft silkiness. His fingers stroked her cheek and his thumb moved lazily to her mouth. He brushed his thumb over it, first gently, then with a rough, abrasive motion that was like a delicate kick in the heart. It was exactly what he’d done before, and it provoked the same shocked delight in her eyes as she looked up at him and a tiny sound worked its way out of her throat.

      He liked that sound. He liked even more the shocked sensuality in her eyes as he played with her mouth. She was becoming aroused, much more than she had before. The fascination in her gray eyes spoke for itself. His thumb grew more insistent and her lips parted on a shaky breath. His free hand went to her nape and cradled it firmly, holding her head where he wanted it as he watched her intently.

      “This is where the playing stops,” he said roughly. “Once my mouth covers yours, there’s no going back.”

      Her gasp was audible. It almost broke the spell. But his eyes were relentless, like that maddening thumb against her mouth, like the helpless trembling of her legs. “It’s not fair,” she moaned. “Like going fishing with a stick of dynamite…”

      “Yes,” he agreed softly as he began to lower his head. His eyes shifted to her trembling mouth. “That’s how it’s going to feel, too. Like dynamite going up. I like it rough,” he breathed as his lips parted a breath above hers. “I like it hard and rough. Like this….”

      She felt his hand contract at her nape and tasted his warm,