Desert Devil (8 page)

Juli bit her lower lip, wishing she had never made the remark. She did not care to get into a discussion of his marital status, particularly when she suddenly suspected that in spite of his wife's attractiveness, he probably did exactly as he pleased where other women were concerned. He had certainly shown no hesitation about carrying her into his home that evening, an act that would have given most married men at least momentary pause for thought. And his eyes had told her more than once that he found her attractive.

Even now, as he scowled at her with ill-concealed impatience and anger, she could feel a super-charged current of pure sexuality sparking between them. And this practically under his wife's classically beautiful nose!

Unexpectedly, he slid across the smooth surface of the varnished bench and tilted her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his. "I asked you a question," he said, his voice softly dangerous. "I have the feeling I'm being accused of something. I want to know exactly what it is."

He was so close she could feel the warm brush of his breath on her lips, see the pulse beating in his throat, breathe the faint hint of a masculine after-shave lotion. She clenched her fists until the nails dug into her hands, hating herself for the way her heart thundered in response. He was married!

And yet…

She felt a soft weakness that started somewhere deep inside flood through her in a warm tide, a tide that swept away the blaring warning signals in her mind. His lips were no more than inches away from hers, and her eyes drifted shut as some relentless, inevitable force pulled them together…

And then, over his shoulder, through half-closed eyes, Juli saw her. The bathing suit had been exchanged for hip-molding jeans and Western shirt, but there was no mistaking the sleek, dark hair and slim but full-breasted figure. She was walking across the corral, horse halter in hand, and the chestnut gelding whinnied a familiar greeting.

Juli jerked back, eyes suddenly wide open, her breath caught as if she had just stepped back from a precipitous dropoff. She had almost—how could she! Shame flooded through her.

"What's wrong?" Thorne demanded angrily.

Wrong
! Juli repeated incredulously to herself. He, a married man, was trying to kiss her, almost in full view of his wife, and he was asking what was
wrong
?

"Maybe you ought to ask Mrs. Taylor!" Juli flung over her shoulder as she strode toward the car. "And I don't mean your mother!"

He caught up with her in a few long strides. "Juli, what in the world—"

He reached for her at the same moment she twisted to grab the car-door handle. His hand caught the neckline of her peasant blouse just as she jerked the door open. The noise of cloth ripping sounded as loud as a gunshot.

They stared at each other and then he slowly released the torn material and withdrew his hand. For a moment Juli was too shocked and horrified to move. Then she clutched frantically at her torn blouse, struggling to conceal the lacy wisp of her exposed bra.

"How—how dare you!" she gasped.

The astonishment in his eyes was only momentary, quickly replaced by a stubborn glint. "I didn't know you were going to—"

She slammed the door shut and started the car, cutting off anything he might say. She struggled with the steering wheel, awkwardly trying to keep herself decently covered at the same time. Her glance darted between the rearview mirror and Thorne leaning against the silver Porsche with what seemed insolent nonchalance, considering that he had just practically ripped off her blouse. Her palms and back were almost instantly damp with nervous perspiration, but he watched her with an infuriating calm.

She finally gave up trying to wrestle the car backward into the main part of the driveway and jolted forward to drive around the full circle that led past the house. From there she could see Mrs. Taylor saddling the horse, looking not only beautiful, but efficiently competent. Juli scrunched down in the seat, only hoping her disheveled condition could not be seen. She had never felt so embarrassed, so totally humiliated. She speeded up as she headed toward the arched entryway, wanting only to get away from here as fast as possible. She glanced toward the cottonwoods, warily watching for Thorne's tall figure but catching only the silvery gleam of the Porsche.

And then, as her eyes darted back to the driveway, she realized the reason for his air of nonchalant superiority. She had forgotten all about those closed gates! They loomed ahead of her like prison bars, spike-tipped and unyielding. She braked, all concern with keeping herself decently covered forgotten as she used both hands to try to control the skidding car. She could never stop in time—

The car vibrated with the force of the skid, the wheel shuddering in Juli's clenched hands. And then, only seconds before impact, the spiked iron gates swung outward and the car skidded on through. It came to a dead stop on the sandy shoulder of the road. Juli rested her head weakly against the wheel, mind frozen, hands limp and nerveless now. Her mouth felt dry, her throat too tight to swallow at the realization that only split-seconds had separated her from disaster. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, her stomach suddenly giddy with nausea. If Thorne hadn't managed to open the gates just in time…

But following that thankful thought came a rush of angry realization. There had been plenty of time for Thorne to open the gates! It was obvious she intended exiting when she circled the driveway. And yet he had chosen to leave the gates closed, stubbornly barricading her way. Only when impact seemed inevitable had he finally relented and activated the gate controls from his car.

And that probably not so much for her sake as to prevent his expensive gates from being damaged, she thought cynically as she lifted her head from the steering wheel and dried damp palms on her jeans. She caught a glimpse of movement in the rearview mirror and hurriedly fumbled with the ignition key. She had no intention of staying around for some derisive comment from Thorne on her driving ability.

The engine growled ominously for a moment, but then caught, and she pulled back onto the road. She drove slowly, aware of one side of her lacy bra exposed by the torn blouse, but too shaky to take a hand off the wheel to hold the ragged edges of material together.

A little farther on, realizing she had to pass through the streets of the housing development, she pulled off to the side of the road and found an old jacket on the back seat with which to cover herself. Her hands were trembling now, fury and shock and humiliation all mixed up together. From the very first she had sensed that savage part of Thorne hidden beneath the sophisticated exterior of the respected business leader, and today the veneer had fallen away to expose his character, as he had exposed her body. And all within shouting distance of his wife. She looked again at the ruined blouse, the naked skin of her shoulder, and the upper curve of her breast. How could he—how dare he!

She drove on home to the trailer, thoughts in turmoil. There she showered in the rickety metal shower stall and tried to calm her shattered nerves. She had two primary thoughts. One was that Aunt Kate was lucky to get anything from Taylor Electronics, considering today's exhibition of this violent aspect of Thorne's character. The other was that all she wanted now was to get the trailer and property sold and get away from Cholla as quickly as possible.

With that thought in mind, she made a strong cup of coffee to strengthen her shaky nerves and forced down a tuna sandwich. For the first time since arriving in Cholla, she slipped into a dress, a full-skirted apricot-colored sundress that complemented her brown hair and glowing tan. Somehow she felt the odd need to both look and feel feminine, as if that could somehow erase the morning's shocking confrontation with its undertones of raw sexuality. Juli could not imagine any of the men she had dated back home ever doing such a thing, at least not by anything other than pure accident, and then with embarrassed stammers of apology. But then, she thought grimly, she had never gotten involved with a man like Thorne Taylor before.

She selected a real estate agent at random, pulling over to the curb when she spied the sign between a drugstore and a florist's shop. She entered without hope of selling the property for more than a minimal sum, and the salesman seemed unimpressed when she showed him her Polaroid snapshot of the trailer. She explained briefly about David's death and the circumstances of the sale. He nodded and um-hmmed without much enthusiasm, murmuring that they didn't get much call for small trailers. But when she told him the address, his interest perked up.

While he went across the room to locate property maps of the area, Juli became aware of curious glances from a customer talking to a salesman at another desk. The man was of medium height, wearing a slate-blue suit that looked almost too suave among Cholla's mostly casual dressers. He was a few years older than Juli. He wasn't pale, but he hadn't the outdoorsy tan that was so customary here. He wasn't handsome, either, but he had an interestingly angular face and alert blue eyes. The salesman pushed a photograph across the desk to him. He returned it with a disinterested shake of his head.

Juli's salesman returned then. His manner had changed completely. He pointed out the property on he map. It was larger than Juli had realized. Hesitantly, she asked his advice about a suitable selling price and his answer astonished her.

"That doesn't seem possible! We never expected anything close to that."

He went on to explain that the area was expected to be annexed to the city soon, and a property the size of this could then be subdivided into home sites.

"Way out there?" Juli asked, still astonished. "It's just dry desert."

The salesman smiled. "Well, as the sign says, Taylor Electronics is bringing progress and prosperity, and Cholla is growing right along with the company." He turned the map around. "In addition, you're fortunate that the property is out of a flash-flood area. Builders have to watch that. Some of these dips and washes may look as if they've been dry for a hundred years, but once in a while we get a real 'gully-washer' of a rain. I'd say your cousin made a pretty shrewd buy, getting that piece of land before values went up."

Juli suspected David's purchase of the land was not so much a shrewd investment as a facet of his solitary character and a desire to be as far away from neighbors as possible, but she didn't say anything.

"You could probably get more for the place if you want to hold it until the annexation goes through," the salesman added, "but if you're in a hurry to sell—"

Juli nodded firmly. "I'm in a hurry." She hesitated a moment, eyeing the blue lines on the map indicating property borders. "Does the property join the Taylor land?"

The salesman nodded and grinned. "Which doesn't hurt its value, either," he said. "Too bad its on the wrong side of the ridge, or the Taylors themselves might be interested."

They settled on the asking price and the salesman jotted down a few more details. Juli started toward the door, pleased. The money from the sale, plus what Taylor Electronics was paying, would set Aunt Kate up quite nicely, especially now that she might be able to work part-time. Juli was just reaching for the door when an arm reached around and opened it for her.