Samantha James (16 page)

“Kane! For heaven’s sake, can’t this wait?”

“No. Goddammit, it can’t.”

His voice was a low rumble of sound. Abby’s heart slammed to a halt. His shirt was unbuttoned nearly to his waist, revealing a slice of broad, darkly matted chest. His belly was flat as a washboard, covered with the same, intriguingly dark mat of hair. He stood there, completely filling the doorway, powerful and imposing and starkly male.

“Kane, please! I—I’m not dressed!”

Very deliberately he closed the door. Two steps brought him within inches of her. One hand was at her throat, her eyes huge and dark and wary.

His drink-induced haze cleared like dew beneath a blazing sun. His gaze devoured her, a veritable feast to a man dying of starvation. She’d been sleeping in her chemise and drawers, certainly not a sight to send a man into the throes of passion. He’d never seen Abby with her hair down; it was glorious, falling in rich, thick waves of sunburst glory clear to her hips.

Her tongue slid over her lips. Desire tightened his gut like a white-hot brand, the desire that had so eluded him with Fanny.

He moved closer, staggering slightly.

Abby’s eyes widened. “Oh, you—you stupid fool! You’re drunk!”

“Not drunk enough,” he muttered. He felt light-headed and giddy, but not from the drink he’d consumed. He reached out and snared her by the waist.

Abby went rigid. Although the odor of whiskey was strong, it was the unmistakable scent of perfume that sent her temper skyrocketing. “God, you are unbelievable! How dare you come here after being with that harlot!”

He sneered. “And what if I was? You may have hired me, but you don’t own me. Who I choose to spend my nights with is no business of yours.”

“And who are you to come barging into my room like this?” she cried. “Get out—now!”

He didn’t move.

Abby shoved at his chest, but he was as immovable as a rock. “Get out, Kane! You’re disgusting—”

“Disgusting, am I?” His bitter laugh was directed solely at himself. “You know, you’re right. I
am
disgusting. Because you managed to make me feel guilty as hell—and damned if I can figure out why!”

Her chin swept up in disdain. “Forgive me if I don’t care to hear the intimate details of your evening with Fanny.”

“Intimate? God, that’s rich!” He threw back his head, the cords in his neck standing out tautly. He didn’t know why he let her get to him. He already knew she felt he had no scruples. Hell, she’d as much as told him so.

“Sugar, you and I have been a hell of a lot more
intimate
than Fanny and I were tonight.”

His revelation left her stunned. “What?” she asked faintly. “You mean that you … that she and you …” She faltered, unable to go on. Her cheeks burned.

“That’s right.” Kane’s expression was savage, his tone just as fierce. “We
didn’t
—not that the lady wasn’t willing.”

Abby was stunned. She found his statement difficult to believe, yet he was so adamant she had no choice. But why was he so angry? She gasped when his hands clamped around her waist and dragged her against him.

“That’s hardly my fault,” she cried shakily. “Go back to her, then, if that’s what you want. Just go back and—”

“That’s mighty generous of you. But the truth is, sweetheart, I don’t want her! In fact, I couldn’t lay a goddamned hand on her!”

Abby tried to pull away; he wouldn’t let her. “Kane,” she said desperately. “I don’t understand what this has to do with me … why you’re so angry—”

He let loose a curse that blistered her ears. “It has everything to do with you, don’t you see?”

Shocked, she inhaled sharply, uncertain of all she sensed in him.

“Kane,” she said desperately, “you—you shouldn’t be here. No gentleman—”

“How many times do I have to tell you, sugar, I’m no gentleman. And you can pretend all you want, but you’re no lady.”

Shocked, Abby couldn’t do anything but endure the ruthless heat of his gaze.

“Don’t give me that hurt, wounded look,” he sneered. “I fell for it once, but not again. You can play the prim, proper bride all you want, but you don’t fool me.”

She drew an unsteady breath. “Kane, I—I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“If you wanted to ruin my night with Fanny, you did a real fine job. Because all I could think of was you.” He laughed harshly. “Oh, yes, sweetheart,
you
. And you couldn’t have done better if you’d planned it that way—Jesus, maybe you did! Maybe you’re the kind of woman who can’t be satisfied with just one man—hell, I don’t know. But for a while there tonight, why … I could have sworn you were jealous.”

Jealous! Why, of all the …! She’d managed to wedge her hands between their bodies. She opened her mouth to inform him. his charge was utterly ridiculous …

She never got the chance.

Her hands had come up between them, but when she would have pushed indignantly at his chest, he snared her wrists and dragged her close … so close she could feel the rampant thunder of his heart. And all at once her own was doing funny things in her chest, her pulse clamoring.

Dark, fathomless eyes pinned hers. “You’re a tease,” he accused almost fiercely, “whether you admit it or not. It doesn’t matter that you’re married. You like it when I touch you, don’t you,
Abigail?
You like it when I kiss you.”

“No.” She shook her head, the word hardly more than a wisp of air. “
No
…” But it was more a denial of herself than the truth.

And Kane knew it.

He was so close, she thought in panic, too close … The very air around him seemed to pulse with a force that was purely raw, purely masculine. She felt impaled, consumed, swallowed up by something dark and desperate, something she didn’t understand …

Something she couldn’t fight.

His head lowered. His mouth hovered dangerously near hers. “Remember that night with Chester and Jake? I kissed you. And I held you—and I touched you … here.” With his thumbs he slowly, deliberately, circled the dusky crowns of both breasts. Immediately her nipples thrust impudently, hard and pointed against the sheer cotton of her chemise.

His fingers slid to the dainty pink ribbon which held the garment closed. He tugged. A vile curse filled the air when the ribbon knotted. He raised both hands to the scalloped edge of material. The delicate cloth rent cleanly in half beneath the pressure of his hands.

Abby’s entire body jerked. Her mind reeled. She was terrified of the way he made her feel—afraid and breathless and excited all at once.

She jerked when a callused fingertip trespassed boldly down the valley between her breasts and up again—he displayed no hesitation, no faltering whatsoever. Not once did he release her from the relentless probe of his eyes. He smiled thinly, a goading smile of satisfaction. Abby almost hated him for it—hated him for this strange mood he’d fallen into—and into which he’d pulled her as well.

Kane intercepted her glare. He laughed at the mutinous sparks that leaped in her eyes. “So fiery. So defiant,” he remarked casually. “Is that your game, sweetheart? Is that how you manage to make men like me go crazy over you? Is that how you got your precious Dillon? Was marriage the price he had to pay to have you?”

His mockery cut deep. Abby couldn’t help it. Her gaze faltered. Such an easy surrender was galling, but she couldn’t help it. Her mind began to race. Should she try to run? Dear Lord, how could she? She was half-naked! She raised her arms in an attempt to shield her nakedness.

The smile vanished. “Oh, no,” he said harshly. “I’m not going to let you hide, sugar. I’m going to look my fill, the way you looked yours that first morning at the lake.” He gave a grating laugh as she flushed scarlet.

And look his fill he did. Time dragged endlessly. Mortified that she was standing before a man clad only in her drawers, horrified that Kane would look at her so, she squeezed her eyes shut. It made no difference. Still she could feel the scorching heat of his eyes on her body.

“This is all I’ve thought about for days,” he said thickly. “Did you know that? Seeing you like this. Your breasts in my hands, naked and warm. Your nipples hard against my palm. I’ve wondered how you would taste—” A fingertip whisked across the peaks of both breasts. “—right here. I’ve lain awake nights wanting to feel your breath in my mouth, your legs wrapped around mine—” His whisper was stark and wanton. “—while I’m deep and hard inside you.”

Abby’s throat locked. She couldn’t say a word. She could only stand there, battling the urge to open her eyes, not knowing if she dared.

Again he touched her. Boldly. Brazenly. As if he owned her. With a gasp her eyes snapped open, only to widen in shock when he cupped one breast in his hand, as if he were weighing, measuring. She started to wrench her face aside but Kane wouldn’t allow it. His arm like an iron band, he swore violently and pulled her even closer.

“Don’t test me, Abby. Goddammit, I won’t hurt you. Just do what I say.
Look
at me.” The demand in his voice was no less fierce, but his grip on her waist eased slightly.

Trying hard not to tremble, Abby swallowed. The roof of her mouth felt like cotton. Helplessly she raised her eyes once more.

He leered his approval. “That’s the way. Now look at my hand on your skin.” There was a subtle movement of his hand on her cushioned softness, barely grazing. His fingers splayed wide across her breast, deeply tanned against the unblemished creaminess of her flesh. The contrast was riveting.

“Tell me, sugar. Do you see what I see? Dark against fair? Bad against good?”

His fingers moved again, ever so subtly. Now her nipple lay pink and pouting between his knuckles. Abby held her breath, afraid to move.

His eyes narrowed. “Come on, sweetheart,” he taunted. “Tell the truth now. Does it offend you, seeing my hand on your body, my filthy, scummy hand? After all, you’re the daughter of the man who owned the biggest spread in the Territory, and who the hell am I but worthless trash?”

He was being deliberately hurtful. And yet—he was right. He was an outlaw, A renegade. She
should
have found his touch revolting … disgusting. A stab of irony pierced her. Dear Lord, if only she did—-if only she could! Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so torn!

And then there was Kane. He sounded so—so bitter! His features were twisted, his jaw tense and rigid. Even as she stared, his lips spasmed, as if in anguish … as if he were fighting some gut-wrenching, inner pain. Some nameless emotion speared her heart. Pulled from somewhere deep in her mind was the notion that maybe he was trying to punish not her, but himself.

Totally unaware that she did so, she reached for him. He caught her wrists in one hand, the movement so sudden she cried out, not in pain but in shock. With the other he raked his thumb across the peak of her breast.

“Tell me,” he hissed. “Does it make you feel dirty, me touching you like this?”

Shaken by his dark mood, confused by the leashed violence she sensed in him, Abby could only shake her head.

“Oh, don’t be shy, Abby. We both know you’re not. Or is it admitting the truth that’s so hard? Come on, now. Don’t you feel soiled and degraded and unclean? No, wait! Let me think. Oh, yes … I believe
detestable
was the word you used … That’s right. You find me detestable!”

She shook her head. “I—I didn’t mean it,” she said weakly. “Kane, I—”

“Don’t Me to me!”

Lean fingers threaded through her hair. He twisted her face up to his. Abby resisted instinctively but her reprieve was short-lived indeed. The instant she strained away her naked breasts bobbed into view. She had no choice but to angle herself against him.

“Kiss me,” he said suddenly.

Abby blinked. He transferred his hands to her waist, his eyes glittering dangerously. He seemed bigger than ever, and while he didn’t exactly frighten her, there was a knife-edged hardness in him that made her wary of crossing him.

She took a deep fortifying breath and levered herself on tiptoe, then pressed her lips against the grim slash of his mouth, trying desperately not to think about the pleasantly rough abrasion of his shirt against the tips of her breasts. The kiss lasted only a second, but by the time her heels again rested on the planked floorboards, her heart was skittering wildly.

Kane regarded her unsmilingly. “Again,” he ordered.

Not daring to argue, Abby once again complied. For all his fierceness, his lips were smooth and far softer than she would have dreamed. He displayed no reaction whatsoever, but remained still as a statue. Flustered and breathless, she braved a glance at him.

She was dismayed to find him surveying her intently, his gaze thoroughly unsettling. His eyes were the color of steel—and just as unyielding.

He offered a scathing smile. “Not with your lips closed tight as the lid of a casket—” He refused to let her misunderstand. “—but the way I showed you.” He laughed as comprehension washed across her features. “That’s right,” he drawled. “I see you remember, sweetheart. ’Course if you need another lesson, I’ll be glad to oblige …”

Abby went fiery-hot, then cold. Oh, but he was a beast! She knew what he wanted—her mouth open and avid beneath his, the way it had been the other night when he’d kissed her so ardently. But she couldn’t. She
wouldn’t
. Not again … not willingly!

“I’m still waiting, sweetheart.” His tone cracked sharp as a whip.

Her breath came jerkily. “No,” she said shakily. “Not again, Kane. I—I can’t!”

“Why the hell not?” he taunted her mercilessly. “You want to, Abby—you know you do. You liked it as much as I did.”

“I—I didn’t!” Yet even as she spoke, hot shame welled inside her. Lord, she was no better than Fanny!

“Tell yourself whatever you want,” he said harshly. “But if I were you, I’d do it and get it over with—and make it count, sweetheart, because I’m not leaving here until I’m satisfied.”

Satisfied?
Abby was half-afraid to speculate on his meaning. But his expression warned there would be no denying him; she realized with a sinking flutter of her heart that she had no choice but to give in.

Slowly her arms crept up and around his neck. Her eyes drifted closed as she pressed her mouth to his.