Lone Calder Star (Calder Saga 9)

“Not quite,” he said as his hands moved to her waist, fingers gliding inside the waistband of her jeans, touching bare skin and following all the way around to her spine.

Dallas maintained a rigid stance, not moving an inch even when his arms virtually encircled her, bringing her face against his shirtfront. Just when she thought she couldn’t tolerate his touch another second, Boone stepped back and crouched down to run his hands down the length of her leg and back up again. Her control lasted right up to the moment when a hand cupped her crotch. At that point she jerked back from him and retreated a step.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” she accused.

“It’s your fault,” Boone countered. “I can’t seem to get it out of my mind—that picture you made when I caught you two together this morning.” His voice was all low and lazy, but not his eyes. They had an avid interest. “You were crawling all over Echohawk, eating his mouth like a starving woman. And all along I thought the only thing hot about you was your temper. I was obviously wrong about that.”

His hand glided onto the side of her neck with insidious ease. Dallas reacted with a swift and hard swing of her arm, knocking his hand away.

“That’s my job, isn’t it?” Dallas challenged, her voice thick with revulsion—for Boone and this whole business. “To win his confidence? Get Quint to tell me his plans?”

“I didn’t know you could do it so well. You’re just full of hidden talents.”

“Stop making it sound like something dirty. It wasn’t like that.” Dallas was stiff with resentment and sickened by his attitude.

“My, aren’t we testy?” Boone mocked in amusement and cocked his head to one side. “Could it be that you’re starting to like him a little?”

Her chin came up high in defiance. “I like him a lot better than I like you.”

“That tongue of yours hasn’t lost its sharpness, has it?” Boone laughed in his throat.

“Not when it comes to you, it hasn’t,” Dallas retorted.

But the gibe never fazed him. “So what have you managed to find out so far?”

“I’ve learned that you have a real fight on your hands.” Dallas took pleasure in telling him

that. “You aren’t going to find it easy to make Quint knuckle under.”

“He will, though.” Boone oozed with confidence. “It’s only a matter of time. But you know that.”

Loath to admit that she knew it was too bitterly true, Dallas said instead, “I suppose you already know he’s a grandson of the Calders.”

“Naturally.”

“You could have told me. I thought he was just another hired man.”

“What difference does it make?” Boone countered in smooth dismissal.

“None, I suppose,” Dallas admitted reluctantly. “It’s just that…his family owns this land. It will make him even more determined to hang on to it.” She paused, then couldn’t resist the dig. “Maybe this time you won’t win.”

His gaze sharpened on her, eyes narrowing. “Now that’s dangerous thinking. It tells me you might have enjoyed kissing him a little too much.” His statement was too accurate for comfort, making it difficult for Dallas to hold his steady regard. “Maybe it’s given you the idea that you could catch yourself a Calder if you play your cards right.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dallas turned away in a show of anger and disgust. “For your information, marriage is the furthest thing from my mind.”

“That’s right. You have your sights set on a college degree,” Boone recalled thoughtfully. “You keep them there because a little Miss Nobody from Texas like you doesn’t have a chance in hell of getting Echohawk to the altar—especially when you consider that his cousin just married an English lord. As the old saying goes, he might bed you, but he’ll never wed you.”

“You’ve made your point,” Dallas flashed.

“I hope so.” Boone continued to study her. “Because it’s your grandfather you need to be thinking about, and what might happen to him if you are foolish enough to change sides.”

She raged inwardly, but it was the impotent kind. All she could do was glare. “I’ll keep my side of the bargain. You’d better keep yours. Because if anything happens to Empty, even accidentally, I’ll find a way to make you pay.”

“Issuing threats, are you?” he said with amusement.

“Surely you’re not surprised,” Dallas countered, acid in her voice. “I learned it from you.”

Boone smiled. “But I never make threats I can’t carry out. You need to remember that.”