The Lone Rancher

Chapter Seven

Quin stalked across the tracks to chug a few stiff drinks and cool off at Hell’s Corner Saloon. Unfortunately, the place had been locked up tight. He glanced south to see Sid Meeker ambling toward him.

“Surprised to see you here so quickly. I wasn’t expecting the crowd to leave the party for another hour,” Sid commented as he opened the door for Quin.

“I need a drink…or ten,” Quin muttered.

He doubted it was possible to drown his troubles and frustrations in a bottle but, at the very least, he wanted to numb his senses to the torment eating him alive. His little sister had a child and no husband? She was a saloon girl or card dealer—or both? Worse, Preston Van Slyck’s implication that she had turned to prostitution to support herself was killing Quin bit by agonizing bit.

Muffling a salty oath, Quin threw back his head and gulped the whiskey. He gestured for Sid to pour another drink…and then another.

Thunder rumbled overhead, all too symbolic of the storm of torment raging inside him. He told himself that his family had abandoned him and the ranch, not the other way around. But the niggling voice inside him whispered that he had forced his siblings into desperate situations. He should head to Deadwood and see for himself whether what Preston said was true. And maybe he would do that after the spring trail drive to Dodge City. By then, he’d have this upheaval of emotion under control. Of course, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be tempted to gun down the irresponsible father of Leanna’s child who had left her to manage all alone. Damn him to hell and back!

“A fine way for a boy to grow up,” he grumbled sourly. “But he’s a Cahill. The first of his generation. God forbid he faces the same problems with his siblings and cousins.”

The grim thought prompted Quin to guzzle another drink.

“I think you’ve had enough, Quin.” Sid removed the bottle and shot glass from his reach.

Quin nodded in agreement, then pushed away from the bar. “I suppose you heard the vicious gossip tonight.”

Sid bobbed his bald head and smiled sympathetically. “I heard. Maybe there’s more to that Cahill Curse—”

Quin exploded in a growl and puffed up like a spitting cobra. “I expected better from you, Sid. We go back a long ways and I call you friend.”

Sid heaved a sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. You financed this place so I could get a new start. I’ve been listening to too much saloon gossip instead of putting a stop to it. Count on me to quell some of the rumors, my friend.”

Quin nodded, then wheeled toward the door. He stalked onto the boardwalk and noted that a few torches and lamplights were still blazing on the square. Most of the rowdy crowd was walking toward the tracks to play billiards, monte or poker and to visit the harlots on the Wrong Side.

As for Quin, he was headed to 4C to down a few more drinks. Boston could give Elda a ride home tonight because he was the worst of all possible companions now.

Cursing Preston Van Slyck for spreading vicious rumors, Quin pulled himself into the buggy he’d driven to town to accommodate Elda’s desserts. He left the lights of town behind, then burst out with a string of obscenities when he stared northwest. Flames danced in the wind that had picked up in the approaching thunderstorm.

With a sense of urgency, he popped the reins over the horses’ rumps and sped off. If lightning had struck a tree on his property, he could expect another prairie fire to destroy the tall grass and endanger his cattle. He’d have to stop a stampede and beat out the fire with the skeleton crew of cowpunchers that was at the 4C. Most everyone who hadn’t drawn the short straw had ridden to town for the festivities.

The wind picked up another notch as Quin raced toward home in the darkness. He was reminded of the wagon accident that had killed his parents two years earlier so he tried to use caution, but time was of the essence. He still couldn’t precisely tell where the fire was. Distances were deceiving when it came to pinpointing smoke and flames.

“Of all the…!” Quin roared when he reached the 4C headquarters and realized the fire was raging at Boston’s house. Dear God! Had lightning set the fire that was spreading in the wind?

Quin raced the buggy to the bunkhouse to alert the ranch hands, but no one answered his call of alarm. Swearing foully, he guided the buggy toward the gate between his spread and Boston’s ranch. His heart twisted in his chest as lightning flickered above the dancing flames that lit up the night.

“What else can go wrong tonight?” Quin muttered as he glanced skyward. Hell, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He still hadn’t dealt with the frustration Preston had tossed at him and now he expected to face Boston’s angry accusations that he was responsible for the fire.



Adrianna was busy gathering leftover food when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She half turned to see Butler staring bleakly at her.

“We need to go. Now,” he said urgently.

“Why? I have to clean up the area.”

Butler clamped his hands on her shoulders, then turned her around to face northwest. She gasped in dismay when she saw the golden flames that sharply contrasted with the black clouds that had swallowed up the moon and stars.

“I don’t know whose place it is. Maybe ours or Fitzgerald’s just south, or the 4C to the east. But I’ll feel better when I know for sure,” Butler insisted.

Adrianna set aside the boxes, crates of food and supplies she had collected, then lifted her full skirts out of her way so she could dash off to summon Bea and Elda.

Like Butler, she wasn’t as familiar with the area and it was difficult to tell whose ranch was on fire. She didn’t know if the flames engulfed timberland, grassland or structures. Whatever the case, the sense of urgency streaked through her as she raced ahead of her employees to reach the carriage.

“What’s wrong?” Rosa called out behind her.

“Fire!” Adrianna threw over her shoulder as she grabbed the reins.

“Sweet mercy! In this fierce gale? That could be disastrous. Do you know where it is for sure?”

“That’s what we plan to find out!”

“Lucas and I will be right behind you,” Rosa promised as she lurched around to locate Lucas and Dog.

Heart pounding against her ribs, Adrianna pulled herself into the carriage, then helped Butler, Elda and Bea clamber to their seats. All three were gasping for breath when Adrianna slapped the horses on the rumps with the reins, demanding their fastest gaits.

“Slow down before you kill us all!” Elda yelped as she clamped one plump hand on her new hat and put a stranglehold on the metal armrest with the other.

“Want me to drive?” Butler asked as he grabbed hold of the seat to prevent being catapulted onto the street when Adrianna practically took the corner on two wheels.

“Just hold on for dear life,” she advised. “We need to find out whose place is on fire and what we can do to help.”

“I will be of no assistance whatsoever if I’m dead—” Bea’s voice dried up when Adrianna swerved to dodge a drunken cowboy who staggered from the boardwalk to the street.

Thunder rolled and everyone except Adrianna instinctively ducked. She was too intent on trying to follow the road in the darkness. She hadn’t lived in the area long enough to race off on a shortcut without plunging the carriage into a ravine or overturning it on a sharp curve.

“Lord! I think the fire is on our place!” Bea howled in dismay as they flew down the road with the wind and dust billowing around them.

Adrianna’s thudding heart plunged to her stomach as they passed the turnoff that led to 4C headquarters. She hadn’t wanted to wish ill on Cahill or her neighbors, Fitzgerald and Womack, but she couldn’t wish a fire on herself. Yet, there was no question now. Her home or barn—she couldn’t tell which—was in flames and her prize cattle might be in danger!

Blast it! She had hired workers to carefully pack her family heirloom furniture and transport it all the way from Boston to Texas. The pieces had only suffered a few scratches. Now they could be kindling in a fire. Not to mention the specially designed gowns that Rosa had labored over. And the financial ledgers could be ashes, she thought frantically. Good heavens, there could be nothing left to salvage!

“Will you look at that!” Butler yelped when he realized it was the house, not the barns or sheds, that was burning.

Adrianna raced over the hill to see flames leaping across the rafters of the new addition to her home. Silhouettes dashed hither and yon, splattering water to douse the fire. Without a care for her elegant gown, she drew the back hem between her legs to fashion makeshift breeches. Then she ripped a strip of fabric from her petticoats to serve as a belt. She had the dispirited feeling her improvised garment might be all she had left of her new wardrobe and her new life in Texas. Her world was going up in smoke!

Adrianna leaped to the ground, then raced off to fetch a bucket. Men were dashing about, splashing water on the existing wall of the house, trying to prevent the entire structure from catching fire.

“Boston!” Quin’s voice rose in the air, followed by another formidable rumble of thunder.

She spun around to see him, still in his formal attire, tossing a lasso over a smoldering rafter. He yanked—hard—before the rope caught flame. The charred lumber collapsed into a pile—away from the walls of the house. Adrianna rushed toward him, then skidded to a halt when glowing embers settled over both of them. For a moment, she thought her hair had caught on fire. That’s all she needed, a bonfire in the windblown coiffure atop her head.

“Hold on to this rope while I toss up another one,” Quin barked as he handed her the trailing end of the first lasso. He glanced at her quickly, his silver eyes reflecting the devastating flames. “I swear to you that I had nothing to do with this, Boston. I didn’t undermine your ranch. It’s likely a stroke of bad luck caused by lightning.”

As if to emphasize his point, lightning crackled nearby and thunder exploded overhead once again.

Adrianna flinched but then she gritted her teeth and dragged the smoldering lumber farther from the north wall of the house before the rope burned completely in two.

“Do you believe me, Boston?” Quin asked before he hurled the loop of the rope, snagging another piece of burning lumber. “I wouldn’t do this to you. I’d sooner burn down my own house. And why not? My family has no use for it. But you and your family made this house a home.”

Adrianna heard the torment in Quin’s deep baritone voice. The cruel tale Preston Van Slyck had spread around town had come as a bitter blow to Quin. He was holding himself personally responsible for his sister’s woes and he was angry with his two brothers for allowing it to happen. They should have contacted him so he could have helped…or at least been prepared for ugly gossip.

In addition, he believed Adrianna suspected him of starting this devastating fire that had destroyed the new addition that would become her private living quarters.

“I know you aren’t to blame,” she assured him as she grabbed hold of his rope to help him tow the peak of the smoldering rafters away from the existing house.

His broad shoulders slumped. “Thanks, Boston. Whatever it takes, my men and I will help make this right.”

“Confound it, what awful luck!”

Adrianna lurched around to see Rosa, Lucas and Dog racing toward them. Lucas was out of the carriage in a single bound to lend assistance to Quin. Rosa hopped to the ground while Dog remained on the seat, still wearing his sparkly bow tie, staring at the dwindling flames.

“I’m so sorry,” Rosa commiserated as she hugged Adrianna close. “You can stay in my apartment. It will be a mite cramped with you, Bea, Butler and Elda, but we can set you up at Morning Glory Boardinghouse or at Château Royale Hotel tomorrow night. And don’t fret if your clothing is damaged. You can have anything of mine and whatever will fit that’s hanging on the store racks. Same goes for your employees.”

Adrianna’s breath hitched. “Thanks, Rosa.”

She cursed herself when tears filled her eyes. Most everything could be replaced, she reminded herself. Her adopted family was safe. Her dream might have gone up in smoke but she could rebuild….

Her thoughts scattered when rain poured down in torrents, soaking everyone in a matter of minutes. Adrianna stared heavenward and sent up a silent prayer for the divine assistance that doused the remaining flames.

When Quin and Lucas signaled that it was safe to enter the house, Adrianna hurried inside to light a lantern. The smell of smoke penetrated the area, but the furniture and drapes appeared to be intact.

Butler scuttled in behind her, then veered toward the safe in the office. “Addie K., fetch one of your hat-boxes,” he commanded hurriedly.

Frowning at the odd request, she bounded upstairs to grab a few essential garments and the hatbox. When she returned, Butler waited with a stack of papers and banknotes.

“It isn’t a safe, of course, but no one will know the money and financial ledgers are tucked in this box.”

Adrianna managed a smile. “Brilliant, Butler. If vandals show up, they won’t find anything important, thanks to you.”

Butler crammed the important documents and money in the box. “Take this and your belongings outside, then send in Bea to fetch her things,” he suggested. “Thankfully, Elda’s belongings are safe at 4C.”

Adrianna scampered outside to see Quin and Lucas frowning at the hatbox. “I haven’t had a chance to wear my new hat yet,” she said to the men and the cowboys who stared at her as if she was crazy for saving frivolous headgear.

While Elda helped Bea grab a few items, Adrianna set her carpetbag and hatbox under the seat of the buggy. She raked the mop of wet hair from her face, then turned to see Quin towering over her.

“You’re staying with me,” he said in no uncertain terms.

She smirked in contradiction. “No, I’m not. There are so many rumors and speculations swirling around us right now that the gossip mill will be grinding for a week. Rosa offered the use of her apartment above the shop for the night. We can stay at Merritt Dixon’s nice boardinghouse on the south side of the square or Jenkinses’ Château Royale near the train depot.”

“No, I want you close by so I can make certain you’re all right,” he insisted sternly.

She tilted her grimy face to survey his rock-hard expression. “What does that mean?”

“It means that I’m not completely convinced that lightning started this fire, Boston. But I sure as hell was not going to voice that speculation in front of your cowboys and mine because that would incite more gossip.”

Her mouth dropped open. When she recovered from shock she clamped her jaw shut. “You think this was deliberate?”

“Four of your men and five of my men were here during the party. All of them were attempting to douse the fire when I arrived. But one of them might have set it, then appeared innocent of wrongdoing by sloshing water on the flames.”

“Or someone could have lit the fire and left the scene without being noticed,” Adrianna speculated. “Indeed, someone might have hightailed it to town to attend the party. It is impossible to know who is guilty when so many people are milling about.”

Quin muttered under his breath. “We can’t tell for certain what happened, or where the fire originated, until daylight. Maybe not even then. The rain ruined the chance of finding tracks and following them.”

Adrianna nodded glumly. “Why would someone target me? Have I made that many enemies around Ca-Cross already?”

“There are several possibilities,” he speculated. “Your former disgruntled foreman might have acted on his resentment.”

“Oh, damn, I didn’t consider that. George Spradlin didn’t like being demoted so he collected his wages and stormed off. I haven’t seen him since.”

“Then again, someone might be trying to throw suspicion on me,” Quin suggested. “Torching your home might be a tactic to keep our personal feud alive. The fire might make you want to retract that kiss you planted on me in front of our men. Contrasting speculations will be flying now.”

“So someone wants me to blame you,” she mused aloud. “If I don’t fall for your charm, who gains from it?”

“Someone who wants to court you and sees me as an unwanted rival,” Quin speculated, then studied her quizzically. “How many marriage proposals did you receive tonight?”

“Several. But compared to the number at a Boston soiree it was an off night. Surely no one would be spiteful enough to break up our potential courtship…or would they?” She expelled a frustrated breath, then raked her mop of hair from her face. “I’m not sure what is going on or why but it is evident someone wants to undermine you, me or both of us.”

“You’re coming home with me and that’s that.” Quin scooped her up and plunked her down on the carriage seat before she could object again. “Take your family of employees to my place. I’ll be home soon.”

While the threesome carted belongings to the carriage, Quin walked up to speak to Lucas, who glanced up sharply, stared in Adrianna’s direction, then nodded his raven head.

“Blast it,” Adrianna grumbled. “Lucas and Rosa don’t need to be involved in this. They are newlyweds.” But clearly, Quin considered the former Texas Ranger a confidant and he’d shared his suspicions about the fire being deliberately set.

“So much for needing a bath this evening.” Butler plucked at his soggy clothes after he had assisted Bea and Elda into the buggy. “Things could have been much worse, I suppose.”

They are worse than we thought, Adrianna mused as she turned the carriage toward the 4C. Someone was intent on fueling speculations and gossip about her and Cahill. Someone also wanted to keep Adrianna and Quin’s suspicions about each other alive.

Why? Adrianna wasn’t sure but she intended to find out.



“You think someone orchestrated that fire to make you look bad?” Lucas focused his dark-eyed gaze on the plumes of smoke drifting in the wind. “Any idea what someone might gain from this?”

Quin scowled, then glanced sideways to watch Boston and her entourage head toward his house. “Don’t know, Burnett. Maybe it’s a warning for Boston to distance herself from me because I have this so-called curse hanging over my head and now it’s rubbing off on her.”

Lucas snorted. “Every rancher in the area has been plagued with rustled cattle, stolen horses and fires of some sort. I lost a couple of horses that I had planned to sell at Fort Ridge last week. They were in the pasture one night and gone the next morning.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m overly suspicious,” Quin replied. “But it’s been a bad week, not just a bad night.”

Lucas waited a beat, then said, “I’m sorry about your little sister. Even if the rumors aren’t true, it adds fuel to the turmoil surrounding your family name.”

Quin scowled. He didn’t want to discuss his sister and brothers while frustration boiled inside him. “Thanks for the help, Burnett. Sorry to cut your special evening short.”

Lucas peered directly at Quin. “You would have been there if I had needed you, right, Cahill?”

“Of course.”

“Then there you go. I have three friends around here. You, Rosa and Dog. Everyone else is a nodding acquaintance. Well, except for Addie K. and her employees,” he added with a grin. “Rosa says they are my family now, like it or not.”

Quin managed a faint smile as he strode alongside Lucas. “I can count my true friends on one hand. Everyone else thinks I’m jinxed because my name is Cahill.”

Lucas chuckled. “Maybe you should change your name, then.”

Quin contemplated it all the way home. The knot of tension that tightened his chest eased slightly when he arrived at his house. Lights were blazing in the windows of all three stories. It reminded him of the days when his parents were alive and his brothers and sister were around. He welcomed the company and the distractions tonight, especially after the shocking news about Leanna and the suspicious fire that had destroyed Boston’s new addition.

Soaked to the bone, Quin ascended the steps to his room. He stopped short when he realized Boston had made use of the space to change into her customary tan breeches and blue blouse. Even with wet hair dangling around her face she still appealed fiercely to him.

“Sorry,” she said as she gathered up her soggy emerald-green gown she had draped over a chair. “I’ll get out of your way so you can change clothes.”

“No, you can have my room. I’ll stay in Ma and Pa’s suite.” Odd, he’d never given a thought to taking over the spacious two-room living quarters. He had left everything the way it had been two years earlier. But as his brothers and sister had said, Ma and Pa weren’t coming back. No matter how hard Quin tried to cling to the past, nothing was going to be the same again.

She eyed him intently. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do, Quin? Elda told me that you prefer to leave everything in its place. I can camp out on the third floor, you know.”

Quin smiled in wry amusement. “So that’s why Elda agreed to come to work for me. She was your spy. Clever, Boston, did you put her up to it?”

She grinned impishly. “No, I didn’t have to. Elda thought of it all by herself. Oh, and I recently discovered that Hiram Butler and Beatrice Fremont have been carrying on an affair without my knowledge for a decade. So if you hear someone tiptoeing down the hall after lights out, do not investigate. It might prove embarrassing.”

Quin chuckled. “I’ll ignore footsteps. Wouldn’t want to stand in the way of true love, if that’s what it is.”

When he spun on his heel, Boston fell into step behind him. “I want you to know that I never, not even for a moment, thought you were involved in tonight’s fire.”

“Thanks, Boston. I doubt you’re in the majority. Too many folks envy the fact that I make money as a member of the town’s founding family because I sell commercial and residential lots, carry the loans and collect rent on business buildings. Not to mention that I run an expansive ranch operation. Yet, it’s easier to criticize than praise the acquisition of wealth, good fortune and hard work. Not that I’ve enjoyed much good luck in the past two years.”

She followed him to the master suite and halted at the threshold while he lit a lantern in the sitting room. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly.

The prompt set him off. “No, I don’t want to talk about my sister, who might have reduced herself to prostitution to eke out a living for herself and her illegitimate child!” he erupted like a volcano.

Adrianna closed the door and watched him pace from wall to wall in the sitting room. Rain pounded against the windows and thunder rumbled outside—and deep inside Quin, as well.

“And I don’t want to discuss Chance, who is closer to Annie’s age and enjoyed a bond with her that Bowie and I didn’t because we were a few years older. We were her protectors and I failed my baby sister miserably!” he spewed in frustration.

“Damn it, if she’s dealing cards in some low-life saloon it’s because we taught her to play cards as a kid. What a mistake that turned out to be!” He lurched around, his stomach churning with guilt and regret. “Plus, right before she rode away, I jokingly suggested she become a saloon girl since she had no marketable job skills.”

“Maybe Chance is keeping a watchful eye on her,” Boston supplied helpfully as she followed him into the bedroom while he lit the second lantern.

“And maybe he isn’t.” Muttering, he wheeled away from the massive walnut bed to pace toward the marble-top dresser on the far wall. “All Chance ever cared about was being lightning-quick on the draw and deadly accurate with a pistol. Hell, he had better not be someone’s hired gun with notches on the handle of his pistol. Ma and Pa would be rolling in their graves, for sure.”

“It’s easy to think the worst—” she tried to interject, but Quin wasn’t through venting his frustration.

“And Bowie, damn him!” Quin reversed direction to wear another path on the carpet. “He should be checking on the younger ones since none of them want anything to do with me. How could he have allowed this to happen?”

“There is a strong possibility Preston was tormenting you for the sport of it.” She sank into a chair near the dresser. “You claimed he once pursued Leanna and you ran him off when she tired of him. I can name countless suitors who circulated hurtful stories about me to hide their embarrassment of rejection. The same goes for envious locals starting rumors to make sure everyone believes your success comes at the price of that ridiculous curse—”

“Because I’m supposedly in league with the devil,” Quin cut in sourly, and raked his hands through his disheveled hair. “Let’s not forget that, Boston.”

“The same rumors spread about the McKnights,” she informed him, sounding oddly distracted. “Supposedly, prosperous families sell their souls to Satan for power and wealth. The population of Ca-Cross will be ecstatic, I presume, when we are both frying in hell….”

Quin arched a quizzical brow when her voice evaporated. “Boston? Are you all right? Why are you looking at me like that?”

To his stunned amazement, she walked over to unfasten his wet cravat, then tossed it aside. She pulled off his coat and sent it flying in the same direction as the cravat.

He stared bemusedly at her, his eyes glistening like mercury in the lamplight. “What are you doing, Boston?”

“Helping you out of your damp clothing.”

“You sure that’s a good idea? Remember what happened last time you and I started undressing each other in that grove of trees in the pasture?”

She smiled wryly. “You offered room and board for the night, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I don’t expect intimate favors in return. I’m indirectly to blame for that fire, I expect,” he reminded her.

She unbuttoned his shirt, anxious to get her hands on his muscular chest…and other parts yet exposed to her curious eyes. Adrianna wasn’t sure what had come over her while she watched Quin pace in frustration. She had become utterly fascinated by the way he moved with such masculine grace. The fierce, impulsive need for him overwhelmed her. She remembered all too well how it felt to touch him, to be touched by him. And suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, she wanted him—badly.

It was as simple and as complicated as that.

“I have another theory,” she murmured as she skimmed her lips over his hair-roughened chest and encircled his male nipples with her forefinger—loving the feel of his muscled flesh flex and relax beneath her hand.

“What theory is that?” His voice crackled and a muffled groan clogged his throat.

“The fire was a warning for me, sent from one of your secret admirers. One of your jealous lovers might have tried to burn down my house for spite.”

“I don’t have any lovers, jealous or otherwise,” he said as he stepped back a pace. “Look, Boston, I know your emotions are in as much turmoil tonight as mine, but this isn’t a good idea. Not that I’m not interested, because you know I am. But we’ve both had a rough evening. If we become each other’s consolation tonight, you’ll regret it in the morning.”

Adrianna thought it over carefully and realized she was not looking for compassion, distraction or consolation. Her desire for Quin—who could be maddening one minute and irresistibly charming the next—had plagued her since she’d met him.

“Of all the men I could have had, Cahill, you’re the one I want,” she admitted honestly. “You have assured me that you don’t need my money and I have no need of your wealth. There are no strings attached, right?”

He cupped her face in both hands and lowered his dark head. “No strings, maybe, but there might be consequences,” he warned. “Just ask Leanna, who maybe went to a man for comfort and consolation and bore him a child he won’t claim.”

She looped her arms around his neck and leaned closer, aware that he was aroused. That did wonders for her self-confidence. For once, she was desired for herself, not for her name, her social status and her fortune. “Are you going to kiss me, or keep trying to talk me out of this? I’m all talked out after hosting the party. I’d much rather kiss you, Cahill.”

And so she did. She wanted Quin to forget about the frustrations they’d both experienced tonight. She wanted to feel his masculine body pressed familiarly to hers and to appease the erotic dreams that continually hounded her sleep.

“Are you absolutely sure about this, Boston?” He devoured her lips, scooped her into his arms, then grinned. “This is your last chance at sanity. Don’t come whining to me later.”

She returned his teasing smile and traced his sensuous lips with her index finger. “I almost never whine, Cahill.”

He tumbled with her onto the bed, then braced himself on his arms to loom over her. He chuckled wickedly and said, “Perhaps not, but I wouldn’t mind hearing you beg.”

“I don’t do that, either,” she insisted loftily.

One thick, black brow elevated and he flashed a devilish grin. He was so playful and endearing that she nearly melted on the spot.

“No? We’ll see about that,” he purred.

Then he kissed her so tenderly, so seductively, that she considered begging for a dozen more tantalizing kisses. But she couldn’t speak or think or breathe when his warm lips skimmed her throat. She gasped in anticipation when he unbuttoned her blouse, then cupped her breast.

Desperate need coiled inside her when he flicked her nipples with his tongue. She arched instinctively toward him to align her aching body with his, but he bent his leg over her knees to hold her in place.

“Patience,” he murmured, then suckled her breasts. “This might take all night. In fact, I’m counting on it, Adrianna….”

She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue with that husky Texas drawl.

“Then I need someone who moves a lot faster than you because I won’t last the night. You’re burning me up already,” she rasped.

When Quin raised his head, something fierce and unfamiliar blazed through her chest and lodged in the vicinity of her heart. Oh, for heaven’s sake, she thought. I’d better not be falling in love with him. Adrianna had come to Texas for limitless freedom and independence. She had wanted to take complete charge of her life and prove she was as business-minded as her father. She wanted to avoid restricting ties. And look where that had got her!

“I’m not giving you up to anyone else who moves fast, slow or anywhere in between,” Quin said hoarsely, jolting her back to her previous remark. “I want you all to myself, Adrianna. I won’t be satisfied with anyone but you tonight….”