land to the other.”
Unable to believe her father would enforce such binding conditions, she grabbed the document from him and read the contents. By the time she verified her father’s signature on the bottom line, panic and dread had balled in her stomach.
She stared up at Seth, tasting the bitterness of defeat. “You agreed to this...to this farce?”
“I’ve got nothing to lose.” He casually moved closer, and her heart rate accelerated. “And a whole lot to gain.”
She was the one who’d have to relinquish everything if she balked at the terms outlined in the agreement. It just didn’t make sense. Why would her father force her to marry someone who hated her as equally as she detested him, then set forth terms that made a future divorce nearly impossible unless she walked away from the only home she’d ever known?
“So, what’ll it be, Josie darlin’?” he asked, his voice dropping to a low, husky pitch. Reaching out, he stroked his knuckles over her cheek, the tender gesture at odds with the fierce light in his eyes. “Shall I make an appointment with Reverend Wilcox for this week?”
She opened her mouth to make a scathing response but found her throat suddenly dry. His thumb brazenly skimmed over her bottom lip as softly as a butterfly’s caress. Her stomach dipped and tumbled. Bolder still, he held her gaze and strummed his warm fingers down her throat and along the open collar of her blouse.
Her breathing deepened and she shivered, unable to stop the memories of how gentle those big hands of his could be as they slid over her body. How delightfully sweet and seductive.
It had been so long since she’d experienced such consuming passion, such awesome need...but it all came crashing back to her in that moment. She couldn’t help the tiny moan that escaped her.
Seth watched her with great interest, a faint, satisfied smile touching his mouth. “Seems to me there could be other advantages to our getting married,” he murmured as one long finger slowly followed the V of her blouse to where the last button ended between her breasts.
Her nipples automatically tightened, and she knew he could see the dusky rose tips through the thin cotton material. Horrified that he could manipulate her emotions so easily and still have so much control over her body’s response to him, she reached for her temper, embraced the flood of anger and let it explode.
She slapped his hand away from the button she knew he could so easily flick open with his fingers—he’d proved that particular skill eleven years ago. “I’ll see you in hell before I agree to marry you!”
She tried to move around him, but he was fast and agile, bracing both his hands on the porch railing on either side of her, trapping her against him. Before she could raise her knee and use it as a means of self-defense, he pushed a hard thigh between hers, immobilizing her lower body.
The heat that flared within her matched the flames in his eyes. She shoved at his shoulders, but he was a solid mass of muscle and strength, and the only thing her struggling accomplished was to make Seth press closer. Their position became as intimate as two lovers entwined in a sensual embrace.
Except they were enemies and hated one another. She doubted Seth found anything arousing about their situation. She certainly didn’t!
She attempted to lean back, but the railing bit into her spine. That discomfort was nothing compared to the scratch of denim between her thighs and the metallic bite of Seth’s heavy belt buckle pressing against the strip of bare skin exposed between her breasts and the waistband of her shorts. She did her best to ignore the liquid warmth rushing through her veins.
He blew out a harsh breath that tickled the loose strands of hair around her face. His body shifted subtly to accommodate her wriggling, and she felt the muscles flex beneath the hands she’d flattened on his chest. She was appalled to discover that he wasn’t as immune to their position as she’d originally thought. The evidence of his desire nudged the front zipper of her shorts, an unmistakable masculine hardness that caused a deep, clenching thrill to spiral straight to where his knee pressed so insistently.
She didn’t understand how two people who despised each other so much could respond to one another on such a primitive, sensual level. Couldn’t comprehend how eleven years of anger and hurt could melt away with just a look, a touch from Seth. He seemed to be her greatest weakness despite his past betrayal.
His warm gaze focused on her mouth, and the vital hunger she saw there swept through her like the heat of wildfire. And then he gradually lowered his head, his parted lips homing in on hers.
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She was fully aware of the quiver of anticipation thrumming beneath the surface of her skin, the need to give herself to this man she’d never been able to forget...or forgive.
Summoning every ounce of willpower she possessed, she turned her head away just as his lips descended. His mouth landed on her cheek, warm and damp and soft as down. Her lack of cooperation didn’t succeed in hindering the rogue’s exploration. His lips slid along her jaw to her ear, and she thought he murmured, “You still want me as much as I want you,” but couldn’t be sure. His rich, dark voice rumbled along her nerve endings, making it impossible for her to think coherently...making her dizzy with a wanting that was not only stupid, but dangerous.
She gritted her teeth against the onslaught of his blatant sexuality and her body’s shocking response to his seduction tactics. “I hate you,” she whispered hoarsely, reminding him, and herself, of that fact. “And I refuse to marry you.”
Finally, he lifted his head and gave her the breathing room she so desperately needed, but he didn’t let her loose. Triumph shone in his dark, sexy eyes. “You’d give me the ranch so easily? Just because you can’t stand the thought of me being your husband and having the right to touch you and kiss you? Or is it because you can’t stand the fact that you want me to touch you and kiss you that has you so fired up?”
His words were mocking, too accurate, and they enraged her. His hold slackened, along with his body, giving her enough room to pull her arm back and wallop him in the belly. He grunted at the impact, but she knew the punch had startled him more than hurt him. Reflexively, he moved his arms from the railing to defend himself, enabling her to take advantage of his surprise and escape. Sidestepping him, she headed down the porch stairs and headed across the lawn toward the stables in her bare feet. She came upon the Stetson she’d shot off his head earlier. Smirking at the gaping hole in the crown, she gave it a good swift kick that sent it tumbling in the opposite direction.
She heard him swear colorfully from behind her and ignored him when he demanded she come back so they could finish their discussion. His boots echoed off the wooden steps as he followed her. She picked up her pace, putting as much distance as she could between them, even though she knew it was inevitable they talk and settle issues.
His taunting words, You’d give me the ranch so easily?, played through her mind, making her realize the seriousness of her quandary. No, she wouldn’t just hand over the only home she’d ever known. But the thought of becoming Seth O’Connor’s wife and living with him on a daily basis with all the resentment and bitterness between them was enough to make her want to rail at the injustice.
There was Kellie to consider in this mess of things, too. How would her daughter react to her mother’s marrying a virtual stranger? And most importantly, how would Seth treat Kellie, considering the awful rumors of the past?
Dad, how could you do this to me? Tears of frustration and uncertainty burned the back of her eyes. She needed to find
