want tonight, Case, will you let me go?"
"No," he said mildly, "I don't think so, Kendra. You'll be staying until morning."
CHAPTER FOUR
"You have no right to do this," Kendra began in an almost conversational voice as she sank into the pillows of the sofa and crossed her legs with casual grace. "But, then, you already know that, don't you?"
Case poured a brandy for each of them and brought her a snifter before sitting down across from her in a rattan lounging chair. He smiled silkily. He was making very little effort to shield the hardness in himself now, she realized. It was as if he had accepted the fact that she knew his true nature, and he didn't intend to waste any more time hiding it.
But the female instinct in her picked up on something else in that cool, calculating gaze. He still wanted her.
A tremor went through her as she forced herself to review the potential of that fact.
"It seems to me that after the favor I did for you this evening, you could accept my hospitality a little more graciously," he said.
"I might have done exactly that," she admitted recklessly, "if I thought that was all that was involved. But I heard you talking to Wolf in the study. . . ."
"It occurred to me you might have overheard us." He smiled at her apologetically. "You didn't think too highly of my personal integrity when you originally appeared in the casino this evening, and although you stopped worrying about it somewhat over dinner, all the accusations
were back in your eyes when you found Wolf and I waiting for you downstairs."
"Do you blame me? I've got a rather delicate situation on my hands right now. I don't need further complications."
"What sort of complications are you worried about, Kendra?" he murmured pointedly.
"This isn't any of your business, Case," she whispered firmly.
"You made it my business when you walked into the casino tonight." "No!"
He dismissed her protest with a flat, arcing movement of his hand. "And now, having helped you-—uh—dispose of that little complication back in the hotel room ..."
"I never asked you to help! You should never have followed me!" she snapped.
"But I did, and I couldn't miss the relief in your face when you looked up and saw me in the doorway. You quite willingly turned everything over to me at that point, didn't you? Why don't you stop fighting your instincts and do the same again? Tell me what this is all about, Kendra. How are you involved with the Radburns?"
"Why do you care?" she charged softly, her bare foot swinging in an unconscious display of nerves. How badly did he want her? Could she work on it? Make him think first of satisfying his desire for her and postponing this discussion? Kendra had never deliberately set out to seduce a man in her life. She wasn't sure she could do it now, especially given the strained circumstances.
"Let's just say I have a stake in the matter." His gaze flickered over the shape of her leg as she moved slightly. Then he let it trail upward, lingering for a few burning seconds on the rise and fall of her breast beneath the red silk before meeting her eyes.
"Because of the money Donna owes you? You'll get it. Don't worry."
"I intend to," he agreed, taking a sip of his brandy. "Now talk. Tell me about the Radburns."
She shrugged. "There's not much to tell. They're in the process of getting a divorce."
"Then why is Radburn trying to track down his wife?"
"He doesn't want the divorce. It's that simple."
"He can't bear to lose her?" There was dry mockery in his words. Kendra had the feeling Case Garrett found it hard to understand how any man might feel so intensely about a woman.
"He can't bear to lose the money she inherits in a couple of months when she turns twenty-seven." Her voice was cold, remote.
"I see. That makes more sense."
She heard the satisfaction in him and silently gritted her teeth. Of course such an explanation would make perfect sense to him.
"And what's your role in all this? Why are you running
"No," he said mildly, "I don't think so, Kendra. You'll be staying until morning."
CHAPTER FOUR
"You have no right to do this," Kendra began in an almost conversational voice as she sank into the pillows of the sofa and crossed her legs with casual grace. "But, then, you already know that, don't you?"
Case poured a brandy for each of them and brought her a snifter before sitting down across from her in a rattan lounging chair. He smiled silkily. He was making very little effort to shield the hardness in himself now, she realized. It was as if he had accepted the fact that she knew his true nature, and he didn't intend to waste any more time hiding it.
But the female instinct in her picked up on something else in that cool, calculating gaze. He still wanted her.
A tremor went through her as she forced herself to review the potential of that fact.
"It seems to me that after the favor I did for you this evening, you could accept my hospitality a little more graciously," he said.
"I might have done exactly that," she admitted recklessly, "if I thought that was all that was involved. But I heard you talking to Wolf in the study. . . ."
"It occurred to me you might have overheard us." He smiled at her apologetically. "You didn't think too highly of my personal integrity when you originally appeared in the casino this evening, and although you stopped worrying about it somewhat over dinner, all the accusations
were back in your eyes when you found Wolf and I waiting for you downstairs."
"Do you blame me? I've got a rather delicate situation on my hands right now. I don't need further complications."
"What sort of complications are you worried about, Kendra?" he murmured pointedly.
"This isn't any of your business, Case," she whispered firmly.
"You made it my business when you walked into the casino tonight." "No!"
He dismissed her protest with a flat, arcing movement of his hand. "And now, having helped you-—uh—dispose of that little complication back in the hotel room ..."
"I never asked you to help! You should never have followed me!" she snapped.
"But I did, and I couldn't miss the relief in your face when you looked up and saw me in the doorway. You quite willingly turned everything over to me at that point, didn't you? Why don't you stop fighting your instincts and do the same again? Tell me what this is all about, Kendra. How are you involved with the Radburns?"
"Why do you care?" she charged softly, her bare foot swinging in an unconscious display of nerves. How badly did he want her? Could she work on it? Make him think first of satisfying his desire for her and postponing this discussion? Kendra had never deliberately set out to seduce a man in her life. She wasn't sure she could do it now, especially given the strained circumstances.
"Let's just say I have a stake in the matter." His gaze flickered over the shape of her leg as she moved slightly. Then he let it trail upward, lingering for a few burning seconds on the rise and fall of her breast beneath the red silk before meeting her eyes.
"Because of the money Donna owes you? You'll get it. Don't worry."
"I intend to," he agreed, taking a sip of his brandy. "Now talk. Tell me about the Radburns."
She shrugged. "There's not much to tell. They're in the process of getting a divorce."
"Then why is Radburn trying to track down his wife?"
"He doesn't want the divorce. It's that simple."
"He can't bear to lose her?" There was dry mockery in his words. Kendra had the feeling Case Garrett found it hard to understand how any man might feel so intensely about a woman.
"He can't bear to lose the money she inherits in a couple of months when she turns twenty-seven." Her voice was cold, remote.
"I see. That makes more sense."
She heard the satisfaction in him and silently gritted her teeth. Of course such an explanation would make perfect sense to him.
"And what's your role in all this? Why are you running
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