the hopelessness of her situation and before she could open them again he was kissing her once more. She stood trembling beneath the increasing tension the kiss was generating in her, enduring the onslaught with an effort of pure will. How could she be on the verge of melting in the arms of the man who held her life in the palm of his hand? She must be as crazy, as certifiably crazy, as Leo and Nick had implied. Her reactions to Judd Raven made no other sense.
When Judd felt the unwilling softening of her body he lifted his head again to stare enigmatically down into her tortured eyes. "You want to make deals, Honor Knight? I'll make a deal with you. Stop fighting me. Come back to Arizona without a fuss and I'll stay with you until I know for sure that the man you call Leo Garrison is your father. That's the only compromise I'm willing to make, lady. Take it or leave it."
Honor clenched her teeth together against the frustration of it all. Didn't he see that by the time she could prove Leo wasn't her father it would probably be too late? For him as well as for her, if he insisted on accompanying her until she could provide proof.
"You can take your stupid idea of a compromise and go straight to hell, Raven. Your way will get me just as dead as if I went back and threw myself on Leo's mercy," she spat out. With a small, violent little twist she jerked herself out of his arms and stepped backward.
"Honor, I'm trying to be reasonable about this," he began grimly.
"No, you're not. You're only trying to do things your way. Don't ask for your brand of reasonableness from me. I'll see you in hell before I get into that plane!"
"Or in bed," he amended speculatively.
CHAPTER FOUR
"I feel like the Pied Piper," Judd remarked laconically an hour later as he opened the door of Honor's small cottage and stepped out into the street.
From out of nowhere the children began to materialize behind him as Judd walked Honor toward the Cessna at the far end of the village. The little ones must have been waiting and watching ever since young Paco had spread the news about the promised treat. In spite of her own predicament Honor felt a tug on her emotions.
"These children have so little," she murmured as the youngsters flocked around. "Getting to sit inside an airplane will probably be the highlight of the year for a lot of them "
Judd eyed the two or three barefoot kids who were vying to catch hold of Honor's hand. "I wish..." he began and then shrugged.
"Wish what?" Honor prompted.
"Oh, nothing. It would have been nice to have enough fuel to give them all a ride," he concluded. "But I don't, so that's that."
"Feel free to use your fuel on these kids," Honor shot back. "You won't need it for me!"
He gave her a slow, slanting glance. "Don't you ever stop fighting?"
"Not when my life is at stake! Would you?"
"Honor, be reasonable. That's the wildest story I've ever heard. Did you really expect me to believe it?"
"No," she admitted. "And I didn't expect the authorities to believe it, either. That's why I didn't go to them with it."
"Very wise," he drawled in mocking approval. "I'm sure you would have found the whole thing damned embarrassing."
Whatever Honor would have said next was cut off by the arrival of several adults. Some of the women hailed Honor with greetings that were half-sympathetic and half-amused.
"Buenos dias, Honora," Maria Lopez said cheer-rally, feminizing Honor's name with an "a" on the end as did most of the people Honor had encountered in the village. "Your man is very generous to take the children to the airplane. My Paco is so excited!" Maria spoke in slow, careful Spanish so that Honor could understand. Everyone in that village was so polite and patient with her poor Spanish, Honor thought fleetingly. But when they spoke to Judd they slipped into a more natural speech pattern and she couldn't always understand what was being said.
It was quite clear, however, that the villagers firmly believed she
When Judd felt the unwilling softening of her body he lifted his head again to stare enigmatically down into her tortured eyes. "You want to make deals, Honor Knight? I'll make a deal with you. Stop fighting me. Come back to Arizona without a fuss and I'll stay with you until I know for sure that the man you call Leo Garrison is your father. That's the only compromise I'm willing to make, lady. Take it or leave it."
Honor clenched her teeth together against the frustration of it all. Didn't he see that by the time she could prove Leo wasn't her father it would probably be too late? For him as well as for her, if he insisted on accompanying her until she could provide proof.
"You can take your stupid idea of a compromise and go straight to hell, Raven. Your way will get me just as dead as if I went back and threw myself on Leo's mercy," she spat out. With a small, violent little twist she jerked herself out of his arms and stepped backward.
"Honor, I'm trying to be reasonable about this," he began grimly.
"No, you're not. You're only trying to do things your way. Don't ask for your brand of reasonableness from me. I'll see you in hell before I get into that plane!"
"Or in bed," he amended speculatively.
CHAPTER FOUR
"I feel like the Pied Piper," Judd remarked laconically an hour later as he opened the door of Honor's small cottage and stepped out into the street.
From out of nowhere the children began to materialize behind him as Judd walked Honor toward the Cessna at the far end of the village. The little ones must have been waiting and watching ever since young Paco had spread the news about the promised treat. In spite of her own predicament Honor felt a tug on her emotions.
"These children have so little," she murmured as the youngsters flocked around. "Getting to sit inside an airplane will probably be the highlight of the year for a lot of them "
Judd eyed the two or three barefoot kids who were vying to catch hold of Honor's hand. "I wish..." he began and then shrugged.
"Wish what?" Honor prompted.
"Oh, nothing. It would have been nice to have enough fuel to give them all a ride," he concluded. "But I don't, so that's that."
"Feel free to use your fuel on these kids," Honor shot back. "You won't need it for me!"
He gave her a slow, slanting glance. "Don't you ever stop fighting?"
"Not when my life is at stake! Would you?"
"Honor, be reasonable. That's the wildest story I've ever heard. Did you really expect me to believe it?"
"No," she admitted. "And I didn't expect the authorities to believe it, either. That's why I didn't go to them with it."
"Very wise," he drawled in mocking approval. "I'm sure you would have found the whole thing damned embarrassing."
Whatever Honor would have said next was cut off by the arrival of several adults. Some of the women hailed Honor with greetings that were half-sympathetic and half-amused.
"Buenos dias, Honora," Maria Lopez said cheer-rally, feminizing Honor's name with an "a" on the end as did most of the people Honor had encountered in the village. "Your man is very generous to take the children to the airplane. My Paco is so excited!" Maria spoke in slow, careful Spanish so that Honor could understand. Everyone in that village was so polite and patient with her poor Spanish, Honor thought fleetingly. But when they spoke to Judd they slipped into a more natural speech pattern and she couldn't always understand what was being said.
It was quite clear, however, that the villagers firmly believed she
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