A Woman's Touch

right up until the last minute, I thought for sure Ballard was just using Darla to get at me. I never expected him to marry her. But I guess things have been for real between them after all. They seem happy together.“
    „They are. And if it’s any consolation, Darla was afraid she was being used, too. But she loved Glen and decided to take a chance. She says he got caught in his own trap. He fell in love with her in spite of himself.“
    Kyle slid his hands into his back pockets and stared down into the fire. „Ballard’s not the only one who got caught in a trap. I got caught in one, too. I want you back, Becky.“
    She held her breath. „Why? So you can be assured of getting Harmony Valley?“
    „No, damn it, not because of Harmony Valley! You’ve got a one-track brain, woman.“
    „You’re the one who put my brain on that particular track.“
    Kyle groaned. „I know. I know. I made a mess of things. I admit it.“ He turned and gave her a direct look. His eyes were intense and brilliant in the firelight. „But I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back.“
    „Whatever it takes?“ she repeated uncertainly.
    He paused and then said grimly, „I suppose you want me to prove how serious I am about getting you back. I’ve done a lot of thinking, Becky. And I’m prepared to do exactly that.“
    Rebecca was suddenly very uneasy with the direction of the conversation. Kyle Stockbridge was a wily opponent.
    He knew all the tricks and he was not above using the vast majority of them. „If s not a question of proving anything,“
    she said carefully.
    „I think it is,“ he countered quietly. „I think that things are so tangled up now that you’ll never believe how important you are to me unless I show you.“
    She didn’t look at him. „How can you do that?“
    „What would you say,“ he asked slowly, „if I told you to go ahead and sell Harmony Valley to Ballard?“
    Rebecca’s head snapped around. „Sell to Ballard?“
    He nodded, saying nothing else.
    „You’d hit the roof if I did that. You’d explode. You’d be furious. You’d never forgive me, let alone want me back.“
    Kyle shook his head, still saying nothing. But he watched her unblinkingly.
    Rebecca toyed with her brandy glass. „I don’t understand.“
    „I’m trying to prove something to you, Becky. I don’t know any other way to do it.“
    „But, Kyle…“
    He took a step forward and gently removed the glass from her hand. „I want you more than I want that damned land.“ He caught her face between his palms. „And I want you to know it.“
    Kyle bent his head and took her mouth with a slow, seductive heat that left Rebecca trembling. She touched his wrists, his arms and then, with a small sigh of surrender, she clung to him.
    „That’s it, baby,“ he breathed, folding her close. „That’s it. Stop fighting me. Come back to me. Let me show you how much I want you.“
    The hurt and anger that had driven Rebecca away from him melted in the warmth of Kyle’s embrace. This was where she wanted to be, she thought. She loved him. Nothing could change that, just as nothing on earth could alter the thrilling sensation she experienced when Kyle made love to her.
    „I have a feeling I’m going to regret this.“
    „No you won’t. I’ll make sure you don’t. It’s okay, Becky,“ Kyle murmured reassuringly against her throat.
    „Everything’s going to be okay between us again. You’ll see. Give me a chance to show you.“ The soothing, gentling words were punctuated by a series of hungry kisses.
    „I wish I understood,“ Rebecca whispered helplessly.
    „There’s nothing to understand except the way I feel about you. This is where you belong, Becky. Right here in my arms.“
    Abandoning herself to instinct, Rebecca allowed herself to be drawn into his heat. He was right. This was where she belonged. She pressed against him, aware of his response in every fiber of her being. Kyle made no secret out of the fact that his physical reaction to her was fierce and immediate.
    And she knew there was little she could do to hide her own response. On this level, they were equal.
    Rebecca felt Kyle’s fingers on the fastening of her blouse. He removed the garment with a restrained eagerness that was oddly touching. He was trying to control himself, she realized, trying not to rush her.
    She raised her face and kissed the hard line of his jaw. „It’s all right,“ she heard herself whisper and knew he understood when