Hot Blooded

learning from someone qualified,
someone competent."
    Paul's deep breath was audible. Colby was a professional. The best. He wanted
the snobs gone before he lost his temper and did something foolish. Colby's
reputation for training horses was known throughout the States. He took an
aggressive step forward, his hands curling into fists. He didn't care if De La
Cruz was a dangerous man and could beat him to a bloody pulp, no one was going
to put Colby in such a position and get away with it, not as long as he was
around. And that crack about De La Cruz's servants—the woman meant the Chavez
brothers. Paul was a Chavez, as was Ginny. Did that mean that if the family
succeeded in taking them to Brazil they would be servants instead of ranch
owners? Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Ginny. She was glaring
as angrily as he was.
    "There's been some mistake," Colby's voice was, if anything, softer than
usual. She crossed to the thermos of lemonade, more, Paul was certain, to keep
from punching De La Cruz than anything else. She had that look in her eyes Paul
knew very well. "I don't give riding lessons, Ms. Everett. I don't have time for
anything like that." Her green eyes slashed at Rafael's hard features.
"Evidently Mr. De La Cruz has so many
servants
running his ranch for
him he's forgotten what hard work actually entails."
Crippled little niece
.
The words echoed in her mind so that she wanted to clap her hands over her ears
and drown out the sound, the image of the poor child obviously unloved by her
aunt.
    Rafael's icy black eyes seemed to smolder but the rugged features remained
impassive. He moved then,
glided
no more than a ripple of muscle and
sinew. Colby blinked and he was beside her, crowding her close, leaning down to
remove the thin trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth with a brush of his
thumb. Her heart jumped at his touch. Her body actually ached for his. It was
damned maddening and Colby wanted it to stop. She recognized that he would be
dominant sexually. It was bred into his very blood and bones. He would demand
everything from his woman,
own
her, possess her, until there would be
no going back—ever. And she hated that she was so susceptible to his dark
sensuality when she prided herself on independence.
    "Louise misunderstood the message," he said softly, his black eyes unblinking
on Colby's face. Burning. Devouring.
Hungry
. He seemed to be looking
right into her soul. She had the uncomfortable feeling he might actually be
reading her thoughts. She watched as he raised his hand to his mouth and touched
the pad of his thumb to his tongue almost as if he was savoring the taste of
her.
    Her entire body clenched. She found herself staring almost helplessly at him.
The idea should have repelled her, but he was sinfully sexy, so hot she was
mesmerized by him, the way he moved, the way his eyes were so hungry as his gaze
drifted over her face. He had the ability to make a woman feel as if she were
the
only
woman on earth. The only one he saw. He also made her feel as
if he would take her, throw her over his shoulder, and stride off with her if
she defied him. It was unsettling—and, God help her, exhilarating.
    "Colby." Ginny caught at her sister's hand, suddenly afraid for her. The
stranger was looking at her older sister as if she belonged to him, as if he
might be a wicked sorcerer bent on casting a spell on her.
    Colby shook off the sexual web Rafael was weaving, silently cursing. This man
was truly dangerous. He would
own
a woman, make her a sexual slave with
no thought but to please him. He was an erotic temptation no woman could ever
afford to succumb to. They had sent the older brother to order her to turn over
the ranch and the children to the Chavez family, and when that didn't work, they
obviously sent the first string in to deal with her. She lifted her chin in
challenge. "What message exactly were you supposed to deliver?"
    "Joclyn would appreciate you meeting her later this evening at the Saloon."
The voice was so beautiful she ached to hear more. She forced her hands to stay
at her sides instead of pressing them to her ears. "I believe she wanted to do
you the courtesy of speaking to you herself."
    Colby found herself clutching at Ginny's hand for solace. Rafael De La Cruz
was capable of casting spells, a dark sorcerer weaving black magic, and she was
highly susceptible. She wanted him gone before she