Only 03 - Only You

reactions. It left her feeling edgy and adrift, for all her life she had trusted her instincts when it came to dealing with other people. The Lyons had come to trust her instincts, too; they had often praised her ability to see beyond the surface of other card players to the emotions beneath.
    At the same time, Donna Lyon had warned Eve more than once about the nature of man and woman.
    Only one thing a man wants from a woman, make no mistake about it. Once you give him that, you better be married, or he’ll go off down the trail and find another foolish girl to spread her legs in the name of love.
    “Two pennies,” Reno said dryly.
    The sudden flush on Eve’s cheeks made Reno wonder if she had been thinking about the one time he had let his own desire overcome his common sense and tried to seduce her.
    God knew that time had been on his mind. When he wasn’t looking over his shoulder for shadows on the back trail, he was thinking about the moment when he had first breathed in the scent of lilacs and tasted the velvet hardness of her nipples.
    But thinking and remembering was all that he had done, despite the temptation of their evening campsites, where firelight beckoned and stars glittered against a black sky. He hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that he was being followed. Rolling around on the ground with a saloon girl wasthe kind of distraction that could be fatal—especially if Slater was the man dogging Reno’s trail.
    If that wasn’t enough to cool Reno off, there was the fact that they would reach the ranch tomorrow. His conscience was giving him a bad enough time as it was about bringing a saloon girl to his sister’s home.
    And yet…
    Reno turned and looked at the silent girl who was watching him with eyes the color of gold.
    “Three pennies?” he offered.
    “Er, I was thinking about Donna Lyon,” Eve said, the only half of the truth she was willing to talk about. “And being partners.”
    Reno’s mouth thinned. A flick of his wrist sent the last drops of coffee in his cup arcing into the darkness beyond the fire.
    “Gold, huh?” he said sarcastically. “I should have guessed. Money is all girls ever think about. Well, we’re a long way from finding any gold.”
    “And we’ll stay that way unless you let me look at Cristobal Leon’s journal,” Eve retorted.
    Reno rubbed the stubble on his chin and said nothing.
    “Surely you can’t be afraid I’m going to cut and run with the journal,” she said. “Even if poor Whitefoot were shod, he wouldn’t be any match for your mustang.”
    Reno looked at Eve. In the firelight his eyes were as clear as spring water. Without a word he came to his feet and walked away from her. He came back a moment later, carrying the journal in his hands. Still saying nothing, he sat cross-legged by the fire and opened the journal.
    When Eve didn’t move, he glanced aside at her. “You wanted the journal. Here it is.”
    “Thank you,” Eve said, holding out her hand.Slowly Reno shook his head.
    “Come and get it,” he said.
    The look in Reno’s eyes warned Eve. Warily she scooted sideways until she was sitting next to him. By bending over his arm and craning her neck, she was able to see the journal’s faded, spidery script.
    A dia vente-uno del ano de 15…
    The opening words were so familiar she could read them effortlessly.
    “In the day of—”
    “You’re cutting off my light,” Reno interrupted.
    “Oh. Sorry.”
    Eve straightened, peered again, and made a frustrated sound.
    “Now I can’t see.”
    “Here.” Reno handed her the journal.
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” he said, smiling in anticipation.
    Before Eve’s fingers had done more than close around the soft leather, Reno picked her up and settled her in his lap with her back to his chest. When she tried to move off his lap, he held her in place.
    “Going somewhere?” Reno asked.
    “I can’t see this way,” Eve said.
    “Try opening the journal.”
    “What?”
    “The journal,” he said dryly. “It’s hard to read through the cover.”
    When Eve started to move off his lap, Reno held her in place with offhanded ease.
    “I said I wouldn’t force you,” he reminded her in a calm voice. “And I said I wasn’t going to keep my hands off you. I’m a man of my word. Whatabout you? Do you keep your word like a woman or a saloon girl?”
    “I keep my word, period,” Eve said through her teeth.
    “Prove it. Start reading. The light’s good enough