Raven's Prey

heart-to-heart exchange of confidences, Honor thought irritably. Time was running out and she still hadn’t made much headway in winning over this lone hunter of a man. All she’d accomplished tonight was to make herself seem like some kind of empty-headed, romantic fool
    There was one other area in which Judd could be provoked into dramatic action, she knew, but ever since that devastating kiss, Honor had steered scrupulously clear of any attempt to elicit a sensual reaction from him. Oh, she still taunted him occasionally about his affection for the Cessna, but she never canted it far enough to make the situation dangerous.
    She had known after that kiss that she was afraid to do so. It was that simple.
    The possibility of using his physical attraction for her to build a sensual bond was too disturbing. Instinctively Honor sensed that, once started, she wouldn’t be able to control the outcome.
    Judd made no secret of his willingness to share her bed but he was still manageable. He was still sleeping on the floor and that was where Honor had decided to keep him.
    His constant proximity, however, was having an effect on her nerves. At night she lay on the cot and watched his quiet form curled on the floor for a long time before she fell asleep. Sometimes she would awaken from one of the many dreams of loneliness and undefined fear she’d had since she’d begun her self-imposed exile and took a deep comfort from Judd’s quiet presence in the room.
    Which made absolutely no sense at all when she considered how dangerous he really was.
    It wasn’t until the third night of her four-day reprieve that desperation began to set in. Honor knew that although some communication was taking place between herself and Judd, it wasn’t yet of a sufficiently bonding nature to assure her of his loyalty and trust. How could they build a relationship that intense when most of their conversations were about airplanes and flying? Besides, Honor thought in disgust, she was getting tired of always being the one to initiate the conversations! Judd didn’t actually seem to mind talking, he just didn’t seem to know quite how to get things started. His social life must have been rather limited, Honor mused grimly. He obviously hadn’t had much practice in verbal communication. Probably stemmed from sitting too long alone in the cockpit of an airplane!
    She knew she had been far quieter than usual herself that third afternoon. Her head had been filled with an examination of the few options left to her. She could try to sabotage the plane, although at best that would only be a delaying tactic and one that would surely enrage Judd. That damned Cessna was all he seemed to care about in the world. God help her if she crippled it badly.
    Then there was the possibility of making a scene at the border when they landed to go through customs, assuming Judd didn’t intend to try to sneak her back into the country by avoiding port of entry airports. But what if he did decide to avoid potential problems and simply flew her in illegally?
    “Are you ready to go get a bite at the cantina?” Judd asked, interrupting her thoughts. It was almost six [_o’clock. They _]had spent die morning walking by the stream and like everyone else had stayed inside during the hot afternoon. Conversation between them had grown increasingly sparse as Honor exhausted her options. She was abandoning hope of communicating meaningfully on a verbal level.
    “Yes, I’m ready.” She followed him out into the warm evening and together they walked down the street to the cantina.
    “You’re awfully quiet, Honor.” Judd pushed open the door and led her to a familiar table. Across the room the older woman who ran the place waved a hand in greeting.
    “I’m getting scared,” Honor said simply.
    He gave her a sharp glance. “Don’t be frightened. I’ve told you I’ll stay with you until we get the whole mess sorted out at the other end,” he reminded her a little roughly.
    She shook her head forlornly. “You just don’t believe me, do you?”
    “Let’s say I’m reserving judgment at this point,” he temporized.
    She recognized that some progress had been made if he was no longer flatly denying the possibility that she’d been telling him the truth. But that wasn’t going to do her much good. Honor smiled wanly. “By the time you satisfy yourself as to the truth of the matter it will be too late to do me much good. Judd, before you hand me over to Leo