Raven's Prey

couldn’t do anything else!”
    His eyes narrowed. “You wanted all that from one night in bed?” he asked in mild amusement.
    “Don’t you dare mock me! Yes, damn it, I did want all that from one night in bed with you. I thought we were falling in love. Why the hell do you think I was willing to risk going to bed with you?”
    A light began to dawn at the end of the tunnel and Judd realized what was happening. His expression softened and he shook his head ruefully. “Honey, you’re a romantic, do you know that? You’re trying to romanticize what was really a very straightforward, fundamental happening between two people. You’re as attracted to me as I am to you. Last night you gave yourself to me and now you belong to me. It’s as simple as that. Don’t look for some rosy, mystical explanation for what was essentially something that wasn’t rosy or mystical at all. It was something very basic. Don’t romanticize last night, Honor. You’ll just work yourself up into a state of hysteria and tears.”
    “And you don’t need that this morning, do you?” she shot back scathingly. “You’ve
go plans!”
    “That’s right,” he agreed evenly.
    “A cold-blooded mercenary,” she repeated dully, sinking back down onto the cot with the sheet wrapped around her. She stared at the wall as if there were nothing left for her in life.
    Judd started forward, aware of a violent desire to shake her until she stopped calling him names. Didn’t she understand what had really happened last night? She was an intelligent female, even if she was prone to dramatics, even if she was more than a little prone to romanticizing situations. “Don’t you want to hear my plans?” he charged.
    She hesitated and then swung her wide, accusing gaze away from the blank wall to stare at him. “Go ahead,” she ordered bitterly, “tell me all about how you’re going to get me killed. But I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t come any closer in the process. Just stay away from me.”
    “Damn it to hell! You’re acting like a woman scorned this morning!”
    “I am,” she agreed, nodding once. “Very scorned.”
    He turned away from her because if he didn’t Judd knew he would do something violent. With an effort of will he regained control of himself and went to stand on the far side of the small room. Leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest, he regarded her stubborn, proud profile.
    “Honor, I’m going to make a phone call from the town where we’ll be stopping for fuel. It’s on this side of the border. I’m going to call the man you say is Leo Garrison and I’m going to tell him to meet me at the border with proof that he’s really your father. We’ll meet in front of all those U.S. border guards at one of the points of entry. There will be plenty of protection for you if he’s not who he says he is ”
    She didn’t move but he sensed she was at least listening. “I’ll stay right beside you all the way until we get this whole thing sorted out,” he went on encouragingly. “Even if he is your father, I won’t abandon you to him. It’s obvious there’s something screwy about your relationship with him and I’m going to go along with you until I find out exactly what it is.”
    He watched her lashes lower briefly in despair but when she looked at him her gaze was clear and very level. There was no longer any sign of the budding hysteria. “And if he does show up with proof that I’m his daughter? Will you give me a chance to prove he’s lying? Will you let me dig out my birth certificate? Will you protect me while I go to my safety-deposit box in Phoenix and find some proof of my side of the story? [_Can _]you protect me?”
    “I can and I will,” he vowed flatly.
    She continued to watch him and for the first time since he had met her Judd realized he wasn’t at all sure what she was thinking. It was strange to suddenly be confronted with that cool little mask. Up until now her emotional state had been easy to define. Her underlying vulnerability had been evident from the start and so had all her moods. Last night, for instance, there had been no doubt about the level of her response. But right at this moment he was at a loss to understand her state of mind. Judd’s sense of unease grew. He didn’t like the feeling that she was somehow managing to shut him out. Perhaps it was just his imagination. “Honor?” he finally prompted.
    “I don’t have much choice, do I?” she