Raven's Prey

her completely or lost his heart to her or anything else so dramatic, but he had at least checked out a portion of her story and his willingness to do that had saved her life.
    How much did she really owe him?
    Honor had the uncomfortable realization that she owed Judd Raven her life.
    It was on that thought that she entered the kitchen and discovered she was hungry. Judd was in the act of stacking bacon on a hot platter as she walked cautiously through the door. He glanced up quickly, the expression in his dark eyes almost as wary as her own.
    “Breakfast.” He nodded toward the bacon and a large stack of toast.
    “Yes.” Honor surveyed the huge pile of bacon. “Who else is invited? There’s enough there to feed a platoon.”
    “I’m not used to cooking for two,” he muttered. “Besides, I seem to remember you had a pretty healthy appetite down in Mexico.” He looked down at the bacon and toast. ‘This was about all there was in the freezer.”
    Why was she feeling an insane urge to show some appreciation of his efforts? “It looks delicious. I’m starving.” Going forward she reached out and helped herself to a strip of bacon. Judd looked visibly relieved and Honor didn’t know whether to be furious with herself for softening or to give in to the small feeling of pleasure she got out of making him happy.
    Wordlessly they sat down at the small kitchen table and began eating. Honor refused to meet Judd’s eyes for several moments, her own uncertainty and caution making her uncomfortable. It was he who finally broke the silence between them, extending a hand to touch her scarred wrist.
    “Honor.” He waited until she finally looked up and men he went on very intently. “I know I handled things badly last night.”
    “That’s putting it mildly,” she managed with a flippancy she was far from feeling. “Kidnapping is a Federal crime, you know.”
    He shook his head impatiently. “I don’t mean in bringing you here. I mean in coming to your bed last night. I honestly hadn’t intended to do that. But sometimes you have a way of making me do things I don’t intend to do ” he concluded bluntly.
    “So it’s all my fault?”
    Judd stared at her. “Maybe it would be better if we talked about something else,” he finally decided. It was abruptly obvious that he was backing away from the issue.
    “Such as?” she challenged bravely. Judd backing down? Amazing!
    “Such as what we’re going to do today,” he announced, removing his hand from her wrist and picking up another slice of bacon. He seemed bound and determined to lighten his tone and the mood in the kitchen. “I thought we could have some fun together.”
    It was Honor’s turn to stare, this time suspiciously. “Fun?” She wasn’t at all convinced Judd Raven knew the meaning of the word. She had a clear memory of trying to teach him to play down in Mexico. The effort had wound up with her getting dunked in the stream.
    “I,” he told her rather grandly, “am going to give you your first flying lesson.” He waited for her to show her unabashed delight.
    Honor blinked at him. “A flying lesson?” she finally repeated weakly.
    “You’re going to love it,” he assured her, gaining enthusiasm rapidly as he talked. “It’s a whole different world when you’re at the controls of an airplane. And I flying is something we can do together.”
    Together. Honor rolled the word around in her head. What was Judd trying to do? Was flying his idea of[_ _]fun? Was he trying to extend to her the bridge of mutual play that she had once extended to him? If that was the case, Honor realized, she didn’t have the heart to turn him down. It was very clear to her that this man had almost no experience at playing with another human being. But she also wasn’t at all sure a flying lesson was the proper way for him to begin. She remembered her first driving lesson. It had not been fun.
    Having made up his mind, however, Judd was not about to be dissuaded. Immediately after breakfast Honor found herself being driven back out to the small airport where they had landed the previous evening. This morning she noticed a few other small planes tied down near the old hangar and there were half a dozen men hanging around.
    They greeted Judd as he arrived with Honor in tow. He nodded familiarly but made no effort to pause long enough to introduce Honor. Instead he got right to the business of refueling the Cessna and Honor found herself obliged to