Raven's Prey

and walked out into the living room.
    He was standing at the window, staring out at the surrounding desert, a drink in his hand. For a long moment Honor just stared and then she smiled slowly. “I hardly recognized you.”
    He swung around, dark gaze taking in the picture she made in her vivid yellow-and-purple dress. She felt the heat of his eyes as if it were a palpable sensation, and a small, expectant shiver ran through her nerve endings. All this man had to do to kindle the longing was to look at her. She loved him. She had fallen for a ruthless mercenary who knew nothing of the gentle, sensitive side of life, a man who didn’t know the meaning of unequivocal trust, who didn’t believe in romanticizing the basic relationship between men and women. A man who didn’t understand love. How could she have been so foolish?
    How could she have prevented the inevitable,[_
]though? There were some things in life, Honor had learned during the past few weeks, over which a woman had little control. It was fate that had sent her to Garrison and Prager’s office that night in Hong Kong and it was fate that had brought Judd Raven into Mexico searching for her. The whole chain of events was far too complex to unravel now. She was enmeshed in[
_]the net they had created, tied to the kind of man she would never even have met in the normal course of events.
    She realized that this was the first time she had ever,~; ~seen him dressed in anything besides black denims and[_ _]dark shirts. This evening he actually had on a pair of slacks, a well-cut tan jacket and a muted tie. His dark hair was still damp from the shower and brushed back off his forehead. Honor experienced a strong urge to run her fingers through the carefully combed hair. Perhaps it was simply a strong urge to touch him, period.
    “You’re ready early,” he said quietly, his eyes still resting on her slender figure.
    “Yes.”
    He seemed vaguely uncertain for a moment and then he set down his drink with a restless movement. “Well, then, why don’t we be on our way? We can have a sun-downer drink at the restaurant before dinner.”
    Honor nodded, gaining the distinct impression he was anxious to get her out of the house. It was as if he didn’t know quite what to do with her.
    “I’ve put the top up on the jeep,” he said as they walked outside, “so your hair won’t get mussed.”
    “Thank you ” she said politely, aware that his eyes were lingering now on her hair. She knew he wanted to reach out and touch it and wondered why he didn’t do exactly that. The restlessness in him was unnerving. Judd always seemed so very sure of himself.
    The restaurant he had chosen was warm and inviting. There was a pleasant intimacy about the rustic southwestern decor. The lounge was beginning to fill up with the cocktail crowd, but Judd managed to find a small corner table.
    “I haven’t been here in a long time,” he began apologetically. “I hope the food is still good.”
    Good heavens! Now he was worrying about the food. Honor smiled a little distantly and sipped at that margarita he had ordered for her. What was the matter with Judd this evening? He acted as if he were trying to walk on eggshells. “I take it you don’t get out much?” she hazarded dryly.
    He gave her a sharp glance and then shrugged. “Does it show?”
    “A little.”
    “I admit that taking a woman out on a real date doesn’t come as naturally to me as it seemed to come to your friend in Phoenix,” he muttered, looking down at his margarita. “I’m more at home in a sleazy Mexican cantina, I suppose.”’
    “It wasn’t a sleazy cantina! Everyone was very nice to me there,” she protested, smiling.
    He closed his eyes briefly as if counting to ten and then opened them to give her a very level stare. “You don’t know how damn lucky you were to flit through that part of Mexico all by yourself without any major disasters.”
    “At the time I thought the only disaster that had befallen me was having you show up.”

----

    Judd studied her composed expression and she wondered if he could read anything at all in her face. She hoped not He seemed to gather himself for the next question, as if he weren’t sure he wanted to hear her answer.
    “Do you still consider my arrival a disaster?”
    She hesitated and then said smoothly, “It all worked out for the best in the end, didn’t it? I’d still be down there, cowering every time a stranger showed up in the village, if