Raven's Prey

communication doesn’t seem to be one of my strong points.”
    “I wouldn’t say that. You’re getting better every day,” Honor teased. “I think you have the talent, you just didn’t get much practice with the Cessna!”

Chapter 12
    L ess than a week later Honor woke up to find herself again in bed and again in Mexico. She leaned back against the pillows and surveyed the luxurious resort-hotel suite. This was no shack in a poor village. It was an elegant hotel on the tip of Baja. And she was a married woman on her honeymoon. Judd had been very insistent on marriage.
    “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life being accused of kidnapping,” he had declared forcefully.
    “But, darling, you’re so good at it,” Honor had replied blithely. “Oh, well, at least this will give me a certain status over your plane, won’t it? I mean, you can’t [_marry _]an airplane under the laws of the state of New Mexico.”
    “I wonder if New Mexico ever got around to outlawing wife-beating?” Judd had mused.
    Honor was remembering that remark when the door to the bathroom opened and her husband emerged wearing only a towel rather carelessly knotted around his lean hips. “What are you laughing at?” he demanded. His eyes moved over her as he crossed the room to sit down beside her on the bed.
    “Your interest in the wife-beating laws of New Mexico.”
    “Oh, yes, I must remember to check on them when we get back. Being a husband does entail certain responsibilities.” He leaned over her with mocking menace, imprisoning her slender body between his hands.
    Honor blinked and then decided that it was, indeed, ‘ [_mock _]menace. Judd was still learning about things like play and the kind of teasing that went on between lovers. There were occasions, however, when Honor found that playing games with a bird of prey could still be a slightly uncertain business. “Ah, well, I suppose it adds spice,” she murmured half to herself.
    “What does?” He leaned closer, apparently fascinated with her mouth.
    “Never knowing for sure if you’re playing or if you’re quite serious.” She chuckled. “You can be rather intimidating, Judd.”
    “But you’re not afraid of me, are you?” he asked in satisfaction. He trailed one finger down the line of her throat to where the hem of the sheet covered her breasts. “I’ve never wanted you to be afraid of me. I didn’t like the look in your eyes that first night when I found you in the cantina. I’d been looking for you a solid week, pretending to everyone I met that you were my runaway wife. When I finally found you I had this idiotic notion that you did somehow belong to me. And I didn’t want you afraid of me.”
    He leaned down and kissed her lingeringly, letting his fingers slide beneath the hem of the sheet as he did so. Slowly, tantalizingly he let his hand wander farther as he lazily explored her mouth with his own.
    Honor stirred beneath the deepening caress. “Judd?”
    “Hmmm?” He slowly began to lower the sheet.
    “You don’t mind having a… a business partner?”
    “From all accounts you’ve got a terrific head for business. I’m looking forward to having you for a business partner.” He began to nibble the side of her throat. “The clients are going to love you ”
    “You realize I won’t be letting you accept any more questionable jobs from people like Craig Maddock or Garrison and Prager?” Honor began to thread her fingers through the raven-dark depths of his hair. Her body began to feel warm and receptive.
    ‘There’s not a lot of money in running a ferrying operation or doing charter work,” he warned absently. He tugged the sheet down below her breasts and found the hardening peak of one nipple with his palm.
    “We’ll build up the business,” she told him confidently. “In a few years we’ll have other pilots working for us and we’ll have a solid reputation.”
    “Whatever you say.” He smiled as he felt her breast tighten under his touch. His dark eyes lit with a lambent flame.
    “And if that doesn’t work I can always get a job in Albuquerque,” Honor said hastily.
    He chuckled softly. “Things aren’t going to get that bad. The ferrying business turns a steady profit. If we add a few more pilots to the staff we can keep ourselves in food and tequila. And you and I will have plenty of time to play,” he added, sounding pleased.
    “You’re getting pretty good at that” She sighed blissfully. “Is tomorrow