The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

understand. He's a yellow-bellied snake."

    "But, Rafe…"

    "I said, don't worry about it." He kissed her full on the mouth, a long, slow kiss that made her tremble in his arms. "That's better," Rafe said. "Now you're paying full attention."

    He got up with her in his arms and carried her out of the study and down the hall to her bedroom.

    A long while later Margaret stirred amid the sheets, opened her eyes and blinked at the hot, lazy sunlight that dappled the patio outside the glass door. She knew without lifting her head to see his face that Rafe was wide awake. His arm was around her, holding her close against his side but his gaze was on the bright light bouncing off the pool water.

    "You're thinking about Hatcher, aren't you?" Margaret asked.

    "Yeah."

    "What are you going to do, Rafe?"

    "Fire him."

    She didn't move. "And the Ellington deal?"

    "It'll go through."

    "This isn't just a case of beating Moorcroft to the punch, is it?"

    "No."

    "Rafe, tell me what you're planning. I have to know why this Ellington thing is so special to you."

    "It doesn't concern you, Maggie, love. Let it be."

    She sat up, holding the sheet to her breasts and searched his face. "It does concern me. I can feel it. Please tell me the truth, Rafe. I have to know what you're going to do."

    He regarded her in silence for a long moment. "You won't like it, Maggie. You're too gentle to understand why I'm doing it."

    "I've got guts, remember?
Tell me
."

    He shrugged in resignation. "All right, I'll spell it out. But don't say I didn't warn you. The Ellington deal is the first falling domino in a long line that's going to end with Moorcroft Industries."

    Margaret froze. "What are you talking about?"

    "I've lured Moorcroft way out on a limb. He's mortgaged to the hilt. Going after Ellington will weaken him still further. There's no way he'll be able to fend off a takeover when I get ready to do it."

    "You're going to put him out of business? Destroy Moorcroft Industries?" Margaret was appalled. "Rafe, you can't do that."

    "Watch me."

    Horrified, Margaret grabbed his bare shoulder. "It's because of me, isn't it? You're going to ruin Jack Moorcroft because of what happened last year. He was right. The business rivalry between the two of you has escalated into something else, something ugly."

    "This is between Moorcroft and me. Don't concern yourself."

    "Are you nuts? How can I help but concern myself? I'm the cause of this mess."

    "No."

    Margaret shook her head. "That's not true. Answer one question for me, Rafe. Would you be plotting now to take over Moorcroft Industries if that fiasco last year hadn't occurred?"

    He eyed her consideringly. "No."

    "So you're doing this on account of me."

    "Maggie, love, don't get upset. I told you you wouldn't understand."

    "I do understand. I understand only too well. You're bent on revenge. You have been all along."

    "He's got to pay, Maggie. One way or another."

    She could have cut herself on the sharp edges of his voice. "You can't blame him because I felt loyal to him. Rafe, that's not fair. I'm the one you should punish."

    "It wasn't your fault you felt loyal to him," Rafe said impatiently. "I told you that. If it makes you feel any better, I don't blame Moorcroft, either. At least not for your sense of loyalty."

    "Then why are you plotting to destroy him?" Margaret asked wildly.

    "Because of the things he said and implied about you after you left his office that morning."

    Margaret was truly shaken now. "Oh, my God. You mean that stuff about me having been his mistress? But, Rafe, he was lying."

    "I know. I'm going to see he pays for the insults and the lies he told about you."

    "You're doing all this to avenge my honor or something?" she gasped as it finally sank in.

    "If you want to put it that way, yes. He shouldn't have said what he did about you, Maggie."

    Dazed, Margaret got out of bed and picked up the nearest garment to cover herself. It was Rafe's shirt. She thrust her arms into the long sleeves, sat down on the edge of the bed and clasped her hands. The enormity of what he was planning in the name of vengeance nearly swamped her.

    "Rafe, you can't do it," she finally whispered.

    "Sure I can. Code of the West and all that, remember?"

    "This is not funny. Don't try to make a joke out of it. Rafe, I can't have this on my conscience." She shook her head. "An entire company in ruins because of a few nasty remarks made by some male flaunting his latest