Free Rawhide and Lace by Diana Palmer Page A

warm, silky skin while his mouth fed on the unexpected sweetness of her breasts.
     
    When he lifted his head, her expression shocked and delighted him. Her eyes were half closed, watching him, her lips parted over pearly teeth. Her face was alive with color, her hands caressing the hard muscle of his chest.
     
    "Could you take off your shirt?" she asked drowsily.
     
    He couldn't take it off fast enough, in fact. His hands fumbled because he was aroused-as he hadn't been since that night with her. But that night was nothing like this. He was on fire. Burning up.
     
    He ripped off the shirt and shuddered a little with pride as her eyes ran over him with blatant appreciation. She reached up hesitantly, smoothing over the thick mat of hair that covered the warm, bronzed muscles, and at her touch he felt his heart running wild.
     
    She lifted herself up gracefully and kneeled in front of him. Her eyes traced his torso, and she seemed to sway toward him. She dug her nails into his muscular arms and leaned a little against him, drawing the very tips of her breasts softly, abrasively, against the hardness of his chest.
     
    He shuddered violently. "Erin!" he gasped.
     
    "Oh, Ty..." It was as much a moan as a whisper. She put her mouth on his and kissed him hungrily, feeling his arms come around her, crushing her, trembling as they fit her exquisitely to the contours of his chest. The hair was cushy and thick, and she liked the feel of it against her soft breasts. She could feel his heartbeat shaking both of them. It was so sweet. So sweet...
     
    The sudden intrusion of a knock on the front door made her almost sick with mingled frustration and shock.
     
    She jerked back. He looked as dazed as she felt. He looked at her one last time and cursed under his breath as he helped her back into the leotard.
     
    He got to his feet gracefully and was just shouldering into his shirt when they heard footsteps echoing down the hall. Erin looked toward the door-and realized they'd both forgotten to close it!
     
    "I used to be levelheaded before you came along," Ty muttered, glaring at her as he fastened buttons. "My God, with the door standing wide open...! You little siren," he breathed, his eyes warm with memories as they held hers. "God, that was sweet!"
     
    "Well, you're helping me get back on my feet," she murmured demurely. "I thought the least I could do was divert you a little."
     
    "That was more seduction than diversion," he replied. He reached down a hand to help her up. But instead of letting her go, he held her just in front of him. "Erin, we've got to do something about this," he said solemnly. "You knock me off balance pretty bad. I could lose control, now more than ever. I...don't want to make you pregnant by accident." The thought seemed to torture him; his face hardened into grim lines, his eyes grew dark.
     
    "I'm sorry," Erin said quietly. "I won't do it again. I don't know what got into me, Ty..."
     
    "No," he whispered, touching her mouth with his forefinger. "No, don't apologize for it. You made me feel like a man again, like a whole man...." He hesitated uncharacteristically. "I want you." He said it in a whisper, as if it were some terrible secret.
     
    She drew in a slow breath. "I know." She dropped her eyes to his chest. She could have said the same thing, but she was afraid to give him that kind of power over her. His hands gripped her arms painfully hard just as Jose came to the door.
     
    "Senor, it is the foreman, Senor Grandy. A wild dog has brought down a calf. He says it is the same dog as before, that of Senor Jessup."
     
    "Damn," Ty muttered. Instantly he was the powerful cattle baron again, cold, relentless, indomitable; a formidable adversary. And a stranger. "Get my .30-.30 and bring me a box of ammunition," he ordered Jose. "And tell Grandy to wait for me. Call Ed Johnson while I'm gone and tell him the situation. I may have a court suit over this."
     
    "Si, senor," Jose said graciously, and