Free Hallie's Destiny (The Donovans of the Delta) by Peggy Webb Page A

desire assaulted him, insistent and demanding. Without thinking, he kissed her.
    She bucked against him in a brief show of resistance, but her mouth was as hungry as his. Their coming together was thunderous. They battled with their lips, attacking and retreating, tongues thrusting and counterthrusting. The love battle served to increase the heat of passion between them.
    There in the deserted parking lot, with their lips still locked in dual, he had the crazy sensation that he was still at the rodeo, watching Hallie ride a bull with consummate ease, one spur dug into the ground and one jingling in the air as she wrapped her right leg around his left.
    Josh’s dizzy, mad hunger drove him on, and he could only imagine what damage he was doing to his chances of ever appearing sincere and honest to Hallie after this display in a public parking lot. He even wondered if he were losing his mind, if somehow the years of being immersed in taking care of broken family members had taken its toll and he was slowly coming unhinged.
    There was so much he should be saying to her, so many deep feeling he wanted to express, and yet he was trapped, under the spell of the intoxicating woman who responded to him as if the two of them had invented kissing.
    With a mighty effort, Josh found the bit of sanity he was seeking and finally pulled apart. They stood for a while, dazed, two mavericks who were almost adversaries, almost friends, almost lovers, both of them hungering for what they felt they couldn’t have.
    “One taste of you is never enough.” Josh reached out and tenderly lifted a curl off her damp forehead.
    “No. It never seemed to be enough between us.”
    Hallie suppressed the urge to go back into his arms. The ancient knowledge of her past and the recent knowledge of his deception bound her. The rage to feel, to touch and be touched, made two bright spots of color ride high on her cheekbones.
    Josh’s hand was gentle as he touched one passion-flushed cheek. She dug her spurs deeper into the ground and tossed her head back proudly, like a spirited, unbroken filly.
    “What do you want of me, Josh?”
    “Forgiveness.”
    The appeal in his golden eyes made her heart weep. Big silent tears of agony seemed to form in that wildly fluttering organ and flow outward into every part of her body. She was liquid with the feeling of tears and regret.
    Reaching out, she took his hand. “Come.”
    “Thank you, Hallie.”
    She led him to her car. Josh opened the door, and they slid onto the front seat. The steamy heat from a relentless Texas sun had been captured by the leather seats and held inside by the raised top of the El Dorado.
    In the closeness Josh was acutely aware of the heady fragrance of honeysuckle that drifted from her hair. A great primitive desire took hold of him again. He fought the impulse to kiss her again. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled her scent. Hallie . . . Hallie. Her name sang through his mind like a song begging to be written, and he realized she’d become his obsession. No matter what he said, no matter how far away he ran, he would never be free of her.
    “I’m waiting, Josh.”
    He shook his head like a lion trying to deny his instincts. His hand reached out and captured hers.
    “Don’t.” She pulled away, backing so close against her side of the car, the door handle bit into her ribs. She was glad for the small discomfort. “How did you find me?”
    “Raymond gave me directions to the ranch, and Hannah told me how to get here.”
    “Hannah would. She loves to be in charge. But why did Raymond tell you?”
    His smile just missed being debonair. “I suppose I appealed to his Good Samaritan side.”
    Her smile just missed being gay. “You would. You appealed to mine.”
    “Past tense?”
    “Yes.”
    With the air between them practically steaming from the heat of their suppressed passion, they both knew her answer was a lie. He gave her a long, deep look.
    “We could play this cat and mouse game