Free Wildfire by Billie Green Page A

the bureau; then, drawing in a slow breath, she turned to face him. "Tanner," she said sweetly, "why did you crawl through my bedroom window?"
    "Gossip again. I know what people would say if they saw the notorious Tanner West calling on Dicton's resident nun in the middle of the night.
    It would get you some attention, but not the kind you want."
    After a moment she nodded. "I'll accept that. But it doesn't explain why you're here at all."
    "You missed your appointment two nights in a row." He turned over his right hand and began to examine his fingernails. "I was afraid I had, you know, inadvertently said something to offend you. I know how sensitive you are, and I'd hate for you to get the wrong idea."
    She reacted with an inelegant snort. "I'm sure regret is just eating you alive. You knew very well I wouldn't be back. You did it on purpose. I came to you, seriously asking for your help, and you—"
    "And I was seriously giving you my help."
    With that careless dismissal, he began moving about her room, his gaze exploring her private world. A moment later he picked up a snow-white lace-edged pillow and held it to his face, inhaling the scent.
    "I recognize that," he murmured. "I catch a hint of it any time you're around. What is it?" The question was not directed at her, but at some piece of his own memory. "Tropical flowers and seafoam? A mermaid's hair would smell like this."
    Glancing over his shoulder, he finally returned his attention to Rae. "I got a reaction out of you, didn't I?"
    She pulled the pillow out of his hand and dropped it back to the bed. "I didn't come to you to learn how to lose my temper. After two years of being in the same town with you, I'm getting pretty good at it."
    Her last words were directed at his back because he had moved past her to stand in front of her dressing table. He picked up a sable brush and feathered it across his lips, then dropped it and began to examine an eyeliner pencil.
    "I can never remember if mascara is the tube thing or the pencil thing."
    When he started to remove the glass stopper from her perfume, Rae stepped forward and snatched the bottle from his hand. "Will you please stick to the point?"
    He switched his gaze to her face and smiled, obviously amused by her frustration. "You do it. Lawyers are trained point stickers, so why don't you take over?"
    "Okay, I will," she said tightly. "And the point is, our 'unholy alliance,' as you call it, won't work. We would end up killing each other. You rub me the wrong way, and I—Don't you dare make something suggestive out of that," she warned when he opened his mouth to speak. "You know what I mean. How can I accomplish anything if I'm always mad at you?"
    "Who says you'll always be mad at me?" He leaned his hip against the dressing table. "You never know, I might start to grow on you." He tilted his head slightly, one brow raised. "I can be awfully winsome when I put my mind to it."
    At that moment Rae discovered it was possible to be furiously angry and at the same time feel the overpowering urge to laugh.
    Clearing her throat noisily, she moved to sit on the edge of the bed.
    "I don't think so," she said finally. "I'm sure you can be as charming as all get-out when you try. There are enough women mooning over you to tell me you have something. But the thing is, you're never charming to me. Not that I want you to be charming," she added quickly. "You know what I mean. You and I simply don't get along."
    "Coward."
    "I'm not—"
    "Yes, you are. You're a wuss. I knew it all along. You haven't got the intestinal fortitude of a limp piece of parsley."
    "Courage has nothing to do with this."
    "Sure it does. Do you have the guts to go after what you want? Or maybe the real question is, is Drew really what you want? If you're not willing to put up with me for a little while to get him, he can't be all that important to you."
    She gritted her teeth. "Why are you pushing, Tanner?"
    His lips stretched in a slow, sensual smile that