Free DebtofHonor by N.J. Walter Page A

they’d never
lasted long. A lot of men didn’t want to take on a woman who had responsibility
for raising her younger brother.
    Right now, his cock was hard as a fencepost and throbbing
like a toothache. If she knew half of what he was thinking she’d run from his
office and never look back. He still couldn’t believe he’d uttered those words
to her.
    He should feel like a bastard. Hell, most everyone thought
he was anyway. He liked to think he was tough, but fair. He’d wanted Kaitlyn
for years and wasn’t about to toss aside this opportunity. He’d worry about his
conscience tomorrow.
    “Well?” He studied her flushed face. “What’s it going to
be?”
    Her fingers were white where they gripped her purse. Even
though she was tense, she was as pretty as a Texas summer day. She was wearing
one of those business suits she wore every day at the bank where she worked.
This one was pale blue and he could just see the hint of lace peeking out
between her lapels. It was driving him crazy wondering what she had underneath
that thin jacket.
    Her long brown hair was swept up into some fancy style that seemed
to defy gravity. It left her neck bare and accentuated her face. And she had a
striking face. Not pretty, not beautiful, but striking. High cheekbones and a
strong jaw hinted at the steel beneath the prim exterior. Her eyes were a dark
blue, like the onset of a summer squall. And they were getting darker by the
second.
    “You can’t be serious.” If her posture got any straighter he
feared she might snap in half. Kaitlyn was a strong woman to carry the load she
had all these years. But her brother wasn’t a child any longer and Derek had
waited long enough.
    “Deadly serious.” He leaned forward and she started to jerk
back in her chair before she stopped herself and leaned forward instead,
challenging him. “If you want to settle this debt, I want you in my bed for one
entire night and you have to agree to do exactly what I want.”
    She raised her hand to touch her hair even though not one
strand was out of place. He could see the fine tremors in her arm and almost
relented. Almost. Instead, he tried to reassure her. “No one will know but us.”
He rose, walked around to the front of his desk and crouched in front of her.
He took her hand, bothered by the fact it was cold.
    She licked her lips and he almost groaned aloud. “How…how
would that be possible?”
    She was going to agree. Derek tamped down his excitement and
kept his voice level and his words logical. “I’d pick you up and bring you out
here and drive you back in the morning.”
    Kaitlyn was already shaking her head. “No, that won’t do.”
She eased back in her chair, putting some space between them. “I’ll drive
myself and park up near the road and walk down.”
    God almighty, the woman was stubborn, but if that’s what she
wanted, he’d live with it. After all, he was getting exactly what he wanted.
Still, he protested. “I don’t want you traipsing around the ranch in the dark.”
    Her chin tilted higher. “I can take care of myself.”
    And that had always been the problem. He’d wanted to take
care of her, but she’d never given him the time of day.
    He straightened and shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He didn’t
like it but figured she’d be relatively safe on his land. There weren’t too
many varmints around.
    “When?” She stood and took a step toward the door.
    “As soon as possible.”
    Kaitlyn placed one hand on the doorjamb. She looked calm and
composed in her heels and fancy suit. He couldn’t wait to strip her out of her
clothes and discover the passionate woman he’d seen lurking beneath the cool
exterior all these years. “Tomorrow night. It’s Saturday and most of your hands
will go into town.”
    He nodded. “What will you tell Daniel?”
    The glare she shot him would have felled a lesser man.
“Certainly not the truth.” She nibbled on her bottom lip and his cock swelled.
It was all too easy to