Free Texas Lily by Patricia Rice

engulfed in a bonfire that she had not expected and had not asked for but could not fight. Her lips parted beneath his, and the heat of his kiss swept through her insides.
    This was insane. She hadn't felt this way since she was a child and didn't know better. She couldn't...
    But she could. As Cade's hands spread across her back and his mouth took its pleasure and returned it threefold, she very definitely could feel this way.
    And with a determined thrust, Lily shoved him away and folded her arms over her aching breasts.
    Silently, Cade picked up the reins and set the cattle in motion.

 
     
     
    Chapter 7

     
    "Hell, there's land out there for the takin'. Them Mexicans are too lazy to do anything with it, and there's plenty of Americans itchin' to get their hands on it—with our help, of course."
    The man sipping his whiskey at the table looked at the speaker with contempt. "Santa Anna might have a thing or two to say about that. Do you think it's any accident that Bowie and his lot got thrown out of Coahuila? Or that we got a Mexican army camping on our doorstep? Until we have an army to hold the Mexicans off, we'll not get our hands on any more land. The easy days are over."
    A third man shrugged his lacy cuffs from his coat sleeves and disdainfully inspected them for dirt. "There is land to be had if the right people are approached properly. Meanwhile, there's always that swamp down along the river that you can parcel out when this next lot of fools arrives. Unless, of course, you can manage to get the land away from your lady friend. Sold a parcel at a time, it could bring a tidy fortune."
    The second man threw back another slug of whiskey. "It's not going to be as easy as I thought. And with land prices skyrocketing like they are, she's likely to ask a fortune for any of it. We'll have to find another way."
    The first man grinned. "You could marry her. Just think of havin' that tall drink of water in your bed. Right gives a man goose bumps."
    "Especially if she learned you've already got a wife back in the states," the elegantly dressed man sniffed. "A lot of men have been getting away with it, but I've got a suspicion your Mrs. Brown isn't the type to take such news lightly."
    "How would she find out? Her father is easily persuaded. If I could just get rid of that damned drunken Indian..."
    "Indian?" The third man looked up with sudden interest. "She has an Indian working for her?"
    The explanation, when it came, made the stranger smile.
    * * *
    "No, you cannot ride out with the men, and that is final. Get back in the house to your schoolwork."
    "But Mama, Cade said..."
    Lily pointed her finger at the back door, and her rebellious eight-year-old scuffled his feet in that direction. It was almost more than she could take these days, whipping an army of recalcitrant men into line. Thank goodness her father had gone into town so she didn't have to listen to some complaint from him too.
    She smiled in relief as Juanita came out of the kitchen carrying Serena. At least there were a few women whose support she could rely on. Lily took the child in her arms.
    "She is spoiled, that one. El Monstruo ruins her." Juanita crossed her arms over her ample chest as she frowned at the laughing child.
    Since the night of the dance Lily had avoided Cade by the simple expedient of putting Juanita in her place. Juanita regarded her new status as messenger with suspicion but without questioning. Lily wasn't any more satisfied with the arrangement than the other woman was, but she hadn't come to terms yet with her response to Cade's kiss. She knew it was her own fault for allowing him to take her to the dance. Men had the most ridiculous view of their rights where women were concerned. She should have expected Cade's response, but she hadn't. Nor had she expected her own. That was the part that was giving her trouble.
    Lily tickled Serena's belly and sent her into gales of giggles. "What has she been up to now?"
    "She decided her dolly