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Zane cursed angrily and locked the briefcase in the car. Knowing that he was making a grave error, he walked back into the house, locked the doors and mounted the stairs. After throwing his bag on the guest bed, he took off his shoes and turned down the covers.
Then, on impulse, he went back to her room. He paused at the door and then strode boldly inside. His blood was thundering in his eardrums as he lowered himself into the chair near the bed. It took all of his restraint not to go to her.
Zane watched the rounded swell of her hips beneath the bedclothes, and the smoldering lust in his veins began to throb unmercifully.You’re more of a fool than you thought,Zane chastised himself silently.
He noticed the regular rhythm of her breathing and realized that she had fallen asleep. The urge to strip off his clothes and lie with her burned in bis mind. He fantasized about her response, the feel of her warm, sleepy body fitted to his, the agonizing glory of her silken fingers as they traced an invisible path down his abdomen....
A hard tightening in his loins warned him that his thoughts were dangerous; still he couldn’t help but think of slowly peeling off her bedclothes and letting the shimmery nightgown peeking from the edges of her robe fall silently to the floor. He wanted to touch all of her, run his tongue over the gentle feminine curves of her body, drink in the smell of her perfume as he touched her swollen breasts....
Quietly he placed his drink on the table and walked over to the bed.
Tiffany moaned in her sleep and turned onto her back. In the dim light from the security lamps, with the rain softly pelting against the windows, Zane looked down at her. How incredibly soft and alluring she appeared in slumber. All traces of anxiety had left the perfect oval of her face. Her still-damp hair curled in golden-brown tangles around her shoulders and neck.
The scarlet robe had gaped open to display the silvery fabric of a gossamer gown and the soft texture of her breasts beneath. Tiffany shifted slightly and the hint of a dark nipple shadowed the silvery lace covering it.
Zane clenched his teeth in self-restraint. Never had he wanted a woman more, and he told himself that she was there for the taking. Hadn’t he seen her vulnerability? Hadn’t he witnessed the way she stared at him? Deep within her, there was a need to be taken by him; he could sense it.
He closed his eyes against the pain throbbing in his loins and dropped to his knees by the bed. “What have you done to me?” he whispered as he lovingly brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.
This woman was once the wife of Ellery Rhodes, a person he had intended to destroy. Zane couldn’t help but wonder, as he stared into the sleep-softened face of Ellery Rhodes’s widow, if just the opposite were true.
Would he be able to carry forth his plans of retribution, or would Ellery Rhodes’s wife reap her sweet vengeance on him?
Chapter Five
When Tiffany opened her eyes she noticed that the first purple light of dawn had begun to filter into the room. With a muted groan, she stretched between the cool sheets and rolled over, intent on returning to sleep.
Her cloudy vision rested on the chair near the bed and her breath got lost somewhere in her throat.
Zane was in the room. The realization was like an electric current pulsing through her body, bringing her instantly awake. What was he doing here?
He was slumped back in the chair, his head cocked at an uncomfortable angle, his stocking feet propped against the foot of the bed. He had thrown a spare blanket over himself, but it had slipped to the floor. His unfinished drink sat neglected on the bedside table.
“You wonderful bastard,” she whispered quietly, before a silent rage began to take hold of her. Why hadn’t he left as he had promised? Why had he decided to stay here—in her bedroom? Conflicting emotions battled within her. On the one hand, she was pleased to see him. It was comforting to watch his beard-darkened face relaxed in quiet slumber. There was something slightly chivalrous in the fact that he had stayed with her on the pretense of caring for her. She supposed that in all honesty she should consider his actions a compliment, an indication that he cared for her—if only a little.
On the other hand, she was quietly furious that he would force himself so boldly into her life. Whatever it was that he wanted at Rhodes Breeding Farm, he obviously wanted very badly. Badly enough to pretend interest in Tiffany and her horses.
The smile that had touched the corners of her mouth began to fade. Zane stirred in the chair, and Tiffany knew that he would soon be awake. No better time than the present to take the bull by the horns! She slipped out of the bed and cinched her robe tightly under her breasts before planting herself in front of his chair.
“Liar!” she whispered loudly enough to disturb him.
The muscles in Zane’s broad shoulders stiffened slightly. He grumbled something indistinguishable and his feet dropped to the floor as he tried to roll over.
“What the hell?” he mumbled, before opening his eyes. He awoke to find himself staring up at Tiffany’s indignant blue gaze. Stretching in the uncomfortable chair, he tried to rub the stiffness from his neck and cramped shoulders. “What’re you going on about?” he asked.
“You said you’d sleep downstairs or in the guest room.”
A devilish grin stole across his features. “So I did.”
Her blue eyes narrowed. “Don’t you have any shame?”
“None.” He pulled himself out of the chair and stretched his aching muscles. God, he hurt all over. It had been years since he’d slept sitting up; and never in his thirty-six years had he kept vigil on a beautiful woman, a woman who obviously didn’t appreciate his efforts.
“I should have known.”
“Known what?” He rubbed his hands over the stubble of his beard and then threw his head back and rotated his neck to relieve the tension at the base of his skull. “Don’t you have any coffee around here?” he asked once he’d stretched.
Tiffany crossed her arms self-righteously over her breasts and glared up at her unwelcome visitor. She was still wearing her robe, Zane noticed, though the gap of the lapels had been pulled together when she had tied the belt around her small waist. “Known you’d end up here.”
