Raven’s Prey(33)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

Honor blinked, aware of a chill down her spine. A man like Steve would never step out of his three-piece suit long enough to resort to such primitive methods. Steve Melbourne was well and truly trapped in the bonds of twentieth-century civilization. He, like most of the other men of his era, were learning to deal with women within the framework of the new social more.

Looking at her friend across the small candle in the center of the table Honor suddenly realized just how different Steve Melbourne and the other men of her acquaintance were from Judd Raven. It made her realize just how lucky she had been to walk out of that motel room alone the previous morning. Raven’s hunting instincts were definitely pre-twentieth century, as was his lack of refined sensitivity. She shivered in the warm, smoky lounge and remembered the rustic cantina where she had first seen Judd.

In all honesty, she admitted now, Judd’s instincts, primitive as they were, had been correct on one score. He had been right when he’d said she couldn’t have ever been truly involved with Steve Melbourne in a full-scale love affair. She knew in her heart that if she’d ever felt a fraction of the passion with Steve that she’d experienced with Judd, there would have been no way she could sit across from Melbourne tonight and be a “friend.”

“Hey, don’t go moody on me,” Steve complained good-naturedly. “Come on, let’s dance. I haven’t danced since Evie left town.”

Honor managed a smile, setting down her drink. “What are friends for?”

There was a certain solace to be had in dancing with a friend, however, Honor discovered. She still had so many disturbing memories that had to be banished. Neither she nor Steve would be making any demands on each other tonight and she knew she could relax and give herself up to the pleasures of simple friendship.

Friendship. That was another of the refined sides of human nature about which she doubted Judd Raven knew very much. He seemed singularly lacking in friends from what little she had learned about him. Even his association with Craig Maddock, for whom he had apparently worked from time to time, seemed more of a wary, adversary relationship than a friendship.

That faint flicker of unease coursed through her once more and she found herself clinging a little closer to Steve Melbourne than she might ordinarily have done. What was the matter with her? She was safe.

“Will you be looking for a position similar to the one you’re leaving at Garrison and Prager’s firm? A sort of administrative assistant post?” Steve asked musingly.

“Yes, I imagine so. That seems to be the kind of work I do best: coordinating schedules, lining up details, summarizing data.”

“Evie always said you were very good at the administrative end of a business and good with clients, too. That should be a marketable combination.”

“I hope so.”

“Might be tough to find another job that involves all that great overseas travel, though,” Steve went on.

“Believe me, I’ve had my fill of travel for a while!”

“I wish Evie hadn’t been so interested in traveling to Denver,” He sighed.

“Steve, you’re going to have to make a choice. How much does Evie mean to you?” Honor asked firmly.

“A lot,” he groaned. “A hell of a lot.”

Honor was genuinely glad to hear he had found with Evie the passion that had been missing in her own romance with him.

“Then what are you going to do about the situation?”

He looked down at her bleakly. “You’re saying I should start job hunting in Denver?”

“It’s up to you, but it would definitely be one way of showing Evie how much you cared, wouldn’t it?”

“It would be a risk….”

“Women have been taking that kind of risk for men for years!”

He smiled wryly. “You’ve got a point. I never thought of it that way before. I like to think I’m a modern sort of man, but sometimes I think life would be simpler if I weren’t quite so modern.”

“Evie probably wouldn’t be half so interesting to you if [_she _]weren’t so modern!”

“Ouch!” Steve chuckled ruefully. “I’m afraid you’re right.”

It wasn’t until the music drew to a close that Honor saw Judd.

For an instant, as she came off the floor on Steve’s arm, Honor was transported back to that night in the smoky cantina when she’d first seen her hunter. Everything stood still as she absorbed the impact and the implications of his presence.

He was sitting in a darkened booth at the back of the room. Dressed in black he seemed a part of the shadows around him. But the glittering dark eyes burned with a cold, intense fire that seemed to reach out to trap her. He didn’t move as she stumbled slightly at Steve’s side, simply sat quietly watching her as if she were prey that he could take his time collecting. There was no place she could run.

“Honor? Are you all right?” Steve’s concerned tones brought her head around a little too sharply.

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I just need to sit down for a while. Too many drinks on an empty stomach, I suppose.” What was Judd going to do? Would he cause a scene there in the lounge? Would he bide his time and follow her home? Would he wait for her in the parking lot? Intense panic gripped her.

Because there could be no doubt about why he was there. No amount of rationalization would explain his presence. Judd had followed her to Phoenix and she knew from the quiet, intent way he watched her that he was on the hunt once again. And once again she was to be the prey.

Belatedly her survival instincts began to assert themselves. Damn him to hell! She was not a silly, panicked little creature to be stricken helpless by the mere approach of the hunter. She could run, she could fight back, she could summon help. This wasn’t Mexico and she wasn’t alone and friendless. Judd Raven would not find her such an easy victim this time!

“Honor! Are you sure you’re all right? Why don’t I order us some appetizers?” Steve’s voice grew more concerned as he carefully seated her.

She looked at him rather blankly, unable to focus on him because every fiber of her being was too vividly aware of Judd on the other side of the lounge. “That… that would be great, Steve.”

“You stay here and I’ll go find the hostess. If we wait for her to come around to us in this crowd we’ll starve to death!”

“Oh, no, please! You don’t have to go find her…” But he was already on his way, weaving through the crowded lounge in search of the cocktail waitress.