Raven’s Prey(46)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“No. I was thinking of something else,” she responded evenly. “I was thinking about how long I’ll be staying here with you in Albuquerque.”

There was silence from the driver’s seat for a critical minute and then Judd asked with surprising calm, “And how long is that?”

“Four days.” She turned her head to look at him. “That’s how long you gave me down in Mexico, Judd. Four days. I owe you my life. If you hadn’t gotten me out of Mexico, sooner or later Garrison and Prager would have sent someone who might have had fewer scruples than you did. I can’t repay you for my life so I’ll give you the four days you originally granted me. Fair enough?” It was an ultimatum of sorts and they both knew it. Honor waited uneasily for his reaction.

Judd slid her a cool, unreadable glance. “We’ll talk about it at the end of the four days.”

As a response it was a little unsatisfactory, but Honor told herself she was dealing with a complicated situation and a complex man. She mustn’t expect Judd to react in predictable, conventional ways. He lived by his own rules. “Where are we going now?” she asked as coolly as possible.

“To the store. The bacon and toast was the last edible stuff I had in the house.”

Four days, he thought, aware of a sudden sensation of being trapped; of time running out. Four days. She was right. It was what he had given her down in Mexico. There was a certain justice to the ultimatum but he refused to tell himself he would abide by it. Four days was so little time!

He had known from the beginning that he couldn’t really keep her long against her will. They both knew it. But he needed time. Was this how she had felt down in Mexico when she had been frantically trying to convince him that she was in real danger? Judd realized abruptly that he was gritting his teeth and forced himself to relax. He’d taken it one day at a time and at the end of the four days he’d see where matters stood. It shouldn’t be so hard. He was accustomed to taking things as they came, wasn’t he?

The hard part was going to be leaving her alone at night. How the hell was he going to be able to keep his hands off her for the next three nights? The brandy bottle hadn’t done him much good last night.

It was finally old-fashioned willpower that he used that evening. It took more self-control than Judd had been forced to exercise for a long time but he managed. to let Honor go off to bed alone after a quiet dinner and an even quieter evening sitting in front of the fireplace.

Then he sat by himself, gazing into the flames, and wondered why he had bothered to build the fire. It was really too warm for one. Somehow he’d thought it might seem romantic to Honor, though.

She’d seemed content to just sit curled like a cat in front of it, however, hardly saying a word the whole evening. Maybe fires weren’t conducive to conversation. She’d talked plenty down in Mexico without the aid of a fire, he reminded himself. Maybe fires made her pensive and untalkative. Tomorrow night he’d have to try something else. He’d rather have her yelling at him than quiet and withdrawn as she had been tonight.

Why wasn’t she asking him questions the way she had during the evenings in Mexico? Why didn’t she tell him about herself? How did you get a woman to talk to you? He’d never actually worried about the problem before, Judd knew. Women just sort of came and went in his life. He’d never thought much about trying to make one stay. In his mind he conjured up an image of the cozy conversation Honor had appeared to be having with her “friend” in Phoenix the previous evening. The guy in the three-piece suit hadn’t seemed to have much trouble talking to Honor or getting her to talk to him.

Judd tried to remember if he had ever even owned a three-piece suit. If he had he couldn’t recall it. His hand tightened around the brandy snifter. He wasn’t going to rely on the brandy tonight, he told himself. He was simply having a nightcap. That was all.

The flames flickered and began to die on the hearth as he watched broodingly. What else had the guy in the three-piece suit done to get Honor to talk so readily? Inspiration dawned so suddenly, Judd blinked. Honor’s “friend” had taken her out on a real date. He’d taken her to a cocktail lounge, danced with her and was probably planning to have dinner with her later. Then the “friend” undoubtedly had planned to take her home and make one hell of a heavy pass. Judd’s eyes narrowed coldly as he followed the logic of the situation to its most likely conclusion. For a moment he felt like strangling the handsome “friend” in the three-piece suit.

There was no point torturing himself with thoughts of another man kissing Honor. Judd reminded himself that he had taken her away before anything like that could happen. Slowly he relaxed his fingers around the brandy snifter. He had to think about tomorrow, especially tomorrow evening. When it came to something as crucial as this he was not above taking lessons from a pro. If inviting Honor out on a real date was what worked for the guy in the three-piece suit, then Judd was willing to try it, too.

He broached the subject the next morning over breakfast, trying to keep it casual. He didn’t dare let her know how desperate he was feeling. “I thought we could spend the day taking in some of Albuquerque. Maybe go to Old Town and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Then, this evening there’s a restaurant I know that has great steaks. Would you like that? It has a lounge and[_ _]we can dance.”

Honor looked up from her grapefruit. “Can you dance?”

Judd wondered if she was teasing him. Was that deliberate mischief in her eyes? He was not always able to tell. “I’m a little out of practice but I think I can get by,” he told her roughly. He hoped. Out of practice was putting it mildly. He hadn’t taken a woman out dancing in years. Judd looked down at his grapefruit and decided he really must be considered something of an outright bore by the female of the species.

“I think,” Honor said from the other side of the table, “that sounds like a very nice idea. I’d like to go out for dinner and dancing this evening.”

An incredible sensation of relief was Judd’s first reaction. She was going to give him a chance after all. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get her back into her conversational mood, the one where she asked him questions and seemed genuinely interested in his life.

Fortunately the sightseeing in the restored Old Town section of Albuquerque provided some stimulus for discussion, as did the Pueblo Cultural Center. Judd was exceedingly grateful for it.