Desert Dreams Read Online Free Page A

Demas out of this?
    These men were teamsters and drifters, probably deserters
from one army or the other. The streets belonged to them at night, the streets
and anyone unlucky enough or foolish enough to stumble across them. They
recognized no law, and nothing in San Antonio would stop them from doing
whatever they wanted to do under cover of darkness, least of all a skinny half-naked
woman with a gun in her hand.
    "You can't shoot us all," one of them said.
    She pointed the gun straight at the speaker. "Maybe not,
but I'll make sure you're first."
    "Hell, she prob'ly can't even fire a gun."
    In answer, she pulled the hammer back and cocked the pistol.
"I can shoot the head off a one-eyed jack at twenty paces, so I can sure
as hell put a bullet in one of you."
    Rafe stifled a laugh at her audacity. He didn't know if she
was bluffing or not, and he didn't want to find out. Acting quickly, he said
the first thing that came to mind.
    " Darlin ', I've been lookin ' all over for you! What the hell are you doin ' out here in the middle of the street this time of
night?"
    "Well—" She turned to look at him. Her eyes
widened, and confusion became fear.
    Fear was an important weapon, one he'd used countless times.
But seeing it in this woman's eyes caused a sick pain in the pit of his
stomach. He wanted to walk away, to turn his back so he wouldn't have to see
the expression on her face.
    Instead, he continued with the ruse he hoped would get them
both out of this situation.
    "Were you sleepwalkin '
again?" He turned to the men who were gaping at him. "She walks in
her sleep. The doctors can't do a thing about it."
    Sensing movement to his left, Rafe gripped the hilt of his
gun, gazing around the circle from man to man.
    "This ain't none of your
business." A man with yellow teeth and foul breath, the one who had been
threatened with the gun, stepped forward.
    He was big and burly, probably a teamster. He'd be hell in a
brawl, but he probably couldn't handle a gun worth a damn.
    "The hell it ain't ," Rafe
replied, his voice nonchalant. "She's my wife."
    He moved closer to the young woman. She didn't seem to notice
him until his hand closed over hers and the gun and she tried to pull away.
    "Give me the gun," he urged softly.
    Her hands trembled beneath his. Her wide, frightened eyes
darted from him to the men who watched her with a predatory zeal. She was
weighing her options, trying to decide whether to take her chances with them or
trust him. He didn't envy her position, but he hoped for both their sakes she
made the right choice.
    She looked at him again, and he softened his expression with an
effort, hoping to reassure her with a look. Finally she relinquished the
weapon. Her eyes met his, violet eyes. How a woman with such fair hair could
have such dark eyes. He recognized the fear in their depths, fear and a silent
plea that wrapped around his heart and shook him to his core. She was asking
him not to betray her trust.
    Rafe stuffed the pistol in his belt while his gaze moved
inexorably over her thinly veiled body. The outline of her firm, round breasts
and long legs sent the blood pounding through his body. A fierce arousal
gripped him before he managed to tear his eyes away from her. The scent of
lilac soap wafted to him as he turned to face the crowd. It was a moment before
he could speak.
    "I'm takin ' my wife and her
friend to the hotel. Anybody got any objections?"
    " Senorita ," the wounded man murmured, just
loud enough for Anne to hear.
    She'd almost forgotten him. She tried to listen to the
conversation around her, tried to understand why she had relinquished her only
means of defense to a man she knew to be a killer.
    She'd lost control of the situation, if she'd ever had
control of it. This stranger, this bounty hunter, had both of their lives in
his hands now. She trembled, shivering despite the heat at the memory of his
gaze stripping the clothes from her body and the cold, hard glint she'd seen in
his eyes when