Sweetwater Seduction by Joan Johnston Page A

opened her eyes to find the gunslinger shaking his head, his eyes alight with humor, his mouth an insolent grin spilling chuckles of sound.
    Her face burned with humiliation. “If you're finished amusing yourself, I have work to do.” She turned to scoop up a stack of papers off her desk.
    “Wait!” The Texan's hand on her shoulder spun her back around, sending papers scattering across the floor. At the same time he captured her in the warm circle of his embrace. His voice was tender and soothing, his arms strong and comforting.
    When Miss Devlin was tempted to accept the comfort he offered, she forcefully reminded herself he was a gunfighter, a man of violence—like her father. Eden knew his kind from bitter experience.
    Kerrigan's hands continued roaming up and down her back, soothing her as he would a nervous filly. She refused to feel pleasure, but neither was she able to withdraw.
    “Relax,” he coaxed.
    She wanted to, but she couldn't. This moment in time wouldn't last. She was already seeing him dead, gunned down by some kid trying to prove he was faster, or shot in the back by someone afraid to face him on the street. She wasn't going to be fooled into thinking there was anything wonderful about being held in a gunfighter's embrace.
    “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings,” he said. “I knew you were innocent, but I had no idea—”
    Miss Devlin glared at him, her gray eyes darting angry sparks. “Since when is innocence a crime, Mr. Kerrigan?”
    “It isn't,” he soothed. “But ignorance can cause you to make costly mistakes.”
    She was a big woman, but he held her as though she were not. Resisting his strength only reminded her of her helplessness, so she stood quiet and stolid as a stone in his embrace.
    “I'm going to kiss you now,” he said.
    She stared at him, unmoving, until his mouth was so close she could feel his moist breath on her face. At last she had to close her eyes to keep them from crossing. But she did not lift her face, or move her mouth in any way, afraid of making a fool of herself again.
    He angled his head so his lips feathered over hers. That brief touch was replaced by his entire mouth, covering hers. His lips were surprisingly soft as they brushed hers once, twice. When he lifted his head, she opened her eyes and stared at him—stunned.
    Kerrigan had been surprised at the jolt of desire he felt the instant his mouth touched hers. There was something infinitely dangerous about her innocence. The soft, whimpering sound she had made as his mouth covered hers had caught him somewhere in the gut. He lowered his mouth to hers again searching for . . . something.
    Miss Devlin was ready this time for the firm lips that softened as they tasted her, but that didn't mean she was any less devastated. His teeth nibbled at her lower lip and she quivered in response to the stab of desire she felt. She fought the urge to arch her body toward him, forcing herself to go rigid againhe opened her mouth to tell him the lesson was over and his tongue came seeking the sweetness within.
    Eden had never tasted another human being this way. The warmth, the wetness, the closeness, was overwhelming. Telling herself it was only curiosity that kept her in his thrall, she remained perfectly still as Kerrigan's tongue gently ravished her mouth, touching the underside of her lip and her teeth and the roof of her mouth. When he withdrew she felt more frightened than she had ever been in her life.
    Because she wanted him to kiss her again.
    Eden couldn't have moved to save her life. When Kerrigan's tongue came seeking honey again, she felt as though a drawstring had pulled her insides up tight. A spiral of need began below her waist and worked its way up inside her, until her nipples peaked in an embarrassing way. She clenched her hands at her sides to keep from reaching for him and shuddered with the unbelievably strong feelings that