Justin's Bride

“What are you afraid of?” he asked softly.

“Your return.”

She turned away and walked over to the fireplace. Logs and kindling were kept stacked in readiness for guests. She crouched down and lit the fire. When the smaller pieces had caught, she rose to her feet and motioned to one of the settees. “Please, have a seat.”

He shook his head. “I’m not going to be here that long. Why are you afraid of me?”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, then smiled. He was the least of it, really. She was the problem. Being around him, thinking of him, made her act differently, as if the respectable woman she worked hard to be was just a false covering, like a storefront. As if the world saw her as a gracious two-story mercantile, but inside she was just a squat saloon.

She smiled at the analogy. He seemed to addle her brain as well as her senses.

“So, you’re going to be here for a year,” she said.

His gaze moved over her face, then dipped lower. She told herself to be insulted, but the frank appraisal left her feeling warm and tingling. Justin had often looked at her like that in the past. The appreciation in his eyes had made her proud to be female and that which he desired. It had frightened her a little, for her inexperience had left her with more questions than explanations. But in his arms that hadn’t mattered.

He’d tempted her with his soft kisses. Despite his time away and the changes in both their lives, he still tempted her. Pray God he chose to ignore her.

“Yes. As I told you earlier this afternoon, I have a one-year contract with the good citizens of this town.” The mocking tone had returned.

“Why did you come back? To punish them?”

He shook his head. “To make peace with the past, although that doesn’t seem to be working.”

“What are your plans while you’re here?”

He raised his eyebrows again. “I’m the sheriff. I’ll enforce the laws, try to keep people out of trouble and generally make my presence known.”

She bent down and picked up a lacquered box from the table. The smooth surface felt cool against her heated fingers. “There are those who will oppose you.”

“Your sister, you mean?”

“Not just her. I know Colleen has become a—”

“Prig?”

Megan smiled. “That’s quite unkind of you.” She set the box back on the table, then straightened. Her smile broadened. “But yes, she has. And her husband is worse. I’ve heard the whispers, what people are saying about you. Eventually, everyone comes into the store. The new settlers don’t mind that you’re sheriff. As long as they are free to get on with their lives, they’ll have no complaints. But the old-timers, the ones who were here when...” Her hand fluttered toward him. She didn’t want to speak of that time, or that day. She didn’t want to recall the ugly words she’d spoken to him, or the pain in his eyes. She didn’t want to know how much she’d hurt him. And herself. In the deepest, darkest part of her heart, she knew she’d made the right decision. She couldn’t have gone with him. But she’d been wrong in the delivery of the message. She’d been so afraid he would convince her to come with him that she’d lashed out in fear, speaking harsh words that could never be recalled.

“They won’t forgive you,” she said.

“They don’t have to. I appreciate your concern, but it’s misplaced. The contract’s binding. Unless I commit a crime, they can’t get rid of me. For the next year, they’re going to have to get used to having me around.”

“When the year is up, what happens then?”

He looked past her toward the fire. “Then I leave this place behind and never come back.”

“So it’s just for a year?”

His eyes met hers. She saw the amusement. She was so grateful he would eventually be leaving, she didn’t care that it was at her expense.

“Yes, Megan. One year. Then you’ll be through with me for good.”

She could bear anything for a year, she told herself. “I think it best that we try to stay out of each other’s way during that time,” she said.

Instead of answering, he smiled. She knew that smile. It made her knees weak and her fingers tremble. It made her remember his kisses, and more. It made her wish Justin Kincaid had been respectable, the son of a farmer or a business owner. It made her wonder what would have happened if she’d gone with him.

“Why is it a problem if we see each other?” he asked, the glint in his eye reminding her he was dangerous.

She couldn’t answer that question. He might suspect the truth, but he wouldn’t know for sure. “Why are you here?”

“I told you, I’m the sheriff.”

“No, why are you in my house? Why did you come to see me tonight?”

“I want my question answered first. Why is it a problem if we see each other?”

She didn’t think he’d moved, but somehow they were standing closer together. The snapping of the burning wood in the fireplace filled the silence. The scent of the smoke mingled with the fragrance of the night and the man. She could feel his heat. She had to tilt her head back to look at his face. Her hands clasped and unclasped.

He reached out toward her. She thought about stepping back, but she couldn’t seem to get her feet to move. He was going to touch her, and she was going to let him. She needed to know if he could still affect her, she told herself firmly. It was a scientific experiment.

His thumb whispered against her jaw, then swept across her chin. Sensation shot through her like the unexpected warmth of sunlight after a storm. The room grew hot, her muscles clenched tight.

“Why aren’t you married?” he asked.

“No one ever asked.”

The lie was so automatic, she shocked herself. Why had she said that? She’d been engaged for months. It would be better for Justin to know the truth, but she couldn’t say anything now. She was confused. Nothing made sense, and Justin was moving closer.

“I find it hard to believe you never tempted a man,” he said. “Are they all blind?”

She should have been pleased at the implied compliment, but she was too caught up in that single word. Tempted. Had he known that was what she was thinking? Did he know he tempted her?

“I’m not interested in temptation,” she murmured, wondering why her voice was so soft. She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. Against her will, she found herself staring into his eyes, watching the fire reflected there. The light seemed to dance about, then darken. The night closed in around them. She could feel the heat from the fireplace behind her and the heat of the man. It was like a dream where she couldn’t move, couldn’t call out. Could only bravely accept her fate.

But instead of the frightening demons of her dreams, she only had to face Justin. Not so difficult a task.

“I’m interested,” he said, reaching his hand up to cup her face. His lean fingers held her gently. She felt the rough calluses against her skin.

“In what?” she asked.

“Temptation.”

His face drew closer. The flames in his eyes grew brighter. She vaguely thought it couldn’t just be the reflection of the fire behind her, it had to be something else, something...

When his lips touched hers, all conscious thought fled. Her eyelids must have closed for she could see nothing, hear nothing. There was only the moment and the flood of memories filling her with the bittersweet taste of the past.

His mouth was firm, yet yielding. The powerful passion she recalled was now carefully controlled. He brushed across her mouth, back and forth as if familiarizing himself with her. She raised herself on tiptoe to mold her shape to his. The correct and proper side of herself screamed it was foolish and wrong to be doing this. She didn’t care.

Justin wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her closer. From chest to knees they touched. Through the layers of her skirt and petticoats, she couldn’t feel much but the general shape of him, but he was all she remembered him to be. The rightness of it brought a burning to her eyes.