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.Tomorrow when she'd be on her way back to wherever she came from.Instead of staying in a hotel in a room adjoining Parker's, anticipating an evening in his company, she'd be somewhere else, someone else.Just one more evening, she promised herself.Tomorrow she'd say goodbye to him and go back to her old life.Whatever it was.But when Parker knocked on her door that evening, she suddenly knew it would be more of a problem than she'd thought.He was wearing a dark suit that fit as if it were made for him.His crisp white shirt contrasted with his dark hair.If she didn't know he was a sheep rancher she might have taken him for a stockbroker.She didn't know how long she'd been standing in the doorway staring at him, she only knew he was staring back, his gaze traveling up and down her little black dress appreciatively.Finally she turned to close the drapes and he gasped."Wait a minute," he said, alarmed."There's no back on that dress.""I know," she said, returning to the door.She kept her voice matter-of-fact, but inside she was trembling.The last night, she thought.This is the last night to be a part of his life.Not a big part, but better than nothing.And tomorrow she would be nothing.Not to him anyway.He reached around her to run his calloused palm along her back."Won't you be cold?"Cold? She'd never been warmer.That was a shiver of pleasure she felt.The heat from his hand blazed a trail up and down her spine."I'm fine," she said breathlessly."You look fine," he said, his voice low and even.Fine, he thought.Was that all he could say? He had no words for how she looked.He was stunned into speechlessness.The dressed hugged her body, molded to the shape of her breasts, accentuated her waist and the curve of her hips.The sight of her bare back had startled him.Seduced him.Her skin was the color of cream and felt like satin to his touch.He didn't want to let go.He realized she wasn't wearing a bra.She couldn't be.He inhaled the scent from her skin—lilacs or lilies of the valley.He didn't know which was which.He only knew he couldn't get enough of it, or of her.The sheepherders, his speech, heredity and environment were all forgotten.All he wanted to do was put both hands on her hips and ease her back into her room.Peel that dress off her and take her to bed.He wanted her with a fierce longing that scared the hell out of him.He had no idea what she wanted.No idea why she was coming to this dinner at all, let alone in a dress that would make him forget the words to his speech.He hadn't wanted her to come tonight.He was afraid she'd be out of place at the dinner.He was afraid she'd get in the way of what he'd come to do.She made him forget what that was.He thought she liked him.Thought she found him attractive in some way.But he'd been wrong before.And he didn't want to be wrong again.It hurt too much.He dropped his hands to his sides."Ready?" he asked, his voice back to normal, almost.She gave him a funny little half smile he took to mean yes and they took the elevator to the top floor of the hotel with the view of the city below and the sun setting behind the mountains in the distance.The room was full of old friends, strangers, wives and assorted sheep traders from out of state.Loud voices rose and filled the air.Laughter boomed and echoed off the walls.He was quickly surrounded by men he hadn't seen in a long time.Some he'd forgotten, some he remembered.All of them were potential customers for his rams.They were pumping his hand, pounding his back and separating him from Christine.Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Ted Lemke from Evergreen, his Stetson hat tilted to one side, offer to get Christine something to drink.He strained to hear what she said but couldn't.Ted left for the bar.Two men he didn't know approached her, engaged her in conversation.She was taken care of.Now it was his chance to do what he'd come to do.Wheel and deal sheep.He didn't have to worry about her.Didn't have to watch her from across the room.But he did.He managed to buy a breeding ram and sell two ewes and still keep her in view.Somebody tapped a spoon against a drinking glass and the men and women in the room drifted toward the round tables.Parker dove through the crowd, took Christine firmly by the elbow and herded her like a stray lamb to the head table, aware that he'd interrupted a conversation between her and four ranchers he'd never seen before who were eyeing her as if she were up for sale herself."Everyone's so nice," she said, slanting a glance at him."Yeah.Real nice." He gripped her elbow a little tighter.They sat down.They ate shrimp cocktail, they ate chicken in some kind of sauce and wild rice.He didn't taste any of it.He was aware that her arm brushed his, that her back was bare, that her hair curled enticingly around her face.While he talked projected gains with the man on his right, he listened to her talk to the man on her left.He couldn't concentrate on the efficiency of rambouillets versus merinos with her there.He couldn't think of anything but her.He should never have brought her along.He should have left her at the bus station in Clear Creek like the last time.He felt like a fool for worrying about her when it was obvious she could take care of herself now.When the dinner was finally over, the dishes had been cleared and the coffee cups refilled, he was introduced, and stood to give his speech.He pulled some notes from his pocket and proceeded to talk.All the while he felt her eyes on him, knew she was watching him with those wide gray eyes, lips parted slightly as if everything he said was fascinating and enthralling.Maybe it was.Maybe he was better than he thought he was
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