Mercenary's Woman by Diana Palmer Read Free Book Online

as possible if there's any chance of
escape, and
pride be damned."
    "I'll
remember," she said, all her confidence vanishing. She could see in Eb's eyes that he'd watched
that recruit die, and had to live with the
memory forever in his mind. Probably
it was one of many nightmarish episodes he'd like to forget.
    "Sometimes
retreat really is the better part of valor," he said, smiling.
    "You're educational."
    He smiled slowly.
"Am I, now?" he asked, and the way he looked at her didn't have much to
do with teaching her self-defense. "I can think of a few areas where you need...improvement."
    She glanced at
Stevie, who was still falling on the mat. "You shouldn't try to shoot ducks in a
barrel," she told him. "It's unsporting."
    "Shooting is not what I have in mind."
    She cleared her
throat. "I suppose I should try falling some more." She brightened.
"Say, if I learn to do this well, I could try falling on an
adversary!"
    "Ineffective
unless you want to gain three hundred pounds," he returned. He grinned.
"Although, you could certainly experiment on me, if you want to. It might im mobilize me. We
won't know until we try it. Want me to lie down and let you practice?" he added
with twinkling eyes.
    She laughed, but
nervously. "I don't think I'm ready to try that right away."
    "Suit yourself. No hurry. We've got plenty of time."
    She remembered Jess
and the drug lord and her eyes grew worried. "Is it really dangerous for us at
home...?"
    He held up a
cautioning hand. "Stevie, how about a soft drink?"
    "That would be
great!"
    "There are some
cans of soda in the fridge in the kitchen. How about bringing one for me and
your aunt as well?"
    "Sure
thing!"
    Stevie took off like a bullet.
    "Yes, it's
dangerous," Eb said quietly. "You aren't to go alone, anywhere, at
night. I'll always have a man watching the house, but if you have to go to a meeting
or some
such thing, let me know and I'll go with you."
    "Won't that
cramp your social life?" she asked without quite meeting his eyes.
    "I don't have a social life," he
said with a faint smile. "Not of the
sort you're talking about."
    "Oh."
    His face tautened.
"Neither do you, if I can believe Jess."
    She shifted on the
mat. "I haven't really had much time for men."
    "You don't have
to spare my feelings," he told her quietly. "I know I've caused you some
sleepless nights. But you've waited too long to deal with it. The longer you wait, the harder it's
going to be to form a relationship with a man."
    "I have Jess and Stevie to think about."
    "That's an excuse. And not a very good one."
    She felt uncomfortable with her memories. She wrapped
    her arms around her chest and looked at him with shattered
    dreams in her eyes. He took a sharp
breath. "It will never be like that
    again," he said curtly. "I
promise you it won't." She averted her eyes to the mat "Do you think Jess

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    MERCENARY'S WOMAN
    DIANA PALMER
    51

and Dallas have done each other in by
now?" she asked, trying
to change the subject.
    He moved closer, watching her stiffen,
watching her draw away from him mentally.
His big, lean hands caught her
shoulders and he made her look at him.
    "You're older now," he said, his
voice steady and low.      " You should know more about men than you did, even
if you've had to learn it through
books and television. I was fiercely
aroused that day, it had been a long, dry spell, and you were seventeen years old. Get the picture?''
    For the first time,
she did. Her eyes searched his, warily, and nodded.
    His hands contracted on her soft arms.
"You might try it again," he said
softly.
    "Try what?"
    "What you did
that afternoon," he murmured, smiling tenderly. "Wearing sexy clothes and
perfume and making a beeline for me. Anything could happen."
    Her eyes were sadder
than she realized as she met his even gaze. "I'm not the same person I
was then," she told him. "But you still are."
    The light seemed to
go out of him. His pale eyes nar rowed, fastened to hers. "No," he
said after a minute. "I've changed,