Beverly Barton - The Outcast

Turning her nose up, Luanne smiled, then shook her head just enough to toss about her thick, teased hair.

Elizabeth slapped away Reece's hand. "I'm not leaving." She glanced over at a smug Luanne. "Besides, Luanne can't stay all night. When her boyfriend gets home from work around one in the morning, she'll have to be there or he'll come looking for her."

Luanne's mouth fell open. "How do you know when Joey gets home from work?"

"He's going to get home early tonight. From his job on the assembly line at Stanton Industries," Elizabeth said. "Around eleven-thirty. He's sick with a stomach virus."

"How do you know where Joey works and that he's going to get sick?" Luanne backed up against the wall, staring at Elizabeth with round, dark eyes. "What are you, some kind of fortune-teller?"

"I'm a witch. Honey." Rising up on her knees, Elizabeth sat in the middle of the bed and pointed her finger directly at Luanne. "And if you stick around here, trying to put the make on my man, I'll cast a spell on you."

Luanne picked up her coat off the floor and hurriedly slipped into it. "I'm outta here. Just forget you ever knew me. Okay?" Glancing at the whiskey bottle, Luanne hesitated, then opened the door. "The drinks are on me." She rushed outside, slamming the door behind her.

Reece leaned over, bracing his hands on each side of Elizabeth where she sat on the bed. "You think you're cute, don't you?"

"I think I did what any sensible woman would have done under the circumstances." Tilting her head just a fraction, Elizabeth smiled at Reece. "I eliminated my competition."

"I had plans with Luanne. Plans that included getting rip-roaring drunk with her and-"

Elizabeth covered his lips with the tip of her index finger. "You didn't have any plans with that woman. You turned her down when she offered. She showed up here all on her own, just the way I did."

"How do you know?" Glaring at Elizabeth, Reece lowered his head until they were face-to-face, their breaths mingling. "You didn't read my mind!"

"No, I read hers. Minds like Luanne's are easy to read, but not very interesting."

"Damn you, Lizzie! I don't want you here with me. What do I have to do to make you understand?" He was too close to her. He needed to back off, to get away from her big blue eyes, her soft pink lips, her flowery scent, her womanly heat.

"Why are you so afraid of me?" Elizabeth slipped her arms up and around Reece’s neck. "I would never hurt you. All I want to do is help you.''

"I don't want your help." He prized her arms from around his neck and shoved her away from him.

Elizabeth fell back across the bed. She lay there staring up at Reece. "You don't want to need me, do you? You're afraid to want me, to need me, to care about me."

She wasn't reading his mind or picking up anything with her sixth sense, only with her feminine intuition. Reece was afraid of her, of the way she made him feel. And she had to admit the truth to herself-she was every bit as afraid of the way he made her feel. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she'd acted so irrationally, even when her actions were prompted by her psychic revelations. She had never felt so connected to another human being, never felt so essential to another's very existence. She had opened her home and her heart to a stranger, a man accused of murdering his own father, and she had followed that man halfway across the state of Georgia, determined to save him, not only from a wrongful conviction but from the pain and anger slowly destroying him.

"Don't send me away, Reece. Don't shut me out of your life."

Reece didn't want to think about what she'd said, about the truth of her words. Dammit, she was right. He was afraid of her, of the way she made him feel. That was the whole problem-Elizabeth Mallory made him feel more than anger and hatred, and Reece didn't want to feel anything else. He'd built his life on those two emotions. The thought of ever caring about another person scared the hell out of him.

For both their sakes, he had to get rid of Elizabeth. He had to make her see reason. Maybe the only way to do that was to show her what kind of man she was dealing with, what kind of man Reece Landry really was-a white trash bastard who didn't give a damn about anybody but himself.

"All right, honey, if you want to stay, stay." Grabbing her around the waist, Reece jerked her up off the bed, bringing her body tightly against his. "I had planned to enjoy Luanne's company all night, but you'll do just as well. After all, a woman's a woman."

Elizabeth stared at Reece, her blue eyes focused intently on his face as she tried to make sense of what he'd said. "Why would you say something so utterly ridiculous?"

Reece rubbed himself against her, his arousal hard against her softness. The feel of her, the scent of her, the warmth of her body created a heady seduction, prompting Reece's reaction to her nearness. He cupped her buttocks in his big hands, lifting her up and into the need pulsing between his legs.

Elizabeth squirmed, trying to free herself, but her movements ignited a strong reaction in Reece. Fondling her hip with one hand, he grasped the back of her neck, pulling her mouth to his, kissing her with bruising force. Moaning, Elizabeth opened her mouth for his invasion as she clung to his shoulders.

Reece devoured her lips. He pillaged her mouth with his tongue, all the while exploring her body with one hand as the other held her captive.

When he ended the kiss, Elizabeth laid her head on his chest, her arms draped around his neck. "Would... would it have felt like this with Luanne?"

Hell, no! Kissing had never made him feel the way he did right now. Women liked to be kissed, so Reece had learned the art of kissing quite young, but kissing had never meant more than part of the pleasant, necessary foreplay to entice a woman into bed. But after kissing Elizabeth, he was a minute away from exploding. If he hadn't ended the kiss, he would have taken her right where they stood. Hard and fast and hot.

"Like I said, a woman's a woman. Kissing is kissing." Reece grinned. "If you liked the feel of my tongue in your mouth, you'll love the way I'm going to feel inside you."

Elizabeth clutched Reece's shoulders. "I...I won't be used. If you think I'm willing to be just another woman in a long line of women, then you'd better think again."

"Nobody's forcing you to stay, Lizzie." Reece slid his hands into position under her breasts, lifting them. "All I'm saying is that I'm horny as hell. I need a woman, and if you stay, you're going to be that woman."

Elizabeth swallowed hard, wondering if Reece could possibly mean what he was saying. Swaying slightly, she closed her eyes, trying to focus, to concentrate on Reece's thoughts. Her mind ran into a solid wall of resistance.

"What's it going to be, honey?" Reece asked. "Are you going or staying?"

What was he trying to do? Scare her off? Make her dislike him? Despite the fact that she couldn't read his thoughts, Elizabeth felt certain that Reece would never do anything to harm her, and most certainly would never force her to have sex with him.

Pulling away, she turned her back to him and clasped her hands together. She couldn't allow Reece to run her off. She had to find the courage within herself to overcome whatever obstacles he put in her way.

"Go on home, Lizzie." Reece wanted to take the few steps that separated them and pull her back into his arms. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and find comfort in her embrace. He wanted to lay her down on the bed and make slow, sweet love to her all night. He wanted to wake in the morning and see her smiling at him, hear her saying his name.

Elizabeth turned to face him. "I won't allow your fear to keep me from helping you."

"Dammit, woman!" Anger. He knew and understood that emotion only too well. If he allowed the anger to consume him, to control his actions, he could drive her away. He couldn't let any other feelings influence him. Not now. Not when Elizabeth's life could depend on what happened between them tonight.