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worth. She stared at it for a long minute, until her face went purple.
    Without a single regard for good sense, she whirled, opened the door to Thorn's office and stormed back in. She slammed the door behind her, watching his pale blue eyes widen with shock as his head jerked up.
    She had a feeling that no one had ever dared cross him before. If she hadn't been so furious, she might have backed down, but it was too late for that now. Crossing the room with exquisite poise, she crumpled the check without looking at it, and threw it at him.
    "You listen to me, you blue-eyed barracuda," she said, her eyes flashing venomously over the desk at him. "Al's invited me to the ranch, and I'm coming. You can take your bribe and stuff it up your arrogant nose!"
    With a fierce look, he stood up and moved around the desk like a freight train barreling down a mountain.
    She actually backed away, positioning herself behind the big leather sofa, her eyes widening with mingled fury and fear as he kept coming.
    "Don't you do it, Hamilton Regan Thorndon the Third," she challenged, glaring at him. "You lay one hand on me, and I'll have you in court so fast your head will swim!"
    "It will be worth it," he said, walking up onto the sofa, boots and all.
    "You take your hands...!" she cried as he bounded over the leather back and jerked her into his arms. She never finished the sentence. He had her mouth under his, and he was hurting her.
    She fought him, twisting, hitting him with her clenched hands. He backed her into the wall and held her there with the controlled weight of his body. After a moment or two, the bruising mouth relented a little and stopped demanding. It grew unexpectedly gentle, and as his hips pressed deeply against hers, she felt the sudden impact of his masculinity and caught her breath. He lifted his devouring mouth a breath away, and his hands slid down her waist to her hips, holding her as his eyes met hers. His chest rose and fell roughly, brushing her sensitive breasts.
    "You're hurting me," she said unsteadily.
    "And frightening you?" he asked quietly as he saw the apprehension in her eyes.
    "Yes," she confessed.
    He let her move away a little, so that the shocking evidence of his arousal was less noticeable. Her heart stopped pounding so feverishly. "Do you make...a habit of chasing women...over sofas in your office?" she asked breathlessly, trying to keep her sense of humor.
    He didn't smile, but the corner of his mouth twitched. "No. Most of them have the good sense not to challenge me." He let her go with a rueful laugh. "On the other hand, I've never had a woman arouse me the way you do."
    She averted her face to the window, trying to fight down the blush that was forming there.
    "So I can't buy you off, is that what you're telling me?" he asked, moving away to his desk to light a cigarette.
    "Chapter and verse," she proclaimed.
    "There are other ways," he said, smoking quietly as he watched her smooth the hair his hands had angrily disheveled.
    "Like seducing me?" she challenged, facing him. "No way. I'll never let you that close a second time."
    "A third time," he corrected, and a faint gleam touched his eyes. "If you come out to the ranch, you could find yourself in a difficult position. Ask Al how I react to a challenge."
    She didn't need to. She already knew. "You just want to choose Al's wife, is that it? You want him to marry a woman who would work to your advantage, of course, not his."
    That eye narrowed again. "Think what you like about my motives. But you'll have to go through me to get to Al. Give it up before anyone gets hurt."
    "Threats?" she chided.
    "Promises." He took a draw from the cigarette and something alien flared in his blue eyes. "I'm a reasonable man. You can still have the check if you want it. No strings. How's that for generosity?"
    She stared at him, calculating. "Suppose I show up at the ranch for Easter?"'
    He took another draw from the cigarette. "Try it."
    She pursed her lips. That