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beeves. But money, as big a problem as it was, wasn’t his prime worry regarding Heather Ashford. The chief problem was …
her.
    He felt unaccountably vulnerable with her. He didn’t like the feelings she shook loose inside him, with her grace and beauty and touch-me-not air. He felt like the rawest cowhand around her. He had no right to be lusting after this satin-skinned duchess. He owed more to the memory of his late wife.
    His guard stayed up as he studied Miss Ashford closely. “You do realize that my daughter is half Cheyenne Indian?”
    “Yes. You made that clear in your letters.”
    “Her half-breed blood wouldn’t sit too well with most ladies.”
    “I assure you, it will hold no weight with me.”
    He made no reply, but one heavy, dark-gold eyebrow rose skeptically.
    “You don’t wish to marry me after all, is that what you are trying to tell me?”
    Sloan hesitated. As a gentleman, he couldn’t say such a thing. As a gentleman he wanted to take her in his arms and erase that wounded look in her eyes. As a
man,
he wanted to loosen that sleek knot and let her hair stream down all pale and silken, like it had in his dream. He wondered if she would clench and shiver around him in climax as she’d done in his dream… Sloan drew a sharp breath as fresh desire knifed through him.
    He cursed again, telling himself the ache in his groin would pass. What he felt for Miss Ashford was simply healthy lust, nothing more complex.She had a cool, untapped sensuality any man would find challenging. He just didn’t want the challenge.
    Hell, his mind was only playing tricks on him. Along with his body. The duchess was doubtless a missish prude, nothing like his dream. She wouldn’t possess the uninhibited passion of his late wife, either. Doe’s favorite place to make love was a grassy meadow under the hot sun. This crystal-and-lace figurine would probably cower under the covers.
    Yet he couldn’t honorably back out of the marriage now. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to convince Miss Ashford to turn him down.
    He took a deep breath. “What I’m saying is that maybe you should reconsider. A soft woman like you isn’t cut out for the kind of life I live. Working a ranch is tough on the hardest folks.”
    “I am stronger than I look,” Heather argued stubbornly. “And I am in excellent health.”
    His mouth twisted cynically. “Are you now?”
    “Would you care to inspect my teeth, sir?”
    He grinned unwillingly at the way she lifted her chin with evident pride. The impression he’d had of inner fragility was evidently misleading. The duchess had steel in her backbone. She was no shrinking violet. But that didn’t mean she was cut out to be a rancher’s wife, or the mother of his daughter. He felt a fierce, protective love for his child. He couldn’t entrust Janna to a woman who couldn’t even take of herself.
    Sloan shook his head. “Good health or not, in one day I’ve had to save you twice. What makes you think you can survive out West if you have trouble managing here in civilization? What makes you think you can look after my daughter? I won’t have time to devote to pulling you out of scrapes.I sure won’t be able to protect you every minute of the day.”
    “You won’t be required to.”
    “Look … Miss Ashford.” He took another tack. “I don’t believe you know the whole truth about me. Caitlin wasn’t completely forthright about my situation. I’m not wealthy like Randolf. I’m holding on to my ranch by my fingernails. I can’t afford to support a wife with fancy tastes.”
    Heather felt anger lap at her, driving away her nervousness. “I am not looking for wealth in marriage, Mr. McCord. If I were, I would have accepted Evan Randolf’s proposal long ago. Indeed, I fully intend to carry my own weight. I won’t be a burden to you.”
    “Just having to keep you decked out in silk gowns will be a burden.”
    His words slashed at her pride. “I assure you, I