One Touch of Topaz Read Online Free Page A

the most enduring flames of all. Ricardo and Paco had shared their laughter and their meager rations, as well as the danger, since they had taken her from the Abbey six years ago. Even while fear and wild rebellion were clawing at her, she knew she couldn’t change her decision. She had to stay on St. Pierre.
    It was no good standing here daydreaming, she thought, suddenly impatient with herself. There were some roads a person was forced to travel, and this was one of them. She would just have to find a way to crush the cowardice that held her in its thrall. She checked her wristwatch. She had given Fletcher Bronson over an hour, and that should be enough time.
    She picked up the lantern she had set on the ground beside the entrance of the caveand began to wend her way quickly toward the room where she had left him. Relief surged through her as she realized she wasn’t yet alone. Tonight, at least, she would have this man, stranger though he was, for company. She would get him to talk to her, and that should help stave off her fear.
    A tiny smile curved her lips as she thought how annoyed Fletcher Bronson would be to know she intended to use him as a distraction. She had the impression that he allowed no one to use him in any fashion whatever.
    What an unusual man he had turned out to be. She was accustomed to tough men, but he was more than tough. His physical prowess was matched by a depth of inner strength she could only sense, and he protected himself with a wall of barbed sharpness that allowed no one near. He was blunt to the point of rudeness and evidently said exactly what he thought and no more. His bluntness had amused and intrigued rather than offended her, and for a moment shewondered why, before dismissing it as unimportant. No matter how difficult the man might be personally, he had come when they needed him, and for that reason alone she was desperately grateful.
    She turned the corner and saw him sitting on the blankets, his arms looped around his knees. Every muscle of his big frame breathed impatience and pent-up tension, and she was suddenly aware of the power of his large body. The massive muscles of his thighs were outlined, rather than concealed, by the fabric of his jeans, and his brawny shoulders strained against the cream-colored shirt as if fighting to get free. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to the elbow revealing the strength of his forearms. Looking at him, she felt a strange tingling in her palms and the arches of her feet.
    She tried to smile and found herself breathless. Stranger still. “I’m sorry I was so long. I was searching for the rations, but I’m afraid they weren’t any good any longer, so I had to toss them out. Did you have enough?Perhaps if there aren’t any patrols around, we can find some fruit in the jungle tomorrow morning. Sometimes we can—”
    “There’s no more food?” Fletch’s question cut through her words like a machete.
    “None?”
    She shook her head, avoiding his gaze as she moved across the room to set the lantern on the ground beside the blankets. “But I can build a fire now and make coffee. Perhaps that will satisfy you. I’m really very sorry.”
    “Will you stop apologizing?” His voice was so harsh, her gaze snapped back to him. She inhaled sharply as she saw his face. A flush was mantling the broad line of his cheeks, and his eyes were blazing pale fire at her. “Dammit, you
lied
to me. Do you think I’m some kind of idiot that I can’t read you? There was never any more food, was there?”
    “There’s no need to be angry,” she said soothingly, taking an involuntary step back. She could feel the waves of power radiatefrom him, power that was now charged with rage. “It’s not important. Tomorrow—”
    “To hell with tomorrow.” He was on his feet and moving toward her. “And I’ve every reason to be angry.” He grasped her shoulders and shook her. “That was the last of your rations, wasn’t it? You lied to me. You