Delilah's Flame by Andrea Parnell Page A

waiting, wanting to be unleashed into the heavens. She had completely lost her senses and she didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything but his touch and the consuming burn of desire.
    Tabor rolled away and started to unbuckle his belt. Hell! He’d wanted to go slowly, to savor. But it wasn’t going to happen this time. The flames leapt too high. He needed her now.
    With his weight gone, Delilah pushed up on her elbows and saw what he was doing. By all of heaven, what was she doing letting this man make love to her...wanting him to? She must be mad to have let herself go, to have let him...Paling as she suddenly realized how perilously close to disaster she was, Delilah edged away.
    Tabor had only a second to glance up and see the sherry bottle aimed at his head. He heard more than felt the blow as it impacted with his skull. The next second, he tumbled to the floor.

Chapter 4
    “Honestly, Walsh.” Delilah, wearing a deep wine velvet traveling costume and a matching bonnet, wrung the embroidered handkerchief in her hands. “You don’t mind if I call you Walsh?” Long tawny lashes rimming her eyes, she glanced up like a frightened child pleading with a trusted elder. “I feel we’ve become friends.”
    Walsh Peregrine’s heavy cheeks reddened. “Why, no, Miss Delilah. I’d be honored.”
    Delilah dabbed at an imaginary tear. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more frightened. It was an honest game—Seth and Todd were there.” Behind her chair Seth nodded. “I just don’t know what came over the man. I told him I thought we ought to stop. He’d lost all his money.” She sighed. “He insisted on one more hand and wanted to bet his horse.”
    “A man can get that way about gamblin’,” Peregrine said.
    “I never would have agreed to a game with Stanton except that he insisted, and we do have a mutual friend. I never thought...” Again she broke off and sobbed in her handkerchief. “When he lost his horse, he went absolutely wild, drew his gun, and threatened me in the most horrible ways. If it hadn’t been for Seth...” She sniffed, covering her face with her hands but peeking through her fingers to read Peregrine’s reaction.
    “Now, you just hush, ma’am. Stanton’ll be in my jail a mighty long time.” Huffing, Peregrine pushed back from his desk, scrubbing chair legs on the floor. Chest expanded, he stood.
    Delilah’s head dropped. “But, Walsh, how can you hold him? I just couldn’t face him in a courtroom.” She lifted her frightened eyes to Peregrine again. “Not after what he said, what he threatened.”
    Peregrine patted Delilah’s shoulder. “No need for you to ever set eyes on that no-good wrangler again. You just sign this deposition and leave everything to me. I’m the law and the justice here.”
    “Oh, Walsh! You’re the finest man I ever met!” Eyes amazingly dry, Delilah sprang to her feet and hurried around the marshal’s desk. Putting her hands on his cheeks, she pulled his burly head forward and kissed a surprised Peregrine right on the mouth. He almost lost his balance. “Where do I sign?” she asked.
    Outside on the dark street she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I swear that buffoon had a whole plug of tobacco in his mouth.” With Seth escorting her, she bypassed the main door of the hotel and made her way to the back entrance. She stopped just outside. “Seth,” she said briskly. “Take this claim down to the livery. Get Stanton’s horse and hightail it out of here. We’ll meet you where we planned.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Seth tipped his hat, took the paper, then, scattering little clouds of dust in the darkness, hurried to the livery.
    Delilah slipped inside the hotel and up the back stairs to Dinah’s room. Dinah and Loo, dressed for traveling, sat on the settee, Dinah asleep with her head resting on Loo’s shoulder. Remorse flooded Delilah’s senses. Dinah was such an innocent. Being manhandled by a drunken cowboy was an