An Independent Wife by Linda Howard

but I'm warning you, don't cut your hair or I'll turn you over my knee."
    With that threat he left the subject and quirked an inquiring eyebrow at her. "Don't you want to hear about my solution?"

    "No. If you like it that well I know I'll hate it," she said, admitting fantastically that he'd obviously thought of some way to get around Marina.

    "I wouldn't say that," he munnured. "You used to like it quite well. You can go to Sakarya, darling."
    He paused and watched her eyes fight up with delight, then he delivered the bomb. "And I'm going with you. "

    Aghast, Sallie stared up at him. Her thoughts whirled madly as she tried to think of some way out of this situation, but all she could say was, "You can't do that," in weak protest.

    "Of course I can," he said, smiling in a predatory manner that gave her chills. "I own this magazine and I'm a newsman. Other than that, I'm your husband-all excellent reasons why I can go to Sakarya with you."

    "But I don't want you along! I don't need you." "Poor baby," he said in mock sympathy, then reverted to his normal tone. "T'here's no way out of it. If you go, I go, I want to make certain that silky skin of yours stays whole."

    "I'm not a child or an idiot. I can take care of myself."

    "So you say, but you still aren't changing my mind. Sorry if I've messed up your plans. Did you have it set for your boyfriend to go along with you? What's his name-the photographer?"

    The skin on the back of her neck prickled as she caught the threat in his tone and she knew that he hadn't forgotten that day when he had seen Chris hug her. "Leave Chris alone!" she flared. "He's a good friend."

    "I can imagine. He went with you to Washington, didn't he?" Rhy gritted savagely, abruptly catching her wrist and pulling her against him. "And he's the one you went to the airport to see off, isn't he?"

    "Yes, he is," she admitted, surprised that he should remember that. She tried to release her wrist, and he anchored her to him with his other arm, sliding it about her waist.

    "Here's another warning for you," he ground out. "You're still my wife and I won't tolerate another man in your bed. I don't care how long we've been separated. If I catch him with you I'm going to push his teeth through the back of his head and then I'm going to take it up with you. Is that what you want? Are you trying to push me into proving how much I want you?" Without waiting for an answer he bent his head and ground his mouth against hers, forcing a response from her and parting her lips to aRow his deeper kiss.

    The familiar taste of his mouth tore away the years that had separated them, and she gasped at the lash of desire that sent her hands up to cling to his heavy shoulders as she pressed herself to him. It was their first kiss all over again. She melted, and her awareness of the world around her faded. Even as she responded to him she writhed inside with shame that she didn't have more self-respect than to be so vulnerable to him. He'd never really cared about her, he'd admitted it, but he liked going to bed with her, and She was too weak to resist him. it was odd that no other man had ever tempted her as Rhy did, but then, she'd never known another man like him. He was hard and brutal, but he was strong, and the force of his personality swept lesser people to the side,

    But their attraction wasn't all one-sided, she realized dazedly a moment later when his hard hands slid down to her waist and clenched almost painfully on her soft flesh as he pulled her even closer to his taut frame. He groaned against her lips and a tremor rocked through him. "Sallie," he muttered, lifting his mouth a scant inch from hers. "Let's go to my apartment. We can't make love here, there are too many interruptions." His voice was a low growl, rough with his passion, and she shivered in sensual reaction.

    "Let me go," she protested, her hands suddenly finding the strength to push against him as panic flared with the realization that it might