"Never!" he declared as emphatically as his befuddled mind would allow him. "We Barr men are famous for our virility, determination, and the ability to pick a pretty lass with a trim ... er ... ankle."
"A trim ankle?" she squeaked incredulously, then burst out laughing, "You sound like a not so very good pirate."
"I'm a descendant of a varied and exciting line," he solemnly declared.
"Oh, I'm sure you must be," Toni said with a nod. "But before you catch pneumonia and end such an illustrious line, don't you think we should get you inside and to bed."
"Not without a kiss."
"You've already tried and failed."
"You weren't standing still. It was like trying to kiss a damned bobbing target."
"Getting excited isn't what you need at the moment."
"I'll risk it." He smiled lazily and Toni caught the flash of white teeth as his head swooped downward and his mouth caught hers.
She was afraid to fight him, she told herself as she felt his lips against hers. They could easily wind up in a tangled heap on the floor. But after only a moment of the gentle teasing and tasting of his tongue as it sought entrance to the warm darkness of her mouth, she found she didn't want to fight him.
He was gentle but demanding, and she felt herself responding easily and with a depth of emotion that surprised her. There was nothing hurried or frantic as his tongue entered her mouth, searching, probing, and awakening slumbering desires within her.
Toni felt the blood coursing in her veins with a swiftness she'd never known with Steven. This wasn't some tepid sort of pleasure she was feeling, but a wild, rushing torrent of excitement raging through her.
Christian's hands began to glide over her shoulders and back, then they eased down until they rested on her hips and pressed them tightly against his thighs. At that moment Toni knew she had to collect her scattered thoughts and restore some semblance of calm to the situation.
Sensing her withdrawal, Christian raised his dark head and stared down at her. And though the darkness prevented Toni from seeing the expression revealed in his blue eyes, the huskiness of his voice let her know that she wasn't the only one left breathless by the kiss.
You, Antonia Grant, are a very sexy lady," he rasped, his breath fanning her heated cheeks. "I can't possibly imagine what made Steven Crowell look for greener pastures."
Toni smiled. "One man's pleasure . . . another man's poison?" She stepped back and held out a slightly unsteady hand. "Your key please."
Once inside, where the table lamps cast a sobering glow of normalcy over everything, Toni found herself not wanting to meet the bold gaze that followed her about the room. At Christian's nod of agreement, she got a pillow and blanket from the king-size bed in the downstairs bedroom and placed them on the sofa.
"Are you sure you'd rather sleep here than in the bed?" she asked. She finally turned to look at him and felt the same powerful attraction that had nearly been her undoing on the porch. Stop it! she silently argued against the inexplicable pull she felt toward this man.
At the moment he's everything you don't need. If it's an affair you want, then for heaven's sake find some kind, uncomplicated man who will take only what you want to give. Any sort of relationship with Christian Barr would be a fight to the bitter end.
"I don't like sleeping alone in a bed," he said without the slightest embarrassment, then chuckled at the rush of color that stained Toni's cheeks.
She sighed, then walked over and picked up her purse. "The shot seems to be wearing off. Your eyes are clear again and you're back to being your usual obnoxious self."
"That's interesting," Christian remarked as he stepped in front of her and neatly blocked her path. "I didn't get up enough nerve to kiss you until the shot addled my brain." He reached out and lightly traced the outline of her lips with one finger. "Are you implying that you prefer me in a more amorous mood?"
"I don't prefer you in any mood," she returned with as much spirit as she could muster. Lying wasn't one of her strong suits and, more importantly, Christian knew it.
"Your nose is going to grow." He grinned. "Stay with me for a while. Let's get some brandy, sit on that soft rug in front of the fireplace and watch the fire."
Toni started to say she didn't want to, but decided against it. The idea was very appealing but unacceptable. "I can't."
"Are you afraid?"
"I think cautious or wary would be a better choice of words."
"Then you aren't as indifferent to me as you would have me believe, are you?"
Toni shrugged. "I'm a healthy, normal woman and you're an attractive man. That's as far as I'm willing
"Well, I hate to disturb the peaceful ebb and flow of your life, honey, but I hardly see how we can live next door to each other for six months and remain polite strangers."
"It's possible."
"But not very likely, Antonia," Christian said flatly.
"Do you really mean to stay for six months?" she asked, hoping against hope that he'd say he would be gone within a week or two.
"I'm afraid it's six months, Antonia," he said, the twinkle in his eyes belying the somberness of his voice.
"I figure that should give us time enough to get to know each other. I usually don't go in for longer relationships with women, but with you, I think I can be
persaaded to change my routine."
Toni's expression never altered. In spite of the outright fury welling up within her, she managed to keep a calm, unruffled look about her. "I appreciate your
consideration, Christian. It does something for a gal's morale to be told she's next in line as 'mistress of the month' for someone as infamous as you. However, you'll have to clear all the minor details with my cousin Susie. She's become my social secretary inhopes of marrying me off within the next few months.” She stepped around him and marched to the door
“Have a good night,” she threw over her shoulder asshe exited the room, then slammed the door behind her.
"Relationship indeed! An affair is more like it!" Toni muttered angrily to herself as she stalked along the path between the two houses. "Not very likely, Mr. Christian Barr."
Surely somewhere among the list of available men she was certain Susie held in eager readiness, there would be at least one individual compatible enough for her to pretend an interest in.
There had to be. For not only did she resent Christian Barr's sweeping assumption that she would drop everything and hop into his bed, but Toni had found, during those few minutes in his arms, that it might be a remarkably nice place to be.
CHAPTER SIX
Sleep was a long time coming after Toni eventually got to bed. For no matter how hard she tried, all she could think about was Christian Barr. It was as though the scent and taste of him had permeated her senses and nothing she did could erase the floating picture of his face each time she closed her eyes.
The last clear thought she had before dropping off to sleep was her hope that Mrs. D would agree to look after their new neighbor. Toni knew she would be more than willing to do any number of Mrs. D's household chores in order to be spared such an uncomfortable task.
Bright and early the next morning an apprehensive Toni was in the kitchen, explaining to the housekeeper in detail what had happened the evening before.
"You mean you actually know this Christian Barr?" Mrs. D asked, her eyes dancing merrily as she listened.
They were sitting at the sturdy work table, enjoying their first cup of coffee.
"I met him a couple of days before I left Richmond," Toni hedged. "He has a terrible reputation Mrs. D, which I think he enjoys to the hilt."
"How exciting!" The older woman sighed. "I don't think I've ever met a man such as you've described.
"And you really want to?" Toni asked, surprised Somehow the idea of the steady, trustworthy Mrs. D going into raptures over the thought of meeting Christian Barr seemed a bit absurd.
"Well, of course I do," she stoutly declared. "At my age all a woman has are her memories and an occasional fantasy. My husband was a good man, and I loved him dearly, but he was about as romantic as a post. So I figure any man who has such a damning reputation has to have some romance in him."
"Oh, I'm sure he's loaded with romance." Toni grinned ruefully. "What he's lacking, however, seems to be staying power."
"When he meets the right woman he'll have no trouble at all settling down," Mrs. D offered as though an expert on the subject. "Reformed rakes always make the best husbands."
"Really?" Toni asked skeptically. The thought of Christian Barr living a life of domestic bliss certainly didn't ring true to her. She saw him more as a temporary lover, a fascinating, exciting man who might give a woman a few weeks of intense happiness but then disappear, leaving her to become yet another "former' friend of his.
"As a matter of fact, I think you're the type of woman that could make a man like your Mr. Barr decide to put an end to his bachelor ways."
"Really, Mrs. D," Toni protested, her heart skipping a beat at the thought. "Believe me when I say I'vehad enough of men with his particular problem. Of course, that's not to say he isn't an exciting man. But who wants to live in a continuous supercharged state? Human nature being what it is, don't you think we also need the valleys as well as the peaks in life?"
"I'll reserve judgment on that until I've met our neighbor," the housekeeper answered with a smile.
"Fair enough," Toni conceded. "So, since you're willing to take care of him, make me a list of the things I can do for you."
"Well . . ." The older woman thought for a moment. "There really isn't that much to do, honey, what with the cleaning woman coming in three days a week. Your aunt is very picky about her food, so you really shouldn't try to do any of the cooking. Let's just play it by ear. If I find myself in a tight spot, I'll yell. Otherwise, don't let this little upheaval bother you." Upheaval was hardly the word for Christian's arrival next door, Toni thought later, as she made her bed, tidied her room, then dressed. She likened his appearance more to a tornado invading a quiet, sleepy little town, throwing everything and everyone into a
giant uproar.
That's not wholly true and you know it, she told herself. He's merely a reminder—a huge reminder—of what happened between you and Steven.
She'd come to Natchez to forget about her broken engagement, to allow her mind the same period of healing that her body had required after the accident. But with Christian around to constantly remind her, as he'd done the evening before, and to admit so bluntly that a relationship was uppermost in his mind, she knew her tranquil days were at an end. Toni was wise enough to know that Christian wasn't
interested in halfway measures any more than he cared about a permanent relationship. She could never keep things casual with him, never hope to be just friends or neighbors. His interests were wholly centered on brief physical encounters.
Ordinarily she would have listened to his outrageous comments, laughed them off, refused, and gone on her way. But at the moment she was still smarting from Steven's rejection. Regardless of the fact that his infidelity had been conducted on the sly, and that he had always intended to marry her, his actions had left Toni with a feeling of inadequacy.
A frustrated sigh rushed past her lips. There was no need to go over and over the same thoughts that had plagued her for days. As Sara Cartlaigne had remarked, nothing was gained by looking back.
The kitchen was a veritable haven of aromas. Bacon, coffee, and blueberry muffins tantalized her senses as Toni entered the room for the second time that morning.
"Don't tell me you're going to resort to the most obvious inducement of plying our neighbor with food?" she asked as she reached around Mrs. D and filched a warm muffin.
"Why not?" The housekeeper smiled. "It'll be nice having a man to cook for. You and your aunt aren't hearty eaters."
Toni merely shrugged, then asked about her aunt's appointment with the doctor.
"It's at ten thirty. I'll take her in unless you'd rather do it."
"Since you know more about her medication and the way she likes things done, Mrs. D, it's probably best if you go with her."
"I think so," Mrs. D agreed. "She hates having the slightest change made in her routine. I also want to talk to him about these light strokes she's been having. If you'd like, why not drop by his office later and talk with him."
"Isn't he in the same clinic that Brent's associated with?" Toni asked. "Yes, he is."
"Then I'm sure Susie will be able to fill me in on any change when I see her this evening." Toni glanced at the tray that held her aunt's breakfast. "Would you like me to take this in?"
'That might cheer her up. She slept later than usual this morning and doesn't seem to be herself. I thought I'd let her rest until it was time to get her dressed for her appointment."
When Toni entered the darkened bedroom, there wasn't the slightest movement from the small form beneath the covers. She placed the tray carefully on the round table beside the bed, then turned and stared intently at her aunt.
For a moment her heart seemed to jump up into her throat as she failed to detect any rise and fall of the tiny, frail woman's chest, Toni reached out and took one thin hand in her own warm grasp. "Aunt Sara?" she said urgently. "Aunt Sara?" There was the barest pressure against Toni's hand, tad the slow turning of a small white head. Eyes clouded with age opened and looked up at her.
"Ellen," her aunt said clearly. "Why on earth are you. hovering over me like that? Has Papa found out about you meeting that Donaldson boy?"
"It's Antonia, Aunt Sara. I've brought you some coffee and juice," Toni said softly. She reached for an-
other fluffy pillow. "Let me put this pillow behind your shoulders. We can talk while you sip your cof- fee."