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himself staring at feminine curves covered by a long-sleeved shirt, cotton pants, and boots similar to his own.
    She wasn’t aware of him, giving him time to focus on her blond hair, caught at the nape of her neck by a simple band.
    He zeroed in on that hair, thinking it was like what he remembered from some of the women last night.
    Without moving a muscle, he watched her wander into the clearing. When he saw her kneel, saw her bring something shiny and metal out of the pack she was carrying, he leaped forward.

CHAPTER
THREE
    â€œHOLD IT RIGHT there!”
    The blond woman jerked around to face him, her hand clenched around a clump of sweet flag she was about to dig up with a small trowel.
    â€œYou’re trespassing on private property,” he heard himself say, surprised that his voice sounded normal, because he felt suddenly light-headed as he gazed into wide blue eyes that regarded him warily.
    It was the remnants of the smoke affecting him, he thought. It had gotten to him again. He could smell its lingering presence more strongly than he had a few moments earlier, and now he wished he had backed away instead of letting himself be drawn forward into a trap.
    But it was already too late, he knew on some deep, buried level. He might have tried to puzzle out what that meant. It was only one of the confused thoughts that swirled in his brain, thoughts that danced away before he could catch onto any one of them long enough to bring it into focus.
    Last night the smoke had taken away the sharpness of his senses. Now his reaction was totally different. In the morning sunlight, he was suddenly and totally absorbed by every detail of the woman kneeling before him. His gaze lingered for a moment on a blond strand of hair that had escaped the band at the back of her neck and now curved seductively around her ear. Then he took in the triangle of ivory skin exposed at the throat of her shirt.
    But more than the physical impressions, he saw that she was struggling not to show panic as she stared at him with those wide blue eyes.
    That panic made his chest tighten. “It’s okay,” he said, then wasn’t sure if the words had reached his lips or only echoed in his mind as he took her in.
    What the hell was she doing out here, anyway? Had she returned to the scene of last night’s clandestine party? Or was she engaged in some other crime? Like stealing plants from a private park.
    He had to admit she didn’t look much like a criminal. Her hair was the color of ripe wheat. Her face was heart-shaped and delicately made with beautifully curved lips, high cheekbones, and those blue, blue eyes, framed by dark-tipped lashes.
    She was slender. About five five, he guessed. Her breasts were high and very nicely rounded. Probably she thought her hips were too generous, but he liked them the way they were.
    He blinked, stood his ground, trying to explain in his mind why he was fixated on this woman. “The smoke,” he said, and this time was sure he had spoken aloud, because she dragged in a breath, her nose wrinkling before she answered him.
    â€œWhat smoke?”
    â€œDon’t you smell it? The leftovers from the party.”
    She tipped her head to the side, looking at him as though he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. He’d lost it last night and thought he’d found it again in the morning. Now he struggled to remember what they had been talking about.
    â€œYou’re trespassing,” he managed.
    She was still kneeling on the ground. Now she reached for a knapsack lying a few feet away, pulled it toward her, and thrust a hand inside. When it emerged, she was holding a small revolver. “Don’t come any closer,” she said, as she carefully stood up. “Raise your hands.”
    He’d been feeling spacey, as though his brain and his body belonged to two separate people, and there was no way to bring the two of them back together. The gun did the trick. Suddenly the