The stone maze was a land of awesome dryness where no rivers flowed except after storms, and then only briefly. Yet at the bottom of the deepest canyon was a river so mighty that it was like death itself; none who crossed its boundaries returned to speak of what lay on the other side.

Eve wanted to ask Reno how such a thing could be, but did not. She would ask for nothing from him that wasn’t part of the devil’s bargain they had struck.

And the thought of having to keep that bargain — of giving herself to a man who thought her a liar and a cheat — was like ice congealing in her soul.

Surely Reno can’t keep on believing that. The more we’re together, the more he must see that I’m not what he thinks I am.

As Reno had all through the day, he turned and checked the back trail. At first Eve had thought it was concern that she would cut and run that kept Reno so alert. Gradually she had realized it was something else entirely.

They were being followed. Eve sensed that at the same instinctive level as she sensed the woman-hunger in Reno whenever he looked at her.

She wondered if Reno was like her, remembering the two rods touching, clinging, joined by secret currents, shimmering with unknown possibilities. She had never felt anything like it in her life.

Throughout the long hours on the trail, the memory haunted Eve. Each time it returned, it sent frissons of wonder and excitement through her, undermining her anger at Reno.

How could she be angry at a man whose very flesh and soul matched hers?

He felt it as clearly as I did.

He can’t believe I’m no better than my cheap red dress.

Surely he understands. He just too mule-stubborn to admit he was wrong about me.

The thought was as alluring to Eve as the possibility of Spanish gold somewhere ahead in the wilderness, hidden from all other people, waiting to be discovered by whoever was brave or foolish enough to risk the dangerous stone maze.

«WAIT here.»

Reno said no more. Nor did he need to.

Eve reined in her tired mount, took the lead rope of Shaggy One, and watched Reno leave without asking where he was going or why. She simply sat on her horse and waited for his return with a patience that came from exhaustion. Around her, the last colors of the day drained from the sky, leaving twilight behind.

It was full dark when Reno reappeared as silently as a wraith. The Shaggies and the dun were too busy cropping the scant grass to bother calling a greeting to their trail mate. The blue roan felt the same way about wasting energy on ceremony; as soon as Reno allowed, she fell to grazing with the hunger of a mustang that had grown up rustling its own feed.

Reno waited for Eve to ask where he had been and why. When she didn’t, his mouth tightened with irritation.

«Are you going to sulk all night, too?» he asked.

«Why do you care what a liar, a cheat, and a saloon girl does?» Eve asked wearily.

She pretended not to hear the word Reno hissed beneath his breath as he dismounted. He began unsaddling Darlin’ with quick, angry motions. After he upended the saddle on the ground to let the fleece dry, he turned to face Eve with his fists on his lean hips.

«Beats me why women get upset when a man calls them what they are,» he said bluntly.

Eve was too tired to be polite, much less cautious.

«I can understand how a rude, blind, stubborn, cold-blooded lecher like you might feel that way,» she said.

There was a taut, electric silence while she dismounted.

And then Reno laughed.

«Sheathe your claws, gata. You’re safe from me tonight.»

Eve gave him a wary, sideways look.

«I may be lecherous,» he said dryly, «but I’m not a fool. As long as Slater is on my trail, I’m not going to get caught with my pants undone.»

Eve told herself she wasn’t disappointed that she would get none of Reno’s disturbing, compelling touch that night — or any night soon. It was better that way.

Only one thing a man wants from a woman, make no mistake about it. Once you give him that, you better be married, or he’ll go off down the trail and find another foolish girl to spread her legs in the name of love.

Yet even the echoes of Donna Lyon’s bitter advice couldn’t keep Eve from seeing Reno with his nephew, smiling and gentle, and with his sister. The love in him had been strong enough to touch.

Eve wanted to touch it. She wanted to make with Reno the home she had always dreamed of, the safe haven from a world that didn’t care whether she lived or died, and the babies no one could take from her arms and send away.

The realization of how deeply and in how many ways she yearned for Reno frightened Eve. Unlike the Spanish needles, she wasn’t made of iron. They weren’t hurt by the eerie currents that joined them. She doubted that she would be so lucky if she gave in to her complex, unexpected hunger for Reno.

Eve dismounted in a rush. As she stood and flipped the stirrup up over the saddle horn, Reno’s arm went around her waist, pulling her close. Suddenly she felt the muscular length of his body molded against her from shoulder blades to thighs. A hard ridge of flesh pressed against her hips.

«Cold-blooded is the last thing I am,» Reno said. «Especially with you around to keep me hot.»

First his mustache teased her sensitive ear, then the lip of his tongue, then the edges of his teeth. The restraint of the caresses was at odds with his heavy arousal.

The combination of intense masculine hunger and equally intense self-control was both disarming and compelling to Eve. She had never known a strong man who had exercised any restraint when it came to taking what he wanted.

Except Reno.

Maybe the longer he’s with me, the more he sees I’m net a saloon girl to be bought and sold on a man’s whim.

The idea was profoundly alluring. Eve wanted Reno to look at her and see a woman he could trust and respect, a woman he could build a home with, have children with, share a life with.

A woman he could love.

Maybe when he sees that I keep my word, too, he’ll look at me with more than desire. Eve thought yearningly. Maybe and maybe and maybe…

If I don’t try, I’ll never know.

Table stakes. Five-card draw. A royal heart flush or a bushed heart flush.

Ante up or get out of the game.

As Reno felt the subtle softening of Eve’s body, both hunger and relief swept through him. He hadn’t meant for her to overhear his conversation with Caleb. Nor had he meant to hurt her by rubbing Caleb’s nose in the fact that Eve wasn’t the sweet country innocent she appeared to be. But Caleb hadn’t left Reno any other choice.

«Does this mean Slater is far enough back that you’re not worried about being, er, distracted?» Eve asked.

«No,» Reno admitted reluctantly, releasing her. «I’m afraid we’ll have to have a cold camp tonight, in more ways than one.»

«Is Slater that close?» she asked.

«Yes.»

«Lord, how could he be? After a day on the trail like we had, even our shadows were complaining about following us.»

Reno’s smile gleamed in the moonlight.

«How did he know where to find us after he lost my trail out of Canyon City?» she asked.

«There aren’t that many ways over the Great Divide.»

Eve sighed. «I guess the country isn’t as empty of people as it looks.»

«Oh, it’s empty, all right. I’ve gone months at a time in the high country without seeing a soul. Just the crossroads and passes get kind of crowded.»

«Not to mention human nature,» Eve said, stretching.

«What?»

«Even if we took a hard way over the Great Divide, if Crooked Bear has a woman who’s also keeping company with one of Caleb’s riders, Slater would find out real quick where I’d been.»

«That’s the way I figured it,» Reno said. «We’ve got an edge, though.»

«What?»

«The mustangs. Most of Slater’s boys are riding Tennessee horses.»