Nobody's Angel by Patricia Rice

delivered.
    Lounging in Isabel's porch swing after dinner, replenished with good food for the first time in years, Adrian narrowed his eyes and watched the woman he desperately needed to do his bidding. She had glazed up as solid as one of her china figurines when she'd discovered rental cars couldn't be delivered this far into the hills. Her gray eyes went blank and she yanked her bouncy hair into a tight knot. He could scarcely believe this was the same woman he'd seen on stage, shouting and singing and worming her way into the hearts of men. Despite the casual attire, this was the woman he'd seen in the courtroom. She looked as if she could shatter at a loud noise.
    He might be a desperate man clinging to a crumbling cliff of sanity, but his mama had brought him up better than this. Faith Hope wasn't a dummy. He had her trapped, and she knew it. He could keep her for days, or force her into a car and back to Charlotte. He could even seduce her, and the temptation to do that was so overwhelming that he glued himself to his chair rather than get up and hold out his hand to her.
    He didn't think she was totally unaware of the charged vibrations bouncing like balls of electricity between them. He might be out of practice, but she was an easy target. A soft touch, a whispered word, a hot kiss ……
    Hell, he could speculate until his pants popped, but he'd never know because he wouldn't try. He wanted her body, yeah, but she'd cut out his liver if he used her that way. And his mama would cut off more vital parts should she hear about it.
    She wouldn't hear about it, a tiny voice nagged in his head. He was a desperate man, and Faith Hope was a deceitful devil in angel's disguise. And it was for his family's own good that he needed what she possessed.
    He'd rather have her warm and flushed beneath him than sitting here like a lifeless doll, as she was now.
    With a growl of disgust, Adrian shoved aside the swing and stalked into the house. He didn't know what the hell Juan and Isabel thought they were doing, leaving him alone with a woman like Faith. They should know better.
    When he marched back out with the keys to his cousin's truck clenched in his fist, he found her wandering through the wildflowers by the drive, heading toward the road. She didn't have the bowl or her briefcase in her hands, so he figured it was only a preliminary inspection, but she was already contemplating escape.
    “What'll you give me if I take you home tonight?” he challenged as he caught up with her.
    She didn't look startled, didn't look at him at all, just kept on walking. “I don't need you. I don't need any man to get where I want to go.”
    He didn't want to hear the note of vulnerability behind her angry declaration. He had to maintain control of the situation until he had what he wanted. That meant he had to keep control of her, in whatever way it took.
    He was a man who had made bold choices in the past. Some of them had been the wrong choices, but he'd done what he had to do and lived with the result. His choices now were obvious. He could use force, or he could use sex, or he could appeal to her better instincts. He'd seen her at the homeless shelter and knew she possessed compassion. She just wasn't inclined to apply it to a man she feared. So, he had to take away her fear if he wanted her cooperation. He'd save force as a last ditch method. That left sex as his fallback position.
    “Juan is letting me borrow his rattletrap truck. I won't swear it will make it over the mountain, but if it does, he can drive your mobile garbage can up to the city when it's ready and we'll exchange them. Go find your things. I'll get the truck.”
    She shot him a look of suspicion but didn't waste time questioning. Swinging around, she strode toward the house. A piece of silken hair slipped from its knot and curled around her nape. Adrian stayed one step behind and watched itbounce in rhythm with her sway. Yeah, this was definitely the best course to