His blue eyes were like lightning as he stared at them, then without a word,he seized Roslyn, pulled her into his arms, and held her in a fierce, bitinggrip.

"Lord Rosa!" He sounded as though he was under intense pressure.

"If I hadn't got a rope to that stallion..."

"You did." She stood on tiptoe, getting her mouth to his chin. Her bodycurved into his, drawing and giving superlative comfort.

Neither of them took account of Kim who stood aghast at the sight of themlocked so tightly together. She sucked in her breath, sharply agonised, thenblurted, "Don't worry about me. Marsh. Worry about her. She's perfectlyall right." The muscles of Kim's throat were so tight her voice was almosthoa.r.s.e.

"It was splendid the way you la.s.soed that murderous brumby."

Marsh threw up his head, looking back at her.

"The brumby was doing what all wild horses do. It was taking a desperatechance," he observed harshly.

"I can't say much for the way you acted. You simply looked after yourself.In the. process putting Roslyn in worse danger.

The two of you could have taken shelter behind the Jeep, instead you sent hercrashing to her knees. " Kim's haughty, high-boned face flushed a mottled red. The colour evenstained her throat."It was an accident, Marsh. It wasn't intentional.""It was a fearful mistake'."

Kim looked at him imploringly, just managing not to cry.

"I told Roslyn I was sorry."

"Yes, she did, Marsh. Kim didn't have time to think. She had to move."

Roslyn had received poor treatment at Kim's hands for years but she found

she had no desire to retaliate.

"You're right, Roslyn. You're right." Kim looked at the younger girl with a kind of desperate grat.i.tude.

"It was just one of those terrible moments in life."

"The split-second decision that can make or break," Marsh said grimly.

"I do regret it." Kim wrung her hands, her habitual arrogance quite crumpled

away.

Looking at her Roslyn decided.

"We can and will forget it," she said, applying a little pressure to Marsh's

arms in an effort to get him to lighten up."Friends, Kim, okay?" She held out her hand."Yes, indeed!" Kim moved quickly to shake Roslyn's hand."It's very kind of you to see things my way."Roslyn's smile was touched with a little irony."I have my points.""I might go back to the homestead now." Kim looked back towards the Jeep."I feel a bit shaky.""Pour yourself a brandy. A large one," Marsh suggested, sounding less daunting.

"I'll have one of the men drive you back. I'll have to stay here andsupervise.""They didn't have the top rails high enough." Kim sought to divert attention from her.

"They would have been only the stallion's no ordinary brumby. He has quite a look of Dad's Blazer."

"I noticed it," Kim answered, more in her ordinary tone.

"At least I noticed it after Roslyn pointed it out.

Will you come back with me, Ros? There's no need for you to stay here. ""She's staying." Marsh spoke emphatically."I don't want her out of my sight until my nerves settle." He looked over to the holding yard, where Lucky was perched on the top rail.

"Lucky," Marsh called.

"Get over here, mate."

"We ought to do something for him," Roslyn ventured.

"I intend to."

"What have you got in mind?"

"Enough to induce him to give up brumby running. He's had one too many

crashes for my liking."

"He's brave!" Roslyn watched Lucky limp toward them, his face split in agrin."Isn't he!" Marsh's tone left little doubt of his opinion of those who weren't.

"Now it's his turn to be rewarded."

"But it's not necessary," Kim said.

"Why don't we walk over to the Jeep while Marsh speaks to Lucky,"

Roslyn suggested.

Lucky was blushing in antic.i.p.ation of a grateful slap on the back.

Roslyn knew it would never enter his head he was about to be a.s.sured of a

windfall.

' "That was good of you to take my part the way you did," Kim murmured, almost painfully as they waited beside the Jeep.

"Marsh seems to be disgusted with me. I've never, ever, disappointed him

before.""Don't dwell on it, Kim.""I expect I will." Kim glanced away."Do you suppose he'll tell the girls? A recount of the incident could make my part in it look worse than it really was. I was in a genuine, breathless

panic. We all know horses but they can be scary creatures."

Roslyn wasn't prepared to let her off quite so lightly. "Kim, only forMarsh, Lucky and I would have been right in the line of fire."

"Dammit, I know that too well. I can't decide whether the bike rider was brave or he'd taken leave of his senses. It's not as though he was gettinganywhere with that busted leg."

"The great thing is, he tried."

"Yes." Kim gave a mirthless smile.

"All's well that ends well, so they say. I hope the girls are asunderstanding as you are. They'd hate me forever if anything had happened toMarsh."

"Perish a thought for Lucky and me! Why don't you say one of the brumbiesmade a break for it and Marsh la.s.soed it in. They'll accept that. They'reused to Marsh and his extraordinary feats."

"Of course, that's it!" Kim ran a hand over her sun-streaked hair, lookingdown in distaste as her palm came away smeared with red dust.

"Lord, I'll have to take a shower and wash my hair. You look a sight, aswell. Marsh is a genuine hero all right, but he can be so very intimidatingat times, don't you think?"

"No question about it!" Roslyn smiled, realising this was probably the firsttime Kim had been on the rough side of Marsh's cutting tongue. Well, serveher right!

It was evident at dinner Kim had given her own version of the afternoon'sevents to Justine and Dianne, but neither Roslyn nor Marsh sought tocontradict her.

"The perfect whitewash!" Marsh commented later as he and Roslyn were waitingon the veranda for Justine to join them on their after-dinner walk.

"I'm only surprised she didn't make herself out the heroine of the piece."

"Maybe that was due to your rather sardonic expression. Kim's not comfortable being in the wrong.""She doesn't hesitate to come down strongly on everyone else. Must give hera sense of power: Before Ju-Ju turns up, how about a grateful kiss? It'salready hours overdue."

"Sure, a pleasure!" She intended to keep it light but his arm encircled her, drawing her into the shadow of a vine-wreathed white column.

"Marsh, someone might come."

His blue eyes gleamed.

"Am I supposed to care? Your place is in my arms and that's where you're going to stay."

"We'll tell them very soon," she promised."Why not the h.e.l.l now?""Not with Kim here. Not a chance. I don't want to see her pain.""For a little fire-eater, you're surprisingly tenderhearted." He bent his head and began to trail his lips down her cheek.

"Your skin is so smooth ... so cool. It's like satin. It has a l.u.s.tre. I'm

waiting for when I can kiss every inch of it!" He turned his attention toher mouth, kissed it roughly, sweetly, until she clung."Wild thing!" he muttered, feeling the fever in her."You're my hero!""I know. Also, when you can get your act together, your husband."' "What kind of husband are you going to make?""Don't expect bashful."She felt an incredible spring of joy."Not bashful, rao!" Ardent, urgent, warm and tender, a flawless, imaginative lover who could make her body dissolve with desire. Just standing within the

circle of his arms, having

his beautiful, sensuous mouth touch her skin, wasdizzying. It created an immense need."I'm only human, Rosa," he murmured."I'm even considering sleep walking.""I'm sorry. I'm stuck with my vow.""And I'm stuck with you.""Were you ever in love with Kim?""What do you think?" he asked crisply, lifting his head."Curious, nothing more.""I don't blab," he said in a dry, laconic voice."I don't, either, but I am involved.""So long as you know that." He grasped a handful of her hair."If I must tell the truth, you're my only pa.s.sion.""Yet you found the time to fit in a few others?"

"Rosa, I had to do something to keep myself from going mad."

"Men are the devil!" she said in a soft, helpless undertone, her need for him so desperate it threatened to override all else.

"And I intend to take advantage of it." He touched a hand to her breast,then pulled her into his arms, pressing his marvelous mouth down on her own.Waves of flame.Scorching her. searing her.This was Marsh and he had the power to destroy her.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

midmorning of the following day when even the gum leaves were turned edge onto the sun Roslyn went back to the homestead in search of a cold drink onlyto walk head-on into a confrontation with Kim. She was barely inside thehouse, her riding boots beating a tattoo on the patterned tiled floor when Kim came flying down the central staircase, her face wearing a furious expression.