Stop it. Next thing you know you'll be asking him to kiss you.

A curious sensation prickled through Diana, making her shiver lightly. She wasn't sure what it was that had caused her reaction. She knew what it wasn't, however.

It wasn't fear.

Diana let herself out into the night. Overhead the Milky Way was a river of light flowing silently across the sky. There was no moon to pale the glitter of the stars, no clouds to blur the razor edges of MacKenzie Ridge's silhouette. Nothing moved but the wind. It infused the night, filling it with whispers that could have been her own thoughts or echoes of ancient Anasazi prayers chanted to unknown gods.

When Diana opened the door to the old ranch house, Pounce materialized from the nearby bushes and slipped into the house ahead of her. She closed the door, bent down and lifted the big tomcat into her arms.

"Hello, Pounce. How was mouse hunting tonight?"

The cat purred and began kneading Diana's chest.

"That good, hmm?" Diana murmured, rubbing the supple body and sleek fur. "Then I won't bother putting out that dry cat food Carla gave me yesterday."

Pounce purred his agreement.

"Yeah, that's what she said. You only eat the dry stuff when nothing else is available."

Sure enough, Pounce ignored the kibble that Diana prepared with one hand while she held on to the cat with the other. Even a saucer of milk didn't interest him. All he wanted was what he was getting-a chance to snuggle with his favorite human being.

Carrying Pounce, Diana walked through the workroom to her bedroom. The carefully made bed looked uninviting. It was too early to sleep. Even if the hour had been right, her frame of mind was not. She was too restless to sleep.

Unfortunately she was also too restless to work on the shards. She tried, but for once the lure of putting together an ancient puzzle couldn't hold her attention. After fitting a few pieces together, she turned off the big gooseneck lamp and sat at the worktable with no more illumination than that provided by the lamp in the far corner of the room. The shadows cast by that lamp were soft and inviting, making velvet distinctions between light and dark.

Pounce leaped into Diana's lap and yeowed in soft demand. Absently she stroked the cat, drawing forth a ripple of purrs. For a long time there was no other sound. Then a knock came on the front door and Ten called out. Hearing Ten's deep voice sent another curious frisson through Diana.

"I'm in the workroom," she answered. Her voice was unusually husky, but the words carried well enough. The door opened and closed and Ten walked into the room. With a gesture that had become familiar to her, he removed his hat and set it on the small table beneath the lamp.

"That old mouser must think he's died and gone to heaven," Ten said.

The corner of his mouth tugged up, sending another glimmer of heat through Diana.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked before she could think of all the reasons to be silent.

"I always mean what I say. When it comes to you and that cat, I'm damned certain."

Diana took a deep breath. "Would you really trade places with Pounce?"

This time the curve at the corner of Ten's mouth expanded into a true smile. "Why? You have some mice that he's too lazy to catch?"

Her lips tried to smile but were trembling too hard. She could barely find the courage to force out her next question.

"Would you really like to be touched by me?" she asked. "I mean, do I…attract you?"

"Sure," Ten said offhandedly, reaching for the switch on the gooseneck lamp.

"Would you… kiss me?"

Ten's hand froze in midair. Amusement vanished from his expression. His eyes narrowed until there was little left but a silver glitter as he turned and looked at the woman who was only a few feet away.

"You're serious, aren't you," he said.

She nodded because her throat was too tight for words.

"What happened to all the No Trespassing signs?"

Diana opened her mouth. No words came from her constricted throat. She licked her lips. Ten watched the motion with a heavy-lidded, sensual intensity that would have frightened her once. Now it came as a relief. It gave her the courage to put into words the realization that had been growing in her mind for a long time.

"Watching Carla and Luke and their baby has made me understand that I'm missing something wonderful and-and vital." Diana's voice shifted, becoming even lower, more husky. She spoke swiftly, as though afraid of being interrupted and then not having the courage to continue. "But until I get over being afraid of men, I won't have a chance for the kind of life I want. Men want sex. I have to be able to give a man what he wants in order to get what I really want-a baby of my own.''

Ten's left eyebrow rose in a wicked black arch. "Honey, you don't need a man to get a baby." His mouth tugged up at the comer in response to Diana's shocked look. "If you don't believe me, ask any veterinarian."

Silky hair flew as Diana shook her head vigorously. "No. That's not what I want. Too cold. I want my baby to be conceived in warmth, in a-a joining of two people. Not a doctor's office. That wouldn't-I just-no." She took a fast, harsh breath, trying to control her nervousness. "So I have to start somewhere. A kiss seems a logical beginning."

"Why me?"

Diana looked away, unable to bear the diamond clarity of Ten's eyes.

"Because I-I trust you," she said, her voice uneven. "I've seen you handle kittens and delicate pieces of pottery. You're as gentle as you are strong. When I was trapped in the kiva, I was helpless, completely at your mercy. You could have done anything, but what you did was pull me out, comfort me, take care of me. Never once did you so much as hint that I owed you thanks, much less the use of my body for sex."

Unwavering gray eyes watched Diana. "And now you want me to kiss you?" Closing her eyes, she nodded. "Despite your fear of men," Ten added.

Again, she nodded. Then, in a whispered rush, she said, "I like you, Ten. I know I could bear being kissed by you, but the thought of any other man makes me-cold."

A visible shudder of fear and revulsion went through Diana. Ten saw it but said nothing.

"Anyway," she added with desperate calm, "if you know going in that all it's going to be is a kiss, you won't push for more, will you? If I'm honest?" Diana opened her eyes and looked at Ten with unconscious pleading. "I'm not a tease. Truly. It's just that I can't bear being touched by men."

"What happened?" Ten asked calmly. "Why do you have such a poor opinion of sex in general and men in particular? What makes you afraid that every man you kiss will demand sex?"

"Because it's true."

"You don't believe that."

"The hell I don't," she said, her voice low and flat.

Ten stared at Diana. All her softness and unconscious pleading was gone, all hope, all color; and what was left was a bleak acceptance that made her voice as flat as the line of her mouth.

"Look," Ten said reasonably, "no man worthy of the name is going to share a few kisses with a woman and then demand a turn in the sack."

Diana shrugged. The movement was tight, jerky, saying more than words about the tension within her, a tension that had been pulling her apart for too many years.

"Maybe you're right," she said. Then she made an angry, anguished sound. Years of bitterness burst out in a torrent of words. "But the only way to find out which men are decent is to try the kisses, all the while praying very hard that when the time comes he'll take no for an answer, because if he doesn't, he's bigger than you are, stronger, and you've been dating him for months and no one on earth will believe that he forced you."

"You're acting as though all men-"

"Not all men," she interrupted savagely. "But too damned many! If you don't believe me, ask the psychologist who did a study for UCLA. The statistics are illuminating. More than a third of all women have their first sexual experience as the result of rape."