He's the most dangerous gunman in the West. She's a "lady doctor" he can't resist. Will his secret torments keep them apart? How can she handle a wounded outlaw no respectable woman should go near? Romance and intrigue are about to collide in a steamy Texas town where sin, scandal and violence rule the night.

A strange sort of current flowed between them, charged with as much intensity as a bolt of lightning. Devon felt it tighten around him, binding him to her in some inexplicable way that he couldn't explain and didn't want to acknowledge.

His tone was involuntarily savage when he muttered, "If I don't leave soon, Maggie Malone, I may do exactly that."

"Do-?"

He stood up, blood boiling in his veins as if heated. The memory of her soft skin was a temptation that he did his best to resist. "You know what I mean, dammit."

"No. I don't think I do. Devon . . . what are you-?"

Without pausing to think, he reached out to pull her to him, one hand around her wrist and the other hand moving to the small of her back. Maggie seemed to melt into him, her body boneless, soft breasts pressing against his chest as he pulled her close.

His mouth found hers, and he kissed her with a fierce urgency that grew hotter and higher when she made a small noise in the back of her throat. Ah God, she was so sweet and fine, so damn fine. He couldn't help himself. He knew better than to touch her, better than to kiss her. He knew he wouldn't want to stop at kisses, and Maggie deserved to be treated with more respect.

So why wasn't he stopping?

Virginia Brown is the award-winning author of nearly fifty novels in historical romance, mystery and general fiction.