A Summer Smile Read Online Free PDF Page A

summit on which they had been standing, hurrying from the path into the dense shrubbery that lined it. "That long? That must have been a trifle inconvenient for Bradford."
    "Inconvenient?" she asked, puzzled. "It was David's parents' ranch, but I tried not to be a burden to them. Once I learned to ride I could help around the ranch."
    "You've been stashed at David Bradford's disposal since you were fourteen?" Daniel's tone was caustic. "My Lord, you started young."
    "I don't know what you mea ..." Her eyes widened. "You think David is my lover?"
    He held a branch until she had passed and then let it snap back behind them. "It's none of my affair." Then he shot her a glance that shocked her with its ferocity. "The hell it's not. It is my business. I've been trying to convince myself since I saw a damned photograph of you that you're just like any other woman. No more and no less. But I've never lied to myself and I don't intend to start now. You are my concern." His face was flint hard. "I walked down the aisle of that plane on which you were held just a few hours ago and I knew you were going to belong to me. Get used to the idea. I don't know what the hell has happened to me, but I do know that." He shoved another branch roughly aside and pushed her ahead of him. "You can
    David Bradford he'll just have to be satisfied with nis wife. You're no longer available."
    "He couldn't be more satisfied with Billie," she said dazedly. "And I'm not going to belong to you. We're complete strangers. This is insane. We've just met. There are four half-crazy terrorists snapping at our heels and you're propositioning me?"
    "Propositioning, hell! I'm telling you." He was pushing her steadily forward, the harshness of his voice at strange variance with the exquisite care he was exhibiting in protecting her from the branches
    and roughness of the bushes and trees surrounding them. "Do you think I don't know how I sound? I'm fully aware I'm not being rational, that I'm reacting like some kind of thick-headed neanderthal. I can't help myself, dammit." He glared at her accusingly.
    "And I don't like not being in control. It annoys the hell out of me."
    "You're acting as if it's my fault you're having this temporary aberration," she said incredulously. "I didn't have anything to do with it."
    "I know that too." He scowled moodily. "My problem is that I'm not at all sure it is temporary." She laughed shakily. "It has to be." "Does it?" His lips twisted. "We'll just have to see. It's too soon to tell. Temporary or not, you're still mine. And I'll tell Bradford so if you're shy about it." His grin was a savage slash in the blaze of his bearded face. "I'd enjoy telling him."
    "I don't belong to anyone. Not to you, and certainly not to David." She was trembling, she realized with amazement. For the first time in her adult life a man had effortlessly pierced the wall she had built around her emotions. He had scarcely touched her in the past hours except with his words. Yet she was acutely aware of his very presence. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry, and she felt as if she
    had a fever. His fingers on her arm were as impersonal as his words were possessive, but her flesh was so sensitive that she could feel the drumming of his heart through the pads of his fingertips. How could she feel like this when she had to force herself to bear even the most casual touch of any other man? She tried to jerk her arm away, but her resistance was instantly quelled by a tightening of those fingers. "Let
    me go."
    "No, you need me." He didn't even look at her as he increased his pace. "You need me now and you're going to need me even more later. But not in the same way, I assure you. I'll fill every damn need you have. Bradford is out of your life."
    She moistened her lips. "David will never be out of my life. You don't understand. David is my friend. I'm not his mistress." She shook her head. "The idea is almost laughable. He's completely in love with his
    wife,