A Touch in Time Read Online Free PDF Page A

ripped the cylinder from his hand.
    “Can’t breathe,” he gasped. Couldn’t see either for that matter.
    “Whatever you do, don’t rub your eyes. It’ll only make the stinging worse.”
    He muttered a curse.
    Water sloshed around in the basin beside him. A second later, the cloth he’d used on Brianna the night before came to rest atop his closed, throbbing eyes.
    “It’ll go away in a little while,” she assured him.
    Hot tears pushed their way out from beneath his closed lids. Hell, even his nose was running. “Feels like someone stuck hot peppers in my eyes.”
    “That’s because it’s pepper spray. Jake,” she groaned, “I’m so sorry.”
    “Feeling bad enough to shoot me right now and put me out of my misery?”
    “I don’t know how to shoot a gun.”
    “I reckon I should thank the Lord for that. You’re dangerous enough armed with just a purse.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    “Jake?” The bedroom door creaked open. “Are you awake?”
    “Yep.” He was, but he’d be damned if he was gonna open his eyes just yet. Even if the voice calling out to him was all soft and female and belonged to a woman with the face of an angel.
    She crossed the room and settled onto the edge of the bed beside him. Brianna’s sweet scent drifted past him, stirring his senses.
    “You come to finish the job?” he muttered.
    “I tried to warn you.”
    He nodded. “I know.”
    Her hand touched his face. “Does it still burn?”
    “Not like it had been.” He managed a half-smile. “That'll teach me to keep a tighter rein on my curiosity in the future. What the hell were you doing carrying something that dangerous around with you?”
    “A lot of women from my time carry pepper spray for protection. It supposed to temporarily blind an attacker so the victim can get away.”
    “I can vouch for the blinding part,” he replied, forcing his bloodshot eyes open.
    “Can I get you anything?”
    He reached up and caught her wrist. “If you’re offering...” He traced the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “A kiss might make me feel a whole lot better.” Her pulse leapt to life beneath his touch.
    Brianna leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. A soft, teasing kiss that made him want more. A lot more.
    He dragged her onto the bed with him, threading his fingers through her hair as he took control of her mouth.
    She welcomed his seeking tongue with a needy whimper.
    Clutching her ass, he ground his burgeoning erection against her.
    “Why couldn’t there be more men like you in my time?” she groaned.
    Her words hit him like a bucket of icy water. He wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before, but he had to think of Brianna. Had to get control of his desire and focus on getting her away from the ranch before it was too late.
    * * *
    “I can’t believe you did that,” Jake grumbled with a snap of the wagon’s reins. “I’m lucky those women back there didn’t shoot me on the spot for trying to ‘desert’ my wife for her lack of sewing skills!”
    Brianna muffled a giggle. “Sorry, the sewing bit was the first thing to come to mind.”
    “Gawddamnit, Brianna, I don’t care about the sewing part. You told them we were married. What the hell were you thinking?” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
    “I said I was sorry.”
    He glanced her way with a muttered curse. Damn her for looking so sexy in his oversized clothes. Clothes he’d made her wear because the ones she’d arrived in would draw too much attention her way. To her tanned skin and perfectly rounded breasts. And to that tiny little jewel that dangled like an exotic lure over her navel. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford.
    “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he said with a sigh.
    She flashed him a sugary sweet smile that threatened to crumble his resolve. “Made you angry with me?”
    “You’re damn right, but that’s nothing compared to what Deke will do to you when he learns