Everlastin' Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

rein on his desire to possess her on this very
spot, he grinned crookedly.
    “I'm speakin’ as slow as I
can. Beth. I'm glad ye're here.”
    “Are you?”
    “Aye. I've waited a long
time to meet you.”
    Beth felt a sudden
compulsion to laugh. She didn't know why, but she could feel a
giggle working itself up in the pit of her stomach. The idea of
succumbing to this also struck her funny at this peculiar
moment—peculiar because every nerve in her body was sensitized by
the man's mere presence. A quirky smile was playing on his lips, as
if he were able to read her mind, or understand that part of her
which was at the outer reaches of her comprehension.
    She was almost thirty. Not a
schoolgirl.
    So why did her heart rise
into her throat when his hands came to light on her upper arms? A
pleasant electrical sensation passed beneath her skin, leaving her
a little lightheaded, a little breathless.
    Why was she unable to move
or speak when, while staring into her eyes, he began to lower his
head?
    Cool, chiseled lips covered
hers in a teasing, almost experimental kiss. She stood immobile
while her insides were pumping, swelling, twisting and bursting.
She experienced a spiritual soaring and swooping then soaring again
as the kiss deepened. Sinewy arms enveloped her, molding her
against the length of his i hard body. She became lost in a sense
of rightness, of belonging as she'd never known—
    Stranger.
    The word detonated in the
confines of her skull and she reacted like a startled kitten.
Wrenching out of his arms, she braced herself against the fence.
Mortification scorched her skin. A streak of moonlight passing
through the branches above, ran aslant across his face,
illuminating his mesmerizing eyes.
    Beth tried to speak, to say
something— anything —to break the suffocating silence between them.
    When she found her vocal
cords wouldn't respond, she pushed off the fence and lit into a run
along the path. Low branches and brush scraped and clawed at her.
Blindly, desperately hoping she was going in the right direction,
she continued on. The stillness was all around her once again. If
not for the chill of the drizzle—
    She ran into something solid
and would have fallen backward if not for steadying hands on her
shoulders.
    “Have a heart,
lass!”
    Beth's vision
cleared.
    “A simple no would have
sufficed!”
    Her temper erupted. “Hold
it!”
    “Yer hand, you say?” A
roguish gleam lit up his features as he reached out, but Beth was
quick to slap his hand away.
    “Stop manhandling me,
Mr.....”
    “Lachlan. Tis a wee late to
be formal now.”
    Blood rushed up into her
face. “I'm sorry if I've given you the wrong
impression.”
    “Fegs, lass!” he laughed.
“You've a fine temper.”
    “I'm tired and cold. Now, if
you'll excuse me—”
    “No' so fast.” Lachlan gave
a sober shake of his head. “Tis me to say I'm sorry. I got a wee
lost in yer beautiful eyes back there. And I'm afraid I'm an
incorrigible tease. I've never been able to resist makin’ a
beautiful womon blush.”
    Although every nerve in her
body was as tight as a spring, she managed to stare into the man's
eyes without wavering. “You've had your fun.”
    “Aye, and I felt yer own
appreciation to ma verra soul, sweet darlin’. But I'm modest enough
to know it was the moonlight and no' ma kissin’ skills tha' put
tha' sparkle in yer eyes. Alas—” He sighed deeply. “—I'll have to
practice wi' you in the cold light o’ day to know when tis me
stirrin’ yer blood.”
    Straightening back her
shoulders, Beth glared at the silent laughter in the man's handsome
face. “I didn't come all this way just to entertain you, you
twerp.”
    Lachlan's dark brows peaked.
“Twerp, you say? Would tha' be a good twerp, or a bad
twerp?”
    “Personally, I don't care
how you translate it.”
    “Would help if I knew wha' a
twerp was,” he said absently. “Let me fix you a cup o’
tea.”
    “I'll fix my own, thank
you.”
    Passing Lachlan,