Every Breath She Takes Read Online Free PDF Page A

emerge from a narrow, well-traveled pass onto a grassy ridgetop. The others blocked her view, but she could see that the sky was already pinking nicely even though the sun still had a way to travel before it set. Then the riders fanned out again and she got a look at the spectacular view they’d been promised. She gasped aloud.
    Foothills rose in the distance, glorious against the magenta sky. And four of them huddled on the horizon like the ridged back of a sleeping dragon. This was it! She was sure of it.
    Clumsy in her haste, she dismounted and led Buck closer to the lip of the canyon, her stomach churning. She knew she should be relieved— was relieved—that she’d found the spot so quickly, but standing here brought the horror home anew.
    “Scared of heights?”
    Lauren whirled to find Cal Taggart behind her. “No,” she denied, pressing a hand to her thundering heart.
    “You don’t look too thrilled with the view.”
    “Oh, no, it’s beautiful. Really.” Then, because he looked skeptical, she said, “Well, maybe I am a bit scared of heights.”
    “Not too scared, I hope,” he drawled. “Sunset Ridge is our nightly destination. You’ll be seeing a lot of it.”
    Tipping his hat, he moved off to caution the others about staying a safe distance from the cliff’s edge. Lauren let her breath escape. If they’d be riding out here often, she’d better get used to it. Tethering her horse, she joined the group.
    Twenty minutes later, legs stretched and muscles soothed, they mounted up and started home. As soon as they cleared the pass and started descending the ridge, Lauren felt her anxietyease. But no sooner did she relax than Cal, atop a dancing chestnut mare, fell in beside her.
    “So how does Buck suit you?” He took his hat off and raked a hand through his short-cropped, sweat-darkened blond hair, leaving it standing up in a way that should have been funny but which she found very sexy.
    “Oh, we’ll get along fine, I think. He’s very patient.”
    “Yeah, they have to be pros in this business.”
    She cast him a sidelong glance and caught her breath. Oh, but he sat a horse nicely! He looked weightless, settled in the dip of the saddle, his back erect but loose. So natural, he could be an extension of the horse. She’d been a good horsewoman herself, at least in her teens, but nothing like Cal. She closed her eyes and felt for that same harmony, letting her shoulders drop to take the stiffness out of her straight-backed posture. Buck seemed to brighten beneath her, which made her smile.
    “I was thinking, maybe you’d like a livelier mount, since you’re obviously a skilled rider.”
    Oh, crap . She appreciated the compliment, but a more forceful mount was the last thing she wanted. Physically she knew she could handle a stronger-willed animal, but the beauty of Buck was that she could almost ride on autopilot, which left her mind free for other tasks. If she’d had her hands full of horse back there in the paddock, for instance, she couldn’t have studied the ranch hands nearly as closely.
    “Thank you, no. I think I’ll stick with slow and steady.”
    His hooded eyes suddenly took on a sleepy, sensual look. “That’s a sensible decision, ma’am. But if you should get a yen for fast and wild, just give me a shout.”
    Before she could react, Cal urged his mount into a gallop. He was a quarter mile away before she thought to close her mouth. Despite herself, a thrill forked through her. There was something about his brand of machismo that worked , dammit. Especially after glimpsing that heated look in his eyes.
    She chewed the inside of her lip. Too bad she wasn’t here for a genuine holiday adventure. She had no doubt this particular cowboy could provide it.
    She was a little rusty in that department herself, not having slept with a man since Garrett. Having the man you thought you were going to build a life with withdraw his proposal and slink away had a way of putting a girl off men.