Free Falling Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    “Oh my God!” she shrieked as if she’d only
just realized what she had done. The wainscoting fell from her
arms.
    Still dazed, Mac didn’t move quickly enough
to prevent his right foot from catching the brunt of the load. With
an ear-scorching curse, he pulled his foot from beneath the pile of
lumber. Free covered her mouth with gloved hands, her blue eyes
round with horror.
    “What the hell are you doing? Trying to kill
me?” His foot ached inside the soft leather that had afforded no
protection at all.
    “Oh my God,” she repeated and then stepped
gingerly over the wainscoting, coming closer. Mac retreated a
half-step in fear of what might happen next. “I can’t believe I did
that,” she cried as she stripped off her cotton work gloves.
    He rubbed his temple hard and scrunched his
throbbing toes. “You should come with a warning label, lady.”
    She frowned. “My name is Free, not lady,” she
said and pulled his hand away from his face to survey the damage.
She studied him intently, concern etched in her distractingly
attractive features, wincing when he flinched. “Are you all right?”
she asked as she slid the pad of her thumb over the ridge of his
cheekbone. The action sent a shaft of desire piercing through
him.
    “I’m fine,” he said tersely. Mac tried his
level best not to notice how unbelievably sexy she looked in baggy
overalls with nothing visible underneath but a cut-off T-shirt. A
wide expanse of midriff was exposed on each side where the overalls
dipped down past her waist. The moisture evaporated from his mouth
and throat when his gaze traveled back up to her face and he
allowed himself to admire those rose-kissed lips, flushed cheeks,
glittering blue eyes, and all that impossibly sensuous hair piled
atop her head. She was gorgeous. Desire struck him again, hard and
low.
    “Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked,
worry creasing her delicate forehead. She tilted her head in
question, the movement drawing his attention to the pretty tendrils
of hair clinging to her neck.
    Mac wrapped his fingers around her small
wrist and pulled her hand from his face, slower than he should
have, but far faster than he wanted to. “It’s nothing,” he croaked.
“I’ll live.” Her skin felt incredibly soft beneath his fingers.
    “You startled me and I just…” her voice
trailed off with a slight quiver as his thumb automatically traced
the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. She sucked in a
sharp breath, blinked rapidly, and tugged her hand from his.
    Mac ignored the need welling inside him. Get
this over with and get the hell out of here, he told himself. Being
alone with this woman bordered on masochism. “Your dog left a
deposit on my lawn, which is now stuck to my shoe,” he informed
her.
    She blinked again. “Oh,” she muttered, then
licked those lovely lips. His groin tightened. “I’ll make sure it
doesn’t happen again. Oscar is usually very careful about…about
where he goes.” She smiled tentatively. “I’ll clean it up.”
    Her smile did strange things to his ability
to breathe. He retreated a step. He had to get out of there. “Good.
I’ll just” he motioned the way he had come “see myself out.” Mac
spun around to make a hasty retreat and smacked headfirst into a
dusty antique door. Both hands flew to the new source of pain
radiating from his body, as the blueprints and other papers
fluttered unimpeded to the floor.
    Free gasped. “Oh, my gosh! It’s so cluttered
in here! Are you all right?”
    His humiliation complete, Mac faced her. His
nose wasn’t broken or even bleeding for that matter, but it hurt
like hell and he felt like a damned fool. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’m
fine.” He bent to retrieve his papers.
    “Let me help you!”
    She stooped, he reached and heads cracked.
Yelps and curses followed. Mac snatched up his blueprints and
stood. Free straightened, clutching several papers in one hand and
massaging her forehead with