Gentling the Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

“No.”
    A line of confusion creased her flawless forehead. “I’m sorry?”
    “You’re not leaving tonight.”
    Delicious pink lips pursed in displeasure. “I don’t remember asking if I could.” She seemed to consider her own statement and said, “If you’re worried about me, I can call you when I get there so you’ll know that I made it okay.”
    A reasonable solution. So why was everything in him rejecting the idea? “I’ll call Melanie and have her prepare a guest room for you.”
    With a hand on one hip, his little blonde angel said, “I’m perfectly capable of finding Lucy’s place. I made it here on my own.” When he opened his mouth to say something, she cut him off and said, “By here, I mean Texas.” She raised one hand up between them to silence him. “Don’t say it. I appreciate your offer of a room, but I can’t stay here.”
    Walk away. She’s not your problem. Nod, shake her hand, and head back into the house. The impatience he felt toward himself echoed in his curt tone as he said, “You’re tired. Your horse is tired. It’s almost a day’s trip. It doesn’t make sense to leave tonight.”
    Arms resting on the fence, Sarah chewed her bottom lip and studied her horse. “Is there a hotel nearby? I’d have to leave Scooter here for the night, but I could pay you.”
    “I don’t want your money, and town is an hour away.” God help him, he didn’t want to be paid, he wanted her.
    He leaned down, close enough so that when she turned her head he could almost taste her lips beneath his. The soft scent of her filled him with a desire to lay her down and claim her right then and there. She licked her bottom lip again. The tip of her tongue left a wet trail that he eagerly wanted to follow.
    She whispered. “I don’t know you.”
    We can remedy that.
    She was innocently wanton. Did she have any idea what her pose was doing to him? With one high-heeled foot hitched up on the lower plank, and leaning forward as she was, she was offering a temptation any man would have trouble resisting.
    Didn’t I just decide she was off limits? Nothing has changed. The best thing I can do is agree and let her go. Tony straightened and took a step back; his next words were a concession to an inner battle he was losing. “I want you to stay.”
    She looked over her shoulder at him, the little crease returned to her forehead. “Do you always get what you want?”
    He turned away, adjusted his hat, and rested his forearms on the top of the fence a foot away from hers. In a tired voice he said, “Never.”
     
     
    Oh, now that’s just not fair.
    I already want to throw all decorum to the wind and jump him—do you have to make me like him, too?
    All that manly talk and now a hint of save-me sadness? Where do I sign up for this ride?
    I should write that down.
    Save-me sadness.
    Which doesn’t mean I can stay here tonight.
    I can’t because . . .
    Wait, I don’t have a boyfriend, a job, or, apparently, even reliable friends. If I leave now, it’s a slap in the face of fate. Opportunities like this don’t just happen. They’re a gift.
    Sarah used her peripheral vision to give the man next to her another once over.
    And what a gift.
    So what if the last ten women who accepted his offer to stay are buried in the back field? Note to self: check back field for mounds. This is what I asked for, dreamed of, came out here determined not to leave without: an adventure.
    Schooling her features, she hoped she didn’t appear psychotically excited by her decision. “One night.” She held her breath and waited for his response to her surrender. Their eyes met and held for a moment, charging the air between them. She leaned toward him, her eyes half closed in anticipation of his kiss.
    “You should go answer that,” Tony said abruptly.
    Sarah’s eyes shot open. Still in a bit of a daze, she asked, “Answer what?”
    “The phone,” Tony said, a glint of humor lighting his eyes. “I don’t get many