Heart of Ash Read Online Free PDF Page B

nose.
    “What? You don’t like caviar?”
    “Ick. I’d rather eat a bug.”
    “Really?” He scanned the contents of the cupboard. “Any bugs in there?”
    She snorted a chuckle. She couldn’t help it.
    “Oh, there’s wine.” He pulled out a bottle of merlot. “Do you like red?”
    Again, she wrinkled her nose. “I’m not much of a drinker.”
    “One glass?”
    She shrugged. “Maybe one glass.”
    He hunted for a minute, coming up with a bottle opener and two tin cups. He held them up with a wink. “Classy.”
    “With a ‘K.’” She plucked at her damp pant legs. The clinging fabric annoyed her.
    “Do you want to take those off?” he asked.
    Her pulse lurched. “Wh-what?”
    “You can dry them by the fire.”
    “Oh, no. That’s okay,” she said. She wore a long shirt beneath her overalls, but the thought of prancing before him with bare legs set her teeth on edge. She would rather be a little uncomfortable.
    She pulled out a box of crackers and arranged them on a plate, spreading them with peanut butter from a jar in the back, and then arranged their feast on the table. They sat, limned in the glow of the fire and the flickering lamps, and dined. On peanut butter and crackers and merlot. An odd combination, but she enjoyed it. Because he was there.
    While they ate, they chatted about his glasswork and her glasswork and pets they’d had and nothing much in particular. The merlot was delicious. She had two tin cups full—more, perhaps, because he kept topping hers off. It lit a spark within her, singing in her veins. By the time they finished eating, she was feeling particularly mellow.
    As she tidied up, putting the peanut butter and crackers back in the cupboard—the wine she left out because he said he wanted more later—he explored the cabin, opening the two doors and peering inside.
    The first door did indeed lead to a bathroom, which Emily found comforting. She didn’t relish the idea of relieving herself in the woods.
    He opened the second door and grunted, “There are sheets in the closet. I wonder if the sofa is a fold out.” He crossed the room and pulled off the cushions, revealing a hide-a-bed, which he pulled up and out. Expanded, the bed took up most of the small space.  “You can sleep here,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
    Emily winced. The floor was hardwood. It would probably be very uncomfortable. “That’s not fair,” she said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
    Ash put his fists on his hips and mock-glared at her. “There’s no way you’re sleeping on the floor. A gentleman always lets the lady take the bed.”
    She nearly sighed. He was so chivalrous. In her experience, men that handsome were…less than chivalrous.
    She opened her mouth and the words slipped out. “We can share the bed.”
    Egads . Had she actually said that? Her heart thudded, awaiting his response. To her relief, his reaction was nothing more than a friendly nod.
    “Okay.” He turned away, back to the closet, riffling through it. He pulled out sheets and pillows and blankets, which he piled on the back of the sofa. “Are you a lefty or a righty?”
    “A what?” She laughed and picked up the bottom sheet, ignoring her shaking hands. He took hold of one corner and together they fanned it out over the mattress. She couldn’t meet his gaze. This was all far too intimate.
    But he was so matter-of-fact. That, in itself, calmed her.
    “Do you sleep on the right or the left when you share a bed?”
    Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t know. She’d never shared a bed. Never slept with a man. “I…ah… It doesn’t matter.”
    “I usually sleep on the left.”
    “O-okay.”
    He whipped out the blanket. She watched it billow, trying to calm the sudden churning in her belly. He tossed two pillows onto the head of the bed.
    Two. Pillows.
    It hit home then.
    He would be sleeping there. Next to her.
    Her pulse surged. “Sh-should w-we put something b-between