Hellion (Seven Brides for Seven Bastards, 7) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wore.
    Again he glanced warily over her head
toward the wooden buildings and high walls in the distance, still
wondering if this was a trap of some sort, expecting something.
Anything but this.
    Once the cloth was tugged free, she
handed it to him and he held it for her. Then she proceeded, with
quick, supple fingers, to loosen her braid.
    He was stunned. The widow's hair, long
thick waves of rich, luscious dark bronze tumbled down over her
shoulder, all the way to her hips. All that beauty hidden away from
his sight every day. A sharp spear of anger stuck in his chest at
the thought.
    And as each lock was pulled free from
the braid, it unleashed another wave of warm violets. So that was
where the scent came from.
    The mallet slipped from his fingers
and landed on the ground with a hefty thud, just missing his own
foot.
    Her fingers paused in all that
sun-fired beauty and she frowned. "Did you just growl at
me?"
    "No," he lied. "Must have been one of
the beasts in the field."
    She arched an eyebrow, but made no
reply. He watched her hands. They were not as smooth and pale as a
lady's should be and her nails were not well tended, but he knew
why.
    Sal had watched from a distance as she
did all the work about the place and let her husband take the
credit. When Sal told her that she wasn't fit to manage the manor
alone, he meant only that as a woman she should not be allowed to.
In truth— when he forced himself to admit it—he knew her
capabilities, but that didn't mean he should approve of her having
them. A woman ought to know her place in the world and be content
with it.
    But this woman did it all, as if it
was normal.
    Soon all her hair was down, spread
over one shoulder.
    "Come closer," he muttered, because
he'd just found his feet stuck to the earth, too heavy to move. A
thick pulse of desire had seized his entire body and he feared that
if he was the one that moved he wouldn't be able to stop. He just
didn't know where he could flee to. Somehow she would always be
there in his mind, tormenting him. There was no escape.
    She stepped closer and tipped her head
back, looking up into his eyes without the slightest
trepidation.
    Damn woman.
    He bent his head only slightly toward
her and inhaled.
    A little breeze picked up a lock of
her hair and lifted it to tickle his cheek.
    He closed his eyes and breathed her
in. Deeper.
    Why hadn't he fucked her? For five years
at least he'd been aware of her there, within a mile of him. So
what if she was married then? That had never have stopped him
before, if he saw a woman he fancied. He'd tried to tell himself
that he simply wasn't attracted to her, but that was a lie. His
mind might believe it, but his body knew the truth. Possibly she
did too. Cunning wench.
    Helene stepped back. "Well, there you
are. Now you will move the posts."
    His gaze traveled slowly over her
face. She looked so much prettier, softer and younger without her
wimple. He didn't want her to put it back again.
    But on the other hand, he didn't want
other men seeing her like this. It was for him alone.
    His heartbeat was thrusting hard and
powerful, blood racing through his veins. She'd taken a risk today,
fulfilling her side of a bargain first, trusting him not to cheat
her.
    Usually that would be a mistake, he
mused. But today...today he felt...accommodating. He wiped the back
of his hand across his mouth.
    She squinted up at him, her hair
dancing around her face as the breeze picked up and played with it.
When the sun's rays touched that color and added yet another shade
it almost looked as if her head was afire.
    And so was he.
    Even when he cleared his
throat, Sal's voice remained husky, his tongue holding her scent.
"What if I move the posts and give you three feet of land? What would you
give me then?"
    She pursed her lips and turned her
head, apparently considering. Another wave of lilac lapped over
him, soothing and arousing all at once. He almost closed his eyes
while he drank it in, but fortunately he