LaceysWay Read Online Free PDF Page B

looked at her, their eyes bright, intent, as they watched her. She
recalled the way they had smiled at her. And she remembered her father warning
her to stay away from the men, saying they only wanted one thing from a girl.
She knew what he meant by that. Her mother had told her all about men and women
and the intimate side of life.
    “Hang onto your virginity, Lacey,” her mother had
admonished. “It’s a rare prize, and one that should be saved for your husband.
No other man deserves it. And no decent, God-fearing man will try to take it
from you.”
    Was that what Matt Drago wanted from her? The thought
repelled and excited her even as she vowed to stay out of his reach.
Perversely, it warmed her to think he found her desirable.
    Troubled, she sat down on a log, her elbows resting on her
knees, her chin cradled in the palms of her hands. He was quite a handsome man,
she mused idly. His hair was as black as ten feet down, his eyes as dark as the
sky at midnight. His mouth was full-lipped, sensuous, his jaw, strong and
square, was covered with thick black bristles, giving him the look of a Barbary
Coast pirate. She recalled, with a blush, that his skin was smooth and
unblemished, and that his arms were corded with muscle. His belly was as flat
as a tabletop, his chest was covered with curly black hair…
    Lacey quickly pulled her thoughts away from such unladylike
musings. The man was a convicted felon, and the sooner she got away from him,
the better.
    She was about to slide off the log and return to camp when
she saw the snake. It was coiled in the sun only a few feet from where she sat,
its triangular-shaped head facing in her direction, its eyes black and
menacing. A warning buzz of its tail held her frozen in place.
    Swallowing hard, Lacey glanced over her shoulder, thinking
she could climb over the log and escape, but a thick tangle of thorny brush
blocked her path. Fighting a growing sense of panic, she looked at the snake
again, let out a small scream as its forked tongue darted toward her.
    Matt Drago was searching through the pockets of one of the
slain deputies, looking for the key to the handcuffs, when he heard Lacey’s cry
of alarm. Cursing under his breath, he delved into the lawman’s shirt pocket,
his stomach churning as the smell of decaying flesh filled his nostrils. He
uttered an exclamation of relief as his fingers closed around a ring of keys,
and he quickly removed the irons from his hands and feet. Each movement sent a
stab of pain jolting through his wounded arm, but he ignored it as he quickly
followed Lacey’s tracks, cussing mightily because he didn’t have a gun. A hell
of a lot of help he’d be if she was in real trouble, he mused sourly. No gun
and a bum arm. Damn! Leave it to a woman to get into trouble a hundred miles in
the middle of nowhere.
    He found her sitting on a log, her legs drawn up under her,
her face as pale as death as she stared at the rattlesnake poised within
striking distance.
    “Don’t move,” Matt said quietly. “When he realizes you’re
not food and you’re not a threat, he’ll leave. Just be patient.”
    Easy for you to say , Lacey thought wryly. She
continued to stare at the snake in fascinated awe. It looked so menacing, its
black eyes staring at her, unblinking, its forked tongue darting out to test
the air. She recalled the time when one of the men on the Double L had been
bitten. He had been found hours later when it was too late for anyone to help
him. His leg had swollen to twice its normal size and turned black. He had died
a horrible death.
    Frozen with fear, Lacey could not take her eyes from the
snake. Terror older than time itself held her in its grasp, and then she heard
Matt’s voice again, deep and soothing, tinged with a slight Southern accent.
    “Don’t panic, Lacey. Just sit tight and you’ll be fine, I
promise.”
    Lacey nodded, not really believing him.
    “Look at the flowers, Lacey. Over there, behind the snake.”
    Lacey shook her