Lawless Read Online Free PDF Page A

across her smooth cheek and gave him a tentative smile.
    24
    www.samhainpublishing.com

    Lawless
    He wished to hell she hadn’t done it. It had been a long time since any woman had gazed at him with a soft light in her eyes. Yes, he’d had his share of ladies who liked his looks. It was just good sense to keep his mouth shut over who he actually was most of the time, but there were enough who thought his notoriety exciting too, which he found wrong in many ways. Not since he was a lot younger and less jaded had he experienced any kind of real connection besides a purely physical one.
    This young woman wasn’t going to be good for his peace of mind. He’d known it the minute she was dragged off that train.
    Trouble dogged him as it was, he didn’t need more of it.
    More gruffly than he intended, he said, “Get up, we need to move on.”

    ***
    Laurel was pretty sure her legs had stopped working, the irritating man refused to light a fire, and she had never been so dirty and tired in her life. Not to mention hungry, and all he’d offered for supper was cold beans, a few strips of dried meat and a hard biscuit.
    Maybe he should put his legendary prowess with a gun to good use and put her out of her misery.
    On the other hand, Cal Riker looked infuriatingly nonchalant and comfortable, unsaddling his horse with ease, gathering some pine fronds to make a temporary mattress and arranging a place for them to sleep, eating the unappetizing food without comment or complaint. If he felt the bite of the chill as night settled over them, he didn’t show it.
    Hatless, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, he repacked the food, kneeling by the saddlebags in the small clearing of cottonwoods. His profile was clean and sharp, thick dark blond hair curling against the strong column of his neck. Long-fingered hands moved with efficient dexterity as he worked and Laurel couldn’t help but be struck by not only his masculine good looks, but how he seemed to exude a powerful self-control that was part of his charisma and probably what led to his formidable reputation.

    www.samhainpublishing.com 25

    Emma Wildes
    He seemed to sense her scrutiny, for he looked up and stared back, apparently noticing her teeth were chattering. “You cold?”
    “Very astute, Mr. Riker. I’m half fr-frozen.” She was a little embarrassed to be caught staring.
    “Why didn’t you say something?”
    “I’m doing my best to not complain,” she shot back, finding it hard to look dignified when she was sitting on the ground, her hair a mess, her entire body shivering. “I feel I owe you that much.”
    For the first time he smiled, a mesmerizing curve of his well-shaped mouth that changed him suddenly from a gimlet-eyed outlaw to just a very attractive man. “I appreciate that, believe me. But there’s no need for you to freeze to death. We should turn in anyway. We’ve another long day tomorrow.”
    As he had only made up one bed, she didn’t doubt they’d be sleeping together again.
    Since he only had two blankets, it made sense to share, and at the moment, she was both disconcerted by the idea and grateful at the same time. Self-preservation was a powerful thing and since she knew already he wasn’t going to assault her, sleeping next to him was better than shivering the night away in misery.
    Laurel nodded, though when she stood up, her legs wobbled and she couldn’t help but make a small sound of distress. When on the ranch she rode every day, but never from sunrise to sunset, and certainly not in a dress, with her petticoats bunched around her knees and her arms around the waist of a strange man.
    The word “pride” pretty much did not apply to her current situation.
    Cal Riker caught her arm to steady her. “If you aren’t used to all that time in the saddle, it can be a little tough. Lean on me.”
    She did, shamelessly so, and when he guided her the few steps to the arranged bedroll, she sank down in a mess of quivering muscles with a low