Legacy Found: Legacy, Book 3 Read Online Free PDF

males and bad ones, and these days too many of the males were desperate for a mate and had forgotten they needed to honor their females.
    The wolf within him began to growl and the fine hair at his nape rose at the mere thought of another male touching her. Her skin was so fine he longed to reach out and stroke it. But his fingers were rough and calloused after years of hard labor. He was too harsh for such a soft, delicate creature.
    He barely kept from jerking when her small hand slipped beneath his and, this time, it was she who joined their fingers together. Pleasure hummed within him, making his wolf settle.
    James clenched his jaw to keep from swearing as he stared almost blindly out the front windshield. The asphalt was a slender ribbon that he followed automatically.
    At his age and with his experience, he knew better than to fight his instincts. They’d saved his life too many times and had never led him astray. And at this moment, they were all clamoring that this female was special, that she belonged to him, with him. He might be a great believer in listening to his instincts, but he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t about to do anything rash. He still needed answers.
    “Where were you born?” James figured if he kept asking questions he might eventually get some answers.
    This time there was no mistaking her fear. She jerked her hand away from his and all but huddled against the door, getting as far away from him as possible. Well hell. What could be so bad about asking her that?
    “It’s a simple question, Shelley.” He kept glancing over at her, keeping one eye on the road. Her face had lost every bit of color. Not that she’d had much to begin with. But now, she looked positively ill. “Do you need me to stop?”
    “No!” she shouted. She was trembling now, her entire body shaking.
    “Talk to me, honey, or I’m going to pull this truck off the road and we’re not going anywhere until I get some answers.”
    “Bully,” she muttered.
    “Whatever it takes.” He really didn’t care what she thought of him at this point. His only concern was for her well-being. He was pleased that her slight show of temper had brought some of the color back to her cheeks. They were flushed now, her eyes glaring at him. “Come on, Shelley. I won’t stop asking until you tell me.”
    He eased his foot off the fuel pedal and the vehicle began to slow.
    “I don’t know,” she cried. Burying her face in her hands, she hunched her shoulders forward as if to protect herself. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember.” She was sobbing now, her entire body heaving. “I don’t remember.” Her voice was little more than a tortured whisper and James quickly pulled the truck off onto the shoulder of the road.
    Undoing his own seatbelt and then hers, he slid to the center of the seat, gently lifted her into his arms and cradled her close against his body. Her tears shook him to the core. He hated them. Hated to see her cry.
    “Shh,” he crooned. “It’s all right. Whatever it is, it’s all right.” She weighed little more than a child, but it certainly wasn’t a child’s body resting against him. It was all woman. From her soft, slight curves to the pliant mound of her full breast as it pressed against him.
    His erection pushed tight against the front of his jeans, but he ignored his discomfort. He held her until she was cried out, until her breathing had leveled out again and only the occasional hiccup shook her as she slowly calmed. Tilting her head back against his arm, he pushed a lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind the shell of her ear. “Better?”
    She gave a watery laugh and sniffed. “Not really. Tears don’t solve anything. I haven’t cried in…” She shook her head. “I don’t really remember the last time. Years, I guess.”
    “Then I’d say that you were due.”
    “You’re a very unusual man, James Riley.” She was so serious, her large chocolate-brown eyes luminous. He thought