Seducing Liselle Read Online Free PDF Page B

right.”
    Before Liselle realized what he was going to do, he picked her up, swinging her into his arms.
She squeaked, grabbing onto his shoulders.
    “What are you doing? What about your
shoulder? I’m too heavy.” She clung to him, scared to
death he was going to drop her.
    “Relax, I’ve got you. Also, you’re tiny.
My shoulder can handle it. You can’t weigh over a hundred pounds,” he said,
striding through the snow at least twice as fast as before.
    I wish I weighed that little , she thought, fingers clenching in his coat. He sped up and she
gripped tighter. Whoa. He’s almost running in this insane snow, and
he’s carrying me!
    “Relax,” he said again, more firmly this
time. He hitched her up in his arms more securely. “Look, there’s my place.” He
jerked a chin down the trail.
    She followed his gaze and saw a small
cabin nestled in a tiny clearing. The front porch light illuminated the rough
cut wood of the exterior.
    “Looks cozy,” she said, imagining a fire
and warm blankets and hot chocolate. She might have given a small sigh because
John cocked his head questioningly at her.
    “I’m pretending you were serious and
there’s really hot chocolate waiting inside,” she said as he loped up the
steps.
    “Of course there is, do you doubt me?” he
asked, setting her on her feet.
    “I’m used to disappointment,” she said. “I
try not to get too excited about things.”
    He frowned at her again, and looked on the
verge of asking her about her pessimism, but then her legs buckled. She was
dizzy, and for some reason even the dark wood of his house looked white all of
a sudden. Luckily, he grabbed her before she fell, slinging her up close
against his side.
    “Okay now, no falling,” he murmured in her
ear.
    She shivered, whether from the sexy, low
buzz of his voice or the cold, she didn’t know. She burrowed in closer to him,
trying unsuccessfully to stand up on her own. She couldn’t feel her feet.
    “I can’t feel my toes,” she said, looking
down. Her boots were encased in ice and snow. “Or my hands,” she added.
    “Hang on,” he said and did something with
the lock. The door swung open, warm air blowing over them.
    “Oh my God, warmth,” she said, clumsily
surging forward, desperate to get inside.
    He chuckled and half-carried her in,
flipping a switch as he kicked the door shut behind him. The interior was
small, with a kitchen to the left and a sofa in front of a large fireplace
directly in front of them. Steps let up to a loft on the right side. Underneath
the loft he’d set up an office area complete with computer, bookshelves, and a
cat bed.
    “You have a cat?” she asked, watching as a
black and grey creature stretched and yawned on the top of the sofa’s back,
then jumped down and sauntered over to investigate their entrance.
    “I have a cat that thinks he’s a pit
bull,” John replied.
    While Liselle tried to unbutton her coat, he stared down at the cat in a sort of complicated
dominance greeting. The cat sniffed disdainfully and let loose with a meow that
sounded more like a howl. Then it head-butted her leg.
    “Uh, what does he want?” she asked, trying
not to fall over as pins and needles surged through her warming limbs.
    John snorted. “He probably wants to eat
you. Or me. I’m not sure which.”
    She glared at him, edging away from the
cat. “Seriously.” She pulled off her mittens, tucking
the sodden fabric into a coat pocket.
    He laughed and shoved the creature away
with his foot. “I’ll feed you in a minute, Pitbull .”
    The cat meowed again, raising the hair on Liselle’s neck, then stalked off.
    “You named him Pitbull ?”
    John shrugged. “He’s kind of a handful.”
    She rolled her eyes and fumbled at her
coat again, still dizzy. “What is wrong with me?” she muttered, frustrated when
she couldn’t get her fingers around the buttons.
    “Here, let me.” John batted her hands
away.
    “This is ridiculous,” she said, face
burning.