Snowbound Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page A

if it had been warm out, would you have sent me packing?”
    He groaned loudly and glared at her.
    Audrey chuckled and gave him a little hug. “Sorry, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Now that we’re clear, do you have a problem with me staying here?”
    He stood and turned to face her, more to get her arm off him than anything else. He tried to tell himself that she wasn’t sending mixed signals, he was misinterpreting her actions, but that didn’t keep her touch from making him want to devour her. “Not at all. I’m truly happy to have the company. I would be much happier if you ripped off my clothes and jumped me, but I’m glad you’re here just the same. I can’t promise that I’ll stop saying stupid stuff like that. Apparently, my mouth has a mind of its own.”
    Her gaze slid down to his crotch for a moment. She sighed, grasped his zipper, and pulled it up, holding on to his pants just a little too long. “Well, I’ll do my best to ignore your mouth.”
    Audrey stood and strutted into the kitchen, swaying her hips as if she were intentionally trying to torture him. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her supple curves, even though staring at her unattainable body left him barely able to breath. At the moment she stepped into the cabin, his world came alive with hope, but now all hope was dead.
    She opened the cupboard and stood shaking her head. Dead hope didn’t equate to dead desire. His groin tingled as he watched her bounce up and down on her tiptoes, shuffling the foodstuffs around, apparently trying to find something appetizing. The sensation of her body pressed tightly against him came rushing back. Had she really gotten so close only to help him get warm? He doubted it, but he didn’t get the impression that she was anything less than genuine. Maybe she had come to him simply to feel the touch of a strange man for comparison or reassurance to stave off a case of cold feet. Regardless of her reason, he wanted more, and the prospect of getting more was grim.
    “What’s up with so many cans of beans? Were you guys planning on blowing up the cabin? If you had eaten all these and there had been a spark...”
    Stephen chuckled in spite of the gloom enveloping his heart. “They’re quick and easy to fix.”
    She closed the cupboard and opened the refrigerator, bending at the waist rather than squatting to see the bottom shelves. “It looks like you’ve got breakfast and dinner covered, but I don’t see anything for lunch.”
    Stephen licked his lips. “I see what I want for lunch,” he mumbled under his breath.
    She withdrew her head from the refrigerator and turned around to face him. “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”
    “There’s some deli-sliced turkey in one of the drawers. A grilled turkey and cheese sandwich would be nice, or we could just crack open a couple cans of pork and beans.”
    “I think we had better wait until the honeymoon is over before we get into the beans.”
    An image of standing on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, holding Audrey’s hand, flashed into his mind. “Honeymoon? Is there something you want to tell me?”
    Audrey stood holding the refrigerator door for a moment as if deciding what to say. “It was just a silly joke, Stephen.” She opened the crisper drawer and pulled out the package of turkey.
    “I know it was a joke. Ever been to Niagara Falls?”
    She turned around to face him, as pale as if all the blood had rushed out of her head. “Why did you ask me that?”
    “Audrey, are you okay? You don’t look well.”
    She took a few steps toward him but stopped in the doorway to steady herself on the frame. “Why did you ask about Niagara Falls?”
    Stephen went to meet her, worried that she might faint. “I was just curious.”
    “Curiosity, are you sure that’s all? You didn’t see us—never mind, forget it.” Audrey wavered, and Stephen grasped her arm to hold her up.
    “See us what, Audrey? Holding hands, staring at the