Snowed Read Online Free PDF

the kimono being eased off her shoulder, and gasped as James pressed a whisper-soft kiss to her neck. She snatched the slippery fabric from his fingers and yanked the sash tight, even as he slid yards of silk off her leg to stroke the inside of her knee.
    “Mr. Bradburn, you’ve obviously jumped to the wrong conclusion about this...about
this
.”
    “Is that right? Well, it’s hard not to jump to conclusions whenever a lovely young woman deposits herself in my bed on the night of my birthday, wearing my robe.”
    Beautiful. Perfect. How many beds in this mansion, and the one she flees to has to be his.
    She said, “
Whenever
a woman deposits herself in your bed? So I take it this sort of thing happens to you all the time?”
    “Of course not. I was speaking figuratively.”
    “Well, speaking
non
figuratively, Mr. Bradburn, I want to get up. Right now. Please move your arm.”
    A frigid silence ensued. When James finally spoke, his voice was edged in steel. “This is a dangerous game you’ve decided to play, Leah. I don’t know what you’re up to, but the party’s over, in case you hadn’t noticed. I’m beginning to think I should’ve spanked your precious butt awake at three
a.m.
and booted it out into the snow.” Abruptly he shoved her onto her back, looming over her. His black hair was disheveled, his face shadowed with beard stubble. “What the hell are you
—
” He stopped, his eyes riveted to her left cheek.
    She touched her face, and his gaze shifted to her slender wrist. He captured her arm, and then she saw them, too. The ugly purple bruises that had bloomed during the night. The left side of her face felt tender and swollen.
    He stared down at her, his expression troubled. “What happened to you?”
    She couldn’t speak. The memory of Mike’s attack threatened to choke her.
    James’s broad bare chest, lightly covered in black hair, rose and fell faster now. He was angry, but his anger was no longer directed at her, she realized. “Tell me, Leah. Who did this to you?”
    She turned her face away as tears stung her eyes.
    He said, “You didn’t have these bruises when you left the ballroom last night.”
    How could she tell him about Mike? She’d used the man, a business associate of James, to gain entrance to his home. To gain access to...
    His dead father. And hers.
    Her eyes squeezed shut, and the tears fell in a torrent of grief and confusion. Who was she crying for? she wondered.
    Through her sobs she heard James’s voice, steady and deep, as he pulled her up and wrapped her tightly in his arms. “Leah...Leah...it’s over. Don’t be afraid.” Long, strong fingers stroked her hair, her back, until the wracking sobs finally wound down and she was conscious only of the warmth of his chest, the measured beating of his heart, and the reassuring, now familiar scent of him.
    “I’ll wait until you decide to tell me.” But he would have an answer. That much was clear.
    “Mike Carleton.” Was that her voice, so tiny?
    She felt him stiffen, heard his heated oath. He held her away from him and let his gaze sweep over her as she clutched the kimono closed right up to her chin. “Leah, did he...?”
    “No.”
    “He tried.”
    “Yes.”
    He cursed again. “That bastard did this under my roof, to a guest in my home.” A vein pulsed in his temple. “It seems I have more to apologize for than drenching you in bourbon.”
    “It wasn’t your fault.”
    “I’m still old-fashioned enough to believe that a lady under my roof is entitled to a certain degree of protection.”
    She couldn’t resist. “Is that what you were doing a little while ago, protecting me?”
    “A simple misreading of the situation. Don’t worry. Ravishing unwilling females has never held much appeal for me. You’re safe.”
    Safe from James. She ought to be relieved.
    You’d
better
be relieved,
she thought.
You’d better be tickled pink that you’re safe from this of all men.
    Abruptly he swung his legs off