Surrender to Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page A

wasn’t easily intimidated. The women his uncle had sent before would be in tears by now, begging him to let them stay or to be taken to the nearest airport.
    “I didn’t sign it, so technically I’m not obligated to honor it. I’m sorry you made the trip out here for nothing, Ms. Savoy.”
    “Your uncle said you need me, Mr. Fitzgerald.”
    Need her? Miss June, with her prefect lips, brought to mind a different kind of need. There was no room on his ranch for someone like her. She’d only remind him of what was missing in his life, the dream he’d meant to share with one woman.
    “Winston will drive you back to Butte, Ms. Savoy,” Chase said.
    Ms. Savoy stared at him with round, distraught eyes, the light dimming from their depth. He felt like an ass hole. Like he had crushed her spirit. The urge to reassure her and take back his words stole over him, but he stomped on them. She was trouble and had to go.
    “Excuse me.” He turned and started for the kitchen.

    ***

    Nikki was shocked when she realized the cowboy was serious.
    “Mr. Fitzgerald, your uncle acted on your behalf when he signed this contract. It is your responsibility to fulfill it.” She moderated her tone and tried not to let her temper get the best of her. But, damn it, he made it so hard. He had the answers she needed. Having come this far, she refused to cut her losses by getting angry.
    He stopped, turned, and flashed a smile. “No, it isn’t. Now, if you want a paycheck or severance monies—”
    “I don’t take charity,” Nikki interrupted.
    “I’ll gladly pay you for the time you so badly want to spend here,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Winston!”
    Nikki lost it. “You know what? A baboon has better etiquette than you. You are the rudest and most arrogant man I’ve ever met. That poor man,” she pointed toward the door through which Winston and Mrs. B had disappeared, “drove for hours to pick me up and bring me to your ranch, and now you want him to drive me back again? How can you disregard his well-being? Where’s your sympathy for someone of his advanced age?”
    Fitzgerald laughed, blue eyes twinkling, and she fought the urge to chuck her computer bag at his head. That she found his eyes mesmerizing only added to her ire. She’d always had a thing for blue eyes. Worse, she had let her temper get the better of her. His foreman was strong and ageless like the old cowboys who drove cattle from sunrise to sundown with nothing but a canteen of water and salted, dry meat.
    She bit her lower lip as she tried to control her annoyance and come up with another argument. When she looked up, he was staring at her with cocked eyebrows as though challenging her.
    “I can sue you for breach of contract,” she said triumphantly and grinned. Take that, you arrogant blue-eyed cowboy.
    The smile died on his lips, his eyes narrowing. “You wouldn’t dare.”
    “Try me.”
    He turned his head sideways and contemplated her, his eyes traveling down her jean-clad legs then back up before lingering on her lips. Her senses leaped as though he’d run his large hands over her body. Of all the times for her body to betray her, this was the worst. Things only got worse when his eyes found hers and he gave her a slow, wicked smile.
    Warmth unfurled in her stomach.
    “This is not really about working for me, is it?” he asked. “You are here for whole different reason, aren’t you, sweetheart? Why don’t I just create one of my signature picnic meals? Then the two of us can ride out to my creek and get to know each other better, hmm?”
    His voice had gone huskily low, and Nikki’s breath caught at the picture his words evoked, her brain sending provocative messages to her body. Her stomach tilted. Okay, this was bad. Just because she’d stopped dating after her sister’s accident didn’t mean she had to act like a love-starved idiot in the presence of this cowboy. The sooner she finished here, the faster she’d get to