Tea and Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page B

turned to Tracy. “If they’re not back here with the fish by five-thirty, you might defrost that chicken in the freezer.”
    “Oh, ye of little faith,” Hank said.
    “I’d be delighted to have you prove me wrong,” sheretorted cheerfully as she began clearing the dessert plates.
    Hank felt his blood stir at the challenge in her voice and the look in her eyes. It was a look that taunted and teased like a delicate spring breeze. No other woman should dare a look like that unless she meant it, but Hank knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ann didn’t. In fact, he seriously questioned whether she was even aware of its effect on him. He’d never met a woman less interested in using her femininity to lure a man.
    Acting on an irresistible impulse, his arm circled her waist and he pulled her down until their eyes were even. Hers were startled and definitely wary.
    “You’re playing with fire, lady,” he warned in a low voice, not meant to be overheard, though of course it was. He released her slowly, watching as the color heightened in her cheeks, enjoying the sudden, sharp catch of her breath as giggles erupted around the table.
    And, then, he felt like a heel. The woman had done nothing but welcome him into her home, and here he was blatantly taunting her right smack in front of her family. He was deliberately trying to seduce her, when he knew perfectly well they were about as suited as a porcupine and an armadillo. When would he learn that not every challenge had to be taken, not every bet won? When, he thought in disgust, would he learn to walk away before someone got hurt?
    This time, he promised, glancing around at six expectant young faces. Definitely this time.
    Then he made the mistake of looking into those blue, blue eyes again and his pulse ran wild. Common senseand decency fled, chased by something much more primitive.
    Oh, hell. Maybe not this time after all.

Chapter 3
    A s exhausted as if she’d never once closed her eyes, Ann dragged herself out of bed when the alarm went off at six and stumbled into the bathroom. Bleary-eyed, she stared at her pale reflection in the merciless mirror. She looked like hell and felt ten times worse. What was wrong with her? She usually enjoyed getting up early. It gave her an hour to herself before the house filled with noise and her day became guided by other people’s demands. Today, though, she felt like crawling back into bed, pulling the covers up over her head and staying there until Hank Riley moved out. Unfortunately that was impossible.
    Splashing ice-cold water on her face revived her somewhat. She ran her fingers through her hair in lieu of combing it, then pulled on a pair of running shorts and a shapeless sweatshirt. When she’d added her socksand sneakers, she wandered into the kitchen, put the decaf into the coffeemaker and then began a series of warm-up exercises. She groaned with every single stretch.
    Her body was tight as a drum, probably due entirely to the tension set off by that look in Hank’s eyes when he’d wrapped his muscular arm around her waist and deliberately taunted her at dinner the night before. Most men did not look at her as if she were a tasty morsel of prime rib and they’d been on a starvation diet. Knowing that Hank probably never looked at any woman in any other way didn’t seem to stop the palpitations.
    A long, strenuous run was just what she needed to take her mind off the man’s invasion of her home. She stepped outside and took a deep, reviving breath of the salty air. The sun was just beginning to lift over the edge of the horizon. It would be another hour before it began to burn off the morning fog. For now it was like being all alone in the world. A sense of peacefulness stole over her.
    “You’re up early.” Hank’s voice, low and seductive, emerged eerily from the mist. Ann’s just-loosened muscles immediately went taut again. She just barely resisted the desire to curse.
    “I’m going running,” she