Texas Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page B

need to be up here at all. You need something, let me or one of my crew handle it for you.”
    She moved close to him, close enough that he could see the flecks of green sparkle in her hazel eyes, close enough that he could smell the flowery scent of her skin. He wanted to move away, but he held his ground.
    â€œI’ve been in the field now for almost two years.” She tilted her chin upward. “I’ve been on a dozen rigs like this. I know what I’m doing.”
    Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing....
    How many times had he awakened in the middle of the night, drenched with sweat, with those words pounding in his head?
    He couldn’t take that chance again. Not with Annie. “I don’t want you up here.”
    She stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”
    â€œDamn straight I am. You have no reason to be up on the rig.”
    Her mouth thinned, and he felt his gut tighten as he stared at her lips and remembered how soft they’d felt under his, how warm. He quickly pushed the thought aside.
    â€œJared, I know what’s bothering you, and it’s understandable, but I have a job to do here.”
    â€œYour job,” he said tightly, “involves the logging and mapping and soil samples. Once I’ve hired my crew, we’ll take care of everything else.”
    She shook her head. “That’s not my style. I know most geologists keep their distance, but my policy is strictly hands-on.”
    He tried to ward off the impulse to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off the rig. “I set the policies around here. I’m responsible for three crews of six men twenty-four hours a day. I won’t be responsible for you, too.”
    Her eyes flashed with anger. “ Responsible for me? Of all the—” She leveled her gaze on his. “Jared, sit down.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI said, sit down.” She pointed to the floor of the platform.
    He narrowed his eyes, then did as she asked, stretching one leg out in front of him and bending the other. She sat facing him, curling her legs under her in a way that made him think about how long and slender those limbs were in her tight jeans.
    She laced her fingers together and stared at them for a long moment. A hawk swept close to the derrick, screeching as it soared past, and a prairie dog chattered a warning to the underground community that a predator was close by.
    He waited for her to speak, watching as a breeze ruffled the ends of her hair. She combed the loose strands away from her face and finally lifted her gaze to his. Her eyes were soft now, edged with a sadness that twisted his insides.
    He understood with painful clarity how his brother had fallen in love with this woman. And he also understood why he had to keep his distance.
    â€œJared.” She reached out and laid her hands on his. “It wasn’t your fault.”
    His jaw clenched as he stared down at her fingers resting on his knuckles. Her skin was smooth and cool, yet her touch burned. But he didn’t want her understanding. And he sure as hell didn’t want her pity. “So I’ve been told.”
    She frowned and her fingers closed around his. “Dammit, Jared, it wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. A terrible tragic accident. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it.”
    â€œHe didn’t belong up here,” Jared said tightly. “He wasn’t familiar with the operation yet. He didn’t have the experience.”
    â€œAnd you think you could have stopped him?”
    It was a question he’d asked himself every day for almost four years. A question he’d never have an answer to. “I should have insisted. He didn’t understand the risks.”
    She shook her head. “He understood more than you give him credit for. The need to be a part of it, every aspect of it, was in his blood just as strongly as it was—and