The Barons of Texas: Jill Read Online Free PDF Page A

soak up the heat and strength of him. But she was sure the covers had been between them.
    And now she recognized the scent that had invaded her sleep. The covers and the air around her were filled with the scent of spices and musk. It was the bold, sexual scent that was uniquely Colin’s and was probably on the sheets where he’d slept. “I didn’texpect you to stay all night. And I didn’t expect you to…uh…undress.”
    He pushed himself up in bed to a sitting position. The covers fell away enough that she could see the black elastic waistband of his briefs. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At least he wasn’t totally naked.
    “The truth is, I never had any intention of leaving you alone. If you hadn’t said something, I had planned to wait outside the door until I thought you were asleep, then come back in.”
    She blinked. “Why?”
    “I couldn’t leave you alone. You were too sick, too out of it, and there are a hundred other reasons why you shouldn’t have been left alone. If you’d gotten worse, or had a reaction to the medication, or if you’d needed something, I wanted to be here. Hell, what if the house had caught on fire? You would have been defenseless. No, Jill, I couldn’t leave you alone.”
    She had never seen his eyes as soft as they were now. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. A moment later, she realized what she was doing. Chewing on her bottom lip was a bad trait left over from a stressful childhood. “And, uh, what went into the decision that moved you from on top of the bed, fully dressed, to under the covers and undressed?”
    He grinned. “Even after the medicine hit you and you went out like a light, you couldn’t seem to get comfortable. I decided you still might be cold, and I was right. As soon as I undressed and got beneath the covers, I pulled you against me. Almost immediately you relaxed.”
    There was nothing she could say. None of what she’d done had been conscious, and therefore shecouldn’t explain her actions. The medication always made her feel odd, as if she might float away. She had a vague recollection of his arm around her, of being pulled against him, of at last feeling secure and, strangely, anchored to something strong.
    “How long have you been awake?”
    “Since the sun came up.”
    “Why didn’t you wake me?” For the first time irritation shaded her tone.
    He responded by smiling, slowly, and she found herself caught up in watching the movement of his lips, their fullness, their sensual shape. And then there was his dimple. She stared at it, vaguely fascinated.
    “Manners.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I didn’t wake you up because it wouldn’t have been polite.”
    “Why on earth not?”
    “You were all tangled up with me.”
    The air went out of her lungs as the feeling came back to her of her leg between his and her arm laid across his middle. Her face grew hot. She would swear she never blushed, but now she couldn’t be sure, because his gaze had suddenly narrowed on her face.
    “Besides, you were sleeping so well I hated to wake you.”
    “But when I did wake up, you… I mean, I was…over here .”
    He shrugged. “I’d been lying in one position all night. My muscles had started to cramp, and I needed to stretch out. I disentangled us, though I tried hard not to wake you. Sorry.”
    She nodded, though she had no idea why. She wasjust grateful that she hadn’t awakened in his arms. That would have been incredibly awkward and excruciatingly embarrassing.
    “How are you feeling?” He threw back the covers and slipped off the bed. His solid black briefs fit him as if they’d been cut just for him, and he seemed as comfortable in front of her as if he paraded around her bedroom every day, nearly naked. To him it was obviously not a big deal, but then, he must have dressed and undressed many times before in other women’s bedrooms.
    She barely had time to absorb that strangely disturbing thought when, with his back to her, he