The Circle Eight: Nicholas Read Online Free PDF Page A

steel hot and heavy in her hands. He groaned as she squeezed and caressed him.
    “It’s gonna be over before it starts.” His voice, low pitched and gritty, reached through the haze of arousal.
    She gentled her movements and then finally stepped away to rid herself of her own clothing. His gaze followed her movements as she shed everything until she stood in nothing but her skin.
    “Sweet angel on earth.” This time his tone was softer.
    Winnie smiled and finished removing the rest of his clothing. She laid them on the hay to make a bed of sorts and then crawled on them. When she held her arms up, he started as if she poked him.
    “Please, Nicholas.”
    He lowered himself with agonizing slowness until they were fused from top to bottom. It was incredible, like nothing she’d ever experienced. Perhaps it was because she had feelings for him, or perhaps because her experiences were more like a chore.
    Pleasure ricocheted through her as he cupped her breasts and rolled the nipples between his fingers. His cock pressed against her thigh, eager and hot. She opened her thighs, inviting him to join them together.
    She pulled at his back until he slid into her welcoming heat. Inch by inch, he entered her and was finally seated deep within her core. Tears stung her eyes as the perfection of the moment washed over her.
    This was what making love felt like.
    Then he started to move and her wonder increased, as did her passion. She pulled at his hips, urging him faster and faster. Soft moans escaped her throat but she made no other sound. They hid from the world, creating a cocoon of ecstasy only they knew of. When she crested, stars danced behind her closed lids and her breathing ceased. Pure joy exploded throughout her body as she clutched him, pulling him even further into her tre mbling body.
    His back tightened and his breath gusted past her ear as he pushed into her one last time, finding his own release. She thought he said, “Angel,” but her own ears rang with the aftermath of their joining.
    Their labored breathing echoed in the stall and Winnie heard the murmurs of the crowd outside the barn enjoying themselves. Anyone could have walked in on them at any moment. She wouldn’t, and couldn’t, regret what they’d done.
    He lifted his head and stared in her eyes. This beautiful, haunted man already owned a part of her heart, and now he’d taken even more.
    “Are you all right?”
    She smiled. “I don’t think I have ever felt more right in my life.”
    He frowned and then rose, stealing his heat from her and tearing a bit of her happiness with him. She accepted his offer of a handkerchief, cleaned herself up and they both dressed silently. He stood behind her and plucked a few pieces of hay from her hair. The entire time they worked, he would not look in the eye.
    Dread began to push aside the contentment she’d been experiencing. Something was wrong.
    “Nicholas?”
    He shook his head and looked at a spot somewhere over her left shoulder. “This was a mistake.”
    Her stomach dropped to her knees. “You don’t believe that.”
    “Yes, I do.” He turned to leave and she fisted her hands to keep from slapping him.
    “You cannot hide forever. I see you for who you are, Nicholas Graham.” She damned the tremble in her voice. “Now you need to do the same.”
    He left the stall without a word, leaving her to quake and swallow the bile that had risen at the way he ran from her. Wasn’t he affected by what they’d done? How could he be so cold after what they’d shared?
    Coming to the Circle Eight had been a mistake. Now Winnie had experienced something else for the first time—heartbreak.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    Things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Nick stared at Matt as though he could force his older brother to change his mind. As if that ever worked in all his life.
    “You want me to escort her back to Houston?” Nick hated the way his voice broke, like he was a thirteen-year-old