The Fairest of Them All Read Online Free PDF

her.
    Then someone jostled her, and she came to her senses. Heat scored her cheeks. This was Russ .
    “Have you lost your mind?” she asked breathlessly. “If you wanted Natalie to back off, you should have picked someone more believable. She’s never been threatened by me.”
    “She is now,” he said mildly.
    “Oh, yeah?” Carly couldn’t keep the disbelief from her voice. “Why?”
    “You’ve got me.”
    Carly opened her mouth to retort, but to her consternation, no clever words came to mind. She frowned.
    The music stopped, and Russ caught her off guard, bringing her hand to his warm mouth. He kissed her bandaged finger. “What’d you do this time?”
    A quiver danced through her. She slowly released the breath he’d stopped. “Boo-boo of the week,” Carly said and took another breath. Where had all the oxygen gone? “I had an argument with a paring knife, and it won.” She smiled and removed her hand from his, eager to put some space between them.
    Russ guided her back to the table. “I think we can leave now,” he murmured, allowing his lips to brush her ear. “Unless you want to stay?”
    Carly resisted the urge to rub away the effect of that distracting caress. Instead, she shook her head.
    After a perfunctory good-bye to Natalie and Bob, Russ nudged her toward the exit. When they reached the car, she slumped into the leather seat with a sigh. “Well, tonight won’t have been a total loss if National Electronics starts giving me some of their business.”
    Russ revved the powerful engine and backed out of the parking space. “I’m sure Bob will be calling you,” he said none too happily, recalling the interested expression on the other man’s face.
    “Good. I’ll be that much closer to my goal,” Carly mumbled and closed her eyes.
    Russ’s ears pricked up. “What goal?”
    Carly sighed again. “I want to buy out my—” She broke off abruptly and sat up straighter.
    “Buy out my what?” He looked at her. She was almost squirming in her seat. “Is it a secret?”
    A long silence followed. “I guess it is.”
    He didn’t push. From past experience, Russ knew that pushing her was a mistake. “If it’s important to you, then I hope it works out.”
    Out of the comer of his eye, he saw her relax slightly.
    “It is important. Maybe even vital. And I’ll make it happen or die trying. ”
    Russ steered the car into a vacant parking space in her small apartment complex. He placed a hand on her delicate shoulder, loving the feel of her warmth and softness. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to kill yourself,” he said with a lazy grin. “But let me know if I can help you out.”
    She wavered. It was only a few seconds, but he saw it in her eyes before she straightened and set her chin.
    “I’ve got to do this myself.” She softened the statement with a smile. “But thanks anyway.”
    Russ resisted the urge to pull her into his lap and kiss the resistance out of her. He trailed his fingers down her arm. “Time for all hardworking ladies to get to bed. Will you share yours with me? I’ve got a long drive back to the farm.”
    He heard her soft gasp. Then she hooted with laughter.
    “Give me a break, Bradford. When it comes to meaningless flirtations, you wrote the book—and sold it to my brothers. A woman would have to be crazy to take you seriously.” Carly smiled and poked his chest. “If you’ve got such a long drive, you’d better get moving.” Then she opened the car door and got out.
    Russ watched her long legs and sweet rear end as she edged out. He felt the familiar heat, rubbed his mouth, and wondered if a man could die from being too patient.
    He narrowed his eyes. His past was coming back to haunt him. He hadn’t counted on Carly not taking him seriously. This wasn’t part of his careful plan.
    Now, if he rushed his seduction of her, Carly would think he was treating her like any other woman he’d dated. Which was the furthest thing from the truth. So what he must