Training Ivy [How The West Was Done 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF Page B

turned into a perfect O . Color did rise on her cheeks, leading Harley to believe she’d just been ignorant of his intent. For a few moments she could only look at his boots, but eventually her eyes wandered boldly up and found his face again. Raising a hand to her mouth, she opened those plump lips and chewed on a knuckle. It must have taken every ounce of bravery she could summon to inquire coyly, “And what is so bad about an abundance of carnal appetite?”
    Harley was astounded. His heart speeded its pace, a sheen of sweat broke on his forehead, and his penis ballooned uncomfortably against his thigh. Instantly his lascivious brain calculated how long it had been since he’d ejaculated.
    He realized he was panting down on this poor unfortunate gal, so he continued unwrapping the package on the counter. Without looking, his fingers sought and found a peach pit, which he slowly popped into his mouth and chewed. Ivy had not removed her eyes from his face. He had to say something. “A man has to get some work done some time .”
    This seemed to please her, for she smiled knowingly and at last glanced toward the luckless Neil, who was pacing back and forth in irritation with his bundle of tea. “Neil? Harley here has got to be part of the mystery Caleb was mentioning! How often does one run across peaches in Dakota Territory, much less twice in one day?”
    Neil shook his package angrily. “Yes, but what does an Indian have to do with it? I tell you, Ivy. Caleb is loco. He’s been in the desert so long he knows all the lizards by their first names.”
    “Indian?” Harley asked. “Why? Was there some prophecy that an Indian would arrive with peaches?” Prophecies fascinated him. Harley had steeped himself in Eastern mysticism and had seen the effect prophecies had on people. The more strongly they believed in them, so it seemed, the more likely they were to come true.
    “Yes!” Ivy said with shining eyes. “His exact words were ‘an Indian will find the peaches he’s been looking for.’ You were looking for peaches, although Neil is right. You’re hardly an Indian.”
    Harley cocked a hip with confidence. “Does being in the British Indian Army count? I was stationed in Gujarat for two years. That’s where I learned to speak Sindhi, Persian, and Arabic.”
    A slow, knowing grin spread over Ivy’s face. Her fingers reached to the crumpled paper on the counter and felt around for a peach pit, which she rolled about in her hand. “Sure, why not? You’ve been to India. I’m sure we just assumed it was an Indian from around here, but the Far East India, why not?”
    They shared a warm, secret glance that was ruined when Neil shouted, “Enough is enough! Ivy, listen. I’m taking you to the telegraph office to wire your sister, as we promised your father. Is this the only item you needed in town? You must be dying to bathe. Your father has the biggest bathtub in town, you’ll be glad to know. I can send for his laundress to clean anything you need cleaned.”
    “Why, thank you, Neil. That’s very thoughtful of you.”
    Neil shot Harley a defiant glare, jerking his head in a terse nod as though to say, “There! I won that hand!” Harley narrowed his eyes at the dashing head of security. The two men stood for several long seconds in a showdown of wills, as though about to pounce.
    Perhaps Ivy noticed it, for she took Neil’s arm and said soothingly, “I only need to find some soap, although I’m sure Father has some in his house.” She looked to Harley from under her lashes, as though accustomed to playing the sly flirt. “You’ll be by Vancouver House later on, won’t you, Harley?”
    Harley opened his mouth to reply, but a strange interruption took place then. The pharmacy’s front door banged open—at first everyone assumed it was the incessant wind—and a gangly fellow who would probably be bald in a few years blew into the room.
    He was all agog about something, and when he spied Ivy, he