Wildest Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page B

might not be for another year and a half. He was content to wait.

    Oliver had learned a long time ago that patience was a virtue that nearly everyone else in the world lacked. Not that he minded that lack in others. It gave him a distinct advantage.

    But in the matter of Annie Lyncroft, he had not had to exercise his singular talent for waiting at all. Two days ago she had announced she was prepared to hurl herself into his arms. Or at least into marriage with him.

    Oliver allowed himself a faint smile as he contemplated the image of Annie Lyncroft in his arms. When he had first seen her at Daniel's engagement party, it had been rather like discovering an entirely new species of fern. She was unlike any other woman he had ever met. He had promised himself that he would find a way to collect her.

    Oliver had decided that the time had come to find himself a wife. He thought Annie would suit him very well.

    She was unquestionably unique. That did not altogether surprise him. After all, she was Daniel's sister and Daniel was an unusual man. Oliver had trusted Daniel Lyncroft during the years Lyncroft had worked for him. There were not many people Oliver trusted.

    Annie's determination to save Daniel's company did not come as a surprise, either. A capacity for loyalty was obviously a family trait. It was also a trait Oliver required in his wife.

    There was a strong, undeniable physical attraction between himself and Annie, which he could no doubt use to secure the bonds.

    He had felt something deep inside himself respond to Annie almost on sight. It was not that she was spectacularly beautiful, rather the opposite. She had a subtle, haunting allure about her that fascinated him in a way more obvious beauty would not have done. He had always preferred ferns to roses.

    He acknowledged to himself that he wanted Annie. Oliver rarely confided in others, but he made it a practice to be bluntly honest with himself. He reacted to everything about Annie, from the explosion of golden-brown curls that framed her huge hazel green eyes to the delicate sensuality of her soft, gently rounded breasts and thighs.

    She was an intriguing creature. He knew from a remark Daniel had made that she was twenty-nine. The intelligence in her gaze was unmistakable. So was the clear, unwavering honesty. Oliver found that particular attribute extremely appealing. Perhaps it was because he himself was so skilled at concealing his own thoughts and plans from others.

    She spoke blithely of a marriage of convenience, but Oliver was satisfied that with a little patience he could make her his in every sense of the word. He had, after all, been fully aware of the sensual awareness that had bloomed in Annie's gaze when she had looked at him the night of Daniel's engagement party.

    Oliver had known then that, given time and strategy, he could have her. He had gone home that night and plotted a patient course of action that would eventually win him his goal.

    But events had intervened before he could begin his campaign to seduce Annie. Daniel had disappeared and Annie had found herself besieged by her brother's creditors.

    To Oliver's surprise, Annie had taken matters into her own hands. He found the results interesting if somewhat disconcerting. He wondered if it was a sign of things to come. If so, his serene, well-ordered life was in jeopardy. But he would cope, Oliver assured himself. Annie was obviously the impulsive type, but she could be managed.

    Oliver prowled through his rooftop jungle, sprayer in hand, and wondered how Annie expected the marriage of convenience to work. He gathered she anticipated a sort of roommate relationship.

    Oliver paused amid a cluster of huge, billowing maidenhair ferns. He plunged his fingers into the rich soil to check the moisture level. The black earth was warm and damp and it felt very good.

    The technology in the vast greenhouse was state-of-the-art. Everything from the heating to the irrigation system was