Unexpected Angel. Kate Hoffmann
Читать онлайн книгу.
clothes. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she murmured, refusing to meet his gaze. “I—I’m here to do a job and nothing more. I trust you’ll remember that from now on?”
Alex smiled as he struggled to his feet, evidence of his desire pressing against the snow-dampened fabric of his jeans. “Hey, all’s fair in love and war,” he replied. “Isn’t that what they say?”
She opened her mouth to snap out a reply, but just then Eric appeared from behind the tree. He took in his father’s appearance, then grinned. “Holly got you good!” he cried. “We win, we win!”
Alex cleared his throat, then nodded. “Yeah, Scout, Holly got me good.”
The “victor” pasted a bright smile on her face and held out her hand to Eric. “We better get going,” she said. “We still have three trees to find.” Without looking at Alex, she brushed by him and trudged off on her quest for perfection.
When Alex caught up to them, a full five minutes later, he’d managed to quell his physical reaction to their encounter, but couldn’t banish the sense of regret he felt. What might have happened if they’d been alone in the woods, without interruption? Would they have given in to their attraction, finally and fully? She’d wanted him to kiss her. He’d seen it in her eyes, in the way her mouth quivered slightly, in the soft clouds of frozen breath that betrayed her excitement. But how much longer could they both deny what was so blatantly obvious? They wanted each other, in the simplest, most primal way.
“Come on, Dad!” Eric called. “Holly found a tree she likes.”
She stood beside a balsam that resembled every other balsam she’d rejected, her hands clutched in front of her, her attention firmly on the tree. “This is the one,” she murmured, again refusing to look at him.
Alex circled the tree, knowing full well that she’d chosen the first thing she’d come upon. It was clear she’d do anything to escape his presence, including settling for a substandard tree. “What about this bare spot?” he asked.
“We can put it against the wall,” she said, her earlier enthusiasm diminished, her expression uneasy. “And that little one, over there, will be fine for the library. And the one over there for the family room. If you’ll just cut them down, we can be on our way.”
She was upset, but Alex wasn’t sure why. Could he have misread her reactions? Had he been so long without a woman that he couldn’t tell the difference between desire and distaste? He cursed inwardly, cursed his runaway urges and his unbidden reaction to them. “Eric, why don’t you take Miss Bennett back to the house. She looks a little…cold.”
That brought a response, narrowed eyes and cheeks stained red from more than just the frigid air. “I can find my way back on my own,” she said defensively.
“I’m sure you can. But I’d feel better if Eric showed you the way. He knows this land as well as I do.”
Alex watched them go, standing in the same spot until they disappeared behind a low rise in the landscape. Then with a soft groan, he sat down in the snow. Though he’d tried his best to resist her, there was no denying the truth. He wasn’t going to be satisfied until he kissed Holly Bennett, long and hard and deep. Maybe then, he’d be able to put this strange fascination behind him. That was the answer, then. At the next available opportunity, he’d pull her into his arms and kiss her. And finally, that would be the end of it.
Or maybe, it would just be a beginning.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.