McKenna's Bartered Bride. Sandra Steffen

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СКАЧАТЬ Ah, Jake thought. He’d been too long without a woman.

      Josie knew she should open her eyes, but she lacked the strength. All she could do was strain toward Jake’s warmth. One second his kiss was as tender and light as the summer breeze. The next it was deep and searing, lingering, savoring, devouring. She’d been kissed a thousand times, but she’d never been kissed quite like this.

      Tom’s mouth had always become softer as he’d kissed her. There was nothing soft in this kiss. It was possessive, demanding, the tiniest bit savage. It made her feel naughty, and nice, and young, and free. And very, very single.

      Shock ran through her, and she drew back, her eyes finally opening. Jake’s fingers were still tangled in her hair, his lips still wet from her kiss, his eyes clouded with passion. Her heart was hammering wildly, foolishly. “Wh-why did you do that?”

      He took his time drawing away, letting his fingers comb through her hair. “There are sparks between us.”

      “Spaf—Jake,” she said, feeling guilty. “What are you doing here?”

      She’d called him Jake. She hadn’t intended to, but it had just slipped out. After that kiss, she didn’t see how she would be able to call him Mr. McKenna again.

      While she was trying to regain her equilibrium, his gaze probed hers, then strayed to her mouth. “I didn’t plan this. The kiss, I mean. I wanted to see you, talk to you. May I come in, Josephine?”

      She was feeling a little off-kilter and thought about telling him it was late. She was tired. But then she caught sight of his expression, at his lips that seemed so unaccustomed to smiling and the crease in one lean cheek, and she didn’t have the heart to turn him away. Drawing in a shaky breath, she gestured him inside.

      It was very gentlemanly of him to remove his hat, but she thought it was at odds with the man, because there was nothing gentle about Jake McKenna. Not the way he looked, not the way he moved, certainly not the way he’d kissed her. He wasn’t like any other man she’d ever met.

      “You wanted to talk to me?” she asked, averting her gaze.

      “I find myself in a very precarious situation,” he said quietly.

      She took a deep breath and let it all out “Precarious situations are best discussed sitting down.” Moving past him, she led the way to the sofa.

      He lowered his frame into a threadbare, but cozy, overstuffed chair she’d picked up for a song when she’d first moved to South Dakota. It looked smaller with him in it. Her entire apartment felt smaller with him in it She tried to figure out why. He was tall, yes, but no seven-footer. His shoulders were broad, yet he was lean, his waist narrow, his arms and legs muscular. Her gaze strayed to his hands. Forget faces or physiques. It was a man’s hands she always paid attention to the most. After all, it was a man’s hands that put out fires, swung a hammer, wielded a rope, stroked a woman’s body.

      And Jake McKenna had the most amazing hands. They were work roughened, right down to the tips of his long, slightly crooked fingers. There was strength in those hands. She wondered if there was gentleness, too.

      Forget it, she told herself. She didn’t need to know why he made her apartment seem smaller. She had to put an end to this breathlessness, this feeling of wonder. She would hear Jake out, and then she would send him on his way.

      “Does this have anything to do with the reading of your father’s will?” she asked.

      His chin moved only a fraction of an inch. It was enough to alert her to his surprise.

      “What do you know about my father’s will?”

      There was no getting around the sharp edge in his voice or the ice in his glare. If Josie were able to see auras, she was sure his would have just changed colors. She slipped out of her shoes and drew her legs up, tucking her feet under her dress. “Rory mentioned a certain stipulation.”

      “O’Grady talked to you about this?”

      “He mentioned that one of his cowhands happened to hear about it.”

      Jake sprang to his feet “Happened to hear it, my-eye. That cowboy might as well have bugged my barn.”

      “It’s all right, Jake. Rory swore the other man to silence.”

      Jake forced himself to take a calming breath. Rory had found out about that stipulation, and he’d told Josie about it. Jake didn’t know what Rory had up his sleeve, but it was up to Jake to salvage what he could. Since there was no use beating around the bush, he sat back down and laid his cards on the table. Steepling his fingers beneath his chin, he looked at Josie. “Did Rory explain that, in order to keep my land, I must be a married man by July?” He held her gaze for several seconds. When she shook her head he said, “I need a wife, Josie, and I need one soon.”

      Josie made herself more comfortable in the corner of her sofa. She thought it was too bad there were so few women in Jasper Gulch. It made things difficult for all the men in the area. It made things especially difficult for a man who’d just admitted that he needed a wife, and soon. Aware of the silence filling the room, she glanced sideways at Jake. He was watching her, waiting in silent expectation.

      “I wouldn’t expect to get something for nothing,” he said.

      She smiled, closed her eyes, relaxing by degrees. “Of course you wouldn’t, Jake.”

      He cleared his throat. “I’m willing to make it worth your while.”

      “You’re willing to make it worth my—Are you telling me you want me to marry you?”

      He nodded.

      “Why me?”

      “Who else is there?” Jake’s lips thinned, and he nearly blanched. Damn, he hadn’t intended to let that slip.

      She lifted her hair away from her nape, letting the loose tendrils topple down her back once again. There was something about the way. she tipped her head back and closed her eyes, something feminine and appealing and arousing. For a moment he forgot why he was there. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” he said quietly.

      “Don’t worry, Jake. Acquired a thick skin a long time ago. I heard through the Jasper Gulch grapevine that you paid a little visit to Crystal Galloway. I’m assuming she turned you down?”

      It struck him that Josie wasn’t upset by his businesslike proposal. She didn’t even seem to be angry about the woman who was ahead of her on his list. It rankled. A woman, no matter how plain, should expect a man who was proposing to treat her as if she were the only woman in the world.

      “Mama,” a small voice called before Jake had answered Josie’s question. “I’m thirsty.”

      Josie rose to her feet instantly. “I’ll be right back.”

      It was a relief to put a little distance between her and Jake. There was just something about him that left her feeling unsettled. She didn’t know how he did it, but he rattled her. It was more than that kiss. It was...everything. It was Jake.

      She made a quick stop in the bathroom for a glass and some water. Slipping into Kelsey’s tiny room, she said, “Here ya go, sweet pea.”

      Kelsey СКАЧАТЬ