Witness Seduction. Elle Kennedy

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СКАЧАТЬ thanks.”

      He closed his eyes briefly, fighting back irritation. “What do you mean, no thanks?” He scowled up at her. “Are you always so difficult?”

      “No, I’m scared,” she retorted. “I’m only twentyseven. I don’t want to die today.”

      This time he couldn’t stop a laugh from rumbling out of his throat. “You won’t die. Trust me. Deep breath, then let go. On the count of three, okay?”

      She hesitated for what seemed like an eternity. “Okay.”

      He rubbed his hands together, widening his stance. “One,” he called. “Two—”

      “Wait—on three, or one, two, three, let go?”

      Caleb sighed. “On three.”

      “Fine.”

      He started again. “One…two…three.”

      A second later, her body came flying down and he suddenly found himself with an armful of warm, soft woman. One hand had instinctively reached out to cup her bottom, and his palm now cradled a firm, perfectly round backside, as Marley Kincaid’s arms wound tightly around his neck.

      She was breathing heavily, her body trembling a little. “You all right?” he asked. His voice sounded rough even to his own ears.

      She nodded, tilting her head to look up at him. Her brown eyes widened slightly, her lips parting in surprise as she examined his face. She checked him out for so long he felt a pang of discomfort. “You should really let someone else clean those gutters for you,” he grumbled.

      Marley just stared at him, and then, to his extreme confusion, she started to laugh.

       2

      “SERIOUSLY,” HER SEXY SAVIOR said in a deep voice. “If you don’t tell me you’re okay in the next two seconds, I’m calling an ambulance.”

      “I’m okay,” she sputtered.

      God, this was priceless. Her laughter came out in soft waves, while adrenaline still pumped through her blood. She suddenly wondered if Gwen had somehow planned this, though that seemed totally unlikely. But come on, what were the chances? Her friend had been babbling about tall, dark, handsome strangers sweeping Marley off her feet, and all of a sudden, a tall, dark, handsome stranger shows up and sweeps her off her feet. Literally.

      “Can I let you go now?” he asked, a tad brusquely.

      Her laughter finally trailed off. She nodded, and he set her down. Her legs were still quite shaky after her brush with possible death, but her brain seemed to have forgotten about her roof gymnastics—it was too busy analyzing the beautiful man standing in front of her.

      He had that chiseled kind of face you expected to see on a movie screen, lines and angles put together to create a rugged landscape, vivid eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean. A pair of faded jeans clung to his long legs and taut behind, while a navy-blue T-shirt emphasized a broad chest and delicious set of rippled abs.

      No doubt about it, this was one ridiculously gorgeous man.

      Her heart did a few somersaults. “Thanks for catching me,” she said.

      “No problem.” He took a step backward, looking like he couldn’t wait to get out of here. “Be more careful next time, all right?” Another step. “I’ll see you around.”

      “Wait, who did you say you were again?”

      “I’m Caleb Ford.” His blue eyes flickering with weariness, he extended his hand. “I’m renting the house next door to yours.” As if to confirm it, he gestured to the redbrick side wall of the Strathorn house.

      Since he was sticking his hand out at her, she had no choice but to shake it. The moment they touched, warmth suffused her palm, followed by a spark of awareness. Gosh, this guy was attractive. The messy black hair, the serious blue eyes, the drool-worthy bod. And his hand felt good on hers. Too good.

      She quickly snatched it away, leery of the awareness sliding around in her body. Fine, so this guy was incredibly handsome, but he was also a total stranger. And the Strathorns hadn’t told her they were renting their place out for the summer. She knew they were in Europe—they’d asked her to pick up their mail. So why hadn’t they mentioned someone named Caleb Ford would be staying in their house?

      “How do you know the Strathorns?”

      Her voice held a note of suspicion, which she didn’t attempt to hide. Since her experience with Patrick, she was far more careful about handing out her trust to strangers.

      “Through a mutual friend. I heard they were going to Europe for a few months, so my friend arranged for me to rent this place while they’re gone.”

      “Oh, that’s convenient.” She casually pushed a strand of blond hair off her forehead. Her ponytail had pretty much come apart after her near fall, and unruly blond waves kept getting in her eyes. “Isn’t Stan and Debbie’s house terrific? They have a lot of antiques in there.”

      Caleb arched one dark brow. “Stu and Debbie, you mean.”

      “Right, Stu, I don’t know why I said Stan.” She felt a little flustered, especially when a knowing glint filled his eyes. He knew exactly what she’d tried to do, but hey, at least he’d passed the test. So why was he still all fidgety?

      “When did you say you moved in?” she asked, watching him carefully.

      “I didn’t. But it’s been a week.”

      A week? And she hadn’t seen him even once? She tried to rein in her misgivings. Okay, so maybe he didn’t leave the house a lot. He could be one of those hermit types who liked being alone indoors.

      “And you’re here for the summer?” she said, trying to sound casual.

      “Yep.”

      “On vacation?” she pressed.

      “Work-related, actually.”

      For Pete’s sake, getting answers from this man was like pulling teeth. She paused for a second, trying to concoct a way to draw some more details out of him, when a flash of red caught her eye. She glanced down, surprised to see an angry-looking scrape on her upper arm. She must have cut herself when she’d grabbed for the ledge, or maybe on her way down into Caleb’s arms.

      “Shoot, I should get this cleaned up,” she said.

      “Do you need any help?”

      His voice was so full of reluctance she almost felt insulted. Jeez, was the thought of spending even a few more minutes with her that unappealing?

      She frowned. “I’m a nurse, I can take care of it. But thanks.”

      Caleb slung his hands in the pockets of his jeans, shifting awkwardly. “You better go in and get that taken care of. Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself anywhere else?”

      She СКАЧАТЬ