The Merciless Travis Wilde. Sandra Marton

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СКАЧАТЬ sake, man, say something!

      “Uh—uh, no. I mean, you’re right. I wouldn’t. Cheat on you. Ever.”

      She nodded.

      “But I couldn’t just admit that.” Another smile, this one half-vixen, half-innocent. “It’s against all the precepts of male-female genetically-transmitted courtship behavior.”

       The what?

      “So I decided to keep you waiting tonight. Let you cool your heels a little, kind of wonder if I was going to show up.” Another smile, this one so hot and sexy Travis felt his knees go weak. “And you did wonder, didn’t you? About me and how I’d deal with our date this evening.”

      Travis tried to answer. Nothing happened. He cleared his throat and tried again.

      “Yes. Right. I surely did. Wonder, I mean, about how you’d deal with our—”

      “And you reacted to perfection! Every single DNA-coded response was in evidence. Machismo. Dominance. Aggression. Even an attempt at territorial marking.”

       Territorial marking. Wasn’t that about male dogs peeing on trees?

      “I am so pleased,” she said, “that you’ve proved the tenets of my paper.”

      “Your paper.”

      “Oh, yes, exactly! The way you reacted on seeing me, the way you dealt with my less-than-warm greeting …”

      There was a hum behind him. Whispers. Snorts. Laughter.

      It was, without question, time to move on.

      Travis nodded. “That’s great. It’s terrific. But I really think we should discuss the rest of it out—”

      “Why, sugar,” the blonde all but purred, “don’t tell me you’re upset by learning you’ve helped my research!”

      Not just laughter, but a couple of deep guffaws greeted that pronouncement.

      Definitely time, Travis thought, holding his smile as he took the blonde by the elbow and marched her to the door.

      Halfway there, Jennie’s alter-ego snickered.

      Should have quit while you were ahead, Genevieve, it said.

      Indeed, Jennie thought. She should have.

      The stranger who’d kissed her was hurrying her toward the door.

      Maybe she’d taken this a bit too far.

      She had, if the look on the man’s face was any indication.

      His eyes were cool. Slate-cool, and a little scary. His mouth—she knew all about his mouth, the warmth of it, the possessive feel of it, the taste—his mouth was curved in what was surely a phony smile, and he was hustling her along at breakneck speed.

      Still, he’d deserved that last little jibe.

      Saving him from being torn apart by that bunch of—of stone-age savages was one thing, but she couldn’t just let him get away with what he’d done.

      He’d scared the life half out of her, grabbing her, kissing her, dragging her up against his body.

      And, yes, she’d come out tonight for—for that knowledge of men, of kisses, of hard bodies but she’d wanted it done on her own terms, at her own pace, with her doing the choosing of the man who’d—who’d complete her research.

      A man in a suit. A successful executive, someone who could be trusted to be gentle with a woman. Not a—a rough-and-ready cowboy in boots and a T-shirt and faded jeans.

      Stop complaining. You wanted gorgeous, and gorgeous is what he is.

      Yes. But still—

      “Y’all come back soon,” a voice called.

      A roar of laughter followed the words.

      She felt the cowboy stiffen beside her. His fingers dug into her elbow hard enough to make her gasp.

      “Hey,” she said indignantly, “hey—”

      He flung the door open, stepped outside, but he didn’t let go of her. Instead he frog-marched her through the parking lot to the enormous black pickup parked next to her Civic.

      “Mister. I am not—”

      “Are you okay?”

      Jennie blinked. There was concern in his voice, and it wasn’t what she’d expected.

      “No. Yes. I guess …”

      “That was a close call. You were doin’ fine, until the end.” He grinned. “Had to zing me a little, right? Not that I blame you.”

      “You? Blame me?” Indignation colored her voice. “Listen, mister—”

      “Truth is, we probably got out just in time.”

      So much for indignation, which didn’t stand a chance against confusion.

      “In time for what?” Jennie said. “What was going on back there?”

      “It’s kind of complicated.” The cowboy smiled. This time, that smile was real. “Thanks for digging me out of a deep, dark hole.”

      “Well, well, you’re welcome. I guess. I just don’t understand what—”

      “It’s not worth going into. It was a mix-up, was all.”

      He smiled again. Jennie’s heart leaped. Did he have any idea how devastatingly sexy that smile was?

      She told herself to say something. Anything. Gawking at him wasn’t terribly sophisticated. But then, what would he know about sophistication? The boots, the jeans, the hard muscles …

      Everything about him was hard.

      The muscled chest. The taut abdominals. The—the male part of him that she’d felt press against her belly just before he’d stopped kissing her …

      That’s the girl, her alter ego said.

      Jennie swallowed dryly.

      Her brain was going in half a dozen directions at once.

      “You—you really had no right to—to just walk up to me and … and—”

      “—and kiss you?”

      She felt herself blush.

      “Yes. Exactly. Even in the most highly sexualized primitive cultures, there’s a certain decorum involved in expressing desire …”

      His smile tilted.

      “Is СКАЧАТЬ