His for the Taking - By Ann Major Page 0,22

her about after she lamented having done so.

“Lighten up on yourself,” he said. “It’s easy to know what you should eat, but not always so easy to eat what you should. Besides, what would the world be coming to if Yella’s number one bad girl lived up to her virtuous ideals one hundred percent of the time?”

As she laughed, she found it amazing and scary that she could feel so easy opening up to him. It was as if he were a true friend of the heart, instead of what he really was to her—the rich college boy who’d once lusted for her body and the powerful man who could threaten her future if he discovered her secret.

“Do you ever save any adults?”

“A few. We are connected to all the agencies in town that can help them with their special problems. If you’re a person who’s down and out, and you want to change, we can teach you how to get your medications, how to fill out a job application or an application for an apartment. But a person has to be fiercely determined to succeed. There are so many basic skills functioning adults require…like money management and taking care of health issues.”

In his turn, Cole talked about his oil and gas company and his ranch. She got a little lost when he tried to explain a modern drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing. Fracking, he explained, involved using pressurized water, sand and chemicals to extract more gas and oil from rock formations than had previously been possible. “But I’m not saving lives,” he said. “I’m just making money.”

“The modern world can’t survive without energy. You saved the ranch, your family’s heritage.”

“There’s that.” He smiled. “Hey, the sun’s going down fast. We better ride back to the house before it gets totally dark.”

When he helped her remount Lily, her spirits rocketed at his nearness and his casual touch. As she stared down at his handsome face, which was half in shadow, she felt her stomach flutter. His intent gaze lingered on her, as well, increasing her nervousness. He didn’t have to touch her to be dangerous.

For years, she’d been crushed by loneliness and the hard work required to pull herself up from nothing. Even now that she’d found Greg, she often felt lonely. Why did she never feel as connected to Greg as she felt right now to Cole?

How can you think that when you know Greg wants you as a person and Cole wants you for only one thing?

Instead of feeling outrage over Cole’s lust for her, a delicious shiver of excitement coursed through her. Was she as shameless as her mother?

She had to stop this. She had to get back to his house and find her letters and go.

Not long after they remounted and headed back to his home, a full moon rose, painting the landscape with shimmering silver. Beside Cole, her blood began to pulse in ever-deepening awareness of him. When they reached the barn, which loomed in the dark, and he lifted her down, she was already so hot for him that she couldn’t prevent herself from trembling when her body slid briefly against his.

No sooner were her feet on the ground than she sprang free of him.

Not that she felt much safer standing several feet away. How could she when all she wanted was for him to wrap her in his arms again and kiss her?

Breathing hard, he stared down at her so hungrily her own mouth watered. “You said not to touch you.”

“Yes….”

“Then don’t look at me like that.”

When she didn’t stop, he closed his eyes on a groan. His massive chest swelled, and he rasped in a harsh breath. “We’d better put the horses up,” he said, his voice biting as he heaved out another violent breath.

For no reason at all she was too shy and tongue-tied to utter a coherent thought.

She should never have come out with him today or talked to him so openly, baring her soul, so to speak. Maybe then she wouldn’t have reawakened all those dangerous yearnings and unrealistic hopes that had haunted her for years. She’d always wanted more from him—so much more than he’d ever been able to give to a girl he’d considered beneath him.

She knew too well that theirs was an impossible relationship.

But tonight he’d brought her to his house, talked to her about his family and work, listened to her with respect.

None of that should matter. She should stick to her decision and marry