Bewitched by Lori Foster Read Free Book Online Page A

dust.”
    Another plop.
    He turned off the flashlight before the temptation became too overwhelming. His eyeballs almost itched with the urge to peek. “Exactly how many layers did you have on?”
    â€œEnough to get rid of any lumps or bumps, which was easy since my femaleness isn’t all that noticeable anyway.”
    Temptation swelled. He looked toward her voice, but could only see a vague outline. He felt cheated and stared harder, but still only got shifting shadows and a stinging sense of guilt.
    A wet length of toweling slapped up against his face. “You can use that to wipe off our nest.”
    Grumbling, he did as instructed then turned to her again. “I beg to differ. About your femaleness, I mean.” He noticed her voice shook when she talked, more from cold now thananything else. His concern doubled. “If you’ll recall, I knew right away that you were a female sort of person.”
    â€œI don’t understand that. No one else noticed.”
    He could hear the chattering of her teeth. Definitely the cold. “Come here, Charlie. Let me warm you.”
    Not a sound. Not a movement. The irritating little twit.
    â€œOh for pity’s sake.” Though he tried to hide it, his irritation came through. “Charlie? Come on, I’ve proven myself by now, haven’t I? We may have the entire night ahead of us, with nothing but the rain and the rats for company. Regardless of how stoic you might be, I don’t mind admitting I’m cold. Let’s at least make the attempt to get warm.”
    She took a step out of the shadows and he could see her vigorously rubbing her hair with her discarded shirt. His coat covered her from neck to ankles, enormously big on her petite frame. “What, exactly, did you have in mind?”
    â€œA little cuddling.” He smiled, already feeling the anticipation which was surely odd considering she really wasn’t all that attractive and she had a penchant for insulting him with every breath. It was a unique feeling for him, being insulted by a woman. Even his ex-wife had refrained from that, at least until the very end. Before that, she’d been cajoling and sweet, even as she tried to manipulate him. Unaccountably, Charlie’s bluntness piqued his interest. There was no understanding the workings of male hormones. “I’m willing to sacrifice myself by being on the bottom. You can sit on my, ah, lap and with our combined body heat we should stay warm enough.”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    Her hair was a tousled dark mass of shining black, some locks hanging down to her eyes, other flipping around her ears. She looked almost cute, in a disheveled, bedraggled way. “Charlie, did you take everything off?” Now his voice shook. Damn it.
    â€œNo, of course not! My jeans are wet, but that can’t behelped. I did remove those muddy boots, though, so you don’t have to worry about them.”
    â€œMy gratitude knows no bounds.”
    â€œWhat about you?”
    He cleared his throat. “Just damp around the collar. Except for my pants, which are soaked.”
    â€œLeave them on.”
    He grinned again, but kept his tone mild. “I have no intention of lacerating your dubious sensibilities by strutting around naked. Now come here.”
    The stillness was palpable.
    Harry sighed. “If you’re hesitating because I said you smelled nice, well, keep in mind I feel the same about new leather and burnt sugar, but neither has ever inspired me to levels of uncontrollable lust.”
    He heard her grousing and mumbling, heard her shifting, then she moved a little closer. And damned if he didn’t catch a whiff of her elusive scent again, now mixed with the dampness of the rain and the fresh outdoors. With his eyes closed, he breathed deeply.
    â€œWhy burnt sugar?”
    She’d sidled close, near enough that he could see her clearly, could reach out and touch her. He did, his