Blaze of Glory by Catherine Mann Read Free Book Online Page B

fellas
could
win
in
handtohand
combat,
but
I
sure
as
hell
would
have
maimed
you
on
the
way
down.
So it’s
best
we
don’t
tangle
or
someone
could
break
something.” Like
her
heart.
She
backed
farther
away
from
temptation
even
if
it
placed
her
closer
to
the
dead
snake.
She nodded
toward
the
hacked
carcass
in
the
brush.
“Thank
you
for
taking
care
of
Sergio
in
the
shower
stall.
    And
about
the
other,
thanks,
too.”
    “Sergio?”
He
chuckled.
“Only
you
would
name
your
enemy.”
    Her
training
led
her
to
say,
“It’s
easier
for
you
if
you
don’t,
isn’t
it?” His
face
blanked.
“Don’t
pull
that
pyschobabble
shit
on
me
as
an
excuse
to
ignore
this.” He
palmed
her
back
and
pulled
her
close.
Closer
still
until
even
humid
air
couldn’t
slide
between
them.
Any concerns
about
PDAs
were
taken
care
of
by
their
shadowy
corner
secluding
them
from
any
nighttime
camp activity.
And
she
wasn’t
in
uniform
so
technically
this
wasn’t
a
PDA….
Hey
wait?
Why
was
she
justifying this
moment?
    Nose
to
nose,
minty
breath
to
breath,
she
admitted,
“I
didn’t
mean
the
thanks
for
the
snake
incident.
I
was talking
about
earlier.”
    His
grip
gentled.
“Earlier?”
    “On
the
flight
line
when
we
first
saw
each
other
again.
You
didn’t
have
to
tell
everyone
what
I
said
in
the bus.
You
could
have
let
them
believe
you
did
the
walking
away
and
saved
yourself
an
ego
hit.”
Her
hand flattened
to
his
chest,
but
she
couldn’t
bring
herself
to
push
him
away.
“To
be
clear,
my
ego’s
not
so
fragile that
it
matters
to
me
if
every
one
of
those
crew
members
thinks
you
dumped
me.” Ah,
his
smile.
“They’re
not
crazy
enough
to
believe
a
guy
like
me
would
make
it
longterm
with
you.
They know
me.”
His
hands
inched
higher
up
her
back,
his
thumbs
on
her
sides,
a
flinch
away
from
grazing
her breasts.
“It
may
have
escaped
your
notice,
but
I
come
by
my
call
sign
honestly.
Of
course
you
dumped
a crazyass
bastard
like
me.”
    She
shook
her
head
silently.
Words
were
kind
of
tough
at
the
moment,
anyhow.
    Monkeys
cackled.
The
camp
rustled.
Her
heart
stumbled
over
itself.
    Bobby’s
mouth
hovered
over
hers
like
his
craft
in
flight,
unpredictable,
ready
to
land
or
fly
away
without warning.
“Are
you
seeing
him?”
    “Seeing
who?”
she
whispered
then
mentally
headthunked
herself.
So
much
for
pretend
relationships
as protection.
    “Rodeo.”
    “Derek?”
    “Derek,
huh?
Yeah,
him.”
    She
stared
into
Bobby’s
eyes
and
saw
such
raw
anger
she
couldn’t
believe—
“You
can’t
possibly
be prejudiced
against
an
interracial
relationship?”
    “Hell,
no.”
His
honesty
was
unmistakable.
His
arms
went
steely
around
her.
“I’m
fucking
jealous.
And
if you’re
standing
this
close
to
me
and
having
a
‘relationship’
with
him,
then
I’m
thinking
you’ve
been
lying
to yourself
about
how
you
feel
for
this
guy,
which
is
damn
well
not
fair
to
him,
and
you’re
always
fair.” She
stopped
his
tirade
with
a
finger
to
his
lips,
not
her
most
brainiac
of
moves.
“Derek
and
I
truly
are
friends,