Bound to Happen by Mary Kay McComas Read Free Book Online

to press the point. Instead his green eyes were intense and very serious.
    “They don’t know when they’re in love. They feel it,” he said, answering her question sincerely as if she were a child. “It’s an emotion. You don’t always have a reason for feeling the way you do, do you?”
    Leslie pondered this. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
    Joe frowned, then asked, “What’s your favorite color?”
    “Red.”
    “Why?”
    “It’s a bright, warm color, and I look good in it.”
    Joe’s frown deepened. “Do you ever get what they call the ‘blues?’”
    “On the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth day of my cycle I’ll sometimes be a little out of sorts.”
    “I suppose you always know exactly why you’re happy or sad or angry or jealous of someone too,” he said, beginning to get a picture of Leslie’s problem.
    “Of course. Why would I feel those things if I didn’t?”
    “Well, you took an instant dislike to me, and you didn’t even know me,” he pointed out.
    “I don’t need to. I know exactly why I don’t like you,” she said, then went on to list her reasons. “You’re rude, you’re presumptuous, you like to be threatening sometimes, you’re crude, conceited, and you’re grumpy.”
    “But other than that I’m okay, right?”
    Leslie slid him a sidelong glance. “That remains to be seen,” she said, and then she smiled.
    Maybe he’s a little better than a tree, she thought, feeling almost happy for the first time in quite a while. At least this distempered man made her feel things. Shock, outrage, and distrust were preferable to a constant diet of apathy.
    A slow grin spread across Joe’s face before he said, “You’re something else, lady. I’m not too sure what you are yet, but you’re definitely something else. Tell me, does any of this have anything to do with your sister locking herself in the bathroom?”
    Leslie nodded. She folded her arms and pillowed her head with them. Briefly she hit on the highlights of her morning, culminating with, “My parents all but asked me to leave. I don’t even know if my sister’s married right now or not.”
    She felt Joe’s hand move under the blanket and over her bare back. It moved slowly up to her neck, where he began a gentle massage. Leslie’s first impulse was to pull away, but his touch was so warm and the careful kneading of her neck muscles was so relaxing, she was hard put to move at all.
    Blissfully she allowed her eyes to close. From far away she heard the man speak. “I have to admit, it doesn’t sound as if you’ve had the best of days. But none of this explains why you’re up here in the mountains.”
    “’Nother long story,” Leslie mumbled.
    “And why do I get the feeling I won’t be hearing it tonight?” Joe asked, receiving no answer.
    Joe Bonner didn’t remove his hand from Leslie’s back nor did he sleep. Long after her breathing had become deep and regular, Joe’s hand continued to glide lightly over her warm, soft skin. He enjoyed the feel of it, and he liked the way she looked when she was sleeping. He liked the way she looked when she was awake, too, but he was sure she wouldn’t allow him to stare at her as he was now.
    He couldn’t help wondering about her. She was like an angel from out of nowhere—suddenly there, breathtakingly beautiful, and full of spirit. She’d knocked him for a loop the first time he’d really looked at her. From that point on, she had only become more and more intriguing to him.
    It amazed him that no one had staked their claim to her yet. That no man had taught her to love floored him. The inclination to teach her himself was very strong, but a woman like Leslie Rothe was the last thing he wanted or needed in his life.
    The evil temptation to reveal the secrets of love to her, to possess her body and soul and then break her heart crept into his mind, but he quickly banished it. It was natural and very human to want to hurt someone as badly as he had been hurt, but