Bound To Love by Sally Clements Read Free Book Online Page B

just wouldn’t listen to reason.
    Sure, he’d wanted to kiss her. When he held her temptingly curvy body against his and carried her in from the helicopter an unfamiliar yearning had taken his whole body captive. It must be because they had been forced together by the abduction. He was tired, exhausted, hungry. She wasn’t his type. His type was steady, dependable, reliable. Tempest ticked none of his boxes. He pushed errant thoughts of her soft mouth away and focused on the problem at hand.
    Maman must be going through hell.
    Paul’s involvement meant he couldn’t contact her; any careless move on his part would put her life in danger.
    His eyes were dry and sore, and he rubbed them with the back of his hand. His solid, reliable father wasn’t here to help, hadn’t been since he’d acted in such an impulsive, reckless way he’d torn his family’s happy lives to pieces in an instant.
    The only person his mother could rely on was Jake. And there was no way in hell he would let her down.
    Towel-dried and dressed in some of Daniel’s clothes, Jake strode back into the kitchen. Tempest sat just where he’d left her, for once. Her hair was even redder when wet, and had started to form soft curls as it dried in the kitchen’s heat. Her sapphire eyes blazed in the pallor of her face, and black circles ringed them. The navy sweatshirt and matching trousers covered every inch of her delectable body. She was the furthest thing from a temptress, yet he yearned to kiss her.
    ‘Sit here.’ She patted the chair beside hers. ‘I’ll put some cream on your wrists.’
    She cradled his hand between hers and the familiar flash of awareness shot up his arm. She felt it too. Her hands trembled and her eyes darkened to midnight.
    ‘You look better,’ Jake said.
    She glanced away, avoiding the attraction that sprung to life between them. Her mouth looked so soft, inviting. He leant forward, compelled like a nail to a magnet. She pulled in a tiny breath, and reached for the open tube of cream.
    His fingers laced through hers, intensifying the contact. His thumb rubbed the spot between thumb and index finger gently. There wasn’t any denying their connection. She couldn’t deny it. He wouldn’t let her.
    ‘Jake.’
    She whispered his name, and a flare of heat burst to life, then faded as the back door opened. Tempest pulled her fingers away in a rapid rush.
    Skye came in with a wooden box which she placed on the table.
    ‘Here it is.’ She took a heavy pot from the Aga, and placed it in the centre of the table. ‘Now, time for something to eat.’
    Tempest quickly smoothed antiseptic cream over his wrists, eyes down, as a faint pink blush suffused her features. Her fingers trembled. When she finished she darted up away from him to fetch plates and glasses from the cupboard.
    The moment drifted away, its echoes fading. Then Daniel joined the party, and they ate, the rich casserole and crusty bread sating one of his body’s hungers.
    When the meal was cleared away and they sat with mugs of coffee in front of them, Tempest reached for the box.
    ‘I’ve had an idea about this robbery. I think we should let it go ahead.’
    He stared at her, unbelieving. Was she involved with Paul, somehow? Was this all part of an elaborate plan?
    ‘I don’t understand.’
    The muscles of his face tensed. His mother was in danger. There was no way any plan she might have would make sense. He glared at her, heart slamming shut instantly.
    ‘Not to let them steal the Egyptian exhibit, but to make them think they have.’ She opened the box. ‘You’ll need my help, and it will take some work, but I’m pretty sure we can get your mother out of there.’
    Jake’s gaze shuttered.
    ‘Listen Red, I appreciate all you’ve done for me – ‘
    ‘I was in the museum for a reason, Jake, and it wasn’t just to look at the exhibits.’ She reached into the box and placed a colour photograph in front of him. ‘Do you know what this is?’
    He