Breeze off the Ocean by Joan Hohl Read Free Book Online

cold. That he’d asked the question in the first place must mean he’d taken for granted that she was sleeping with someone. The vaguely sick feeling in her stomach deepened. She had not denied it. Quite the opposite. The reply she’d flung at him could easily be taken as confirmation.
    Her thoughts tormented her as she dressed. Damn him. Whenever she considered herself, her life-style, at all, it was along the lines of independent, self-sufficient, and confident. In less than one hour Wolf had managed to undermine her self-image. Suddenly she felt vulnerable, confused, and much younger than her twenty-five years. Damn him. Her last thoughts before leaving her room were He’s going to give me trouble, I know it, and I don’t know what to do about it.
    They walked to the bay, enjoying the sweetness of the early evening ocean breeze. The Gallager house was full of people, as it always was the evening of Night in Venice. As it was still early, most of the people were milling about, laughing, talking, helping themselves to the large array of snacks Dolly had set out.
    Micki had always enjoyed the Gallagers’ company. About her father’s age, they were a warm, friendly couple who liked having people around. When she was a little girl, Micki had loved visiting them.
    After exchanging greetings and hugs and a few moments of small talk, Micki wandered out onto the nearly empty deck. She knew that before too long both the deck she was on and the one above her would be crowded with people, but for now, for just a few minutes, she could savor the near solitude.
    As she crossed the deck toward the railing, Micki glanced around. As far as she could see on either side, on the docks at street endings, on the porches and wide decks of apartment houses and private homes, people were gathered for the once-a-year show.
    Making her way to a chair placed in a corner of the deck, Micki gazed out over the bay, affected, as she’d always been, by the molten gold sheen cast on the water by the fiery ball of westering sun.
    She sat down and looked around idly, then froze in the chair, her hands gripping the armrests. Closing her eyes, she stifled a groan against the memory that would no longer stay locked away.
    She had been sitting very near this spot when she’d first seen him. He had had one broad shoulder propped against a support beam and was half sitting on the rail when she’d felt his eyes on her and glanced up. She’d frozen then too, held fast to the chair by the bold stare from his silvery eyes. Micki experienced again the breathlessness she’d felt that night, the sensation that although six feet of deck separated them he was actually touching her. The shortness of breath had lasted until Mike had strolled up to talk to him and drew his eyes away from her.
    Micki had studied his profile covertly while the two men talked. In his late twenties or early thirties, she’d judged, and was, without question, the most sexy, exciting-looking male she’d ever seen.
    She’d been positive her heart had stopped when at Mike’s quick, smiling nod, he’d lazily pushed himself away from the rail and followed Mike over the deck to her.
    She had been amused at his name when Mike made the introductions and she’d made no attempt to hide it when she raised her eyes to his.
    “Wolfgang?” she’d repeated in a laughing tone.
    “Pitiful, isn’t it?” he’d drawled. “It’s a traditional name in my family. I, unfortunately, got tagged with it, being the firstborn male child.” His eyes seemed to absorb her as he added, “Call me Wolf.”
    “And are you? ” Micki had been amazed at the insolent sound of her voice. “A wolf, I mean.”
    “Of course,” he’d returned smoothly, a wicked grin flashing on his tan face. “Isn’t everyone who is single and unattached on the prowl?” He’d cocked his head to one side and those bold, silver eyes roamed over her, from head to foot to head again. “If you weren’t so young, I may have