Brody by Emma Lang Read Free Book Online Page B

howling to bust out.
     
    Olivia considered her options before getting off Mariposa. She knew she couldn’t go into Mexico alone, but Armstrong was bossy and condescending—two of her least favorite flaws in a man. He damn sure wasn’t treating her like a partner either.
    She couldn’t push him around like she did her brothers. Apparently, he didn’t budge an inch, ever. That meant she needed to find another way to get him to do what she needed.
    After gathering some kindling, she made quick work of starting a fire with the matches she had in her saddlebags. Olivia was nothing if not prepared. There was a time folks would’ve made fun of her for her habits, but today wasn’t that day.
    She had a nice blaze burning in minutes. The temperature had cooled and the warmth of the fire drifted past her cheeks to disappear into the fading sunlight. She took out the coffeepot from her bag and set it aside to use when Brody returned with water.
    Olivia pulled out the supplies she’d packed, feeling comfortable for the first time since she’d left home. Making a meal was something she could do well. Olivia could do most everything in a kitchen, but it had been at least five years since she’d attempted to cook over an open fire. Her mother had supervised her then.
    A shaft of pain squeezed her heart before she pushed it away. Her mother wouldn’t want her to wallow in self-pity. Olivia had to do what she had to do.
    After a moment to compose herself, she took out the pan she’d brought, and put it on the fire to warm up.
    “What the hell are you doing?” The ranger’s growl startled her badly. She nearly fell face-first into the fire but, lucky for her, he grabbed her hair and yanked her back in time.
    Her pride and her scalp smarting, she gulped down the lump of fear lodged in her throat. Before she even caught her breath, he was kicking dirt onto the fire.
    “What the hell are you doing?” She threw his own words right back at him. “You told me to start a fire, Ranger.”
    “I didn’t tell you to build a bonfire you could see from twenty miles away.” He kicked enough dirt onto the flames to shrink the merry fire into a weak pile of embers.
    “How was I to know that?” She scrambled to her feet, righteous fury coursing through her veins. “You bark orders at me and walk away.”
    He scowled down at her, his expression as dark as thunderclouds. “You’d do well to listen to those orders. I said get a small fire started. The important word there was ‘small.’ ”
    “You are a bully and a jackass.” Olivia poked him in his chest, which was so hard her finger smarted. Was the man made from an oak tree?
    “You are a know-it-all and a loudmouth.” His hot breath gusted over her face as he yanked her close.
    Their lips met in an apocalyptic clash. Her breath stopped in her throat, trapped by the rush of utter astonishment.
    His arms tightened around her waist, bringing her even closer to his incredibly firm body. Each nerve ending sang a different song, some in pleasure, some in horror, others in hunger. Her arms crept around his wide shoulders as the kiss deepened. She knocked his hat off, not caring where it landed.
    His tongue slid into her mouth like a conquerer’s, guiding her tongue along with the rest of her. She was swept along by a wave of uncontrollable passion. Her nipples budded against her chemise, rubbing deliciously against the cotton fabric and his chest.
    Thank God she wasn’t a virgin or the reality of being in Brody’s arms would turn her into a mess. As it was, she was hanging onto her control by a slim thread. She hadn’t experienced such intensity in a kiss before. Ever.
    He growled low in his throat as she broke the kiss to suck in a breath of air. He took the opportunity to feather kisses along her jaw until he reached her ear. The hot wet assault on her continued, stealing her thoughts and her objections.
    There was nothing but the two of them and the heat between their bodies.