Hot and Bothered by Linda Cajio Read Free Book Online Page B

other, aren’t we?”
    “Yes.”
    “You want to be left alone, and I want to be left alone. Are we going to leave each other alone?”
    She swallowed. “I don’t know.”
    “Neither do I.”
    He walked away from her.
    Judith went inside her trailer and leaned against the door. Her breath came in gasps, as if she had run a hundred miles. Paul Murphy was the most intriguing man she had ever met. That also made him the most dangerous.
    Paul came out of the water at sunset, his usual time since the light was always almost gone for further fishing.
    Normally, he hated to leave the sea, but lately he anticipated it. Sure enough, when the water cleared from his face mask, he saw the kids and Judith frolicking in the surf.
    God, but she was beautiful with her strawberry-blonde hair wet and slicked back, tiny beads of water glinting on the individual strands. Pure joy was on her face as she laughed and grabbed up a child gone tumbling in the waves. Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, she was standing hip-deep in the water. He vowed to get her a bathing suit on his next run to Ensenada. A bikini … very tiny … in any color …
    She spied him and her expression instantly changed, becoming more guarded although she kept a smile on her face. He strode toward her, pushing back the mask as he rose higher out the water.
    The kids swam toward him, waving enthusiastically and half drowning themselves in the process. His heart ached for the missing face of his own daughter, but he shut the image away. Amanda had never been a part of this new life. His choice, her need. Yet she was trying to wedge her way in again. He couldn’t afford to allow her to do so. She needed peace in her life, one of the many reasons he had left in the first place. As a father, he couldn’t give her anything better.
    “Paulo, Paulo, come play with us and Judith!”
    Paul chuckled and lifted Miguel, Pedro’s son, out of the water before another wave swamped him. Several kids grabbed his arms and tank straps to keep themselves from the same fate.
    “Good fishing today?” Judith asked in amusement when he finally slogged his way to her side.
    He lifted the kid hanging on his right arm. “A nonedible catch, but cute. How are you?”
    She looked damn good to him. Her shirt clung to her breasts, and the bra she wore was no cover for her puckered nipples. It didn’t even matter that this gaudy T-shirt announced her affiliation with the Ensenada Roadrunner baseball team. Paul immediately discarded his bikini fantasy. Reality was so much better.
    “I’m fine,” she answered. “Anybody ever tell you you’re a human climbing post?”
    “I feel like I’m in kid cement.” Saying that, he tossed Miguel into the air. The boy shrieked in sheer jubilation before he splashed down.
    The kids really clamored up him then, all wanting him to toss them into the water. He obliged after lining them up to avoid chaos. Judith grinned at him. He grinned back.
    He didn’t know how many times he threw the kids, the line never ended. His arms began to ache, but he didn’t stop, enjoying their pleasure in the game. Judith lifted the littler ones to him. Their hands touched each time. The children surrounding them didn’t stop the flare of sex he felt whenever her fingers crossed his.
    “Where’s your car?” he asked in the middle of a toss. “I haven’t seen it lately.”
    “Oh … I bought a tarp from Pedro and covered it. I didn’t want the salt air to ruin the finish. I thought you weren’t asking questions.”
    He smiled sheepishly. The policeman in him just wouldn’t let things go. And neither did her bull. “Sorry. It’s just a car you notice, especially when it’s not there anymore. I take it you’ll need chauffeuring around.…”
    “I’ve arranged Pedro to take me.”
    Since it was Miguel in his arms, Paul gave the kid a huge toss so he’d be out of earshot. Hoping none of the others would repeat his words, he said, “I wouldn’t do that. Mexico