Hot As Sin by Debra Dixon Read Free Book Online

as he slipped it beneath the edge of her shirt-sleeve made her aware of the current arcing between them. And of the fact that she wore nothing beneath the knit shirt except skin.
    With a simple touch he had opened Pandora’s box, and all her pent-up hormones had come rushing out to play. Adrenaline that had nothing to do with fear began to set the pace for her pulse. In an unexplained phenomenon the room closed in around her, pushing her toward him, and the floor seemed to tilt, making her unsteady on her feet. As she braced for the inevitable contact, Emily placed her hand against his chest.
    Right until the moment she touched him, Gabe thought he was in control. The quicksilver surge of desire that spiked through him was ample proof that he wasn’t. He used every mental control technique he knew to keep his hands to himself and his lips off hers. He wanted to kiss Emma, but he had this unfortunate rule about taking advantage of half-starved women in trouble. He didn’t. No matter how much he wanted to.
    Sidestepping without letting go of her arm, he ordered huskily, “Come on. That’s it for tonight. It’s lights-out for you.” Almost before she opened her mouth to object, he cut her off roughly. “Don’t argue with me, Emma. I’m not in the mood. You’re sleeping in the bed, and I’ll take the couch. Got it?”
    She nodded. His tone hadn’t left her much choice as he hustled her across the room.
    “Good. Tomorrow we can arm-wrestle for the bed if that will make you happy.”
    Gabe turned down the bed, held the covers, and waited for her to slip beneath the sheet and blankets. Never looking him in the eye, Emma sank down on the bed, simultaneously taking the covers from him and whisking her legs from view. But not fast enough to keep his attention from getting all tangled up with the tan legs that he’d tried to ignore for the past twenty minutes. Emma’s toenails were a pale shimmery pink.
    Dragging his mind back from a train of thought that would only complicate his life further, Gabe reached toward her to slip her glasses off so she could lie down.
    “No!” Emma’s hand flew up to stop him. “I’ll do it.”
    Slowly she took them off herself and put them behindher on the bookshelf. Gabe noticed how she let her hair fall forward and kept her face angled away from him. He’d already seen her without the glasses. So why hide now?
    He leaned across her to dislodge the cat and retrieve the second pillow. As he dragged it toward him, he made a mental note to work on the question. Gabe stood up and switched off the lamp on top of the bookcase headboard.
    “Good night … Emma,” he said, and picked up the spare velour blanket from the foot of the bed.
    “Good night,” Emily whispered as she snuggled down into the covers, turning so that she faced the closet. It was still open, a black gaping hole in the room.
    Without raising her head she listened for Gabe’s movements. First he fiddled with the wood stove. When the lights went out, she heard the sound of boots hitting the floor, and the whisper of a belt being pulled through trouser loops. The blanket snapped as he unfurled it, and the couch groaned under his weight. He punched the pillow twice.
    And when he was finally settled, the real night began. Her two familiar enemies—silence and the darkness—began to smother her. Slowly she counted to ten as she breathed in and out, hoping the routine would stop her heart from racing.
    She had to act normal.
Breathe in
. The dark was the worst.
Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out
.…
    When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she sat up. “Gabe?”
    “Hmm,” he said, half asleep.
    “Do you mind if we leave the bathroom light on?”She added a lie because she was afraid her request sounded silly. “In case I have to get up in the middle of the night.”
    “No,” his voice was raspy. “I don’t mind.”
    “Thank you.”
    Gabe opened his eyes and frowned at the ceiling. Her reply was more like a