Island of the Heart by Sara Craven Read Free Book Online Page A

Sandie to follow more slowly,
    picking up the outer garments they'd discarded and placing them,
    folded, on a convenient flat rock. Like the twins, she was wearing
    her swimsuit underneath her clothes, and she peeled off jeans and T-
    shirt without haste. The sea looked cold, and it didn't disappoint her,
    but once she'd nerved herself to take the plunge she found the water
    refreshing and exhilarating.
    James had brought a ball, and they played a noisy and cheerful game
    of 'catch', aiming the ball near rather than directly at each other to
    ensure maximum drenching.
    Eventually Sandie called a laughing halt, and waded out to get her
    towel. She'd blotted the worst of the moisture from her shoulders
    and arms and was wringing out her hair when she heard the
    approaching sound of a horse's hooves. She glanced casually over
    her shoulder, then froze.
    'It's Flynn,' James called out, quite unnecessarily. 'He's on Aran Lad.
    Don't they look grand together?'
    Sandie was glad she was not expected to reply. The twins ran up to
    Flynn and jogged alongside, as he slowed the handsome chestnut
    gelding he was riding to a walk.
    Sandie, scrubbing the towel wildly over her legs, sent him a fleeting
    glance, and saw with a kind of chagrin how much younger and more
    attractive he looked as he responded smilingly to the twins' excited
    chatter. He could be pleasant when he wanted to, it seemed.
    Keep on walking, she prayed silently, as the gelding drew level with
    her. Oh, please keep going.
    But he didn't, of course. As he reined the horse in, it tossed its head
    and executed a neat sideways dance. Sandie caught her breath,
    hoping against hope to see Flynn Killane being dumped on his
    arrogant head in the sand. But to her annoyance Flynn controlled his
    mount effortlessly, bringing it to a docile standstill.
    Sandie, bitterly aware of him looming over her, made herself meet
    his gaze, and immediately wished she hadn't. Her swimsuit was
    conventional in the extreme, cut high on the hip, and square across
    her small, firm breasts, but the way he was looking at her, she could
    have been naked, she realised with a swift shock of embarrassment.
    She'd never been deliberately mentally undressed by a man before,
    and helpless colour rose in her face as Flynn's eyes surveyed her
    with merciless and explicit sexual curiosity. She was tempted to
    snatch up the towel and hold it in front of her like a shield, but she
    suspected that any such move on her part would only cause him
    more cynical amusement, and refrained.
    'Enjoying your afternoon of leisure, Miss Beaumont?' His voice was
    silky.
    'More than I enjoyed this morning,' Sandie returned shortly, and he
    laughed.
    'Really? So, my mother gave you a hard time, did she? Maybe
    Crispin should have warned you that when she picks up the cudgels
    on anyone's behalf, there's invariably a price to be paid.'
    'Crispin wasn't around to warn me.'
    'Well, that's another thing you'll have to accustom yourself to,
    darling, if you remain with us for any length of time. Crispin deals
    with his problems by running away from them.'
    'Oh, I shall be staying, Mr Killane.' She gave him a defiant look. 'I
    thought that question had already been settled.'
    'Don't count on a thing, Miss Beaumont.' He was smiling, but the
    note in his voice sent a prickle of tense awareness down her spine.
    She said, 'It's hardly any wonder Crispin vanishes if you—persecute
    him like this.'
    Flynn laughed. 'Persecute, is it?' he queried mockingly. He shook
    his head. 'Maybe I'm just trying to redress the balance of a lifetime
    of indulgence from Magda, in the first place, and a succession of
    pretty little blondes like yourself in the second.' v Sandie hoped she
    had concealed the pang his words had caused. She said curtly, 'Well,
    you can exclude me from that category, Mr Killane. As I've tried to
    make clear to you more than once, I'm here to work.'
    'Of course. How could I have forgotten?' The blue eyes swept her
    mockingly once