Niko's Stolen Bride by Lindy Corbin Read Free Book Online

edge of the ocean. Made of round metal pipes, it was sturdy, but there was a large gap near the ground and a long drop to the rocks below.
    With a muttered oath, Niko raced to intercept him. He bent, sweeping him up in his arms and swinging him high in the air. The child laughed with delight and Niko smiled up at him. Kara felt an answering smile curve her lips at the picture the two made.
    Clasping the boy close to his chest, Niko returned him to his anxious mother. He waved off her thanks and strode back to Kara’s side.
    “Shall we?” Niko gestured toward a wide side street that paralleled the ocean.
    Kara turned her head for a last glimpse of the line of tourists. It was a shame that she didn’t have a camera; she’d have liked a photo to recall the bright colors and cheery atmosphere.
    Grasping her arm, Niko led her away from the crowd. The houses on the side street were smaller and newer than the ones on Duval Street, but the trees had been allowed to grow tall and wide near the edges of the lawns, providing the cool relief of deep shade.
    “Do you have children?” Kara risked a side glance at his features which were tight with tension. Elaina hadn’t mentioned any kids, but she didn’t speak of her family often. Niko appeared to be in his late twenties, old enough to have a toddler of his own, and he was certainly comfortable with them.
    “No,” he said shortly. “I thought once—” He ran a hand through his hair in a gesture she was beginning to recognize as frustration. “It wasn’t to be.”
    At the grim finality of his tone, she stopped walking and placed a hand on his arm. She knew he had been married and that it had ended unpleasantly. Suddenly, she was aware of the heat of his skin under her fingertips. The rigid set to the muscles warned her that he didn’t welcome her concern or her touch. She let her hand drop from his arm, curling her fingers and rubbing their tips with her thumb as if she could erase the feel of him on her skin.
    It was clear he wanted to put the question behind him. Still she hesitated to follow his lead. His past was none of her business, but the tight set of his jaw hinted that he hid an open wound deep inside and the woman in her wanted to soothe it.
    It had nothing to do with him personally. It couldn’t possibly; she’d just met the man. It was fellow feeling for the pain that humans could inflict on each other. Her mothering instinct, her father called it. As a teenager, her favorite part of baby-sitting jobs had been soothing away the tears of a scraped knee while applying simple first aid. Kiss it and make it better.
    She raised her gaze to his firm mouth. For an instant, she was back in the nightclub with his lips brushing against hers. She wondered what he would do if she pulled his head down to hers and matched the contours of her mouth to his. Her breath caught for a moment, then she pushed the thought away as she felt the rise of heat up her neck. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be paying attention.
    “We have company.” His head was cocked to one side as he gestured toward the ground near their feet.
    Following his gaze, a surprised laugh escaped her. A mother hen with a brood of small yellow chicks had come out from under a shrub to investigate the strangers in their midst. “How adorable. I wish I had something to feed them.”
    “You’d have to carry a large sack. By law, chickens are allowed to run free on the island so they’re everywhere, including the public parks and the open-air restaurants. People love to throw them bits of their hamburger buns, so they’re always underfoot.”
    “That’s so cute.”
    “You’ll think so,” he murmured as he stepped around the clutch of fowl and led her down the sidewalk, “until you step in chicken droppings.”
    She punched him lightly in the arm, her clenched fist bouncing off the muscle. Her fingers straightened as she dropped her hand. That was a mistake. One she’d made twice. She should not be