Only Hers by Francis Ray Read Free Book Online Page A

out and pulled her upright against his hard chest, his other hand tunneling through her heavy mass of hair, his fingers warm and unsettling against her scalp. Her heart pounding, she stared up into glittering black eyes.
    “Did you?” he asked, his voice a husky whisper of veiled hunger.
    No words came. She was too busy feeling the muscular body pressed against hers. Sensations swept through her. Her mind shut down except for the narrow perimeter of the sensual outline of Matt’s lips.
    Would his lips be as abrasive as his taunt or as gentle as his hands holding her? Would they take or give? Would his mustache be soft or prickly? Unconsciously digging her toes into the grass, she lifted herself upward toward temptation and the answer to her question. Her eyelids drifted shut.
    Trembling lips barely touched something warm and soft and tantalizing before she was snatched away. Her eyes opened. Matt glared down at her.
    Comprehension of what she had done hit her like a fist. Heat flooded her face. She had acted on impulse, a sexual one at that. If she could bottle the meadow, she could make a lot of people happy. Apparently Matt, who was holding her at arm’s length, would not be one of them.
    “I’m all right. You can let me go,” she offered, pleased that her voice didn’t sound as shaky as her legs felt.
    He continued to stare down at her, his stillness as unnerving as his tight face, the strange light glittering in his dark eyes. He seemed to be wrestling with his own emotions. She couldn’t blame him. He probably wasn’t surewhat she was all right from, nearly falling or throwing herself at him. Slowly, he unclamped his hands from her upper arms and bent over.
    Her face heated again as he picked up her fishing pole and canvas bag, then started toward the house. She hadn’t even realized she had dropped them. Trying to ignore her trembling legs, Shannon fell into step behind him.
    None of her mother’s etiquette lessons had covered the proper method for recovering graciously from throwing yourself at a man who obviously didn’t want you. From the peculiar way Matt acted afterward, he had only intended to annoy her.
    Instead of being adept enough to read him correctly or strong enough to resist him, she had acted like a love-starved bimbo. If he hadn’t pushed her away . . . She bit her lower lip and refused to let her mind go any further. One thing was certain, initiating the kiss had only given more credence to Matt’s mistaken belief about her. There was only one way to let him know he was wrong.
    “You can have it back as soon as I’m finished,” she offered.
    Stopping abruptly, Matt swung around. “What did you say?”
    Shannon pulled up short to keep from walking into him. “I—I never planned on keeping the land your uncle left me. I decided when Mr. Ferguson first told me about the meadow that it wouldn’t be right for me to accept. Nothing has changed my mind. I only plan on being here three weeks.”
    His dark brow furrowed. “If that’s so, why haven’t you mentioned it before now?”
    “Because you aren’t the nicest person to get along with.”
    Unlike the last time she had given a similar assessment of his character, Matt appeared undisturbed. “What do you plan to do in that time?”
    “Live on the land.”
    “So you’re telling me you just want to live in a run-down cabin for three weeks and then you’ll sign over the place to me?”
    “Yes.”
    “I wasn’t born yesterday. Once you get the land, there’ll be nothing I can do to stop you from selling or leasing the property.”
    “You have my word.”
    “Your word, huh? What if I promised you that if you renounce your claim to the meadow in writing, I’ll let you stay for as long as you want.”
    She answered immediately. “I wouldn’t believe you.”
    Matt nodded as if that was the answer he expected. “Neither one of us trusts the other, so it looks like we’re at an impasse.” He grasped her by the elbow and headed