Straight From The Heart by Janelle Taylor Read Free Book Online

on a dry piece of wheat bread and eaten the rest of the salad. So much for breakfast.
    Stephen appeared from the kitchen with more bread, butter, and jam. He gazed at the pan full of water with interest. “Coffee?”
    “Hopefully.”
    “Did you get anything to eat?”
    “Yep,” Kim responded.
    “Good. Wouldn’t want you wasting away.”
    Why couldn’t he wear a shirt? Kim asked herself. What was this bare chest thing all about? It irritated her that she was so susceptible to it. She’d never thought of herself as someone who obsessed over men’s bodies, but she sure as heck was obsessing over this one!
    “You’re frowning,” he pointed out. With animal grace he slipped the towel off his shoulders, absentmindedly dried his chest, then tossed the towel to the edge of the love seat.
    “You’re half-dressed,” she snapped back.
    “I’m going to put a shirt on as soon as I’m totally dry.” He looked amused.
    “I just don’t feel comfortable, okay?”
    “Still think I’m going to make a pass?”
    He made the idea sound ridiculous, but last night’s memories were still very fresh. “You came pretty close in the kitchen last night,” she reminded him.
    He inclined his head. “Yeah, well  . . . I won’t do that again. I’m sorry,” he apologized once more.
    She wished he’d ranted and raved and acted like he didn’t know what she was talking about. To throw down the gauntlet and chivalrously concede wasn’t working for her. Now it was Kim who felt like the guilty party.
    “Do you think this rain is ever going to stop?” she asked, walking back to the window.
    “No.”
    That brought a smile to her lips. “So, we’re stuck here forever with no electricity and a diminishing supply of wheat bread?”
    “I’ve got a few beers left. We should last ’til the end of the month.”
    “You’re a real comfort.”
    “The water’s boiling.”
    Kim hurried back to pull the saucepan from the logs. While Stephen watched in silence she measured instant coffee into the two mugs she’d scrounged from the kitchen, then poured the hot water over it. The smell of the melting granules was as aromatic as a cup of fresh coffee. Kim breathed deeply, although she would have sold her soul for a latte at that moment.
    Handing Stephen his cup, her fingers touched his. She pulled back, then was surprised when he grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. In shock, her aquamarine eyes searched his for an answer. “Thanks,” he said softly, releasing her.
    Kim moved to the chair, perching in it cross-legged. “If you’re trying to intimidate me, you’re doing a darn good job of it.”
    “What?”
    “You’re in my space!” she declared, uncomfortable with her own feelings.
    “You’re in mine. I was here first,” he pointed out.
    “Oh, right,” Kim returned dryly. “You had dibs. I forgot.”
    Stephen grinned wholeheartedly. Unabashedly. From the pure joy of Kim’s disgruntled sarcasm. If she’d thought he was disarming before, this sent her pulse charging like a bull through the gate.
    “I’ll try to behave,” he said, “but I gotta tell you. I feel great today, like some weight’s been lifted that I didn’t know was there.”
    “Really.”
    He nodded. “And you know why?”
    “I’m afraid to ask,” Kim murmured, but secretly she couldn’t help wondering if it might have something to do with her. Not that she wanted it to, she reminded herself. This was not a guy to lose your heart to. He was not a man to be trusted.
    “I’ve been looking forward to this weekend since before Betsy even offered me the cabin. I’ve wanted to get away for months, maybe years. But there’s always been something, or someone, with other plans.”
    Kim didn’t answer, her own hopes dashed a little.
    “And I thought I wanted to be alone,” he went on, “but now I don’t know. It’s nice having company”
    “I don’t like the idea of being trapped with you.”
    “Not even just a little?”
    His audacity