Tempting the Dragon by Karen Whiddon Read Free Book Online

said, grimacing. “Mommmm. Don’t be a cougar. That’s disgusting.”
    Inspecting herself in the mirror, Jade decided she looked presentable enough in her faded jeans and light green T-shirt.”
    “You’re wearing that?” Amber asked, perfectly shaped brows raised. “How are you going to be a distraction dressed like that?”
    Jade eyed her mother patiently. “Don’t you think he’d find it a little strange if I met him on the front porch wearing a miniskirt and six-inch heels?”
    Both Pearl and Sapph snickered.
    “You could put a little effort into it,” her mother began. “At least wear a dress. Even a nice blouse.”
    Jade stared at her. A blouse. She wasn’t even sure she owned such a thing. “No,” she finally answered. “Now if you ladies will excuse me, I’ve got some distracting to do.”
    With that, she swept out of the room, her head high.
    In the hallway, her steps slowed. Unlike her heartbeat. So much for bravado. She’d been racking her brain trying to figure out exactly how to distract Rance.
    She wasn’t sure how far her family expected her to go, but she had no intention of getting even the slightest bit intimate with the man.
    Her body’s reaction to the idea of seeing him again called her a liar.
    “Good morning.” Pasting a bright smile on her face, she strode forward, hand outstretched. Tall and broad shouldered, his gray eyes blazed as he looked at her. He took her hand, but instead of shaking it as she expected, he lifted it to his lips and kissed the back, his mouth lingering.
    Damn. She thought she might melt into a puddle right then and there. Somehow, she remembered to breathe.
    Then, while her knees still shook and she couldn’t find her voice to save her life, he released her and flashed that same charming smile. “Hold on, darlin’,” he said, lifting the camera that hung around his neck and snapping a few shots of the house, the front porch and her.
    When he’d finished, he was still smiling. “How about you and I go visit Forestwood Lake?”
    Together? And then she remembered she needed to distract him.
    “Okay,” she managed. Because she knew he wouldn’t see anything unusual there at all. Not once in all the time her family had been taking care of Libby had Libby let an out-of-towner see her.
    * * *
    How Jade Burnett could manage to look so damn good in blue jeans and a T-shirt, Rance didn’t know. But when he turned and saw her sauntering toward him, her long silver hair tumbling in a luxurious fall over her shoulders, his breath caught in his throat. And his entire body went on red alert. At least he’d gotten a few shots with his camera.
    Giving himself a mental shake, he focused on what she’d just agreed to do. Go to the lake. With him.
    “Do you want to walk or drive?” she asked.
    He pointed to the shiny red Mustang convertible he’d rented in Albany. “Let’s take that. I’ll put the top down so we can enjoy the day.”
    Most of the women he knew would have immediately protested, claiming the wind would mess up their hairdo or something. Jade appeared supremely unconcerned. In fact, she seemed delighted. “I love convertibles,” she said.
    “Did they tell you to be extra nice to me?” he asked, suddenly suspicious.
    “They? Who is they?”
    The perplexed frown didn’t fool him. Especially not when she combined it with a mischievous grin. “If by they , you mean my family, then no. They did not ask me to be nice to you.”
    Interesting. “Well, then, what exactly did they decide?”
    This time, the blank look she gave him was decidedly fake. “What do you mean?”
    He waited until they were both inside the car, seat belts fastened, before answering. “About the lake monster. You were going to call a meeting to find out what you could and couldn’t tell me.”
    “Put that way, you make it sound as if you truly believe there is a lake beast,” she quipped, well aware of how much Libby hated the word monster .
    He shook his head and