The Cattle Drive [The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Rebecca Joyce Read Free Book Online

controlled the kiss, taking from her what he needed, but allowing her the time to open up freely. His soft scent of sandalwood enveloped her, sending her senses into a tailspin of wonder and enlightenment. She craved more. She wanted more. He was more that she bargained for, and now, she was desperately falling fast into the unknown.
    Dizzy from the taste of him, Rachael released him.
    “I better be gettin’ home,” she said, gasping for air.
    Michael slowly lowered her back to the ground, removing his arms from around her. He stood there watching her mount the Appaloosa. When she turned, she whispered, “Thank you, Michael. I had a nice time.” Before he could respond, she gave the horse a swift kick, and soon she was flying across the field.
    Michael stood there for the longest time. The realization of what he had just done angered him. He started shaking his head, and it didn’t take long for him to kick himself. “What in the hell are you doing?” he muttered to himself. “Couldn’t just say good night, could ya? Oh no! You had to go and kiss her. Way to go, moron.”
    Turning back to the house, he still cussed himself for what he had done.
    Never in his thirty-five years had he ever acted so foolishly. Damn it, man! You’re not a teenager. What irked him the most was how his body had responded to her. Hell yes, she was beautiful, and boy did she taste good, but that was still no excuse for what he did.
    You’re supposed to be the practical one, the responsible one, not the impulsive idiot. That was Mitchell, not you. Hell, you know better. If your brothers were here, they would never let you live it down, and thank god they weren’t. He could just hear them now. “Not Mikie! He doesn’t even know how to handle a woman. He’ll mess it up. He’s too sensitive. She needs a real man, not some car salesman!” He just shook his head, trying to forget the whole thing, but as he licked his lips, he tasted her once more.
    Crap!
    He wasn’t going to be able to forget it, and he knew it.
    All through dinner he sat there, watching her. The way she sat, talked, and smiled intrigued him. He knew she enjoyed herself. Hell, she’d even laughed a couple of times, which, when she did, set off several bells within him. Her laughter sounded like angels singing. But what affected him most was her attentiveness to Henry. She seemed genuinely immersed with everything he said. She showed interest when he talked about school and some concern when he mentioned never riding a horse before.
    Just being near her did something to him. He had to force himself to not reach out to her, but when she moved her hair to the side, he literally had to sit on his hands to keep from touching her. The air around swirled around him with her scent, vanilla and lilacs. A clean, fresh scent that he was quickly getting drunk on.
    But damn, that kiss!
    One thing he was sure of. She was going to need his help, and for some perverse reason he really liked this woman. He didn’t know how he was going to help her, but he did know he wanted to know more about her.

Chapter 4
     
    It was one hot day. The sun was beating down on her as she sat atop Mystic. Sweat dripping down her back, her hat hung low to shield her eyes from the blazing sun. She tried hard to tune out the two bickering ranch hands.
    She had enough to deal with, with the upcoming cattle drive. Miles and miles of fence to scour and mend, cattle to sort, orders to get ready, new ranch hands to train…add the fact that she had no sleep whatsoever last night, and she was in one of her wonderful foul moods.
    Closing her eyes, trying everything she could to tune out the bickering men, she tried to forget what had been on her mind the whole night.
    Him!
    Rachael had met some ballsy men in her life. Hell, she even married one, but for a complete and total stranger to kiss her like that was inexcusable. What pissed her off even more was the way she reacted.
    Shit, girl! You damn near jumped him