The Heart Breaker by Nicole Jordan Read Free Book Online

a deep breath. Sweet heaven, she was acting no better thanthat foolish girl from the carriage—practically swooning at his feet.
    “Are you afraid of me?” he demanded, his voice suddenly low and husky.
    Perhaps a little,
Heather reflected silently.
    “Aren’t you afraid I might hurt you?”
    Slowly she shook her head. With an instinct as strong as it was inexplicable, she knew Sloan McCord wouldn’t harm her physically. Caitlin had said he was a good man, and although he looked dangerous, even a bit uncivilized, his violence was somehow leashed. No, she’d seen for herself his concern for others … that flash of tenderness in his eyes earlier when she’d stood trembling in fear from Evan’s assault, the protectiveness when he spoke of his daughter … “A … man who would risk his life to stop a runaway carriage does not seem the kind to harm women.”
    “Appearances can be deceiving.”
    Her spine stiffened at the threat in his tone. He was testing her, she suspected. Trying to get her to back down. But she would not be cowed. “That is
my
point precisely. You are judging me based solely on appearances.”
    The sharp tension was back in the air between them. She could feel his intensity, the raw, powerful vitality that hummed around him.
    His gaze bored into her, penetrating in a way that was disturbingly intimate. “Maybe you don’t understand. I’m not interested in merely a business arrangement. You wouldn’t be my wife in name only.”
    “I … am aware of that.”
    Sloan smiled. “Are you now? Are you aware that I’m a man of great carnal need?”
    “What … do you mean?”
    “Shall I be blunt, duchess? I’ll want sex with you.Regularly and often. Do you know what sex is? You’ll share my bed, and give me your body whenever I want it.”
    She flinched at his bluntness, Sloan saw with satisfaction. He no doubt had offended her ladylike sensibilities. Then she raised her eyes to meet his fearlessly. He liked that even more.
    “I am prepared to do my duty as your wife.”
    A hard smile touched his lips. “Duty? That’s precisely
my
point. I’m not interested in a cold-blooded mate. Colorado winters get frigid enough without having an icicle in my bed.”
    The flush that tinged her cheeks told Sloan he’d struck a nerve. His ma, had she been alive, would have taken a strip off his hide for talking that way to a lady. But it wasn’t bad manners driving him to be so crude. He was fighting for his own survival.
    He kept up the attack. “You didn’t appear to be enjoying Randolf’s attentions. What makes you think you would enjoy mine any better?”
    Heather felt herself tense nervously as he took a step closer. She had no experience with a man like Sloan McCord. But she knew instinctively, with a woman’s elemental intuition, that she wouldn’t respond to his attentions the same way she had with Evan. This man made her feel hot and shivery inside, with his hard-eyed gaze and his vital maleness. Surrendering to him would be like getting swept up in a dust storm, all heat and power and compelling force.
    Deliberately she tried to brace herself for the impact. Heather was aware he was trying to intimidate her. Yet rationally she could understand his actions. Any father worth his salt would be reluctant to entrust his daughter’s care and protection toa woman who’d shown the inadequacy she’d shown today.
    But Sloan McCord was wrong about her. And he would learn that attempts at coercion only roused her courage and made her rise to the challenge.
    “What makes you think I
wouldn’t
enjoy them?” she retorted softly.
    The taunting smile slipped from his features, and he stared at her hard.
    “I guess there’s only one way to find out,” he said finally. His gaze never leaving hers, he tossed his hat on the settee.
    His hands rose to grasp her shoulders then, holding her with a featherlight pressure. She could have pulled away had she wished to. Yet she didn’t wish it.
    She stood