The House on the Shore by Victoria Howard Read Free Book Online

lying backward through the air.
    “Arrrrrrrgh!”
    Anna screwed up her eyes expecting to land on hard Scottish granite, but instead Luke’s strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her roughly, almost violently, to safety. Without thinking, she buried her face against the corded muscles of his neck and clu ng to him with trembling limbs. If Luke hadn’t caught her she would have most likely broken her neck. Slowly the tremors subsided, and she beca me acutely aware of t he warmth of his body . His nearness was overwhelming and filled her with a strange inner excitement. She tried to ra tionaliz e her feelings by putting them down to the shock of her fall, but failed. There was no doub t that what she’d felt was th e first flush of sexual desire.
    Anna coloured fiercely and backed out of his grasp. “Er…I’m sorry about that. I guess the rungs weren’t as strong as I thought.”
    “That old twig? I can’t imagine how you ever thought it woul d hold you up. You’re lucky I was here. Are you okay ? No bones broken?”
    “I’m fine. The only thing that’s dented is my pride. Thanks for catching me.”
    His tawny brown eyes meet her green ones . “Trust me, the pleasure is all mine.”
    Keenly aware of his scrutiny, Anna willed herself to look away.
    Luk e bent down and examined the ladder. Although old, it was in reasonably good condition. He picked up the remains of the rung and ran his thumb over the wood. The break should have been jagged and splintered where the wood had given way. Instead, part of i t was smooth, as if someone had taken a hacksaw and sawn part way through th e rung.
    “ You’ve been lucky. You could have been seriously hurt . It’s about time this old ladder was retired and turned into firewood. ”
    Anna wrapped her arms around her body , and shivered at the image his words created .
    He rested his hand on her shoulder. “ Are you sure you’re all right ? You look a little pale to me. Want me to fetch you a glass of water? ”
    “ Please s top fussing. I’m not about to faint. ”
    “I’m glad to hear it. A re you planning any more gymnastics today?”
    She grinned mischievously. “Later, I thought I might try a triple Lutz on the lawn . S eriously, I’ve had enough aerial acrobatics to last me a while. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in offering to help.”
    “ In that case, I’ll be on my way.” H e turned and walked back to his dinghy.
    Anna watched Luke stride across the grass towards the beach. Each time she saw him the pull on her senses was stronger. I f she were honest, she’d enjoyed the feel of his arms around her. Yet , such an attraction was perilous a nd would only end in more heart ache coming as it did so soon after the end of he r affair with Mark.
    She picked up the torch and returned to the kitchen . Once inside , she undid the inspection plate on the flue where it entered the chimney and shone her torch around. Satisfied that everything looked all right, she re-filled the firebox with an old newspaper and some kindling she’d found in the cow shed . R ather than set it alight, she decided to wait until she had done her shopping .
    It was mid-morning when she returned to the croft. She pushed open the door with the toe of her boot, and carried four plastic bags of groceries into the kitchen, dropping them on the table with a sig h of relief. She rubbed the circulation back in to her bloodless fingers, thankful that she wouldn’t have to shop again for a few days .
    Anna stared at the Aga and wondered if her meagre savings would stand the strain of using the immersion heater for another day. C om mon sense got the better of her . Squatting, she opened the firebox. She gasped, and rocked back on her heels. Two shiny brass bullets lay on top of the firewood. If she hadn’t bothered to check the kindling before adding the firelighter and striking the match, they could have exploded, causing God knows what sort of damage.
    Someone had left them for