The Law and Miss Penny by Sharon Ihle Read Free Book Online Page B

all."
    Cain frowned, then returned the mirror to its original position and picked up his razor.
    "No, wait." Mariah said as he touched the keen-edged instrument to his cheek. "Let me."
    "Thanks for the offer, little cousin, but I'm really quite able to handle this chore myself."
    "I'm sure you are, but I think we ought to try something different with you." She took the razor from his hand. "Ever wear a beard before?"
    He thought hard for a minute, and then sighed. "I don't know."
    "It doesn't matter. I think Brother Law should, and I know just the kind of beard that would be perfect for him." She glanced around the area, and then motioned for Cain to follow her to a nearby boulder. "Sit a spell," she said, pointing to the rock. "I'm going to transform you into the kind of fellah even the devil himself would believe in."
    Cain grumbled but straddled the boulder and offered her his lathered chin. Holding her at arm's length, he warned, "I may not know a lot about who I was or what kind of man I used to be, but I do know this—if you should happen to cut me, you'll wish you'd left me on the side of the road to fend for myself."
    After slowly moistening her lips, Mariah lowered her eyelids to half-mast and pinned him with a purposely smoky gaze. "Why, Cousin Cain, darling. I could never do a thing like that to you. You're much too important to me."
    As he glimpsed into the depths of those incredibly beautiful eyes, feeling things he knew he had no right to feel, Cain suddenly couldn't be sure if it was genuine concern or a touch of insanity that was staring back at him. A sliver of fear poked at his chest, a sensation he was certain he'd rarely, if ever, experienced when dealing with men, much less women. "Maybe—" He cleared his throat, surprised to find that he could hardly talk. "Maybe I ought to just go ahead and do this myself."
    "Don't be silly." Then, without another word, she gripped his chin to steady his jaw and neck, and drew the razor up the length of his throat.
    As she worked, with the scent of sandalwood and of Cain himself swirling around her, Mariah became aware of the sting of sexual desire once again. This time, actual heat, not warmth, mushroomed inside of her, spreading even to her extremities. Her hands moved over the planes of his face, slipping and sliding through the rich aromatic cream, tracing the high ridges of his cheekbones, then slithering down to the chiseled hollows below.
    She imagined exploring the rest of his body this way, and a little shiver coursed up her spine, bringing with it another burst of heat. Why nowhim of all people? He was supposed to be feeling this way about her. And besides, shouldn't the attraction a woman felt for a man be more selective than this, more logical somehow? She glanced into Cain's eyes, pleased to find him studying her with at least as much intensity. Maybe, she thought with a modicum of surprise, logic didn't have a damn thing to do with it. , she wondered, and with
    Cain held very still as she worked, acutely aware she was holding a razor near his throat. There was something reckless about her, and she still had a kind of crazed look in her eye. Had she noticed the desire he was feeling for her and decided to do something about her depraved cousin once and for all? He gulped, moving his Adam's apple, making it an easy target for her razor, and thought about pushing her away. That's when she leaned in closer, shaving beneath his nostrils, and all thoughts of escaping her touch evaporated as her two slender braids dangled against his bare chest, sweeping him like a pair of miniature brooms.
    Cain glanced up, worried that she'd noticed yet another inappropriate reaction from him, and caught her gaze, along with the faint scent of cinnamon. Her breathing was rapid, certainly more rapid than he would have expected, and the violet color of her eyes had darkened almost to indigo blue. She looked as if she was flushed with excitement, maybe even a little...
    No. That