Her Rugged Rancher. Stella Bagwell. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Stella Bagwell
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия: Men of the West
Жанр произведения: Контркультура
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781474041126
Скачать книгу
and her voice quaver. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I laid eyes on you, too. Does that make me stupid, too?”

      A tight grimace twisted his features. “No. It makes you a liar.”

      Bella stepped in front of him and stabbed him with an angry look. “You can call me bold or forward or unladylike, but don’t call me a liar. That’s one thing I’m not.”

      “Then you must be a hypocrite. Jett says you had a crush on your old boss—that you still do. He’s the one you’ve had ideas about kissing. Not me!”

      Doing her best to hang on to her temper, she said, “Jett doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I never had a crush on Curtis. Not while I worked as a paralegal in his law office or after I left it. I admired him for many reasons and even thought he’d make a good husband—but I could see he wasn’t meant for me.”

      Bella couldn’t go on to explain that being around Curtis had never filled her head with erotic images. She’d never pictured herself making wild, passionate love to the man, the way she had with Noah. But those secret fantasies were far too intimate to share with this man.

      Shaking his head, he glanced toward Casper, and Bella followed the direction of his attention. Thankfully the horse had been trained not to run away. At the moment he was happily tearing at the tufts of grass growing in scattered patches over the rocky ground.

      “Forget I mentioned anything about the man,” Noah muttered gruffly. “Who you have your eye set on is none of my business. Unless you try to make me your target. So before you make your play, you need to know that I’m not about to let anything develop between us. Not now. Not ever.”

      Bella proudly lifted her chin. “Then why did you kiss me?”

      “That was my way of explaining the situation.”

      She refrained from rolling her eyes toward the treetops. “It sure didn’t feel like a demonstration, explanation, or anything of the sort. It felt like an old-fashioned kiss—the kind two people with mutual attraction share. And if you could be totally honest with me, you’d admit that you want to do it again. I do.”

      His jaws clamped so tight Bella figured his back teeth were probably in danger of crumbling beneath the pressure.

      Turning his gaze back to her, he said, “Bella, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the luxury of playing games with the opposite sex. Especially when the games could become dangerous.”

      “I would’ve never guessed you could be such an ass, Noah Crawford,” she said in a low, angry voice. “But I should’ve known. It’s no wonder you live such a solitary life. There’s no one around here worthy of your presence!”

      With tears threatening to fall, she hurried over to Casper and swung herself into the saddle. Yet before she could kick the horse into a gallop, Noah was there, reaching up and dragging her out of the saddle.

      Bella practically fell into his arms and she was forced to grab hold of his shoulders to keep from sliding down the front of his body.

      She gasped with shock. “Noah! What—are you—doing?”

      “I’m doing what both of us want!”

      The words came out on a fierce growl and then he was kissing her again. Only this time the meeting of their mouths instantly turned into a frenetic search that lasted so long Bella was certain she was going to faint.

      The rushing noise in her ears grew so loud she couldn’t hear the wind or the birds or even the moans in her own throat. Then, just as her knees were about to buckle, he lifted his head, allowing her to suck in a reviving breath of oxygen. Yet before she could gather herself completely, he stepped back, removing the anchoring support of his shoulders.

      Forced to grab on to the fender of Casper’s saddle to keep from falling, she stared in shocked wonder at him.

      “Noah, I—”

      “Don’t say anything else, Bella,” he said in a husky growl. “Just go home. Before I say to hell with everything and carry you inside the cabin.”

      Shaking almost violently now, she followed his order and quickly swung herself onto Casper’s back. The horse instantly sensed her turmoil and began to dance and shake his head against the bit. Without sparing a glance at Noah, she urged the animal into a gallop and didn’t ease the pace until she was long gone from the cowboy’s view.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4QAYRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/sABFEdWNreQABAAQAAABQAAD/4QPkaHR0cDov L25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wLwA8P3hwYWNrZXQgYmVnaW49Iu+7vyIgaWQ9Ilc1TTBNcENl aGlIenJlU3pOVGN6a2M5ZCI/PiA8eDp4bXBtZXRhIHhtbG5zOng9ImFkb2JlOm5zOm1ldGEvIiB4 OnhtcHRrPSJBZG9iZSBYTVAgQ29yZSA1LjAtYzA2MSA2NC4xNDA5NDksIDIwMTAvMTIvMDctMTA6 NTc6MDEgICAgICAgICI+IDxyZGY6UkRGIHhtbG5zOnJkZj0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5 OS8wMi8yMi1yZGYtc3ludGF4LW5zIyI+IDxyZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24gcmRmOmFib3V0PSIiIHht bG5zOnhtcFJpZ2h0cz0iaHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3JpZ2h0cy8iIHhtbG5z OnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0iaHR0 cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1sbnM6eG1wPSJo dHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bXBSaWdodHM6TWFya2VkPSJGYWxzZSIgeG1w TU06T3JpZ2luYWxEb2N1bWVudElEPSJhZG9iZTpkb2NpZDpwaG90b3Nob3A6OTlhZDU2MjQtZTdi Ni0xMWU1LWExZDItZGVjNTljZDVjYzQ3IiB4bXBNTTpEb2N1bWVudElEPSJ4bXAuZGlkOjExNzgw ODE1MDNDMzExRTZBRTdFQjk0MjBEMjJENzAyIiB4bXBNTTpJbnN0YW5jZUlEPSJ4bXAuaWlkOjEx NzgwODE0MDNDMzExRTZBRTdFQjk0MjBEMjJENzAyIiB4bXA6Q3JlYXRvclRvb2w9IkFkb2JlIFBo b3Rvc2hvcCBDUzUuMSBNYWNpbnRvc2giPiA8eG1wTU06RGVyaXZlZEZyb20gc3RSZWY6aW5zdGFu Y2VJRD0ieG1wLmlpZDoxNzkwRTM1NzA5MjA2ODExODcxRjgwREVDMkRFREYwMiIgc3RSZWY6ZG9j dW1lbnRJRD0iYWRvYmU6ZG9jaWQ6cGhvdG9zaG9wOjk5YWQ1NjI0LWU3YjYtMTFlNS1hMWQyLWRl YzU5Y2Q1Y2M0NyIvPiA8L3JkZjpEZXNjcmlwdGlvbj4gPC9yZGY6UkRGPiA8L3g6eG1wbWV0YT4g PD94cGFja2V0IGVuZD0iciI/Pv/iDFhJQ0NfUFJPRklMRQABAQAADEhMaW5vAhAAAG1udHJSR0Ig WFlaIAfOAAIACQAGADEAAGFjc3BNU0ZUAAAAAElFQyBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD21gABAAAA ANMtSFAgIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEWNw cnQAAAFQAAAAM2Rlc2MAAAGEAAAAbHd0cHQAAAHwAAAAFGJrcHQAAAIEAAAAFHJYWVoAAAIYAAAA FGdYWVoAAAIsAAAAFGJYWVoAAAJAAAAAFGRtbmQAAAJUAAAAcGRtZGQAAALEAAAAiHZ1ZWQAAANM AAAAhnZpZXcAAAPUAAAAJGx1bWkAAAP4AAAAFG1lYXMAAAQMAAAAJHRlY2gAAAQwAAAADHJUUkMA AAQ8AAAIDGdUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDGJUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDHRleHQAAAAAQ29weXJpZ2h0IChjKSAxOTk4 IEhld2xldHQtUGFja2FyZCBDb21wYW55AABkZXNjAAAAAAAAABJzUkdCIElFQzYxOTY2LTIuMQAA AAAAAAAAAAAAEnNSR0IgSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABYWVogAAAAAAAA81EAAQAAAAEWzFhZWiAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAWFlaIAAAAAAAAG+iAAA49QAAA5BYWVogAAAAAAAAYpkAALeFAAAY2lhZWiAAAAAAAAAkoAAA D4QAALbPZGVzYwAAAAAAAAAWSUVDIGh0dHA6Ly93d3cuaWVjLmNoAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWSUVDIGh0 dHA6Ly93d3cuaWVjLmNoAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAGRlc2MAAAAAAAAALklFQyA2MTk2Ni0yLjEgRGVmYXVsdCBSR0IgY29sb3VyIHNwYWNlIC0g c1JHQgAAAAAAAAAAAAAALklFQyA2MTk2Ni0yLjEgRGVmYXVsdCBSR0IgY29sb3VyIHNwYWNlIC0g c1JHQgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABkZXNjAAAAAAAAACxSZWZlcmVuY2UgVmlld2luZyBD b25kaXRpb24gaW4gSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAsUmVmZXJlbmNlIFZpZXdpbmcgQ29u ZGl0aW9uIGluIElFQzYxOTY2LTIuMQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAdmlldwAAAAAA E6T+ABRfLgAQzxQAA+3MAAQTCwADXJ4AAAABWFlaIAAAAAAATAlWAFAAAABXH+dtZWFzAAAAAAAA AAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACjwAAAAJzaWcgAAAAAENSVCBjdXJ2AAAAAAAABAAAAAAFAAoA DwAUABkAHgAjACgALQAyADcAOwBAAEUASgBPAFQAWQBeAGMAaABtAHIAdwB8AIEAhgCLAJAAlQCa AJ8ApACpAK4AsgC3ALwAwQDGAMsA0ADVANsA4ADlAOsA8AD2APsBAQEHA